Shapes of Needlepoint: A Video Review

BeStitched has posted a video review of Sandy Arthur's three Shapes of Needlepoint books. If you have Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket, these books are a great addition to your stitching library as there is nothing else quite like them available.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejKjfocigJE

By the way, there are four "shapes" books available. I am not sure how old this video is as it is undated so the latest book (diagonal, vertical and horizontal stitches--very useful!) isn't shown.
 http://duodesignsinc.com/wpsite/purchase-shapes-of-needlepoint-volume-4-here

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 22, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Shapes IV: A Mini Review

Yesterday I had to take the car in for an oil change so I took my copy of Shapes of Needlepoint  Series IV:  Diagonals Verticals Horizontals by Sandy Arthur to amuse myself while I waited. WOW! I read it cover to cover for the first time, admiring the gray scale diagrams and looking carefully at the stitches as I mentally try to find something good for my next project.
http://networkedblogs.com/OPVam

As you know, this is the fourth in Sandy's series of Shape books, all of which categorize stitches by their general shape and then arranges them in the books by their width and height.  This makes it very easy to find a stitch that will fit in an area on your canvas.

The thing I enjoyed most in this book, besides the diagrams which I admire greatly, was seeing vertical, horizontal and diagonal versions of the same stitch. You don't see that in most books and it is something that I will find invaluable when I do repeats of the same stitch oriented differently. The book is worth the admission price for that alone if you are constantly stitching and making it up as you go along.  I don't generally count threads when I am looking for a stitch to put in a space, and I should get into that habit. Sandy's books make it a lot easier to solve stitch problems because they are set up that way.

I loved the book. Now that I have actually sat down with it and become familiar with what it covers, I will probably refer to it at least once per project. 

If you are not familiar with Sandy's books, some of which are available as apps in the iTunes store, check out her website.  Right now she has a special if you buy all four books at once.
http://duodesignsinc.com/wpsite/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 25, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Shapes of Needlepoint No. Four (Diagonals, Horizontals, Verticals)

The next book in Sandy Arthur;s Shapes of Needlepoint series will be out in the middle of next August according to Amy Bunger.   The next one will cover stitches that are diagonal, horizontal or vertical in shape.
http://www.amybunger.com/catalog/item/8464002/9855144.htm

Here are the first three books, all of which are now available:
Shapes of Needlepoint One--Circles, Squares, Triangles and Rectangles
Shapes of Needlepoint Two--Diamonds, Hearts, Octagons and Stars
Shapes of Needlepoint Three--Hexagons, Ovals and Paralellograms

They can be purchased from Sandy herself, from your local shop, and there are also iPhone and iPad electronic versions available for Shapes One and Two.
http://duodesignsinc.com/wpsite/

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.

More Shapes of Needlepoint and a Stitch Notebook UPDATED

Sandy Arthurs fourth book is scheduled for release in mid-August!  Shapes of Needlepoint IV:  Diagonals, Horizontals and Verticals is it's name and topic.
http://sandyarthur.blogspot.com/2013/03/happy-easter-to-all-of-us-who-celebrate.html

As if that's not enough, she has also created a Yahoo Group to post what she calls Stitch Samples.  There are templates for you to print out to start a stitch notebook and each week on Wednesday Sandy hopes to post a new stitch diagram for you to print out and add to your notebook after you stitch a tiny sample to attach to the page.   Follow the link to Yahoo to join the fun.
http://sandyarthur.blogspot.com/2013/03/happy-easter-to-all-of-us-who-celebrate.html

http://sandyarthur.blogspot.com/2013/04/another-teaser-interest-in-online.html

http://sandyarthur.blogspot.com/2013/04/another-hint.html

UPDATE:  Here is the first page plus ideas on how to organize the stitches so you can find them later.
http://sandyarthur.blogspot.com/2013/04/wednesday-whimsies-its-wednesday.html

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.

New at Baltimore

Folks are preparing for the TNNA trade show in Blatimore. If you are a magnet and fb collector, you'll want to see the new Mag Friends perfume bottle magnets and the Tiffany box which will be released there.
http://fobfriends.blogspot.com/2012/08/tnna-baltimore-new-items.html

Sandy Arthur's third Shapes book is out.  If you are curious about it, PFOS offers a peek inside.
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2012/08/series-of-stitches-volume-iii.html

The Needle Bug has Walker bags in-house, lots of them!  They are going to run the shop at Callaway next year and are stocking up on goodies.
http://theneedlebug.com/2012/08/hoping-to-show/

Finally, The World in Stitches has some lovely new acrylic needle cases and laying tools.  Looking at the needle cases, wouldn't this be a great way to always have spare needles handy on your key chain?
http://twisinc.blogspot.com/2012/08/new-needlecases-and-laying-tools.html

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

Shapes Three!

Sandy Arthur's third Shapes book, "Corners, Hexagons, Ovals and Parallelograms," is now available!
http://needlepointtalk.net/2012/08/17/shapes-series-3#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed

The first two Shapes books are available on iTunes but not the third, at least not yet.  (I just checked.)  New Needlepoint quotes the Needle Pointer's review which explains how this book differs from the first two.  If your local shop doesn't stock books or you don't have a local, you can pick it up from Marianne's online bookstore.
http://www.newneedlepoint.com/content-product_info/product_id-2868/the_shapes_of_needlepoint_series_3_by_sandra_arthur.html

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

Shapes of Needlepoint 3: Corners, Diagonals, Horizontals and Verticals

Sandy Arthur has posted on her Facebook page that her third book, Shapes of Needlepoint 3: Corners, Diagonals, Horizontals and Verticals, is off to the printer. It should be released next year sometime.


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

And You Thought Sandy Arthur Just Wrote Books

Sandy Arthur's first book, Shapes of Needlepoint:  Circles, Squares, Triangles, Rectangles  isn't the only thing needlepoint related Sandy does.  Between preparing her next Shapes of Needlepoint volume (diamonds, hearts, octagons and stars) she also teaches and has cyber classes for distance learning.  Here are the current classes and how to sign up.  By the way, Shapes Volume Two is due out August 15th.
http://duodesignsinc.com/wpsite/cyber-classes-by-sandy-arthur

Janet Perry has done a review of this new book using a pre-publication copy.
http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com/shapes-of-needlepoint-series-ii-book-review/

Speaking of cyber classes, the deaadline for signing up for ANG's next cyber class by Marnie Ritter is coming up shortly.
http://needlepoint.org/CyberWorkshop/Exact/exact.php

If you are interested in any of these, act now.

By the way, Sandy reported on the June TNNA market on the home page of her website.  Read her take on the wholesale market here.
http://duodesignsinc.com/wpsite/

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

Circle August 15th on Your Calendar

If you are a big fan of Sandy Arthur's first book, Shapes of Needlepoint, then you need to circle 8/15 on your calendar.  That's when Sandy's second  Shapes of Needlepoint book is coming out.  Marianne at New Needlepoint is taking pre-orders for book two which will have diagrams for various sizes of diamonds, hearts, octagons and stars.
http://needlepointtalk.net/2011/06/21/the-shapes-of-needlepoint-part-2

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

Reviews and New Looks

Sandra Arthur's Shapes of Needlepoint is a new book that focuses on finding stitches to fit certain shapes.  As you know, I often choose stitches that mimic the shape that I need to fill.  Sandra's book is an organized way to make this happen and has the nice touch of helping you resize a stitch to fit inside the space available. Here's Janet Perry's review of the book.
http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com/shapes-of-needlepoint-book-review

Orna Willis has revamped her blog to match the new direction she is taking her stitching.  Stay tuned.
http://ornadesign.blogspot.com/2011/02/adorn-is-word-i-was-looking-for-all.html

Weeks Dye Works has also redone their website.  Now there are links to free charts using their threads and a place to download a PDF list of their best-selling colors.
http://www.weeksdyeworks.com/

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