The Finished Edge (with Cross Stitches, Beads and Buttonhole Stitches)

Janet Granger is working a Carolyn Pearce set of embroidery smalls, i.e., stitched tools, that has been fun to watch grow.  Today's example has a very clever way to finish the edge of the current piece that I think has particular relevance to those who finish their own ornaments.  Wouldn't this make a clever edging?!
https://janetgranger.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/home-sweet-home-workbox-33-edging/

Penny, you were absolutely right--counted thread and embroidery folks have a lot to teach us needlepointers!

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

A Pincushion Homage (Arlene Cohen)

Arlene's Pincushion and Ribbons

Recently Arlene and I realized she'd never shared her red and white pincushion with Blog.  She exhibited this at the 2013 ANG Seminar and won two major ribbons for it, too.    This is an original design, worked in sections on linen and assembled according to the plan Arlene worked out for it.

Arlene wrote this about the photographs she sent me:

"What a thrill that a long awaited book has finally been published!  In 2011, an extraordinary exhibit of 651 red and white quilts, all collected by Mrs. Joanna Rose, was on display in the Park Avenue Armory in New York City for six days.  It is an amazing collection and was an amazing display of it and I was so very fortunate to be able to see it in person.

We needleworkers find our inspiration in all sorts of places – sometimes in the beauty of a design created by others and sometimes in the stunning display of work in another (but related) medium.  Attending that exhibit and the ability to allow it to “live on” with me through an iPad app at the time, I evolved into the planning and creation of a needlework piece.  

Sadly, the iPad app stopped working a few IOS upgrades ago and it is no longer even available in the App store. But, lucky for us, the book of all the quilts, with some wonderful accompanying essays, has finally been published!  Getting it in my hands has encouraged me to share a bit about my pincushion project all over again.  I entered this in the 2013 ANG Exhibit in Anaheim and was thrill when it won both a first place ribbon (for Adapation, Non-Professional) and the Small Masterpiece ribbon that year."

I found a series of photographs of the quilts that inspired the pincushion on display here.
http://www.aiga.org/justified-2012--case-study--infinite-variety/

Here is the book Arlene refers to.
http://www.amazon.com/Red-White-Quilts-Infinite-Presented/dp/0847846520

Here's Arlene's Artist Statement that she wrote for the ANG Exhibit.

A Pincushion Homage to

Infinite Variety:  Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts

In March of 2011, I walked into the Park Avenue Armory in New York City, lookedp and all around, and was simply amazed.  Six hundred and fifty-one red and white quilts collected by Joanna S. Rose were on display in the most creative and stunning quilt exhibit that I have ever seen.  Along with the thousands of other visitors who poured into the Armory during those five days the display was up, I was simply enthralled.

Even while still there, I knew that I wanted to find a way, in my own needlework, to relive and reinterpret the experience.  In the days that followed, I was able to revisit each quilt individually since the organizers had created an iPad app for all to download and enjoy.  Yes, it was such a unique experience to have witnessed the display, but I also recognized the beauty of each individual piece, be it humble or dazzling.

I was not alone in my reaction and response to this truly extraordinary exhibit.    In the two years since, I have read about a number of quilt guilds that were inspired by this show and created their own red and white quilt challenges.  I am not really a quilter.  How then might I create a way to pay homage to this quilt exhibit using needle and thread?  I began to make sketches in a graph-paper notebook, breaking down many of the quilt designs to penciled-in squares. What to do with these graphed designs?  I imagined something simple, in keeping with the spirit of the collector and most likely the quilt makers themselves.  Mrs. Rose found most of these quilts in flea markets decades ago. As written in the exhibit’s materials, these quilts “are not prizewinners at fairs nor ones that have been passed down in families, cherished by several generations.  They are, rather, ordinary coverings, the creators largely anonymous, their provenance obscure, not meant for company beds or best use.”

In my needlework, I enjoy working on a small scale.  And so I chose the humble pincushion as the means to gather and recreate some of my favorite geometric designs from the quilts in the Armory display.  A small sampling from that magnificent exhibit, it is my homage both to the quilts and to their makers.

In the design process, I began by looking carefully at all 651 quilts on that iPad app, spending hours studying the entire collection and making a list of those that caught my eye both for the inherent beauty of their design and their geometric qualities. I narrowed my list to about fifty quilts, took screenshots of them, and printed them on paper.  This allowed me to see them all at the same time, with papers spread all around me in an array. 

Somewhere in my research on pincushions, I happened upon a hexagon shaped design, familiar to me as a quilt pattern often called Grandmothers Flower Garden, and the vision of the three-dimensional end product began to take shape.  I began to draw quilt designs on graph paper, some lending themselves to the hexagon shapes for the top of the pincushion and some better left for the rectangular sides.  I graphed many more than I knew I could use, although did not graph all fifty that were printed.

Finding the right thread was its own challenge.  The precise shade of red and the requisite fineness for the 32 count linen fabric were my guiding principles.  After some trial and error, I settled on a Gutermann silk thread.  I started with the hexagons on top using mostly cross stitches, anxious for the vision in my head to come to life on fabric.  However, even as I stitched, I knew it just didn’t look right:  I was stitching the hexagons right next to one another.  As at the Armory display, the layout of the individual pieces was critical – it might enhance or, in this case, detract from the overall effect.

Wisely, I set this pincushion project aside for several months.  The graphed designs held my imagination, but it would take some time before I could commit my mind and my fingers to taking up that red thread again and starting over from the beginning.

But, commit my mind and my fingers I did.  Spreading out the hexagons made all the difference for visual breathing room on the top.  I then realized that the diamond shaped areas in each “corner” of the hexagon needed attention.  There was already enough variety in the hexagons on the top and so I chose to stitch a simple skipped cross stitch to fill each diamond. When I began stitching the rectangles for the sides of the pincushion, I realized the size I had planned was just wrong.  If I stitched them as I originally intended, the height of the pincushion would be out of scale to the width.  At this point, I decided to make a three-dimensional paper mock-up of the finished product. The graphs of the rectangular sides show how my thinking evolved.

I knew how I wanted all these pieces to come together, but I struggled to make the finishing of my little pincushion precise and crisp. Then again, a pincushion is supposed to be a functional item and sometimes function and beauty can go hand in hand in less than precise ways.

To this day, I am intrigued and fascinated by the magnificent exhibit that inspired me to create this piece.  From time to time, I search on the internet to see if the vague plans for a future mounting of the exhibit or a forthcoming book have come to fruition.  The answer for now is not yet.

My pincushion is my homage to Mrs. Rose’s collection of red and white quilts and the extraordinary exhibit of them.

Thanks for sharing, Arlene!

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.

Ann-Marie's Beautiful Stitches (and Beautiful Mistakes)

Thanks to Carol Young, the Australian counted thread designer, I've discovered Beautiful Stitches, the website of Ann-Marie Anderson-Mayes, who is primarily a teacher of counted canvaswork.
http://beautifulstitches.com.au

Ann-Marie also has a blog.  It's fabulous!  Read this.  Read it NOW.
http://beautifulstitches.com.au/my-wish-for-you-go-make-some-mistakes/

Thanks so much, Carol!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 27, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Eric the Embroiderer (an Inspirational Film from Australia)

Carol posted the link to this wonderful little film featuring an Australian embroiderer explaining why he does what he does and what it means.  You are going to love watching this, so pour a nice cup of something and settle in to listen to Eric.
https://open.abc.net.au/explore/93648?v1

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 27, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Charted Mordvin Patterns UPDATED

This blog has some examples and a link to more charted traditional Mordvin clothing patterns. They'd make a very pretty sampler or perhaps the basis for a geometric pattern, wouldn't they?  I can see blackwork backgrounds based on some of these.
http://www.presentandcorrect.com/blog/14845

https://archive.org/stream/mordvalaistenpuk00heik#page/n7/mode/thumb

Many thanks to Two Nerdy History Girls for pointing this out.

UPDATE:  Playing with the patterns
https://suetortoise.wordpress.com/2015/06/06/woven-circles-and-a-fascinating-book/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 24, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Loudoun Sampler Guild's Mystery Band Sampler Now Available

The Loudoun Sampler Guild lives over the mountain from me in the D.C. suburbs, where historical samplers are very popular.   Some of the members are published designers in their own right, so the fact that the mystery band sampler the membership designed in 2014 is now available for sale as a fund-raiser is worthy of note.  The money raised will all go to a fund established in Betty Flemming's honor to help museums acquire and preserve samplers.  
https://loudounsamplerguild.wordpress.com/the-mystery-band-sampler-for-sale/

If you like samplers, this offer is for you.

By the way, the contact person for purchasing the Loudoun Sampler Guild mystery band sampler is Betsy Morgan. Yes, THE Betsy Morgan of Willing Hands.  She does exquisite work.  This UK company showcases some of her lovely things especially well as does her blog (second link below).
http://www.thesamplerguild.co.uk/Betsy%20Morgan.htm

http://willinghandsstitching.blogspot.com

Good luck to all my friends over the mountain!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 14, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

BREAKING NEWS: Pat Donaldson Has Died

I'm sorry to tell you that Pat Donaldson has died. We got the word on Facebook from Pat Rogers.  Pat has taught many needlepointers at ANG and EGA Seminars and at local chapter meetings.  She will be greatly missed.  I found a biography of her on her site that I thought you might like to read.  Pat Rogers says she was particularly interested in ethnic embroideries.  I know her friends, family and students will miss her greatly.
http://patdonalds.powweb.com/Sitepages/Biography.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 20, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Choose Who You Patronize Carefully

I'm starting the morning off with another copyright warning. 
http://needleworkcopyright.blogspot.com/2014/12/choose-where-to-spend-your-hard-earned.html

The site I linked to above is really geared towards cross stitch and other counted types of embroidery that are worked from charts but it brings up a good point--know the seller.  Many legitimate shops sell needlepoint via eBay and Etsy.  I know many sellers on eBay and Etsy personally who like the ease of use to reach a new audience for their designs, to get established, or to sell excess stock from their brick-and-mortar shop.  There are many many legitimate sellers.  There are a ton of crooks, too.

So use a little common sense.  Is the seller brand new or established?  Do you recognize the seller name?  Is there a real shop or designer behind the sale? Is this a design based on copyrighted material (Disney, Harry Potter, etc.) that isn't normally available?   Look carefully at the design.  Is something off about it which might indicate a copy instead of an original painted canvas?  If something is on offer for a really really really low price, why?  If it is an older design, that makes sense, but a brand new canvas offered at half the normal price--well, that doesn't seem right, does it?

If something seems off to you, don't buy.  Trust your instincts and walk away from a bargain that sends up alarm bells.  There will always be something else wonderful to add to your stash later.  For me it's not worth patronizing crooks to get a good deal that ends up costing the designers we admire.  In the long run that hurts the world of needlepoint more than getting a good deal helps the individual stitcher.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 31, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Like to Bead?

For those who love beading I've posted a link to the Silver Needle's site so you can see the Reflets de Soie of France beaded scissor cases kits.  You'll get the chart and the beads in the kit but will have to purchase the 35 count linen and threads to attach the beads in a half cross stitch (i.e., a tent stitch over two threads).  It looks like the scissors cases are meant to be finished with a zipper down one long side but it is hard to tell for certain.  These are very pretty but the beads are Japanese seed beads so they are probably small and the finished pouch will be fairly heavy.  I'd suggest you not use floss to add the beads if you plan to carry this instead of framing it, but substitute beading thread instead.  
http://www.thesilverneedle.com/reflets.html

At any rate, this is a slightly different project from a French designer that the dedicated header might like to try.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 28, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

A Report from DebBee's Designs

DebBee's Designs has posted about what they are working on now.  There's plenty of eye candy for those who love counted canvaswork or just like to see the various colors Debbie uses and a bit of information about the life of a counted designer between shows.  Enjoy!
http://debbeesdesigns.com/DDWrdPrs/?p=1563

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright September 24, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Needle Healing

Many of us turn to our needlepoint when we aren't feeling that great.   Whether you are recovering from an injury or illness or just trying to cope with the stresses of life, needlepoint will heal you.  Here is Janet's journey of healing after a wrist injury.  Feel whole soon, Janet!
http://janethaigh.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/embroidery-as-physiotherapy/

Janet is a needle artist in the United Kingdom.  Here's her Heart Space Studios website.
http://www.heartspacestudios.co.uk

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.

A New Color of Congress Cloth

Gay Ann Rogers' annual sale of her charts is over, and now her focus is on shipping out purchases. However, she has teamed up with Kate who sells the threads and canvases needed to stitch Gay Ann's pieces. This kitting of designs is very helpful for those who don't have a local shop or who are housebound. Kate does your shopping for you.

I explain all this because one of the things Kate is selling is a sample of the newest congress cloth color, "Soft Ivory." This is an ivory color, the same one you see on old linens. It's not white, it's not ecru. It is in-between.   If you go to Gay Ann's home page and look at the middle of the page under Kate's photo, you'll see a Buy It Now sale for three pieces of the ivory congress cloth.  See the whitework heart to the right of the sale for congress cloth samples?  That was stitched on the new soft ivory color.
http://www.gayannrogers.com

Remember, it is too late to buy charts for any of Gay Ann's pieces.  But you can still pick up supplies from Kate.  Want more information about everything Kate has on offer?  Click on the Sale Annex section to browse.  But remember, Kate's sale will end on November 6 so act quickly if you are in the market for pieces of the new congress cloth to play with.

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.

Speaking of Learning Something New

Sharlotte spoke of learning new things, so this is the time to mention ANG's latest cyberclass-Catherine Jordan's "A Knot Garden."  I've seen this in person at Woodlawn and it is magnificent.  Both dimensional and delicate, this is your chance to learn some wonderful new techniques that will carry over into your needlepoint for years to come.
http://www.needlepoint.org/CyberWorkshop/garden/garden.php

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.

Profile: Sharlotte DeVere

When we first moved to Virginia, we lived in the quaint little Colonial town of Leesburg, only about two miles from the downtown area which has a small and fascinating counted thread shop called The Queen's Stitch. It was great fun to visit to admire the silk gauze kits, the little perforated paper boxes, to look at the skeins of Paternayan hung against the wall, and to generally enjoy the atmosphere of a good stitching shop, so I was heartbroken when the owner Sharlotte decided to move back home to the family farm in Pennsylvania.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered Sharlotte will be back in the area to teach at the Loudoun Sampler Guild!  The guild also posted a link to a Nordic Needle interview with Sharlotte which I think you'll find interesting.
http://www.nordicneedle.com/newsletters/_300/358.shtml

Great stitchers are found in unexpected places but what really amazes me about our art is the diversity of folks who are drawn to make things with their hands.  I think we are involved in a universal impulse to create with the needle, don't you?

Enjoy the article. If you are at the EGA Seminar this year, hug Sharlotte for me and tell me I remember the Queen's Stitch very fondly.

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.

Over One Over Linen

I am strictly a needlepointer who appreciates other forms of handwork but doesn't dabble in them.  However, I think I am in a minority here as many of my stitching friends do all types of stitching.  In case you are in that number, or are considering a temporary detour into stitching on linen, I thought you might enjoy this link, which comes from Gay Ann Roger's classroom where students are comparing stitching some of her designs on linen versus Congress cloth.  As you may or may not know, creating cross stitches over one thread instead of over a pair of threads on linen has to be done differently than on needlepoint canvas or Congress cloth because linen fabrics will allow the stitches that make the crosses to slip under the linen threads.  This isn't a problem with "over two" cross stitches but if you want smaller ones, you have to build the cross stitch a certain way.
http://www.funkandweber.com/cross-stitch-over-one-thread/

Have fun testing this!  Many thanks to GAR's students for their interesting discussion of this problem.

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.

Floating Down the Crescent River UPDATED

Melita has set herself a challenge--she's going to design an original piece. Follow along by reading her blog postings.
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/take-a-ride-with-me-on-crescent-river/

http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/path-of-the-crescent-river/

http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/flowing-river/

http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/river-bank-along-the-crescent-river-at-the-nj-needle-festival/

I'll update this article as the river twists and turns and Melita floats along!

UPDATE:  There are rocks along the riverbank.
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/river-bank-on-the-crescent-river/

And grass!
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/grass-along-the-river-bank/

And FLOWERS!
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/crescent-river-flowers-growing-wild/

And water!
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/crescent-river-fully-flowing/

And it is finished and framed and on its way to Woodland to be exhibited!  Nice job, Melita.
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2014/02/02/crescent-river-floating-down-to-woodland/

UPDATE:  Melita's local guild is going to stitch this as a project now that Melita has charted it so she is re-stitching it, changing the threads and trying to make it better.
https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2017/05/18/new-crescent-river/

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.

Thank you, Carol

Thanks to Carol of Carol's Counted Canvaswork I have discovered a new teacher and designer of counted pieces--Christine Bishop. That birdcage work box is to die for!
http://www.christinepbishop.com.au/index.html

Ok, EGA chapters, start saving up to bring Christine to the U.S. to teach.

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

First, Second, Third

Stitchers Workshop in Arkansas has a show of customer stitching each year, with customers voting on the winners. This year the first, second and third place winners were in a very close election! I couldn't have chosen between them myself.  Luckily the shop put photographs on their site so that non-locals can admire them, so please visit and enjoy.
http://www.stitchersworkshop.com/blog/?p=1099

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

Wonderful Finished Things

I love it when shops post photographs of finished pieces their customers have stitched!  Quail Run has an original design drawing from Southwestern pottery to share.
http://sonorandesertstitching.blogspot.com/2012/10/orignal-design-by-enthusiastic-stitcher.html

Nimble Needle isn't happy with their own ribbonwork (which I think is spectacular!) on a J. Child canvas, but they are very impressed with how a customer's Glorafilia design looks.
http://thenimbleneedle.blogspot.com/2012/10/blog-post.html

Here are the sites for J. Child and Glorafilia if you want to browse more of their work.
http://www.jchilddesigns.com

http://www.glorafilia.com

Diane's gotten a boatload of finishing back.  Feel better soon!
http://dianestakingtimeouttoneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2012/10/nothing-can-make-me-feel-better-than.html

You can see the woodwork and counted thread pieces of Old Colonial here.
http://www.oldecolonialdesigns.com

Ada is showing off some great seasonal pieces.
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2012/10/summer-into-fall.html

Melinda just got a box of spectacular finishing back from Marlene's.
http://melindaslivingthegoodlife.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-big-reveal.html

This stitched menorah is charming.
http://ridgewoodneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2012/10/bonnie-made-this-wonderful-menorah-from.html

How about this fabulous hobo bag?  Or the pillows?  Love the Princess Initial one!
http://sonorandesertstitching.blogspot.com/2012/10/hobo-bag.html

http://sonorandesertstitching.blogspot.com/2012/10/pillows-galore.html

Wait'll you see Suzanne's collection of finished ornaments!  They are wonderful.
http://www.suzannehicks.blogspot.com/2012/10/blog-post.html

Before I stop, you'll enjoy seeing the Keep Calm and college logos that Diane's finished.
http://dianestakingtimeouttoneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-few-pieces-of-finishing.html

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

A New Shop Is Opening.... UPDATED

...and it is only an hour from me!  This is indeed exciting news for those who live around Winchester, Virginia.  It looks to be a counted thread shop, judging from the report from the Loudoun Sampler Guild.  Sounds like it is close to the Route 11 potato chip factory, if you happen to be local.
http://loudounsamplerguild.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/new-local-needlework-store/

Of course an hour's trip one way isn't something I can make often but I know there are a lot of counted thread folks who live close to the new shop and this is very very good news for them.

UPDATE:  I found the website for Valley Needlework.  Sadly, it is catering to every needle art except needlepoint.
http://www.valleyneedleworks.com

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