New Source for Wooden Tools

I don't think Bruce makes laying tools--yet. Bet he could if you asked nicely, though!  His lace making bobbins and other interesting gadgets are lovely.  Thanks for the tip, Janet!
http://janetgranger.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/a-new-supplier-of-half-cone-sticks-for-stumpwork-embroidery/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

New Watercolors Colors from Caron

I don't know anyone who doesn't love the color schemes that Caron creates for their Watercolours cottons.  That means everyone will be interested in seeing the newest colors that have just been released.  And as a bonus, Nimble Needle shows off a very clever way of using overdue threads like Watercolours in the background without getting streaks as the colors change.
http://thenimbleneedle.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-watercolours-october-12.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Padding Needlepoint

When I was in grade school, my favorite aunt came to visit.  She and my mother bought a pretty fabric with lots of horses in fields, under trees, jumping over fences, etc. and basted a sheet of muslin on the back side.  Then my aunt basted around the larger horses' outlines by hand.  Turning the fabric over to the muslin side, she carefully slit the center of the muslin inside each horse outline, stuffed it with cotton batting, and sewed up the slit.  When you turned back to the front, each horse was dimensional.  The fabric was framed and hung in my parents' house for years until finally it went off in a yard sale after my father's death when Mom decided she needed to get rid of a lifetime's accumulation of things and move to a smaller house.  But I remember the process well.  The trick my aunt said was to hand stitch many tiny straight stitches around the shapes, then stuff each shape enough to make them pop up appropriately.  That took time and effort because of the tiny legs, heads and tails of the horses.

You can imagine how interested I was when I saw this and wondered if Ruth was channeling my aunt!
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2012/08/poofy-heart.html

Now Linda B. confirms that Ruth really is my aunt reincarnated.
http://splittheneedles.blogspot.com/2012/09/love-me-do.html

Wonder if my Day of the Dead lady needs a trapunto necklace...?

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com