An Elegy for Stitcherie

We lost something special last week when Stitcherie disappeared without notice from the Internet.  I noticed a week ago that the site was down for maintenance but it seems to have disappeared entirely now.
http://stitcherie.ning.com

Those who participated in the Stitcherie games had a great deal of fun.  Those who just posted photographs of their wonderful needlepoint and enjoyed the stitching of other members have lost something interesting.

But nothing stays the same and on the Internet, interest is fleeting.  I can see the allure of writing blogs has waned.  There are a lot of blogs on my blog list that are defunct now.  The hot place to be these days is Facebook, but designers and shops are starting to post on Instagram and Pinterest.

Will I start to follow things on Instagram or Pinterest?  No.  I have a limited time at my disposal.  I just don't have the time to keep up with other sites these days.

Still, I am sorry to see Stitcherie go.  It was fun while it lasted!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright September 4, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Stitcherie Viewer's Choice for 2015 UPDATED

Ruth Schmuff is once again posting the poll to vote for the Viewer's Choice winner of the 2015 Stitcherie Games. You can see the 21 entries at the link below and vote for your favorite.The poll closes on January 31 and the winner will be announced February 2.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2016/01/stitcherie-games-viewers-choice-2015_21.html

UPDATE:  We have a winner!  Congratulations, Janice.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2016/02/and-we-have-winner.html

But everyone who participated is a winner in my book.  Thank you all!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 21, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Achieving Dimension in Needlepoint UPDATED

Ruth Schmuff's latest mystery class (Shelly Penko's "Bohemian Beauty") was never my favorite design. I found the original too amorphous. What are all those blobs of color?  I can't stitch something if I don't know what it is.  That's just a quirk of mine.  Give me a canvas with blobs on it and I am lost.

Ruth isn't.  She uses various sizes and colors of stitches to define the areas and bring some forward while letting others recede.  She made "Bohemian Beauty" gorgeous!
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2014/06/foreground-background-and-everything-in.html

If you are trying to achieve dimension in your stitching, you need to study Ruth's mystery piece carefully.  Here are links to photos that can be enlarged.
http://stitcherie.ning.com/photo/lesson-4-3?context=latest

http://stitcherie.ning.com/photo/rug?context=latest

http://stitcherie.ning.com/photo/face-4?context=latest

UPDATE:  Here is the finished piece framed in a sparkle frame.  Neat!
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2014/11/shes-home-from-framer.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 16, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Bacon

Ada Hayden is participating in Stitcherie's Stitching Games this year.  The clue for April was bacon, so Ada had some work cut out for her to figure out how to interpret bacon in her stitching.
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2014/05/stitcherie-update-april-clue.html

The May clue is tortoise.  Stay tuned!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 2, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Stitching Games Update

Ada Haydan of Eye Candy updates us on her progress with the March clue for Stitcherie's Stitching Games.
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2014/04/stitching-games-update-march-clue.html

Stitcherie is an online stitching hangout and K.B. runs a game there each year.  Each month there is a clue (April's is "bacon") which the participants use to inspire that month's stitching.  Before the end of the month the game players post a photo of their progress and explain how they interpreted the clue on their particular canvas.  You can join Stitcherie here, then click on the Stitching Games discussion to watch this year's 60+ stitchers run wild.
http://stitcherie.ning.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 6, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Stitching Games

The Olympics aren't the only games you can watch.  Stitcherie sponsors Stitching Games, which you might have read about in your Needlepoint Now magazine recently.  All the details are here.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2014/01/stitching-games-2014.html

Several famous bloggers and designers are participating this year.  In alphabetical order, here's Ada Hayden of Eye Candy--
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2014/02/stitching-games-progress.html

http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2014/02/stitching-games-february-clue-samba.html

Kelly Clark is playing along. Her witch canvas is shown at the bottom of this blog posting.
http://kellyclarkneedlepointhandbook.blogspot.com/2014/02/crazy-love-halloween-style.html

Sheena James is also participating.  I think at last count there were 60 folks in on the Stitching Games but there is always room for more.
http://www.sheenasstitches.com/mae-west-comes-to-town/

http://www.sheenasstitches.com/join-fun/

Alas, I am not.  My stitching time isn't my own and many of my projects are Top Secret.  So I am sitting on the sidelines, cheering everyone else on!  Go Team!

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.

Vote for the Viewer's Choice UPDATED WITH THE WINNER!

Ada sums up the Viewer's Choice canvases from Stitcherie very well here.   Which one is your favorite?
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2013/12/stitching-games-wrap-up-vote-for.html

UPDATE:  Here's the official poll!  Wish I could vote for them ALL!
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2013/12/stitcherie-games-2013.html

UPDATE #2:  Bird Song wins!  Many congratulations to everyone who played.  I loved each and every stitch you took.
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2013/12/we-have-winner.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.

Stitching Jimmy

I like using needle painting for animals but I have to admit you need to use close observation to figure out just now the "fur" lies.  Fortunately, Tanja Berlin takes the guesswork out of this with her needle painting kits. Tanja uses one ply of DMC cotton floss to create the most realistic birds and mammals imaginable!  Check out Jimmy, her sister's hamster.  If that amazes and interests you as much as it does me, click on any of the Past Projects listed at the top of the page to see more.  Some of these pieces are commissions and some end up as needle painting kits you can buy.
http://theneedlepointer.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=80&products_id=13825

All the current needle painting kits available are listed here.  I own the Field Mouse kit and pull it out and read through the instructions any time I am about to needle paint an animal on needlepoint canvas.
http://www.berlinembroidery.com/needlepainting.htm

Want to see an amazing needlepoint cat portrait?  Check out Anne Marie's Snowball, a custom portrait from Diane Dirks.
http://stitcherie.ning.com/photo/snowball-framed?context=latest

http://stitcherie.ning.com/photo/snowball-close-up?context=latest

Diane does a lot of custom pet portraits.  You can see a display of them on her website, including a photo of Snowball before the canvas was stitched.
http://www.dirksdesigns.com/ddc/dkd/design/des_pets.htm

Diane Dirks' work is distributed by Ruth Schmuff.   You can see several non-custom animal portraits on Ruth's website.
http://www.bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/needlepoint/--b-1.asp?category=243

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.

Stitcherie's Spring/Summer Challenge

Sheena James is one of the two challenge masters (Ruth Schmuff is the other) for Stitcherie's spring-summer challenge canvas. Stitcherie members choose Zecca's Camouflage Birds canvas. The way it works is you get the canvas and then each month or so you get stitches or threads from the Challenge Masters that you have to use somewhere on the design.
http://www.sheenasstitches.com/springsummer-stitcherie-challenge/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SheenasStitches+%28Sheena%27s+Stitches%29

Then you post progress photos on Stitcherie. It's great fun as no two folks do their canvas the same way.  Stitches go in different places or look totally different because different threads were used.
http://stitcherie.ning.com

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.

Playing Games with your Stitching UPDATED

Stitcherie has a new challenge, which involves games played with your needlepoint. Ada explains it all clearly here.
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2013/01/let-stitching-games-begin.html

http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2013/01/stitching-games-2013-update.html

This isn't the only canvas or challenge that Stitcherie members are participating in.  Sheena talks about Camouflage Birds on her blog which is a more traditional challenge for the Stitcherie group.
http://www.sheenasstitches.com/first-finish-new-challenge/

Either would be great fun.  Wish there were more hours in the day...!

UPDATE:  Ruth Schmuff is playing along.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2013/01/stitching-games-2013.html

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

Taking An Idea and Running With It

It doesn't matter if you are Halloween crazy like Ada of Eye Candy is or not, you'll want to see her take on a collage design created by Susan Kerndt.  Create a grid, add ribbons and fabric inside some of the boxes, stitch inside others, toss in some buttons and beads and there you go--Happy Halloween!
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2012/11/just-little-more-halloween.html

You can see more of Susan Kerndt's Stitching Kreations here.
http://www.caron-net.com/designerfiles/desaprilfiles/desapril.html

I particularly like Floral Fantasy.  I think most of Susan's work is for the classroom but occasionally you can find a chart from her.
http://mystitchinggallery.blogspot.com/2011/03/floral-fantasy-susan-t-kerndt-designer.html

This is a very interesting way of creating something by using what you have been collecting or have left over to make an original design.  Way to go, Ada!

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

New Classes UPDATED

There are a lot of new classes being announced for the fall.   BeStitched is planning a Bike Tour, featuring the bicycle canvases by Melissa Shirley.
http://bestitchedneedlepoint.com/getting-ready-for-a-bike-tour/

They also have the Winter Girl class planned for October.
http://bestitchedneedlepoint.com/winter-girl-is-blowing-into-town/

River Silks has collected class announcements from all over, since all the classes feature their silk ribbons.  Want to learn to use ribbon?  Then one of these classes may be just perfect for you.
http://www.riversilks.com/wordpress/?p=1224

Plan to teach a beginner's class?  Or just have someone who wants to learn hanging around?  Maybe one of these Stitch-It's "Starters" canvases is just right for your beginner.
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2012/08/stitch-its-trunk-show-starters.html

Watch to stitch a Challenge canvas?  Here are the details and the latest canvas in the Stitcherie challenge.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2012/08/its-time-for-challenge.html

By the way, Susan is going to do her fabulous needlebook class again this fall.
http://plays-with-needles.blogspot.com/2012/09/needlebook-revival.html

UPDATE:  No sooner did this article publish than The Needlepointer announced signups for their Fall 2012 and Winter and Spring 2013 retreats.
http://www.theneedlepointer.com/stitching_retreats.php

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

Taking Up the Challenge UPDATED

The Stitcherie challenge, that is! Ada shows progress on her 4th of July cat canvas that is being stitched by a group of folks at Stitcherie.  It's lots of fun to participate and even fun to sit on the sidelines and cheer the stitchers on with ideas and encouragement.
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2012/03/challenge-updates-and-challenge-to-come.html

UPDATE:  The challenge is officially over, although there are several folks still working their pieces and no one has anything back from the finisher yet.
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2012/06/challenge-wrap-up.html


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

Taking Up the Challenge

Interested in a painted canvas challenge? Ruth's got one about to start.  Of course the canvas is from a line she distributes but it is still very interesting to see what folks do with the canvas/stitches/threads that are specified.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2012/02/we-challenge-you-to-step-outside-and-be.html


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

More Gossip

Ok, it's not really gossip, it is news.

Ruth Schmuff has started a social networking site using Ning, which is similar to Facebook I think. You can read about her plans here on her blog, and you can visit Stitcherie at the second link.

http://www.tistheseason.org/blog/2009/08/new-on-line-community-just-for-us.html

http://stitcherie.ning.com/

Facebook for stitchers? Sounds like fun! I especially love the photos part!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow