September Canvas of the Month: Bonnie's Imagine Canvas

The September Canvas of the Month is from Lani Enterprises. It's a "gift tag" that reads Imagine. This canvas is on 18 count and is four inches wide by seven and a half inches tall.
http://www.lanienterprises.com/catagories/Sayings/Tags.html

Bonnie's Version:

This month’s canvas to me says fun so the plan would be to make it glitzy with lots of raised elements!

I would start with the wallpaper background.  Since this is the background I would chose a #12 perle cotton (or flower thread, if you still have some in your stash) and use a simple horizontal satin stitch on the stripes.  It would be light coverage so the wallpaper would  fade into the background.  Next up are the swirls.  I would look for a silk perle and then couch it using a single strand of matching strandable silk.  It will probably take multiple rows of couching to cover.

Next up is the imagine tag.  I would start with the background behind the lettering in a skip tent.  Again, this is a background element, so make it light.  I would couch a Kreinik metallic braid with matching Accentuate for the lettering.  I think couching gives you the best looking curved letters like the ‘G’.  The border would be cross stitched rather than tent stitched to raise it up a bit in probably a #8 braid.  I would test this out and adjust the weight as needed, but I would want it to be raised, not flat.  The rest of the frame could be tented in silk or a silk lame for some sparkle.  Finally on the tag are the circles – I would try a Smyrna cross or an eyelet whichever fills the space the best in the same metallic used for the raised red border. Another idea might be to attach a sequin with a clear bead in the middle.

Now we move to the pink/purple area to the right of the flower.  Here’s where a color copy of your canvas would come in handy.  I would do a Nabuko stitch in a strandable silk completely covering the dot pattern.  Then using your color copy as a guide, attach either beads or sequins over some of the tent stitches of the Nabuko stitch.  (Although if you use the beaded suggestion later for the flower you may just want to use French knots done in silk so you don't have too many beads!)  No need to cover all of the small stitches, just some. Looking at your color copy will give you an idea of where to start and once you get going just fill until you get something you like.  The top edge of this area would just be a padded satin stitch done with the same strandable silk you already used.  Then move over to the turquoise area and simply tent stitch that area in strandable silk.  It’s a small area, so the stitch needs to be simple, but I would want the weight of it to balance with the pink/purple area.   You could even put in a few beads if you wanted or French knots in a matching color to give you texture.

The last remaining large piece is the flower.  I was looking at the River Silk web site for some ideas on this.  I see a couple of possibilities there in their gallery.   Either method I would be ignoring the dotted petals and just picking ribbons I liked.  One possibility is to try the punch needle flower.   The middle could be either all in French knots in a silk that would match or beaded.    Or another possibility I might try is the gardenia flower that is ribbon and beads.  There is even a project sheet on the site you could follow for this choice.  Either would look great and make the flower pop.

The very last piece of the piece is the flower at the top hole.  To be honest this has me stumped.  I would leave it to the end and see if something pops out as an idea.  I would think about looking for a button that would do the trick to attach, maybe more silk ribbon, or maybe even just a padded satin stitch for the petals in a silk changing the stitch direction as I go to make a fan shape that would mimic the petal shape.

That is it!  A fun piece that will make your imagination soar!

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

News from Various Places

I've been collecting news for about a week and have enough to post about several fun things now.  So -- here goes!

First, The Needlepointer has posted a listing of all their monthly clubs for 2010.  The newest club is the Chinese fortune cookies, which are small canvases stitched with fun threads and stitches.  Click on the link below, then choose a link to the club that appeals to you for details and photographs.
http://www.theneedlepointer.com/monthly_clubs.php

Needlenook of La Jolla has updated their home page with several new products and a new class.  You won't want to miss seeing the photographs of the two classes Cassie Prescott of Sundance Designs is going to teach at NN of LJ next month.  Have you been intrigued by the Lee Cox scissor fobs and magnets that were mentioned in the latest Needle Pointers magazine and frustrated because the Lee Cox website isn't up and running yet?  Head to the front door of NN of LJ for photos of her products.  Heck, look at all the goodies there!
http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/

Finally, Needle Works of Austin, Texas has posted their newsletter. It's full of projects, classes and new canvases for you to enjoy.
http://www.theneedleworks.com/newsletter/2009%20newsletters/2009falll_m.pdf

I will award myself five enabling points but really, all the points should go to these great online shops.  By the way, the canvas photo of the purse is from Cooper Oaks.  It's on 13 count canvas.
http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/storedir/proddetail.php?prod=cc713

I'd stitch the faux tortoiseshell handle in something soft like Vineyards silk (tent stitches) and also tent stitch the lettering using metallics for maximum shine (I prefer Coronet Braid when it comes to metallic bling).  Then you can have fun with a decorative laid stitch for the purse background.  Try using subtle neutral shades couching down something metallic, also in a neutral shade.  See the links below for various possibilities for that purse background stitch.

I'd rotate this stitch so that the long stitches covered by XS run horizontally but this would look great in two shades of tan with a metallic gold couched line and a second tan metallic for the dashes.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2004/aug.php

If that stitch is too busy, try this less directional one.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2004/june.php

If you want to be creative, test stitch these couched pavilion variations until you find a mix of stitches and threads you like.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2004/mar.php

Finally, if you want more rounded shapes in the background, this would be lovely.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2007/feb.php

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

Canvas of the Day: Snow Faerie

Today's Canvas of the Day is a Christmas ornament by Sandra Gilmore called Snow Faerie.  As you can see, this is a stitch painted piece that would be very easy to do in all tent stitches and you could use specialty threads for her very nicely.  So that's what I am going to recommend in my stitch ideas--all tent stitches!
http://store.apneedlearts.com/snowfaerie.html

I would do her face first in all silks, choosing a medium blue for her eyes and a deep red for her lips very carefully to match the canvas.  If you choose a floss type thread instead of a perle type, try using just four plies and make the stitches (either half cross, continental or basketweave) as smooth and even as you can.  Stitch her golden curls and the dark navy shadows after the face is done.  I recommend a beautiful silk/wool blend for the hair and shadows.  Those threads will contrast with the silk in the skin, eyes and lips yet give you a subtle shine.  I would use the same brand of thread for the little bit of blue background visible on the left side.

The rest of the canvas is either snowflakes or the girl's white hood.  Pick whatever soft and fuzzy wool that is available to you for the white hood.  I would use Cashmere myself.  The snowflakes should be pastel metallics.  I think that Silk Lame Braid would look nice if you can match the color but personally I would use Petite Treasure Braid for a slightly more metallic bling.  If you can't get either thread, browse the Kreinik line of metallics for a color match.

Once the entire piece is stitched, take a soft brush (a new toothbrush will do) and very carefully brush the white hood to make things a bit fuzzier.  Be very careful not to brush any other areas of the canvas, however!  The thread should plump up nicely. Don't worry if it covers the snowflakes or her face a bit.  You can always trim a bit of the fuzz with your scissors.

This canvas comes with a stitch guide and finishing ideas.  You are always free to follow what the professional says instead....

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

Canvas of the Day: Hula Cat

Today's canvas of the day is a Hawaiian cat from Patt and Lee Designs dancing the hula. This tickles me since none of the cats I'm familiar with would be caught dead in that getup. And they do NOT dance. LOL
http://www.busyneedle.com/Whatsnew/newnc2009Oct.htm

This canvas is 14 count but I think you can also buy it on 16 or 18 count canvas via the designer's website.
http://www.pattandleedesigns.com/cat_inspired_designs

This canvas comes with a stitch guide but that's not going to stop me from coming up with more ideas for her!  The first thing I'd do (after making a color copy of the unstitched canvas which I will use to place stitches on areas stitched over and then will destroy) is pick nice fuzzy black, white and gray threads for the fur and stitch the entire cat except for the pink inner ears, the eyes, the nose and the pink open mouth in tent stitches.  This includes the gray lines dividing areas of the body.  Once you are done, take a brush of some sort and brush-brush-brush the stitches to give the cat fur.  You'll want to do the fur first and then brush it before doing anything else as you wouldn't want to accidentally brush the eyes or other non-fuzzy parts.

Now go back and stitch the inner ears in silk perle (Trebizond, perhaps?), the green and black eyes in something with a bit of shine (maybe Flair? with a white stitch for the accent in a metallic thread), and the pink nose and inner mouth in pinks using something like Very Velvet that will give a velvety look.  All are in tent stitch, you understand.

Now using your white fur thread, stem stitch the whiskers on top of the black face fur.  Use your color copy to see exactly where to put them.

Now it is time to stitch the bra.  I think the bra is the perfect place for Burden Stitch.  Choose a green thread for the main vetical stitches and either a matching or contrasting metallic for the horizontal threads.  Feel free to change the color of the bra from green if you like as Burden Stitch will completely cover the canvas.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2004/jan.php

I suggest you consider Thread Gatherer's Sea Grass for the cat's grass skirt.  This thread looks like dried reeds for baskets.  I think it would look great here.  Mix several shades of greens and browns in stem stitch for the grass skirt.  The bottom rows could be attached on the back and come up and go back down in a big loop that could be secured on the back and then cut to give the skirt loose ends at the bottom.  Don't worry about matching the threads to the painted colors exactly.  They'll cover the background and it won't matter if you put brown where green is painted.
http://www.threadgatherer.com/sea%20grass%20page.htm

I think I'd run wild with silk ribbon embroidery flowers for her lei and do a large ribbon flower over her ear, but you could just do the silk ribbon flower for her hair and try turkeywork for the lei.  If turkeywork appeals to you, work it after all the other parts of the canvas are stitched and trim it slowly with your sharpest scissors.  It'll make a mess but you can cover the non-turkeywork parts of the design with paper to keep the mess from landing on them.  Here's an easy version of turkeywork from Kathy Fenchel.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2006/aug.php

Choose colors that coordinate with your bra and the flower behind one ear for the lei whether you are doing silk ribbon embroidery or turkeywork.  There are a lot of styles of flowers you can do with silk ribbon embroidery but I would try to do small orchids I think since this is Hawaii and the leis there are often made of small, fragrant orchids.

Now the background.  I would find a stitch that looks like a flower and do a wavy line in the background that runs roughly from the upper right toward the lower left so that the cat appears to have flowers following her swaying.  Do the flowers in a thread matching the background color.  Here is Brenda Hart's Medallions stitch.  Don't do this in rows, just scatter a few of the floral motifs in the background.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2007/sep.php

If leaving the rest of the background blank bothers you, consider using David McCaskill's water stitch.  If you use a metallic as one of the threads and work this stitch up to 2-3 threads of the background flower motifs, it will seem like blue ocean, which is something all of us would like to dance in front of on a summer's day.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2003/mar.php

This is a charming canvas and something that will put a lot of summer smiles into your fall and winter stitching.

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

Canvas of the Day: Unwrapping the Mummy

The Canvas of the Day today is another Halloween piece, this time from Rebecca Wood.  Make a color copy so you can see where to do the backstitches for the skeleton's teeth, where the fingers of the struggling figures are, etc.
http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/storedir/proddetail.php?prod=rw023e

This one cracks me up,   A skeleton is struggling with a mummy, trying to pull off his bandages.  The best part is the classical mausoleum they are struggling inside.  The symmetrical style contrasts very nicely with the moving figures.

This piece is going to be a real challenge because the colors are black, white and gray with just three browns of the open casket to make the design more lively.  I think I'd tent stitch the casket in cotton flosses, making sure I matched the shading.  After that, I'd find a luxurious silk floss for the grays of the steps and also tent stitch those, also matching the shading.  The same gray silks could also do for the triangular pediment (padded satin stitches to make the triangle stand out and the white inside recede).  Tent stitch the black line between the two triangular parts of the pediment, then use gray and white silks to tent stitch the inner white triangle.  If you are sick of tent stitches at this point, use brick stitch over two threads instead.

The white pillars need to be in white also but you could switch to perle, probably #5 perle in size.  I'd use silk perle here if I could afford it so the white pillars would gleam.  Do cashmere stitch to fit the square tops of the pillars, then do slanted / stitches in either gray or white for the pillars.  Be sure the threads lay smoothly next to each other.  The perle will raise the slanted stitches and emphasize the rounded shape of the pillars.

To get the most contrast, I'd use Petite Very Velvet in either brick stitches or tent stitch for the black background behind the pillars and the struggling figures.  You could also go with black wool or a very luxurious wool/silk blend like Impressions or Vineyard Silks.  Whatever you use should be very black and dull so that it disappears into the black void and doesn't compete with the architectural details, the casket, or the skeleton and mummy.  You can even use DMC cotton floss here if you are trying to save money, but a duller thread would look best.

The white line connecting the two pillars can be a white Kreinik metallic (size #8 braid?) or even silver if you are feeling fanciful.  Just lay a length across and couch it down with a very thin white or silver metallic that is similar in weight to blending filament so it disappears against the heavier thread it holds down.  Or you can use some of the white perle from the pillars and couch that down with a ply of your white silk.

The skeleton should be done in white and gray silks.  The tiny black details need to be done in a black floss since your background black thread will probably be too heavy to just outline the teeth in back stitches.  Use black beads or black Kreinik metallic for the eyes of the skeleton, the eyes of the lion's head on the pediment, and the single eye of the mummy.

The lion's head should be tent stitched in your white and gray silk except for the black features.  Black Kreinik will make the eyes, nose and mouth sparkle a bit but if you want to be more classical, go with black floss.  The last bit of the lion's head is the mane.  Use your lovely gray silks here and do slanting long stitches that fill the "petals" of the mane fully.  Go slowly with only 1-2 plies and you can build up a lovely silky mane that sets off the lion's face.

The last item is the mummy, and this is going to be the most fun part!  First, tent stitch the very dark lines with either a charcoal gray or black floss.  Once they are all in, tent stitch the unwrapped boney arm and hand just as you did the skeleton's figure, using the same threads.  Tent stitch the gray area around the single eye that is visible.  At this point the long bandage that wraps the mummy and that the skeleton is pulling on are not stitched but everything else is.

Using white ribbon floss, carefully wrap the mummy so that the black lines are mostly uncovered.  You will have to lay down long stitches that overlap for wider areas like the top of the mummy's head or his knee, for example.  The bandage the skeleton is tugging on will also need several lengths of ribbon floss.  I'd handling that separately, maybe doing it before wrapping the mummy.  Let the loose ends of the ribbon floss dangle a bit.  You may need to carefully take down the loose ends with white silk to make sure the bandage tails drape appropriately.  This will be a fiddly bit but it will really make this design come to life.

I think this is a charming piece for Halloween, especially if you happen to have two little boys always wrestling under your nose as a parent.

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

Another Canvas of the Day for Fall

Today's Canvas of the Day is from Melissa Shirley.  It's on 13 count canvas, something I don't stitch on much, so you will have to figure out the number of strands or plies to use on your own.  I'm not certain about this part myself.  The canvas is 11 inches high by 14 wide, and is in a primitive style.

http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/storedir/proddetail.php?prod=ms811&cat=41

Make a black and white copy of the canvas and also a colored copy of the canvas.  Put these aside for now and stitch the background and the vase.  Use non-shiny threads (DMC floss or Mandarin floss or crewel wool or Impressions) for the blue background and do  a broad horizontal stripe in straight stitches across the top of the design.  Make the width of the stripe the same width as three of the stripes on the red and white bowl.  If the red stripe is two threads high and the white stripe is 4 threads high, then make your broad blue stripe 2+4+2 or 8 threads high to match the height of three stripes on the bowl.  Skip 8 threads of background and do another broad blue stripe over 8 threads, continuing down to the bottom of the canvas with a broad blue stripe, nothing, another broad blue stripe, nothing again, etc.  If the empty canvas stripes bother you, tent stitch that area using the same thread as the broad blue stripe.  

Stitch the stripes on the bowl, using satin stitch done vertically.  They would look good in perle cotton which will be shinier than the threads you've used so far.  Try #8 perle since this is 13 count canvas.  If that's not covering, go up a diameter to #5 perle cotton.

Now stitch the bird legs, the flower stems and the tiny leaves, all in tent stitches using a thread that is not really shiny.  If you hate tent stitches, you may do the stems in a slanting satin stitch across their width.

Now do the large leaves in split stitch using a pretty wool/silk blend like Vineyards Silk.  Cover the entire leaf in medium green, then switch to a sharp needle and do the dark green veins right on top of the lighter green.  If you are feeling fancy, use silk or cotton floss for the darker green leaf area.  If not, use the same brand of thread as you used for the light green under part of the leaves unless it is unusually heavy and thick.  Then you'll want to switch to a lighter weight thread for the dark green veins.

The flower petals are next.  Just stitch the yellow petals using straight stitches across their width and shortening the length as you work from the base of the flower to the arched top.  If they look a bit ragged to you when you are done, backstitch or couch a thread around the outside edge of each petal.  I would use a non-shiny thread here although a shiny silk would be pretty.


Now stop stitching for a bit.

Using the black and white copy, cut out the black bird in the foreground, the centers of each of the three flowers (pencil in right, center and left of the back of each flower center when you cut it out so you know which is which), and the tail and then the head and body of the back bird.  Use the paper patterns to cut out felt or Ultrasuede birds in black, then the three flower centers.  Keep each flower center pattern pinned to the matching fabric so you know which flower center goes on the right, etc.

Using a sharp needle again, applique the flower centers to their correct place on the canvas.  To do this, pin each in place, then button hole around the perimeter of the felt or Ultrasuede.  (Felt is cheaper than Ultrasuede but neither fabric will unravel so choose what you can easily find.)  This will take a while.  Use a ply or two of DMC cotton floss, matching the color of your flower center fabric or going a shade darker for contrast.  Once the flower fabric centers are all in, take a beading needle and attach clusters of green beads in the right place on the fabric, then do individual red beads. Check your color copy for placement of the beads. Beading needles are sharp so you will be able to slowly push them through the fabric.  Attach the beads using the same thread you used to buttonhole the flower centers onto the canvas.  If you don't like beads, find flat buttons that are the right size and attach them on top of the flower center fabric.  Use three of a kind or mix it up, depending on your own taste.  Just look for buttons that are the correct size (take your color copy with you to the fabric store to shop), a color you like and which have holes so you can stitch them on.  Use the same thread as you used for the buttonholed edge to attach the buttons if you are going that route.  

Now it is time to applique the black bird pieces to the canvas.  Just used little stitches all around the outside of the bird fabric shapes about  2 mm in from the edge to hold these in place.  You can buttonhole instead but the shapes are more complex and I'd be tempted to simply use little straight stitches to attach everything.  If you are feeling fancy, stitch the curved outline of a wing onto the bird in the foreground.  It will be barely visible on the black but it will help hold the bird fabric onto the canvas without puckering.  Once the fabric birds are securely on, use black thread to attach white beads for the eyes. 

I'd make this into a picture for a dining room or country kitchen but a pillow for your favorite kitchen rocking chair would also be fabulous.

Remember, these are just ideas for a painted canvas to tempt you to try it.  There are no guarantees that the ideas will work unless I've actually stitched a canvas since photographs can miss details and sometime things just don't work the way you think they will.

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

Canvas of the Day for Halloween and More

Today's Canvas of the Day is a small Melissa Shirley piece, one of her vintage holiday postcards.  These are always fun and pack a lot of detail into a small space.
http://store.apneedlearts.com/catonpumpkin.html

The border is easy.  Alternate black mosaic stitches stitched with Petite Very Velvet (or you may need regular Very Velvet to cover, I can't say without testing) with orange cotton floss in the same stitch slanted the other way.  Stitch the background in a soft gray thread without much shine (Impressions or Vineyards Silks would be nice) except skip the white dots.  They should be beads or perhaps tiny metallic cross stitches.  You can even make them silver or gray instead of white if you prefer.

The easiest way to do the pumpkin is in tent stitches in three shades of orange.  Go with silk and don't stitch the black areas of the eyes, nose or mouth at all.  Left empty, then emphasize the empty hole inside a carved pumpkin.  If you are feeling fancy, try stitching the pumpkin in vertical columns of slanted (on the side) or horizontal (in the middle) padded satin stitch.  This will make the shading harder but if you can pull it off, it'll be spectacular.  Tent stitch the inner part of the eye hole, and do little triangles for the teeth in slanted stitches.

Tent stitch the cat in a matte black thread using the same brand (Vineyards Silk or Impressions) of silk/wool blend as the gray background.  The witch's hat should be silk to contrast with the cat's fur.  The orange squares on the hat scream for a metallic stitch (long stitches to make the rectangle sides) with a black bead in the center.  The bow tie should be split stitches, shaded and in the same oranges as the pumpkin except for one lighter pumpkin color.

Use a glow in the dark orange for the eyes mixed with the black silk of the hat and top stitch the whiskers, nose and mouth.  Note the mouth should be the darkest orange you have mixed with a touch of red floss, silk if you have it.

In Rabbit Geisha news, I'm still working on the background.  As for those who are asking about the missing triangles scattered among the split pavilions, wait and see!

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

Canvas of the Day: WICKED!

Today's Canvas of the Day is one of the new Wicked series of witches from Leigh Designs. This piece is one of six witch canvases, all done in pairs so that each witch has a sibling with a similar face and harvest moon in the background. All of the witches are on brown 18 count mono canvas and they are all pretty big -- 11 inches by 14 inches.



All of the series can be seen here.
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp512x.html

I choose the Wicked Elfrida as my Canvas of the Day because I love the skull on her hat. I think that would be fabulous stitched in Kreinik's glow-in-the-dark thread, shaded with gray silk. Or use all silks for a more subtle shine. Leave the skull eye sockets and nose hole unstitched and add one ruby red bead in the middle for the eye. Use an oval stitch to cover the moon in light coverage, picking the lightest shade of gold from the moon for your thread. You can use DMC cotton here, just one ply, and it'll look fabulous as the shading will show through. You will have to lay the thread, though, for the best effect.

Tent stitch the hat in blacks and purples with something gorgeous like Vineyards Silks to give a slight shine to the wooly felt of the hat. Then do the purple ribbon in as many shades of purple silks as you need to match the lovely painted shading, using diagonal long stitches to cover. You'll need a laying tool as you want maximum shine for the ribbons.

Couch the stems using either the new Memory Thread from DMC that is wired or try couching a Kreinik metallic brown thread with a matching blending filament for some sparkle. The leaves can be done in either tent (the small oval ones) or in diagonal mosaic or even herringbone. Use a matte thread like Mandarin floss or cotton floss or even a nice wool blend like Burmilana for the leaves.

Pad the berries and then do small long stitches on top to make them a bit dimensional. I'd use silk here to make them shine.

The flyaway hair could be a thin wool or Burmilana or one of the fuzzy threads like Alpaca or Cashmere. Use a sharp needle and stem stitch to put these strands right on top of the tent stitches of the witches' hat.

Elfrida's pasty skin should be tent stitched, using perle cotton or a perle silk like Trebizond, or if you can't find the right colors, try blending DMC cotton in shades of white and gray and grayish purple. I'd consider leaving her nose until last and padding it in long stitches over something like half a Q-tip like Amy Bunger does. But this isn't necessary. If you want to try the "Bunger beak," practice on some scraps first and see if you like the look.

Now the background. It occurred to me that it would be fun to cover the background with the word Wicked repeated over and over again, either horizontally or vertically, your choice. Match the canvas' brown color using whatever non-shiny thread you can find. It might be even better to find a slightly lighter or darker shade of brown, depending on how subtle you want the letters to be. There are lots of free charted letters available on the Internet. I happen to like Barbara Bergsten's versions here.
http://www.barbarabergstendesigns.com/stitch_guides.htm

This is not a real stitch guide, not done in any particular order, either (although I'd probably stitch the background, then the moon, then the witch's hat, then the details starting with the skull). But perhaps my approach will give you ideas for the witch of your dreams--or nightmares!

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

Canvas of the Day Idea

On a whim I started posting a Canvas of the Day on the left side of the page a couple of months ago.  I have a lot of fun looking for random canvases that catch my eye for one reason or another and posting a photo of them that links to the site where I stumbled across the design.  Click on the photo and you'll find the site with this canvas.  I like to look for sale items, although often I don't find anything that is cheaper than usual.  Occasionally I post a chart photo and I think I might also occasionally post a book, a tool, or a thread that catches my eye if you guys don't mind.

After all, publicity is really good for the designers, teachers, thread and tool manufacturers who make our beloved art possible.  The better they do, the more goodies we have to play with.  So I want to use Blog to promote these wonderful folks without their even knowing that I am doing it.

Now to the point!  I have decided I'd like to occasionally post ideas for stitching the painted canvases I show.  So some days there will be a canvas of the day with stitching ideas.  I often have folks tell me they haven't a clue how to stitch that canvas they fell in love with.  Perhaps this will help.   It's not going to be a stitch guide, mind.  Just a few ideas to get the ball rolling in case you really really like that painted canvas.

Today's canvas is a SharonG landscape from the Italian coast, an area I know from my day job of cataloguing images and film.  We did a huge number of photographs of Italy and I have to say, the entire office seriously considered moving to the Italian coast after seeing the rocky cliffs, the little coves full of small boats, the magnificent churches everywhere, the painted houses clinging together to the rocks and above all, the beautiful sea.  It is a beautiful place and one that this painted canvas captures.  This beauty is on sale, too!
http://www.elainemagnin.com/ponzaitaly.html

I'm not going to talk about how to paint this canvas, though.  The Shining Needle Society is setting up a class with SharonG herself to give tips on how to stitch her canvases, and there is no way I will have the great ideas that she will have!

But tomorrow, expect a fairly elaborate canvas with some ideas of how I'd go about approaching it.  After that, I'll post ideas when I have time for painted canvases of the day.


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

New Blog Feature at Blogspot Only

I'm trying a new feature here at the mirror blog--a canvas of the day. You'll see the image in the right hand column. Clicking on the image will take you to the page online where I found it instead of giving you a larger image.

There are so many wonderful canvases available, I thought I'd use the tools imbedded in Blogspot to showcase some that caught my eye.

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow