More TNNA News UPDATED

UPDATE:  Colleen is at Sew Much Fun, admiring the 3-D animals, and also checking out the new Maggie cat canvases.  There are photos of a great Rebecca Wood Night Before Christmas series as well.
http://theneedleworks.typepad.com/the_needle_works/2010/01/more-from-market.html


We have more TNNA news this morning.  First, Melissa Shirley's updated her website with new goodies.  The Dancing Lobsters are hilarious and I am sure someone will enjoy stitching the entire kitchen they dance in.  But of course the geisha canvases, especially the bamboo purse one, caught my eye.  There are some beautiful flower and butterfly designs new to her line that everyone will enjoy.
http://www.melissashirleydesigns.com/gallery/?bsn=1

Ridgewood Needlepoint in Philly posts about new and interesting things such as a Lee leather iPod case, and they mention that the Melissa Shirley animal canvases are now available on 13 count.  So check the new MS designs and see if anything catches your eye if you prefer 13 count.
http://ridgewoodneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2010/01/tnna-report.html

Finally, Janet Perry adds more news (such as the Stitch and Zip Kindle reader case) and photos of the Kelly Clark canvases she has done stitch guides for.
http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com/more-new-needlepoint-products

Have fun browsing!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Santa's Surfboard Repair

Fixing the stitches I took out of Santa's surfboard and forgot about until after the ornament was assembled was actually quite easy.   I pulled out my stash of specialty needles and choose a curved needle (it's on the right -- or it was before Google erased a bunch of photos here on Blog!) and a double-ended tapestry needle.  I figured that these would be more useful than a regular tapestry needle for stitching the empty two stitches back on the canvas.

Remember, I have felt backing glued onto the ornament.  That means that my needle can go right through the felt without having to pass through any sort of padding or stiffener.  I threaded up my double-ended needle (the eye is in the middle) with three plies of the medium brown DMC floss I stitched this area.  I made sure I cut a long length of floss, around 18 inches.  One never knows how much thread one will need in these situations and too much is better than not enough.

Then I stuck my needle tip into the bottom of the first stitch and pushed it through to the back at a sharp angle so that the needle would come out the back side close to the edge.  Once the needle came out the back side, I took the needle off the thread and adjusted it so that I had plenty of thread on both the front and the back.  Then I threaded up my needle again and inserted it in the top hole of the first stitch and down to the bottom hole of the second stitch.  

Pulling carefully on my thread, I tightened the first stitch into position, added by my laying tool, as I pulled up on the needle to bring the thread up from the hole of the second stitch.  Then I plunged my needle down through the canvas and the felt backing to end the second stitch.  Again, I used my laying tool to smooth the stitch into position as I pulled.  The needle's exit point on the back side was also angled away from the two stitches toward the edge of the ornament.

At this point, the front of the ornament looked normal but if I flipped it over, two thread tails stuck out of the back of the felt.  I pulled each thread snug (being careful to not disturb the two new stitches on the front) and clipped each close to the felt.  The cut end pops back under the felt if you clip it while pulling up on the thread tail slightly.  Remember, you don't want to disturb the stitches on the front side, so don't yank the thread tails.

The two stitches are not as secure as their neighbors but they look just like all the rest on the front.  If necessary, I can repair this canvas again, too.

I am not the first person to find missing stitches or have to repair a finished piece, and I won't be the last.  You can read about Amy Bunger's reattaching a bell that came off a finished stand-up elephant piece in her Kelly Clark Nativity set when it came back from being on exhibit at the Milwaukee Seminar here.
http://www.amybunger.com/f/Amy_s_e-newsletter_August_2009.pdf

These things are not the end of the world.  Using specialty needles like the curved ones above (although I probably could have used a plain long beading needle) and a little spare thread, you can fix these problems.  You just have to think through what you want to do and how it is likely to work.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow