Videos to Stitch By

Tricia Nguyễn is not only a specialist in historical embroidery, she knows metallurgy and has been spending time in Europe visiting artisans and learning about metal threads.  She's also stumbled across the YouTube video series about crafts posted by Business Insider on their video channel.

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2023/06/good-embroidery-tv-watching.html

Apparently they are great to stitch to.  Have fun starting with the video of Mario Menegazzo's gold beating workshop that is linked to above.  You can find more videos along the same lines here, especially the So Expensive ones--

https://www.youtube.com/@InsiderBusiness/videos

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright June 29, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The "Shared Art"

Judy Keenan is a new designer whose blog is great fun to read. I thought you might like to start out reading Judy's definition of art and how it applies to needlepoint.
http://www.judykeenanneedlearts.com/#!The-Shared-Art-of-Needlepoint/cxq3/56f99fdf0cf2e1f8bbc0af56

Judy's work is mentioned in the Leigh Designs October 2016 newsletter if you'd like to read a tad more.
http://www.leighdesigns.com/News/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 18, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Reflecting Your Own Interests (Mr. X Stitch on Arts, Crafts and Embroidery)

Thanks to Donna, I have a fun video for to you watch this morning. The speaker is Mr. X Stitch, who runs a fabulously wonderful (and occasionally odd and always weekly Not Safe For Work) site on all sorts of handwork.  In the video he talks about the commercial kits available in England, the arts versus crafts controversy, and how he came to be interested in cross stitch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr154jHDeLY&feature=youtu.be

"The threads might come on bobbins but the possibilities are endless."

http://www.mrxstitch.com

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.

Thought for the Day

I should have titled this "Thought for the Day: In Which I Insult Cross Stitch Designers," but that's getting a bit long, don't you think?   The article looks at handmade dolls and how the hands became cruder over time, postulating that the craftsmen making the dolls had a totally different and less artistic attitude towards their handiwork.  When I look at the designs available to needlepointers today, the level of artistic ability applied to those designs is breathtaking. I don't always LIKE the designs but most needlepoint designers are very very skilled.  The insult comes in when I look at cross stitch designs (and I admit that I am no expert on the work of XS designers since I don't stitch in this way) which seem to mostly have primitive themes and styles except for the hyper detail of designers like Heaven and Earth Designs or Told in a Garden.  It makes me wonder if the design quality has gone down because of the rampant copying and sharing of charts?  Or maybe I just don't "get" cross stitch--which is entirely possible!
http://ladysrepositorymuseum.blogspot.com/2014/11/evolution-of-hands-in-early-wooden-dolls.html

But I wonder what factors influence the level of skill and design ability goes into creating the designs we love?  Did the doll hands change because of the impact of industrialization or is something else at work or is it a variety of things?

Feel free to call me an idiot in the comments below, or you can email me at chillyhollowathotmaildotcom and straighten me out that way.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 11, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

In the Market for Hand Made Scissors? UPDATED

"Sheffield steel" used to be a byword for quality handmade steel items. You can still buy a pair of hand made and sharpened scissors in Sheffield if you don't mind ordering from England. Ernest Wright and Son Ltd. is the last hand made scissors manufacturer in England apparently.  Many thanks to Tricia and Rachel For mentioning the company!
http://www.ernestwright.co.uk/catalogue/browse.aspx?breadcrumb=13_56

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28581597

As supporters of traditional crafts, I hope anyone in the market for new embroidery scissors considers buying from the Wrights.

UPDATE:  I've heard from someone in the States who placed an order that was paid in advance and has heard nothing at all from Ernest Wright and Son and is now disputing the order with Paypal.  On the other hand, the folks I know in England who have ordered from them got prompt service.  So order at your own risk.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 4, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Carolyn Says....

Carolyn Has, the advice columnist for the Washington Post, had a discussion recently about handmade gifts versus expensive store bought items.  This little article summaries what she and others said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/carolyn-hax-handmade-gift-trumps-mass-produced-stuff/2014/10/10/5fff094e-4802-11e4-891d-713f052086a0_story.html

We all love giving handmade gifts.  How do you feel about receiving them?

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 12, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

What Is Art? by Charles Collingwood

I thought this article by a quilter discussing what is art and what is craft might be interesting to those of us who want respect for their needlepoint as an art form, not just a fun hobby. 
http://annjrippin.wordpress.com/2014/06/29/sorry-about-the-gap/

Problem solving....

That I can live with.

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

Is It Needlepoint? Is It Art?

Connie tackles the question of needlepoint's place in the art world head on! 
http://conniepickeringstover.com/needlepoint-or-fiber-art/

I'd asked Connie the question because several friends have had pieces rejected by galleries because they are based on pained canvases, which have been designed by others.  The art world hasn't made up its mind about the collaborative art which is needlepoint on painted canvases.   What do you think?  Is needlepoint art?  Are painted canvases derivative art?  Do you have to be doing original designs to be accepted as an artist?

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 12, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Define "Hand Made" UPDATED

Although this really isn't about needlepoint, I thought this article about the craft site Etsy's problems with figuring out what is hand made versus what is mass produced, it is of interest to stitchers because it touches upon the discussion about what is art and what is just a craft.   There are also some needlepoint related shops that use Etsy.  I would love to hear thoughts from folks who buy or sell there about what is going on.
http://www.dailydot.com/business/etsy-brave-new-economy-crumbling/

I certainly am going to look more carefully at any Etsy shop before I buy from them now.

UPDATE:  Liz found this article that shows Etsy exposes creators to the danger of having their work ripped off.  (Of course it isn't just Etsy when you can fun into that problem, but the site has a lot of creative types in one place whose work can be stolen by the unscrupulous.)  Thanks, Liz!
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3020194/how-a-company-gets-away-with-stealing-independent-designers-work?partner=newsletter#2

UPDATE #2:  Apparently there is an Etsy group that certifies all items made by members are actually made by that member.
http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/is-etsy-still-etsy--members-respond-to-policy-change-over-what-is-handmade-220156294.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.

More about Art versus Craft

To add to yesterday's discussion of art versus craft, please read what Rosalyn has to say about Anna Marie Salehar's work at the top of Stitchamaze's Stitch Talk Column.  I agree that art is all about emotion and when I see how stitchers choose painted canvases to collaborate with the designer on, I know they pick pieces that resonate with their own emotions and lives.  That really is art, isn't it?
http://www.stitchamaze.com/stitch-talk/june09.aspx

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.

Come to Think About It...

...why aren't more of those stunning pieces we are stitching collected? 
http://lovingstitches.typepad.com/a-needlepoint-journal-abo/2013/07/a-legacy-of-candid-hope.html

All I can say is that we need to document our work so that in 200 years when art collectors discover needlepoint of the late 20th-early 21st Century, they have some idea of who we were and what motivated us.  We are truly under the radar now, blogs, magazines, national seminars and all.  No one notices us and our handwork.

Not yet, anyway.  But someday....
http://www.needlepointsofview.com/about_needlepoint.html

http://ralphwileman.com

P.S.  Many thanks to Liz who found Mr. Wileman's art and alerted me.

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.

Boxes for the New Year

Do you like boxes? How about this portable paper box for travel or as an inexpensive gift for a stitching friend? They have a new ort box/needlecase coming in January that isn't on the website yet.
http://www.lbcrafty.com/new.html

Happy New Year, everyone!

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow