Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Adding Embellishment to a Canvas

The Instagram account Sophie Stitches and Styles shows off her latest finish, a canvas from Plum Stitchery called "Celestial Menagerie Pillow."  Sophie very cleverly adds touches of specialty stitches here and there to highlight her favorite parts of this mostly tent stitched cutie.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 25, 2026 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Learn about Thread Painting with Lisa: The Movie

Lisa Kessler of BeStitched has posted a video about thread painting on the shop's Instagram account.  She'll show you examples of canvases that would work will with thread painting techniques and how you can tell, show off stitched examples of the technique, and generally help you understand how she works animals and flowers in thread painting (also called needle painting).

In case the video disappears, Lisa says you can use overdyed thread in needle painting, it works on both 13 and 18 count canvas, if you use thinner threads (silk and cotton floss, Bella Lusso) it won't bulk up, you can come up at the outside edge or the inside edge--this usually doesn't matter, the thread length doesn't matter that much but you should not have all the threads the same length as that looks artificial, you can mix strand able and non-strandable threads, and more.  

BeStitched's "Wild About Animals" Club that Lisa mentioned is an easy way to dip your toe into thread painting.  You'll have to ask the shop if you can buy just one of the designs instead of choosing three, six or eight of them.

If you need more information on this topic, I've written a thread painting tutorial which you can find here-


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 26, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Chinchillin: The Summer 2024 Mystery

Ruth Schmuff has announced her mystery class for June and July, 2024--Heather Gauthier's "Chincillin."  You know the drill by now--I'll update this as Ruth releases progress reports on this cutie.

The first lesson is this adorable chinchilla floating in his coconut shell.

Now we have background.

The leaves are stitched, so only the fruit and flowers are unstitched.

Now we have fruit and flowers and trailing vines.  It's magnificent!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com 
nd at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 2, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Marjorie Taylor's Vegan Taxidermy

If you subscribe to Needlepoint Now magazine and have the May-June 2022 issue, you already know about Marjorie Taylor's "Vegan Taxidermy."  But if you don't subscribe or your copy is still in the clutches of the post office, this online Eugene, Oregon news article will show what she makes with vintage needlepoint canvases.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 17, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Stitches for Fur

Melita has listed stitches she thinks good for fur on her blog.

I like long and short myself, done in cotton floss (one ply only) in layers.  You can always go back and add more thread that way to correct something you don't like.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 13, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Thursday, February 6, 2020

You Thought Your Needlepoint Pillows Were Expensive?!

Horse Country Chic explains that an eleven piece lot of dog and rabbit needlepoint pillows sold for $17,500 USD at the Mario Buatta auction.
http://horsecountrychic.blogspot.com/2020/01/mario-like-needlepoint-animal-pillows.html

This lot went for $10,000.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/mario-buatta-prince-of-interiors/thirteen-pillows-with-sayings

Other needlepoint pillows sold well also.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/mario-buatta-prince-of-interiors/five-decorative-pillows

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/mario-buatta-prince-of-interiors/eleven-dog-pillows

I am not sure all of these are needlepoint.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/mario-buatta-prince-of-interiors/seven-floral-pillows

He had needlepoint rugs, too.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/mario-buatta-prince-of-interiors/an-english-needlepoint-story-rug

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/mario-buatta-prince-of-interiors/an-english-needlework-carpet-second-half-19th

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/mario-buatta-prince-of-interiors/a-floral-needlepoint-carpet-early-19th-century

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/mario-buatta-prince-of-interiors/a-dark-ground-floral-carpet

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/mario-buatta-prince-of-interiors/a-continental-needlepoint-carpet-first-quarter

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/mario-buatta-prince-of-interiors/a-19th-century-carpet

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 28, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.


Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Animal Fur Stitches

Needlepoint for Fun's latest newsletter talks about creating animal fur.  They talk about the best stitches to use for animal ears, fur and tails, and include nice diagrams to help you understand how the stitches are made.
http://www.needlepoint-for-fun.com/needlepoint-stitches-for-animal-hair.htm

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 18, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Animal Angel Ornaments Fund Raiser

Nenah Stone Designs has a new series called Animal Angel Ornaments, with a portion of the proceeds going toward animal rescue charities.  You can read a bit more about them on Nenah's website.  Many thanks to Victori-Anne's Treasures for mentioning this.
http://www.nenahstonedesigns.com/christmas/animal_angel_ornaments

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 29, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Tips for Shading Painted Canvases

Needlepoint for Fun's newest online tip article lays out two ways to shade areas on your canvas, particularly skies and animal fur.
http://www.needlepoint-for-fun.com/how-to-shade-needlepoint.htm

The article links to ANG's website where there is another shading article to help you understand color blending. I expect with this help you can do some pretty neat shading on your own on that canvas that has you puzzled. Have fun learning to master shading!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 27, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Stitches for Animals

In August Mary Legallet treatied us to stitches and threads for animals.   Some will even work for insects.  (Are bugs animals?)
http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2016/8/3/nothing-like-a-fur-coat-in-august

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2016/8/7/a-menagerie

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2016/8/10/spread-your-wings-and-fly

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2016/8/17/oui-oui-oui

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2016/8/21/fish-sticks

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2016/8/24/wheeeeee

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2016/8/31/it-takes-a-village

By the way, Donna has a great fur stitch, too.  So I thought I'd include it here.
http://majtravaux.blogspot.com/2016/08/interlocking-gobelin.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 6, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The Golfer's Stocking and Santa

The Renegade Needlepointer shows off another beautiful Christmas stocking, this time for the golfer in the family. The "Santa and Critters" stocking has a golf bag tag but is actually about animals.
https://renegadeneedlepointer.com/2016/04/12/lifes-a-game/

The same child also has a custom Amanda Lawford stand up Cowboy Santa, complete with Texas touches and a charming teddy bear and black lab, not to mention another little golf bag.

Amazing, huh?

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 1, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Hunter's Stocking

The Renegade Needlepointer shows off a Christmas stocking perfect for the hunter in your family.
http://renegadeneedlepointer.com/2016/03/30/ethereal-sounds/

In case you missed her stocking for the fly fisherman in your life, click here.
http://renegadeneedlepointer.com/2016/03/02/i-do-not-like-to-excercise/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 30, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Monday, December 7, 2015

Want to Learn Needle Painting?

Campanita, The Miami Gold Digger's Dog

I'm sure regular visitors of Blog have noticed that recently my profile photo at the top of the right hand column has been the little dog from the Miami Gold Digger canvas I'm currently stitching.  There's a reason for that--I'm going to use this in a needle painting tutorial.  But first, let's talk about what classic needle painting is.

Basically it is creating very realistic animals, usually with one or two plies of cotton floss, using only a limited range of stitches:  long and short, stem stitch, split stitch and perhaps a few straight or slightly slanted satin stitches for details like noses and whiskers and claws.

Tanja Berlin and Helen M. Stevens are masters of this technique.  Berlin Embroidery sells kits to reproduce her original designs.  If you head to her website you can see them here.
http://www.berlinembroidery.com/needlepainting.htm

Even more importantly, Tanja has posted examples of her instructions for various items:  birds, animals and flowers.  Click on any of her examples and you will see diagrams for which colors to use where, diagrams that show the direction of the stitches you will be using and diagrams that tell you what order to stitch the animal parts in.  She uses long and short stitch for most of her fur, feathers and flower petals with 1-2 plies of cotton floss.

Helen Stevens' website isn't quite as detailed (she teaches, lectures and writes books on her techniques) but the photos are knockouts!  She uses the same stitches as Tanja but adds various other stitches for special areas like wings.  She also tends to use silk flosses for her designs.  
http://www.helenmstevens.co.uk

Impressed?  Intimidated?

Be impressed but don't worry--this isn't nearly as hard as it looks.  All you need is patience and to observe dogs to see how their fur lies since we don't want to stitch Campanita's ears so the fur sticks out in an unrealistic way.  Don't own a dog?  Not to worry--Watson will pose for us.


Watson at 8 weeks

Stay tuned for an orientation to the threads and stitches we'll be using.  I will add article links to a new tab called "Needle Painting on Needlepoint Canvas Tutorial" as they go live.  Which will be when I have time, this being the holidays.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 29, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Monday, October 26, 2015

The Cabin Ark

I thought this "Cabin Ark" pillow was very cleverly stitched. We are always looking for ideas for stitching animals, aren't we? 
http://ridgewoodneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2015/10/gretchens-current-canvas.html

Sorry, the designer isn't credited.

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

Saturday, August 8, 2015

The Neglected Stitch (Split Stitch)

Mary Corbet talks us through split stitch in this wonderful tutorial. By the way, split stitch not only makes wonderful trees, limbs and stems, it makes terrific animal fur!  I'd suggest using a sharp needle, though, not our usual tapestry needle.  Mary's talking embroidery, after all, so she naturally uses a sharp but we needlepointers normally use blunt tip needles.  
http://www.needlenthread.com/2015/07/branching-out-with-split-stitch.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright July 28, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

The Tulip and The Mole

Linda at Split the Needles is stitching away on a mole, using Tulips.  Her canvas one of a series of little autumn animals from Melissa Shirley that The French Knot is doing as a club (second link below). Linda's already finished the bunny.
http://splittheneedles.blogspot.com/2015/06/mole-head.html

http://www.thefrenchknot.com/z-thanksgiving.htm

Tulips is a subtle colored kid mohair thread from Gumnut in Australia. Purl Soho describes it a beautifully here but it looks like they've sold out.
http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/7701-Gumnut-Yarns-Tulips-

Not to worry, though.  If you want a sample to play with and your local shop doesn't carry it, Alex Paras will sell you whatever you like.
http://store.apneedlearts.com/gumnutyarns.html

Here is the Gumnut color card for Tulips.  Custom House is the distributor in the US.
http://www.customhouseofneedlearts.com/gumnut/tulippic.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 2, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

The Lion and The Unicorn UPDATED

Some of Benton and Johnson's gold work kits are on sale, but that's not really why I posted the link to their shop today.   I want you to put your cursor over the lion and then the unicorn pieces on this page, then click on Quick View.  You will see the amazing dimension achieved in these animal images from basically straight stitches and some padding with a bit of embellishment (like a sequin mane).
https://www.thetoyeshop.com/benton-johnson/benton-johnson/embroidery-kits.html

I find all this very inspiring!

Have fun looking at it all.  Metal embroidery like this is wonderful.

UPDATE: Mary Corbet explains what you'll find inside one of the B and J gold work kits.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2015/03/goldwork-kits-from-benton-johnson.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 6, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Life's a Circus at Virginia's House UPDATED

Virginia is happily stitching away on the Kirk and Hamilton (now Kirk and Bradley) circus animals.  She's got some nice tips on stitching fur and adding bling to designs you might be interested in.
http://stitchstyleblog.com/2015/01/kirk-and-bradley-circus-animals/

The set was a club at Chandail a few years back with guides from Emily Pannier.  I'm not sure it is still available but you can always ask the shop.
http://www.chandailneedlework.com/shop/Series/Circus-Circus/p/Circus-Circus--The-Works.htm

You can see better photos of the entire [unstitched] set here.
http://www.needlepoint.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=circus

UPDATE:  Virginia has posted more, this time of the ringmaster, plus information on where to find the set since it's been discontinued.  Thanks!
http://stitchstyleblog.com/2015/01/kirk-bradley-ring-master/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 4, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Need a Giggle?

If you need a giggle, or want a friendly frame weight to hold your canvas in position on a table so you can stitch with two hands, then you should visit the animal frame weights from Needlepoints Ltd. 
http://www.needlepointsltd.com/whatsnew.html

I'm torn between Hello Kitty and the hedgehog....

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 14, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Horse Hair for Whiskers

Heather just noticed this great idea on Etsy--use horse hair for whiskers! Don't have a horse handy? Not to worry--the Etsy store sells little packets of it.  There's enough for you and your entire stitching circle to do whiskers on their dog and cat ornaments.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/205553220/light-or-dark-horse-hair-for-whiskers?ref=favs_view_1

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 8, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.