Photographing Your Needlepoint

Melita, like many of us, is interested in how to successfully photograph our finished needlework. Apparently the designer Jennifer Riefenberg does a class on this topic which Melita has taken.  It's available via Zoom, too.

https://melitastitches4fun.com/2025/03/19/photographing-needlepoint-and-or-fiber-art/

Melita found an article on basic needlework photography with your smart phone at TextileArtist.  

https://www.textileartist.org/how-to-photograph-textile-art/

I've had my best luck taking photos outside in the early morning.  If you have a framed piece with glass, try taking a photo standing slightly to the side to avoid as much glare as possible.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright March 20, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

NAN Judging of Your Work for a Small Fee

The National Academy of Needlearts is now offering professional evaluation of your work for only $40.  This page on their website tells you how to ask for an evaluation and as a bonus, has lots of tips for taking photographs of your piece.  Those will come in handy even if you never submit a piece for NAN to critique.

https://needleart.org/evaluation/?fbclid=IwAR00ggI5_aLFQl7IJTTZgr3d-oE13pv3r9H4XsHQP_pCBV0SS0N0yknZ3kA

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright September 18, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tips for Photographing Needlework

EGA has a lovely article on their website about photographing your needlework.

https://egausa.org/tips-for-taking-photographs-of-your-needlework/

I've learned to photograph framed pieces that have glass slightly from the side to avoid most of the glare.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright September 23, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Photo to Embroidery Palette Converter

Stitch Palettes has a new tool that will convert a photo you upload into a DMC thread list of at least six main colors  This is in beta until the end of February, but feel free to test it on the Stitch Palettes website.  Instructions are at the top of the page.  

https://stitchpalettes.com/instant-photo-to-embroidery-palette-converter/?utm_source=announcement&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p2p+converter

Don't forget to let Stitch Palettes know if you have problems or suggestions.

https://comms.stitchpalettes.com/email/view/5ff87fbd4d18e721434617

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright January 8, 2021 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Books with Stitch Diagrams AND Photographed Examples UPDATED

A lot of people would like books of stitch diagrams to have accompanying photos of the stitches.  Because of the cost, this is rare, but I've assembled a list of books and sites that do have photos and found links to show the covers and titles to help you find a copy.  Do a careful search.  Copies are available at a variety of price points.  Be very careful of Amazon offerings as sellers there often charge a premium price for needlepoint books.  You'll almost always find them cheaper at a needlepoint shop.

Jo I. Christensen's The Needlepoint Book - all three editions have small black and white photos. 

https://www.thefrenchknot.com/books.htm

All of Gone Stitching's books have color photos of their stitches.

https://www.gonestitching.net/product-category/books/

https://www.facebook.com/stitchboutiqueboston/photos/a.1994170923973080/4810713555652122/

Instagram's "Needlepoint Notebook" is all colored photos of stitches with a note as to the book and page number where it was found. There are NO diagrams.  You have to look them up in the book where they were found.

https://www.instagram.com/needlepointnotebook/

Sherri Lantz's Pageant of Pattern - now out of print, has black and white stitched examples of many (but not all I don't think) of the stitches in the book

http://www.newneedlepoint.com/content-product_info/product_id-2268/a_pageant_of_pattern_for_needlepoint_canvas_by_sherlee_lantz.html

SuZy Murphy's books (now out of print) have stitched examples in the back, some in color, some in black and white.

https://www.threadneedlestreet.com/booksndptstitches.htm

Whimsical Stitch's blog posts a stitch diagram each week (sometimes more often) with a colored photo of the stitch.  Mary Legellet also has now written a book called Mary's Whimsical Stitches that includes the blog stitches and others that have not appeared on her blog but no photos. Stitches that came from her blog have a URL for her Instagram account however, so you can type that out in your browser to see an example of those.  

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/marys-whimsical-stitches

If you know of stitch diagram books with photos of the stitches worked, please let me know so I can add them to the list.  Email me at chilly hollow at hot mail dot com.  Thanks.

UPDATE:  Another book with diagrams and stitch photos is Susan Sturgeon Roberts' Complete Guide to Needlepoint Stitches.  There are 400 stitches included.  It is out of print but a newer book is called the Needlepoint Dictionary of Stitches.  It has 250 stitches and photos and is available as a Kindle ebook (second link below).

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Needlepoint-Guide-400-Stitches/dp/0873417933

https://www.amazon.com/Needlepoint-Dictionary-Stitches-Sturgeon-Roberts-ebook/dp/B00CCTYSFK/ref=sr_1_2?crid=19XW95VUZXV19&dchild=1&keywords=susan+sturgeon+roberts&qid=1605218822&sprefix=susan+sturgeon+ro%2Cdigital-text%2C152&sr=8-2

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright October 26, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

DIY Disaster Recovery

The Galveston History Museum has posted a series of videos about disaster recovery of precious items after flooding such as we've just seen from Hurricane Harvey that folks can do at home. Hopefully not too many of us will need to use these but they are interesting for everyone to see. Thanks, Gaveston History Museum!
http://www.galvestonhistory.org/blogs/flooded-wet-diy-heirloom-recovery

Many thanks to Mountain Shadow Studio for noticing this and posting it.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright September 4, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Lycette Collects Vintage Needlepointer Photos

Lycette Designs has a photo album on their Facebook page of celebrity needlepointers from the 1970s (mostly).  It's a fun trip down memory lane.
https://www.facebook.com/lycettedesigns/photos/?tab=album&album_id=236761143322729

If you know of more photographs of stitchers that belong there, let Lycette Designs know.
http://lycettedesigns.com

Sadly, this famous pillow lover doesn't know about needlepoint pillows.
http://heatst.com/politics/must-see-photos-of-hillary-clinton-propped-up-on-pillows/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 17, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tips on Photographing Framed Needlework

Michael Mixon of Hanging Around Hoover, a custom framing shop in Alabama, posts frequent photographs of his framed needlepoint on Facebook at the large Needlepoint group there.  Recently I started to wonder how on earth he manages to get good photographs of his framing.  When I take photographs of framed pieces, glare off the glass is always a problem.  So I asked Michael and here are his tips:

"1. Shot with no glazing on the piece or 2. Use museum or AR glass or, 3. Set up two strobe lights at 4 and 8 o'clock positions to drown the piece with light and cancel out any room glare. - Option 1 is the easiest, and a polarizing lens filter also helps."

He makes it sound easy!  Thanks, Michael.

You can see Michael's framing on the shop Facebook page or...

https://www.facebook.com/hangingaroundhoover?ref=stream

---you can go straight to the shop website.

http://www.hangingaroundhoover.com

Have fun exploring!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright July 21, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Photo Composition Tips Video

This video explains how Steve McCurry sets up the composition of his famous photographs. Betty found it online and mentioned it on Facebook which I am grateful for.  The design tips are interesting and helpful, particularly for those trying to create their own needlepoint or figure out what to emphasize in a painted design with possible multiple focal points.  
https://www.facebook.com/artFido/videos/vb.128082840616619/823621317729431/?type=2&theater

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 1, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Photographing Needlework

If you have ever taken a photo of your needlework and been disappointed with the results, Mary's article on how she takes photographs of her needlework for her blog will be helpful. 
http://www.needlenthread.com/2014/08/embroidery-stitch-samples-sizes-photos.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 21, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Thistle Hill Exhibit--With Photographs!

Thanks to Karen who mentioned it on Facebook, I have a newspaper article for you to read about the Thistle Hill historic mansion needlework exhibit that is about to open. If you are going to be in Fort Worth in a week, make time to see this. 
http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/07/favorites-best-needlework-shops.html

UPDATE:  Elizabeth Hurd has posted many photographs from the Thistle Hill exhibit on her Facebook page.  Many thanks to Elizabeth!
https://www.facebook.com/elizabeths.needlepoint/media_set?set=a.480245072097568.1073741826.100003362370534&type=1

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.

Tips on Turning Photographs into Needlepoint Canvases

Needle Paint is a company that specializes in custom canvases, especially those created from a customer's photograph. They posted some interesting tips on choosing a photograph to be printed on needlepoint on their blog this morning.  If you are considering doing this, you will want to read the article.
http://blog.needlepaint.com/2013/06/12/needlepoint-photo-portraits/

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.

Free Photo Charting Site

Althea has uncovered a very nice site that allows you to turn your photographs into free charts.  She shows off her own sample chart, of a pretty floral teacup, to help you judge the quality of the end chart.
http://bargelloneedlepoint.com/free-bargello-needlepoint-pattern-maker/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=free-bargello-needlepoint-pattern-maker

Donna's already tried it out.
http://majtravaux.blogspot.com/2012/09/cool-place-to-play.html

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

Photography Tips

By chance I found two separate sources for tips on taking photographs and videos of our stitching. Mary Corbet does a lot of photographs and videos of her stitching for her fabulous website, so I was eager to look behinds the scenes at her setup.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2012/08/large-embroidery-frames-photography-and-videos.html

The Shop Sampler has links to great photography tips, always important if you are taking photos of your stitching.
http://theshopsampler.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/orts-2/

Hope all this helps you share your stitching.

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

Cameras and Churches, Belts and eBook Covers

I bookmark things that I find interesting and post them to Blog eventually, but sometimes these things are not going to interest most needlepointers.  This is one of those posts.  If you  photograph your needlework (or want to) you will enjoy reading what Nordic Needle says about cameras and stitching in their latest newsletter.
http://www.nordicneedle.com/scotmail/scotmail.mvc?md=1308518540&ea=mccurrymail@gmail.com&gp=92bc2a0aaf

Janet Perry's pulled together several websites and Flickr pages on ecclesiastical needlework, specifically church kneelers which are traditionally done in tent stitches with wool for durability's sake.
http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com/looking-at-needlepoint-church-kneelers

I am seeing lots of needlepoint belt or belt buckle canvases for sale these days.  Belt finishing is a specialty job if you have leather added but you can add ribbon and a ring closure to the belt yourself if you know about binding stitch.  Here's a video from M's Canvashouse (which does a LOT of finishing) about how binding stitch finishes the edge of belts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6kenW41SbQ

Speaking of finishing, I ran across this article about making your own eBook cover with a finished needlepoint canvas.  If you are handy with a sewing machine, this is something worth trying.
http://designneedlepointkits.com/2011/04/04/kindle-needlepoint-cover/

The writer had already made one Nook cover.  Here is the description of that project which lead to the link above as a simpler way to put the cover together.
http://designneedlepointkits.com/2011/02/04/e-reader-needlepoint-cover/

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

Go Read This Article

I take a lot of photos and scans of needlework for Blog.  It's not easy, so I was thrilled when I found this article by Tricia Nguyen about taking close up photos with a digital camera.  Great stuff!
http://www.thistle-threads.com/macrophotos/TakingQuickMacroPhotos970.pdf

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

Black or Red or White? (or Kelly Clark)

I subscribe to all the shop newsletters I can and am rewarded by news and new product information all the time.  This week's haul includes a great deal of information and photos of the new Lee leather photo album book from the Needlepointer, which is having a Lee trunk show.  The photo album book comes in red, white or black leather, has an opening in the front of a 3 1/2 inch square stitched canvas (you can buy one of Lee's designs separately sized for this), has a pocket in the back for a CD full of photos and has many three ring binder photo pages ready to insert your precious memories.  You can browse the Needlepointer's Lee trunk show here.
http://np.theneedlepointer.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=76&sort=20a&number_of_uploads=0&page=1&zenid=ukoitfn7ubp4n75c9aurb9vte0

or use TinyURL
http://tinyurl.com/32suu2n

The other fun news is from Needle Works which is going to have periodic classes with Kelly Clark in their shop.  The first formal lessons (you can sign up for a canvas embellishment hour with Kelly separately) will be on stumpwork and ribbon embroidery. Click on the link to see the sampler details.  

http://theneedleworks.com/kelly-clark/

The Needle Works' September newsletter is up on their website also.  Note the model photos of their pocketbook ornament monthly club and all those great books!

http://theneedleworks.com/newsletters/

By the way, since Needle Work's online catalogue has a category called "Stitch Guides,"  I've updated the Chilly Hollow Stitch Guides blog with an article about this great shop.
http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com/2010/09/needle-works-stitch-guides-included.html

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

Woodlawn 2010 in Photos

As promised the Woodlawn Plantation exhibit is viewable in photographs this year.  Here is the link to the photo album.  I think what we see are all the first, second and third place winners.  Note the stickers on the id labels.  Blue is for first place, red for second and orange for third place winners. The name, age (junior or adult), state and technique are also on the labels.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/preservationnation/sets/72157623455198693/

This is a really great idea and I commend Nelly's Needlers for doing this.

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