The Pirate Cat: For Beginners

Becky Myers' Beach Angel

I hope folks who have never tried stitching needlepoint canvases with the design already on them are tempted to try after watching me stitch Pirate Cat.  This stuff is not rocket science or brain surgery. Of course, having a good shop nearby helps when you are learning to embellish canvases.  They can answer your questions or help you when you are stuck for ideas.  A good guild functions in the same way.  Your fellow stitchers are a terrific resource.

But what if you don't have a shop or guild anywhere near you?  What if you don't even know another needlepointer in real life?  How on earth do you teach yourself to embellish canvases when there is no one to help answer questions?  In those situations, you cheat by working projects with stitch guides.

Becky's Easel Finishing Looks Great

You may be following project instructions in a copy of Needle Pointers or Needlepoint Now, the two magazines about needlepoint, or you may be working a free project from one of the thread companies' websites.  Or you may work a canvas that has a stitch guide.

The Giveaway

Stitch a couple of projects where everything is laid out for you and get your stitching legs, then try tackling something small on your own.  To help you to do this, Canvases Be Gone has contributed a canvas called Beach Angel by Mile High Princess that comes with a stitch guide by SHEAR Creations (that's the Stitches for Effects ladies) and all the threads you will need.  I'm going to give this canvas, the stitch guide, and the threads away to someone who wants to try embellishing canvases.  Canvases Be Gone is a website that sells folks' excess stash run by Dale Miller, a fabulous stitcher from Arizona who noticed many of her friends had canvases they'd never get around to stitching.  Dale and I are eager to give someone new to canvas embellishment a chance to try it for themselves.
http://www.canvasesbegone.com/

Becky Myers sent me the photos of her finished Beach Angel which she had finished as an easel so you can see how great this looks when worked up.  Canvases Be Gone has contributed everything you need to stitch Beach Angel, even needles, and she is already on stretcher bars, too.  Becky sends her moral support!  You can do this.  To help you, Mimi is donating a copy of Ruth Dilts' Needlepoint 202, which is intended to help folks understand how to embellish painted canvases by watching what Ruth does.

All you have to do is be a beginner at embellishing canvases and promise to stitch this to the best of your ability, then post a Comment below (or email me at chillyhollow at hotmaildotcom if commenting doesn't work for you).  I'm going pick a random commenter next Monday (October 4) to send the kit to.  Dale, Becky, Mimi and I think if you try a project where everything is laid out for you, you'll relax and have fun, and also feel more confident that you can do this totally on your own next time.

Many thanks to Dale of Canvases Be Gone and Becky and Mimi for their assistance and the donation of supplies!

By the way, when you have time, browse Becky's Internet pages to enjoy more of her fabulous stitching.
http://web.me.com/limin3/I_Love_Needlepoint/Welcome.html

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