Mr. Cat, Mr. Bat and Mr. Pumpkin Are Ready for Halloween~

My Debbie Mumm Halloween ornament is nearly done.  All that remains are the cat's features.  Since the face is three layers of satin stitch over four layers of felt, you need a sharp needle to add those.  I used a beading needle but an embroidery sharp or a crewel needle will also work as long as it will go through the bead holes.  (I used beads for the eyes.)

First I looked at my zerox of the canvas and the bits of orange I could see through the background stitching and placed the orange whiskers.  I used one ply of some orange Gloriana silk I had.  I copied the slant of the original painting as best as I could.  Next I did the nose and mouth.  I thought about using using three stitches for the nose/mouth, but I ended up breaking up each line a bit.  This area is the most raised and to get a smooth look over all that padding, I had to break up the two horizontal lines that make up the nose and mouth.  It is a little wonky but that suits Mr. Cat I think.  

If your first attempt doesn't go well and you have to rip out, you are going to disturb the smooth satin stitches that over the face a bit but that's not a big deal.  Rip out, add another layer of satin stitch with your black floss over the area you disturbed, and tray again.  

The eyes are entirely beaded with white pearls and black rounds that are all the same size, 15/0.  These are pretty tiny beads.  I used black floss to attach them as I was afraid the clear beading thread I used elsewhere might show against all that black.  I looked at my xerox again for reference.  The eyes are painted in five rows (top to bottom) of three white stitches, four white stitches with a black one in the middle, five white stitches, five white stitches and three white stitches.  

I copied that exactly.  In the top photo you can see the eyes underway.  I could have stopped right there but I wanted Mr. Cat to look like he was looking at Mr. Bat who had just landed on his head.  The moral is stitch this to suit yourself.  One stitch (or bead) can make a big difference in the expression.  The second photo shows my first attempt at the beading.  It's not easy to get beads to lay evenly over the curve of a heavily padded area.  I ended up taking them all out and trying again.  My second attempt worked much better.  

To make sure that both eyes were even, I did them at the same time, working the top row in both, then the second row in both, etc.  This helped me level the eyes as much as possible.  The photo at the top is me working both eyes simultaneously.

And here is the finished design again.  It was a lot of fun to work.  I hope you enjoyed it and will try some of these raised techniques on your own designs.

By the way, The Needleart Nut has also stitched her cat, bat and pumpkin.  Hilarious and different than mine.  I want to pet her cat.  I want to avoid being trapped on a desert island with mine.  LOL

http://needleartnut.blogspot.com/2020/10/it-is-finished.html

Happy Halloween!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright October 3, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Cat in Stumpwork: A Tutorial

The final area of my Debbie Mumm Halloween ornament was the cat.  I decided I'd heavily pad the cat's face and its hind leg with layers of felt to raise it off the canvas.  I briefly considered padding the tail by doing satin stitches over some perle cotton or perhaps using repousse to make the tail very prominent but eventually I decided to let the tail be just in tent stitches. 

Before doing padding you have to do items around that area.  My cat ears and the collar were done first, as was the background around these areas and the tent stitches on the parts of the cat's body that weren't going to be padded.  I did check the body tent stitches after the padding was done to see if there were any stitches that needed to be done that the padding didn't cover.  I found several bare spots I had to cover.  It can be hard to judge this so always check later on to see if there are places you need to stitch.

The first step of heavily padding areas on a canvas is to make a copy of the canvas via your xerox machine to use as a pattern.  In the photo on the left you see the paper pattern of the cat's face and the four pieces of felt I cut out using the paper pattern.  I did this for the cat's hind leg, too, but I didn't show that for clarity's sake.  The process is the same.  I choose to make four layers of felt.  You will work from the small layer to the largest, attaching the tiny piece first, then the next largest, etc., ending with the biggest piece of felt on top.

Here you see the smallest piece of felt tacked into position.  Each layer of felt is larger and the last is slightly larger than the space you are covering.  The top layer has to be a tad larger because it'll be raised by the underlying layers of felt.  Normally you'd use the same color of felt as the thread that will go over it as the top layer, but I choose red for demonstration purposes so you could see what I'm doing.

You should baste each layer of felt into position, then go around the perimeter with tiny stitches to secure it.  As you can see, it's all too easy for this to get wonky!  I did better with the hind leg since I learned if you baste a layer first, it's easier to make it all stay where you want while you add the outside stitches that secure the felt over the previous layers.  Mary Corbet has a nice tutorial about beading over a felt pumpkin that shows the basting stitches and stab stitches around the perimeter well.  She's only doing one layer of felt but the principal is the same.

https://www.needlenthread.com/2020/10/how-to-embroider-a-beaded-pumpkin.html

Here all four layers of felt are in position over both the cat's face and its hind leg.  Note that I used black felt for the top layers.  The next step is to cover the felt with black satin stitches.  Start by doing a layer of \ and / stitches that cover the area in an X shape.  (I used two plies of DMC cotton floss for my layers of satin stitch.  A laying tool is mandatory to keep the satin stitches smooth.)  

Once the first layer of satin stitch is done, do a vertical layer of satin stitches.  I worked from the middle out to one side, then worked from the middle to the other side, always using my laying tool.  

The final layer is a horizontal layer of satin stitches.  I worked these the same way, starting in the middle and working to the top, then from the middle toward the bottom, always using my laying tool.  In the above photo, the cat's hind leg is covered with satin stitches but the face hasn't been covered with DMC cotton floss yet.

Next time we'll talk about the final touches to give Mr. Cat personality.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright September 29, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Cat Needs a Name Tag and Ears Tutorial

Moon Name Tag in Or Nue'

The next part of my Debbie Mumm Halloween ornament is the cat, which has a lot of interesting techniques.  I decided that I wanted the cat's name tag to be in Or Nue' which is a technique of couching a metallic thread using silk  Jane Zimmerman has a good tutorial for doing Or Nue' on needlepoint canvas but before you read it, you should know this technique is essentially couching metallic thread (often in pairs) in a spiral from the center of a focal point out using a colored silk to add a pattern.  

https://janezimmerman.com/Site/Techniques/Or%20Nue-canvas.pdf

If you want to see more, Rachel Wright has a great series of videos on Vimeo that shows her stitching a whole piece on linen using Or Nue.

https://vimeo.com/virtuosewadventures

The way I worked the name tag was to basketweave the area around the name tag first.  Then using a strand of Kreinik gold in size 4 braid in my needle, I came up in the center of the name tag.  Then I started to spiral the thread around the center.  I used clear beading thread to couch the thread in the moon area because the clear thread didn't show.  I used two plies of purple Splendor silk to couch the Kreinik in the purple areas.  It's easy to do but fiddly as you have to park the couching thread you aren't using out of the way and keep the gold metallic spiraling tightly as you couch it.  I used magnets a lot to keep tension on the gold thread and to keep the needles I wasn't using out of the way.  It's not easy to get a smooth curve where the purple area covers the gold to make the background of the name tag but if you do multiple stitches in areas, it works.  

Needle Weaving Wire

Once I had a name tag, I could work the cat's ears. I wanted dimension in the ears, more dimension than the name tag, because I plan to use felt padding on the cat's face and hind leg to raise them quite a bit.  So the ears have to be prominent. I decided to use needle weaving to create ears with wire and thread.  In the photo above you see my 28 gauge black wire.  I cut off a three inch length (DON'T use your good embroidery scissors to cut wire!) and bent it in a sort of hairpin shape.  That's the basis for one ear.

Poke the ends of the wire into a canvas hole at the base of the painted ear on your canvas.  Secure on the back.  It doesn't have to be really secure, just enough that it won't wiggle as you weave your ears.  I used a little brightly colored thread to tack the tip of the ear to the canvas.  You cut this later so the ear can stand up.  It just makes it easier to weave the thread around the wire if it's not moving so much.  

I used black Pepperpot silk to create my ear.  Come up at the base of the ear with your needle, then you start to weave the thread around the wire in a figure 8 shape.   Go under the wire with the needle pointing left, then point the needle right.  You will go over the wire on the left side and under the wire on the right.  Point the needle left.  Go over the wire on the right and under the wire on the left.  Repeat endlessly, working left to right, right to left, and the weaving will start to create your ear.  You'll have to push the thread down toward the ear's base with the needle periodically.  When your weaving is close to the tip of the ear, cut the thread that secures the tip of the ear to the canvas to finish it.  To end the thread you are weaving with, run it down behind the ear to the base where you can take the thread to the back side and secure it.  Then bend the loose ends of the wire into a curve and secure to the back side well.

This is hard to visualize but Ruth of Bedecked and Beadazzled has a great video on needle weaving.  Note that Ruth is doing a long feather shape that's flat to the canvas so she used thread instead of wire and she needed three supports, not two.  My ears are TINY so I couldn't use three supports.  I just used two.  What she's doing is very similar to what I did.  She started at the tip; I started at the base.  The procedure is very similar but using wire means the my ears are dimensional.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2bJSi5nW1w

My cat's ears were painted with orange centers so I used a ply of orange Gloriana silk in a straight stitch to create the inside.  Note that the ears don't quite match.  I could have removed the left ear and made it a little narrower but I decided I liked the cat having ears that weren't exactly the same.  You can bend the ears a bit to position them as you like.  I stitched over the painted ears with my background stitch so that any bit of the paint that shows looks like a shadow, by the way.

No laughing at the red clown nose on Mr. Cat—that's next week's lesson.  

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Bat Needs a Body: Needle Felting Tutorial

Last week I talked about my Debbie Mumm Halloween ornament.  I'm working from the background forward, playing with various dimensional techniques and trying to balance the elements of the design.  Mr. Pumpkin is beaded so he draws the eye, but the bat who has just landed on the cat's head needs to be prominent, too.  I decided I would needle felt Mr. Bat.

Needle felting is quite easy but you do need special supplies.  In the photo above you see a felting needle, a felting block (it's just a square of heavy foam), and some purple wool roving.  If you need to buy supplies, your local big box crafts store may have what you need but I recommend you buy from Sandy Arthur's Etsy shop.  She teaches a lot of needle felting on needlepoint canvas and likes the Clover brand of needle felting tools and felting blocks.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DuoDesignsBySANDRA?section_id=25377073

When I wrote this Sandy was temporarily out of the Clover tools.  Here is what they are like—

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2386202.m570.l1313&_nkw=clover+felting+needle+and+mat&_sacat=0

It doesn't matter what brand of felting needle and block you buy in my opinion.  You can get single needles, multiple needles in a handle, two different kinds of blocks.  The important thing is to use only a wisp of roving.  Put the felting block on a table (with some sort of protection), put your canvas on top of the block, pull a tiny tiny wisp of roving from the mass of wool, and use the needle perpendicular to the canvas to poke the roving through the holes of the canvas.  Go slowly and be careful.  The needles are SHARP and they are barbed.  You don't want to poke yourself by mistake.  In the photo below you see how much roving I used—and it was nearly too much for this small a space.

You don't need much wool roving.  The bat's purple head and body are smaller than my smallest fingernail and my thumbnail, after all.  Cover up his eyes, mouth and fang with roving.  Keep poking it.  On the back side the roving will start to show through and you'll have fuzz front and back.  Keep poking it, remembering to keep the needle perpendicular to the canvas.  Don't worry about damaging the canvas.  As long as you work slowly you won't.  

Here I'm working on the bat's face.  The needle is slanted a bit to show you how this is done, but remember to keep your needle perpendicular to the canvas as you work.  The body isn't finished but I worked body-face-body-face alternatively, just trying to shape the two round areas so that there was a little gap between them.  

I ended up with this—

Doesn't look like much but it's featureless right now.  I added a long bullion for his ears, I padded the wings with long stitches in perle cotton that I covered with black Flair, and I gave the bat two red Swarovski crystals for eyes and a silk ribbon orange bow tie since I decided (the bat's head is tiny, remember?) I didn't have room for eyes/mouth/fangs.

Here is Mr. Bat, all finished.  Next time I'll talk about Mr. Cat who is going to be heavily padded in a stumpwork technique using layers of felt covered with satin stitches.

By the way, if you want to try needle felting on your own canvas, I have more information about it in a separate tab.  

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/p/needle-felting-needlepoint-canvas.html

 

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright September 22, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Cat, The Bat and the Pumpkin

The above design is what I've been working on during the last month.  This is Debbie Mumm's "Cat and Bat."  It's on 18 count and the ornament is three inches in diameter.  

http://melissashirleydesigns.com/galsearch/index.cgi?index=1347988786_5152&col=&cat=

I choose it as Halloween and autumn are in the air here in Chilly Hollow and I wanted something to try various stumpwork techniques on.  Can you tell how raised the cat's face and leg are?

Stumpwork techniques are becoming more popular in needlepoint.  Kimberly's "Dragon and Son" design is a great example.

http://www.akimberlydesign.com/2020/09/the-journey.html

So is what Kelly Clark is doing with her canvases.  Click on Stumpwork to see closeups.

https://www.kellyclarkstudio.com

These techniques can be used on any type of canvas whither it is painted, line drawn or charted.  All you need is a little imagination and some idea how to go about it.  You have to supply the imagination but I can tell you how I did this, to help you get started.

Using several raised elements on one design is always a challenge because some things need to be more prominent than others.  The first thing you have to decide is what is most prominent, what is less so, and what is receding into the background?  For me, the cat is the most prominent thing, then the bat, and finally the pumpkin.  Not every canvas has such obvious focal points, though.  

The first item I want to talk about is Mr. Pumpkin.  I decided to bead him.  I like brick stitch beading for solid areas.  It's fast and easy and works well for size 11 beads.  Luckily I had just the right shade of orange beads in my stash.  Unluckily, I only had black in size 14.  So the eyes and nose and mouth of Mr. Pumpkin were also brick stitch beaded with black beads, then I added beads here and there in the somewhat empty black spaces to fill in.  It's easy to just add a bead with a tent stitch if necessary.   I suggest if you have to mix sizes like I did, that you check after each new bead to see what you think.  It's easy to remove a bead if it's not working after each stitch.  The pumpkin stem is stem stitch using Straw Silk, by the way.  

I like the subtle sparkle of the pumpkin.  He doesn't overwhelm but you won't overlook him, either.

Next time, I'll talk about creating Mr. Bat.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright September 20, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Trend Spotting: More Elves from Sheena UPDATED

Raymond Crawford

Because of the heavy snow we got last week, I didn't get all the new elf canvases Sheena's spotted at the Winter 2016 TNNA show mentioned on the article I wrote with her help. I even found some myself.  So here are more elves!  The photo above of elves with Santa's sled is from Raymond Crawford.  There are three single elves that are similar on his website in case you want to stitch the entire set for Christmas display.  Wouldn't this be cute sitting on a buffet for the holidays?
http://www.raymondcrawford.com/designs/whatsnew/

Debbie Mumm's Elves from Christmas Village

Debbie Mumm has a Christmas Village set (bottom of the page in the link below) that includes three little elf characters.  Sheena's favorites are shown above.
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/gallery/?bsn=1

Princess and Me Booth Shot

The Princess & Me hasn't updated their website but Sheena spotted this darling elf holding Christmas presents in a photograph of their Market booth.  There may be a second elf hiding behind Mrs. Santa.   I'm not sure....

Pepperberry's North Pole Elf

Elves with presents seems to be a theme.  Pepperberry also has an elf with wrapped packages. The shoes and the title of "North Pole Elf" are a dead giveaway, don't you think?
http://www.pepperberry-designs.com/whats-new/

I hope you've enjoyed all the elves from Market.  Thanks, Sheena!

UPDATE:  I'd forgotten Ada did elves before they were trendy.  Glad to hear more are on the way!
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2016/02/oh-so-trendy.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 28, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Attention Debbie Mumm Fans!

Are you a fan of Debbie Mumm's art, particularly the painted canvases that Melissa Shirley produces? 
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/galsearch/?searchstring=debbie+mumm&searchlist=&Search=Search&dosearch=

Then you will be thrilled to hear that Wichelt Imports offers cross stitch and perforated paper designs from Debbie's artwork--and they have buttons, pins and needle magnets!  I think the right button or pin would be the perfect finishing touch to that cute painted canvas from Debbie.  Or if you are a needle magnet collector, there are some wonderful ones available to enhance your stitching fun.  Enjoy browsing.
http://www.wichelt.com/debbiemumm.html?all=all

Wichelt is a distributor but Sew and Sew in the UK has a huge stock of buttons for sale.
http://www.sewandso.co.uk/ran1404-0.html

Julie's X Stitch has some of her needle minders.
http://juliesxstitch.com/oscart/index.php?cPath=24_338

Apparently the Debbie Mumm magnets and buttons are under the Mill Hill name, so Google may help you uncover more sources.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 13, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

My Favorites from TNNA Winter 2014

I think we are all doing a little online wish fulfillment as we browse all the updated websites, blogs and Facebook pages to see the very latest from our favorite designers, authors, thread manufacturers and tool makers.    This year I thought I'd grab photos of things that caught my eye and post them here,  so you didn't miss anything fabulous.  (By the way, I'm still updating the Winter Market 2014 tab as shops get home and post photos, so check there occasionally to see the very latest.)  Here is what caught my eye--

Debbie Mumm Nativity Piece

I love Nativity sets so I was thrilled to see several new ones.  Melissa Shirley has released a Debbie Mumm set that is just wonderful.  The link below shows the set.  However, it doesn't show The Three Wise Men in a stocking version with two little sheep looking up at them from the stocking toe.  A stocking might be a good investment for those who don't want to stitch all the little figures but still want a Nativity piece for Christmas.
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/galcol/index.cgi?index=1383776738_18819&col=153&cat=

Labors of Love Nativity Models

Labors of Love has released three figures from their own Nativity which you see finished in easel backs with wide edges with a dimensional manger base.  The finishing definitely made this set wonderful!  I hope they do more figures each year to add to this collection.  After all, the Three Wise Men are my favorites in any Nativity.  (hint, hint)
http://www.laborsofloveneedlepoint.com/see-whats-new.html

Labors of Love Dimensional Bell Canvas and Model

Speaking of Labors of Love and dimensional pieces, I think their 3-D bells are going to be really popular.  Above you can see one made up with the two piece unstitched canvas.

Exotic Jardinieres from Colors of Praise

Colors of Praise knows color.  All their canvases are saturated with the most brilliant colors!  I picked the still life above but there were many wonderful designs on display.  Sadly, none seem to be on their website yet.
http://www.colorsofpraiseart.com/new_designs.html

Whimsy and Grace Leaves Scissors Case

Whimsy and Grace has the most beautiful colors scissors case!  I think the canvas comes with the perfect tassel, too.  This is from their Autumn Leaves Collection, just in case you want a bookmark, a glasses case, a brick cover, etc. instead of a scissor case.
http://www.whimsyandgrace.com/autumn-leaves/

Laurel Burch Lotus?

There are a lot of folks who love Laurel Burch's patterns.  Here's my favorite from her line by Danji.  I am calling it a lotus but it's not on the Danji website yet so who knows?   I am certain that it is beautiful!

Lani's Horse Collage

Another very popular designer is Lani.  Her animal photo collages were very popular (above is the horses but there is a similar cats design) but my favorite were her corsets, some of which you can see below.  I remember seeing photos of four corsets.  My favorite is on the right below.  None of these are up on her website yet.

Lani Corsets 

A third very popular designer is Sandra Gilmore who designs under the Once in a Blue Moon name.

New View from Sandra Gilmore

She has a wonderful window and view series, and released two versions of a San Diego Jerusalem window/view this show (correction from Vicky DeAngelis).  The one above was my favorite but the other shows more of the room.  These are not on the Fleur de Paris website yet.

Joy Juarez Lotus Blossoms

Fleur de Paris also distributes Joy Juarez, who showed this gorgeous floral.  There is also a new lion collage from Joy that is magnificent but I had to choose, so I went with the lotus blossoms.  I am a sucker for any lotus design!

ETC's Portrait of a Sheep

Another favorite designer is Elizabeth Turner Collections.  Besides their magnets and purse/shoe canvases,  ETC showed some wonderful animal portraits this year. My favorite was the sheep but there is a very expressive cow portrait plus a rabbit and owl and rooster and even raccoon.  Sadly, none of these seem to be on their website yet.
http://www.elizabethturnercollection.com/newDesigns.html

Twelve Days of Xmas Tree from K and B

When it comes to unusual pieces, I think the award goes to Kirk and Bradley (formerly Kirk and Hamilton) which showed a wonderful Twelve Days Christmas tree.  (I just found out from Waste Knot there is a Twelve Days stocking in a similar style for fans of Twelve at Xmas.) Don't miss the party animals celebrating, however.  Those ornaments are even more different!
http://www.kirkandbradley.com/whats-new

K and B Seagull in the Wind

If I had to pick one piece from Kirk and Bradley, though, it would be this small piece.  If I've seen this once, I've seen it a million times at the shore.  I just found the seagull charming.

Winter Polar Bears from Melissa Shirley

Come to think about it, one of the most popular trends at the show was animal canvases.  The polar bears above are from Melissa Shirley.

BB Designs Birds (above and below)

Birds are a perennial favorite.  BB Designs had some wonderful bird ornaments.   I don't know which I like best so here are both winter birds ornaments from Sally Baer that caught my eye.  There are more bird ornaments on the BB Designs website.
http://www.bbneedlepointdesigns.com/whats-new-/

Cardinals from Maggie

These male cardinals are gorgeous. I think they are from The Collection Designs but I am not sure.  They were not identified in the photo I admired and The Collections website hasn't been updated. Vicky and Kristen both say the cardinals are from Maggie.  Checking Maggie's website, these may be from the Jennifer Brinley-Ruth Levinson partnership.
http://www.maggieco.com/html/drill.php?category=5&pg=2&q=

CBK Penguins

If you like more whimsical birds, how about CBK's penguins carrying home their Christmas tree?  I don't know which artist this is from and couldn't find it on their huge website.  Sorry. Vicky says the artist is Scott Church, distributed by CBK.
http://www.cbkneedlepoint.com

World's Cutest Fox from Princess & Me

Painted canvases featuring animals were definitely the theme of the show.  Besides birds, especially owls, I think the new "in" animal might be the fox.  This one is from Princess and Me.   I don't see it on their website yet but it is marvelous.
http://www.princessandme.com

The Wedding Dance from Princess & Me

My very favorite Princess and Me canvas isn't the fox, though.  It is the wedding dance ornament above.  Isn't that elegant?

Renaissance Designs' Woodland Christmas Fox Sock

Back to the foxes, this little stocking from Renaissance Designs' A Woodland Christmas series is a charmer.  There is a bigger version with a moose, a series of small round ornaments of many animals in the same style, and a big circular design with Santa and all the forest animals. I love it!
http://www.renaissanceneedlepoint.com

More Woodland Xmas from Renaissance

Since the Woodland Christmas series isn't on the Renaissance Designs website yet, I thought I'd add another photo that shows the animal ornaments since you may like something better than the fox.

Associated Talents' Nutcracker Star

I saved my favorite of all the traditional Christmas pieces for last.  This is from Associated Talents.  It was beautifully stitched and finished and just a charmer, don't you think?  I love the expression and the hair and beard and the hat.   I couldn't find it on their website yet.
http://www.atneedlepoint.com

I hope I got all the credits right.  I copied what the shops said and by the second day I think they were all run off their feet!  Thanks for all your work posting photos, shops!  You know who you are.

Do you have your own favorites?  Add them with a link in the comments below so we can admire them, too.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Very Latest TNNA News

Melissa Shirley has posted photographs of her newest pieces on her website.   Everything is from Debbie Mumm (Melissa Shirley Designs has adopted her artwork to needlepoint) except for the Texas basket which is Melissa's design.
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/gallery/?bsn=1

Quail Run not only has a shop, they distribute canvases.  Here are some of the new items they are taking to Baltimore.  They promise updates from Market, too, and they delivered. The second link below is about the SharonG class they took.
http://sonorandesertstitching.blogspot.com/2012/09/baltimore-tnna-market.html

http://sonorandesertstitching.blogspot.com/2012/09/needlepointers-ornament-by-sharon-g.html

Robin King is at the Baltimore trade show and just about ready to blog.
http://needlepointstudyhall.blogspot.com/2012/09/baltimore-cash-carry-show-day-1.html

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

Monthly Club News Report

Fans of Needle Deeva's monthly clubs will be excited to see the latest of the Fabulous Fir trees models is finished. I am intriqued by the background stitches Vicky DeAngelis choose for this one.  This series will be available starting in August from your local shop if they signed up for it with the Deeva herself.
http://mostlyneedlepoint.com/04/23/another-fab-fir-finished/


UPDATE: Another fur, a gingerbread one this time.
http://mostlyneedlepoint.com/05/16/the-latest-in-the-fab-firs/

Fireside Stitchery has some terrific clubs available.  You can either choose Currently Active or Starting Soon to see what wonders will be available.  DO NOT miss Queen of the Sea under Currently Active--it's a beauty!  The companion piece Nepture (both canvases are from Debbie Mumm/Melissa Shirley) is hiding under Starting Soon.  I've gotten glimpses of several of the finished Trick or Treat canvases from Debbie Mumm which will start soon.  Trust me, they are fabulous as well.
http://www.firesidestitchery.com/fs/clubs/index.cfm?fuseaction=getclubList&CategoryId=3&clubstate=yes


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

Good News for Debbie Mumm Fans

Lots of folks admire the sweet designs of Debbie Mumm which Melissa Shirley has adapted to painted canvases.  You can explore the available canvases here.
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/galcol/?col=151

I just realized today that Debbie Mumm designs are licensed to cross stitch companies, too.  If you are a fan of counted canvaswork, it's worth seeing whether you can adapt one of these cross stitch designs to your needlepoint.
http://www.abcstitch.com/designers_php/designers.php?category=Debbie+Mumm


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

Way Too Cheerful About Snow Part Deux UPDATED

I hate snow.

This snowman ornament worship has to stop! We hate snow in CH!!!  Stitch anything BUT snowmen!!!!  Please?

Well, you can tell that no one at Serendipity Needleworks pays any attention to Moi.  Their newest monthly club information is on their blog, and the first canvas is a snowman ornament from Debbie Mumm/Melissa Shirley Designs.  They call their club Home for the Holidays, and the Mumm ornaments feature stitch guides written by Julia Snyder.  Obviously they haven't heard about Winter 2010 when I was trapped at home for a total of 28 days over three blizzards.  No groceries, no mail, no leaving the house except to shovel the porch and walk the dogs.  The photo above memorializes the Horror Of It All.  I ran out of coffee....
http://serendipityneedleworks.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-new-year.html

Here's a bit about how to sign up.
http://serendipityneedleworks.blogspot.com/2012/01/home-for-holidays-2012-ornament-club.html

Here are the ornaments and which month they'll arrive.
http://serendipityneedleworks.blogspot.com/2012/01/these-canvases-starring-in-home-for.html

Needlepoint.com has also caught the snowman madness with their monthly club.  Where's the beach clubs?!?!??!  Ok, Kirk and Hamilton have done darling "snow cones" but I want crabs and mermaids and sea horses!  I'm with Nancy and can't wait to see what she finds at market.
http://www.needlepoint.com/blog/?p=883

Nancy, M's Canvas House has a fabulous Christmas ornament set that are all beachy!   It's called A Beach Lover's Twelve Days of Christmas.  Each is about 4 inches in diameter on 18 count canvas.  They cost $50 retail and if you buy all twelve you get a discount bringing the total cost for the entire set to $550.  I suppose they are from Elizabeth Turner Designs but they aren't on their website or on the M's website either.  Good luck finding a beach set!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxRfqmMmJ4I

UPDATE:  The Beach Lover's 12 Days set is going to be offered at Needle Orts (Altamonte Springs, FL).  I'm told in the Comments they'll have an ad about the club in the upcoming issue of Needlepoint Now.  Makes me happy.  Nothing is on their website club page yet but stay tuned.  Thanks, Anon!
http://www.needleorts.com/on_sale.cfm

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

Fall Fairy (with Owl)

I updated the Chilly Hollow Stitch Guide blog yesterday with a wonderful article by Robin King.  You can read about her Harvest Fairy stitch guide and the canvas it enhances here.
http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com/2011/09/welcome-to-fall.html

By the way, if you want to stitch Robin's Hooty Owl from the back cover of Needlepoint Now, Pocket Full of Stitches has the canvas and extra copies of the magazine in stock.  Call them and you can have this for your very own.
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2011/09/needledeeva-in-needlepoint-now.html

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

Melissa's Fall Designs

Melissa Shirley has started releasing autumn canvases, many of them adaptations of Debbie Mumm's Halloween designs. There are Halloween creatures and autumn cracker patterns, dogs trick or treating, and an elegant still life as well as the famous Texas witch.  (Note the available date of one piece that was created for a shop retreat.)   It's a lovely collection, all in lovely shades of brown.  Enjoy!
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/gallery/?bsn=1

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