The Enriched Stitch Adds a Shopping Cart

Oh, happy day! (except for my credit card which has steam rising from one corner) The Enriched Stitch has added a shopping cart function to their website!
http://enrichedstitch.myshopify.com

Just click on Canvases and choose a category to explore.  Me,  I'm going to go soak that smoking credit card under running water in the sink....

P.S.  To celebrate the shop says use the check out code NEWSTORE to receive 10% off your entire order now through June 23rd.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Susan Has a Book (and a Website)

Susan Sturgeon Roberts has been very busy with her NeedlepointTeacher.com website. She is adding stitch diagrams, videos and articles at an amazing rate!
http://needlepointteacher.com

Now she has released a Kindle ebook version of her Needlepoint Dictionary of Stitches.  I've not seen this yet, but needlepointeacher.com has a lot of stitches diagrammed so we probably have a good idea of what the book version is like.  There is a link to the Amazon store from which you can download the Kindle version of the stitch dictionary.  If you get this, please let us know what it is like in the Comments section or by emailing me directly if Comments won't work for you.  I'm at chilly hollow at Hotmail.com.  Thanks!

Meanwhile, I'm going to browse more of Susan's site....  Love Cleopatra's Hair!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Second Background (Dr. Who) - Part Three

The Doctor and His Backgrounds

The last time we talked about the background for this piece, I was totally committed to doing the background in the same dark blue I used on the Weeping Angel statue design from the series. As you can see, I have switched to a lighter blue and added a second color to the mix.  The waves on the left side were threatening to take over the world, so I stopped and added little diamond shapes here and there to calm things down a bit.  I am also using a light brown, as brown and blue is a classic color combination.  How did I come up with the diamond shapes?  No idea!  It just popped into my head, perhaps because I was thinking of the Sonic Screwdriver that The Doctor has in his hand.  The current Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver has a screwdriver base but the head opens a bit like a flower blooming to show a glow inside.  The diamond shapes are a bit like looking at the Sonic Screwdriver head on I suppose.   I think that's where I go the idea, anyway!  (Yes, my subconscious is a dark and mysterious place.)

I also starting adding brick stitches (over four threads) to the right two thirds of the background.  They are a nice contrast to the wide waves on the left.  At least I think so.  After all, in the TV series the Doctor moves through time and space and I think my mix of background stitches conveys this movement between Earth's brown ground and the blue depths of space.

When you obsess over needlepoint, read all the magazines, study blog postings, watch the new things posted on Facebook's Needlepoint Nation, etc., well, you Get Ideas.  Your subconscious will prompt you to try unusual things occasionally.  The trick is to not fall in love with an idea, like I fell in love with the threads used on my Weeping Angel.  No matter how beautiful a stitch, how much you like threads, etc., sometimes they are just not right for a project.  Believe me, the project will let you know when something isn't right.  You will not be happy unless you listen to the project's complaints and rip out!

We'll see how this looks when I get a bit more of it finished.  I need to finish some of the black pants and add buttons to the Doctor's shirt plus add the gold of his suspendors.  I also am running out of the brown background thread so I need to mail order that.   Cross your fingers that I'm not going to have to rip out again!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.