The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures

Mary Corbet recently visited the National Museum of Toys and Iniatures in Kansas City.

https://www.needlenthread.com/2022/07/field-trip-the-national-museum-of-toys-and-miniatures.html

It showcases a lot of needlework, including needlepoint done on smaller count grounds like silk gauze.  I believe that the needlepoint designer SharonG has some of her silk gauze pieces in this museum.  You can do a little more exploration at the museum's website.

https://toyandminiaturemuseum.org/exhibits-collections/miniatures-collection/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright July 11, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Do You Like Doll Houses?

Do you like doll houses? I do, partly because the rugs and wall hangings and cushions and footstools are usually done on needlepoint canvas or silk gauze.   And partly because my cousin and her husband built them from scratch as a hobby.  Janet Granger likes them, too, and designs the needlework that furnishes many a doll house.  She just posted a customer's house, one that is Tudor.  It's a fun browse.
https://janetgranger.wordpress.com/2019/03/28/tudor-dollhouse-stitching/

If you are curious about Janet's designs, check out her website.  She ships her charts and kits and things like silk gauze pieces from the UK but there's not a delay getting them.
https://www.janetgranger.co.uk

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 28, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

EGA's Storr Miniature House

EGA has a doll house among their collection of needle art.  Apparently the members furnished it with their needlework.  Some of the pieces are clearly needlepoint and many are probably also silk gauze.  It's a fun browse!
https://egausa.org/gallery/storr-miniature-house/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 4, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Ultrasuede for Ornament Backing (and More)

Those who do their own ornament finishing will be happy to hear I've discovered another source for Ultrasuede.  Micro-Stitchery is a source for miniature doll house rug charts so the pieces of Ultrasuede available are two and four inches square, but this is perfect for small ornament finishing  (or for small appliqués) and a lot of colors are available.
http://microstitchery.com/a_ultrasuede_1.html

Have fun browsing the charts after you pick out the right fabric squares for your finishing.

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

The Silk Gauze Lover's Dream

I didn't realize Frances Peterson, who has been happily posting photographs of her silk gauze needlepoint rugs on Facebook, has a website where she sells her rug charts.
http://petersonpetitpoint.com

The slide show of Frances' rugs in various dollhouses and miniature rooms is great fun to watch and then you can go browse her designs.  I suggest you click on "All Products," click on the first design photo to come up, then hit Next to see everything.  Clicking on the individual pages will give you a better look.

Boy, that Camden rug is a beauty....

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 15, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tree of Life Carpet One UPDATED

Natalia Frank of Natalia's Fine Needlework designed and stitched an amazing rug last spring in a short period of time give that it is on 56 count silk gauze. She entered it in a prestigious dollhouse exhibit in London and won first prize.  When you see it you will see why.
http://www.dollhouseneedlepoint.com/apps/webstore/products/category/1511398

http://www.dollshousefestival.com/index.php?page=PIMA-winners-16S~mainvideo~floorplans~cityoflondon~KDF%20Membership%202016~win-vouchers~club-tickets~howtoexhibit

Natalia stitched this using 89 shades of Gloriana's Tudor Silk.  It is the first in a series of three Tree of Life designs she has planned.  I cannot wait to see what she does next.

UPDATE:  Mary Corbet loves this design and bought one of the kits to stitch it.  Mary's first message in a series of them as she works this piece talks about the kit itself and how it is organized.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2017/01/56-count-miniature-tree-of-life.html

Then Mary explains how she mounts silk gauze for stitching.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2017/01/56-count-setting-up-silk-gauze-for-embroidery.html

Mary organizes her threads and explains why she started stitching where she did and what she plans to stitch next.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2017/02/56-count-strategies-for-stitching.html

Mary has a great idea to make it easy to see the silk gauze mesh.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2017/03/56-count-the-peacock-colors-craft-foam.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 14, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Janet Granger Designs is Twenty Years Old! UPDATED

Janet Granger's business creating dollhouse miniature needlepoint kits is twenty years old!  Seems like yesterday I was thrilled to find I could buy silk gauze from her.  To celebrate, Janet's business is being profiled in Artisans in Miniature magazine.  Head to page five to read all about Janet and see photographs of her work.
https://www.scribd.com/embeds/303215376/content?start_page=1&view_mode=book

UPDATE:  Silly me!  I forgot to add Janet's website so you could browse her kits and see even more. Sorry.
http://www.janetgranger.co.uk

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 16, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

FInishing Friday: Dollhouses and More

I haven't done a Finishing Friday posting in a while since several shops do a Friday posting of their customers' work now, but I thought you might like to see what Ridgewood's folks have been up to as there is quite a variety now that Christmas finishing is done for a bit...
http://ridgewoodneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2015/01/finishing-friday_30.html

...and I thought you'd love to see the dollhouses decorated with Janet Granger's kits.  That's finishing, too, right?
http://www.janetgranger.co.uk/gallery.htm

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 30, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Back to the 1930s

Janet Granger's latest dollhouse miniature kit features what she calls the Crinoline Lady.  Dollhouses are made in miniature and they often mimic certain eras or interior decorator styles, so it makes sense for Janet to create tiny pieces that will fit into this or that era.
http://janetgranger.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/new-1930s-style-dollhouse-needlepoint-table-runner-and-placemat-sets-to-make/

In the South we called this the sunbonnet girl. Apparently the official name she goes by is Sunbonnet Sue and this design motif originated as a quilting pattern in the 1880s.  I've seen a lot of cross stitch kits and quilting patterns featuring Sunbonnet Sue-type patterns and there are some charming rework designs that are more elaborate.
http://hartcottagequilts.com/his8.htm

I did find one painted needlepoint canvas featuring a sun bonnet from Jane Nichols but otherwise I think the world of needlepoint design has walked right past the 1930s.
http://rittenhouseneedlepoint.com/sun-bonnet-1815.html

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

Inside a Russian Dollhouse

Janet Granger is showing off photos a customer sent her of a friend's dollhouse. The customer stitched several needlepoint pieces for a friend's dollhouse and took photos once everything was in place. It's a wonderful house, full of people and a dog and gorgeous furniture.  The rug, bell pull and bolster pillow are all from Janet's "Tabriz" series of charts.
http://janetgranger.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/needlepoint-russian-dollhouse/

You can see the Tabriz large carpet on Janet's website if you want to see more detail.  It's the second item down from the top.
http://www.janetgranger.co.uk/acatalog/Needlepoint_Kits_Large_carpets_for_your_dollhouse.html

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

New Miniatures Forum

The International Guild of Miniature Artisans (in other words, folks who make dollhouse furnishings) has a new online forum!   Elga tells all here.
http://elgakoster.blogspot.com/2014/06/igma-forum.html

I know some Blog readers are really into miniature needlepoint so I wanted to make sure you knew about this wonderful new place to hang out with other miniature lovers.
http://www.fineminiaturesforum.com

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

Dollhouse Needlepoint

Janet Granger has had a customer of her miniature needlepoint designs share photos of several of her dollhouses with Janet's needlepoint in place.   Isn't this fun?
http://janetgranger.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/dollhouse-inspiration-from-denmark/

Folks who feel they don't have the time to do a needlepoint rug should consider doing a miniature.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 9, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Miniature Needlepoint

One of my cousins and her husband loved building dollhouses. The last time I counted they had seven full dollhouses and several "rooms" which are tiny scenes of a small area like a shop or a fruit and vegetable stand. I even stitched a rug and a fire screen for them, using patterns and colors from the wall paper of one of their houses. It was great fun but there are challenges to stitching and finishing something that has to be the same scale as everything else in a miniature house.


If you are curious about miniature needlework or just want to see something different, Janet Granger's new catalogue is ready for viewing.  Her pieces are accessible (the rugs are usually stitched on 18 count canvas while the smaller pieces like her charming cottage-shaped tea cozy is on 32 count silk gauze) and the kits reasonable.
http://janetgranger.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/my-new-dolls-house-needlepoint-catalogue-is-here/

For me the best part of her site are the online tutorials.  Not only can you learn how to do needlepoint, there are instructions for assembling rugs, pillows, needlework stands, and more.  She also tells you how to stitch on silk gauze.
http://www.janetgranger.co.uk/acatalog/index.html

If the miniature world has grabbed your attention, or if you wonder what the fuss is all about, here's a place to see some magnificent miniature settings by Ray Whitledge.  To see more, click on Portfolio and explore.
http://whitledgeburgess.com/studio/


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