One of the easiest ways of creating realistic needlepoint flowers and animals is needle painting. Lots of folks take one look at a needle painted piece and think they could never do that, but trust me, it is a lot easier than it looks, particularly if you have a good book that explains the stitches and techniques. It is best done with DMC floss, too, which makes it a cheap technique to practice. In the following article, Mary Corbet reviews Trish Burr's latest book which teaches amazing flower and bird techniques. The book isn't out in the U.S. yet but this is worth putting on your wish list. After all, Christmas is coming!
http://www.needlenthread.com/2011/08/needle-painting-embroidery-book-review.html
If you are curious about Trish's embroidery, her website and blog are here.
http://trishburr.co.za/
UPDATE: Palma checked this morning and says the new book is available for pre-order at Amazon.com for $12.79 and will be released October 4. Thanks so much for double-checking!
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
13 comments:
Jane, it is available for pre-order at Amazon.com. It will be released October 4 and will cost $12.79 - not bad :)
I really like the realistic look achieved with needle painting. I bought a beginner's kit from Tanja Berlin, and plan to add that into my rotation. It comes with DMC, but I am thinking of changing out the threads for silk. I just have to find all of the colors in one brand since the weights vary between manufacturers.
DH particularly prefers the look of needle painting to my other embroidery endeavors (sigh). I wish he could learn to appreciate them equally for their different and unique qualities.
I am adding Trish's book to my wishlist on Amazon. Looks amazing! Her website is fabulous, and I love all of her projects!
She's one talented lady, that Trish! Note that all the great needle painting artists use DMC cotton except for Helen Stevens. She has her own brand of silk that she uses. You might want to look at that. The website says it is Piper's Silk. Surely she uses a silk with enough colors to create her own amazing birds and plants.
http://www.helenmstevens.co.uk/Silk-Threads/silk-threads-for-embroidery.html
Thanks, Palma. It wasn't available at Amazon yet when I checked but this article was written over a week ago. I'll update the article with your information.
I stand corrected again. As I look at Helen Steven's website, she also uses Pearsall's, which I have used and find a lovely silk.
I was corresponding with Tanja Berlin earlier this year when I was ordering one of her beginner's kits. She said you can use any silk or cotton, it just depends on the stitcher. She chose DMC for the kit because it was less shiny and she liked that look. Many of the oriental pieces I see done are done in very fine silk threads (much finer than I aspire to use!). I will look into Pearsall's. Who knows - maybe they have a complete DMC conversion chart (although the ones I found online for Needlepoint Inc. conversions were sorely lacking and required adult supervision to actually get the colors right). Thanks, Jane!
Good luck, Judy. Pearsall's is pretty shiny. It must be a flat instead of spun silk. It can be a bear to handle if the moon is in the wrong phase. Other times it works ok. I think a lot has to do with the humidity and how rough my fingers are. But it is a very nice silk. The Pipers looks great, too, but I don't have any experience with it.
Slippery? Hard to handle? Catches on every rough cuticle and heretofore unknown bit of roughness? Oh, I remember trying to stitch with a beautiful flat silk like that which I bought at Fireside. OMG! What a mess I made of that thread - tangled, caught on everything - very quickly replaced by a spun silk.
Not to panic, Goldy. Silk is easy to tame. First, scrub your hands with a mix of Miracle Whip and sugar. Rub all over your fingertips and the sides of your fingers especially. Wipe off and wash thoroughly, then put a nice non-greasy hand cream on your hands. Do this 1-2 hours before you plan to stitch. When you are ready, cut the lengths of silk you plan to use and run one through a damp paper towel before you ply and thread up. Works like a charm for me (although you have to make sure the damp silk isn't a color like black or navy or red that runs).
Wow, Miracle Whip and sugar? That's one for the recipe books! I will give it a try. Thanks!
Goldy, DO NOT let your friends and family find you at the open frig door, absentmindedly rubbing mayo and sugar (or salt but that stings if you have a cut) into your hands.
I thought my husband's eyes would bulge out of his head....
They're used to the natural concoctions I prepare, and to seeing me walk around with colored masks on my face, potato peels mounded on the eyes during a 20 minute rest (great for improving vision), etc. They will give me a hard time for buying Miracle Whip, when I make homemade mayo for them (regular for DS and chipotle spicy for DH).
Ignore them. Buy a squeeze bottle of Miracle Whip and tell them it is for you and you alone. Then use it before working with silk. Makes my hands feel wonderfully smooth when I add in sugar.
Those of you at Seminar who found friends hoarding packets of sugar at meals, they probably went to the ladies room, wet their hands, and sprinkled the packets on their hands for a Mayo-less rub.
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