My Personal Favorites from TNNA Winter 2015 Part Two

Shelly Tribby's Spooky

Continuing my list of personal favorites from the trade show, I see I forgot to include Shelly Tribbey's Spooky Owl among the owls I liked.   It's funny, retro and just plain charming.  One could have a lot of fun with this piece!

Scott Church's Halloween Own

Scott Church (distributed by CBK) created another Halloween owl that is retro in another way.

Laura Taylor Stitched Guides Melissa Shirle

The shops seemed to have a great time taking this Laura Taylor class at Market.  This is my favorite new stitch guide I've seen.  It's Laura's rendition of the new Melissa Shirley "Saguaro Table" canvas.  I love the balance of it all.

Zecca's The Way

Speaking of balance, Zecca reminds us of The Way in the Buddha's words.

dede's Festival of the Madonna

I am always a sucker for Nativity canvases.  This new dede Odgen reworks a Mexican creche theme she has used recently in a variety of sizes and styles.

Maggie's Cat

When it comes to companion animal pieces, no one does it better than Maggie.  This cat closeup is a great example. Is the cat truly asleep or truly ignoring us?  There are several closeups in this series--a dog's nose, a paw, etc.  They are charming!

Horse, By Joy Juarez

Another great artist when it comes to animals is Joy Juarez.  I am not generally attracted to horse canvases but this monochromatic, very Japanese Horse is a terrific piece of art.

Sandra Gilmore's New Santa Stocking

Sandra Gilmore's classic snowflake Santa is amazing.  I love the classic red and green colors brightened and made modern by the white snowflakes.

Colors of Praise Glasses Cases

Colors of Praise also knows color.  I couldn't decide between these two glasses cases so I posted photos of both.   Azaleas or hibiscus, which to choose?  Luckily I have TWO pairs of glasses.  LOL

Now I need to stop before Blogger explodes again.  More tomorrow....

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 11, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Background Books

I recently managed to score a copy of June McKnight's Decorative Backgrounds for Needlepoint,  and have been browsing it.  It's a great little book (85 pages more or less), in June's usual small size with a wire binding, perfect for taking with you or just keeping in your stitching tote bag.  The backgrounds are divided into chapters:  variations on tent stitches, fast and easy stitches, delicate patterns, trellis patterns, Florentine stitches, pattern darning stitches and blackwork, pulled lace and bold beautiful designs.  None of the stitches included are particularly hard and I recognized almost all of them.  The great thing about this little book is that it's backgrounds only.  Inside its pages you have a nice selection of backgrounds that aren't going to drive you nuts with their complexity but which are going to be great choices for many canvases.  Even the "pulled lace" section is stitches that can be worked without distorting the canvas. They'll look good pulled or not, which is nice for the stitcher who is uncertain about yanking their threads enough to pull the needlepoint canvas out of alignment.

Is this book for the experienced stitcher?  If you like having good background choices all in one place, it is.  If you like complex and unusual backgrounds, then you will be better off investing in Carolyn Hedge Baird's Needlepointing in Your Nest, or any of Brenda Hart's books, or Lynda Richardson's new Stitches a' La Carte, or the Golden Gate Canvas Workers'  Background Stitch Reference Book since nothing in June's book is unusual or very complicated.

Is this book for the beginner?  Well, none of the stitchers are hard but they are background stitches, not stitches for small spaces, hair, clothing, plants and animals, buildings, etc.  This book is best for the stitcher who works a lot of canvases and wants background ideas for them.  A dedicated beginner who is certain they are hooked on needlepoint will enjoy this book but they might be better off with a book like Carole Lake's and Michael Boren's Painted Canvas Embellishment:  An Idea Book.

Finally, what sort of Master Enabler would I be if I didn't tell you where you could find the above books if your local shop doesn't have them?  In alphabetical order (and with thanks to Google), here they are.  But do shop around.  Prices vary some and you might find a good deal if you do a little hunting.

Brenda Hart
http://www.pfos.com/SalePages/PocketFullofStitchesNeedlepointBooks.htm

Carole Lake and Michael Boren
https://www.bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/Painted-Canvas-Embellishment/

Carolyn Hedge Baird
http://www.ndlpt.com/html/access.html

Golden Gate Canvas Workers Chapter of ANG
http://www.ruthkernbooks.com/catalogs/embroidery7.html

June McKnight
http://www.firesidestitchery.com/fs/books/index.cfm?fuseaction=getBooksList&CategoryId=33

Lynda Richardson
http://www.needlepointtooltime.com/product/Stitches%20a%20la%20Carte

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 3, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.