Gay Ann Speaks

Gay Ann Rogers has started a series of articles on thread on her website. You won't want to miss these! They will be spread out over the next week, but if you get impatient, you can read Gay Ann's lessons from last year.   For those who don't know Gay Ann, she is a retired needlepoint teacher with decades of experience which she is briefly sharing.  Thank you, Gay Ann!
http://www.gayannrogers.com/lessons.html

http://www.gayannrogers.com/2-floss-and-silk.html

http://www.gayannrogers.com/3-1003.html

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

200 Different Thread Colors

Sometimes when I am working on a stitch guide I look at the 30-40 different items I've used and think I have gone a bit overboard. Turns out I am a serious beginner when it comes to using a lot of different threads! Mary Corbet is about to start a project that uses 200 different flosses.  Yep, I'm a rank amateur!
http://www.needlenthread.com/2015/09/how-to-organize-thread-for-large-needlework-projects.html

The way she plans to organize her threads looks very logical, although expensive.  But if you do a lot of this kind of thing, you'll definitely want to look into Annie's Keepers.
http://www.annieskeepers.com

By the way, Traditional Stitches is a great online shop if you are Canadian and Nordic Needle is amazing if you are in the United States.
http://www.traditionalstitches.com

http://www.nordicneedle.com

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

How to Open a Skein

Mary Corbet has done it again--come up with useful information to help us stitchers. This time she talks about how to open a "pull skein" of embroidery floss.  Or now not to.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2012/12/pull-skeins-embroidery-floss.html

It's a funny article about a serious subject, how to open those durn things without swearing as you create a real tangled mess.  (By the way, don't miss reading the Comments.  They are priceless!)

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

Thread Review: Empress

Empress merino/cashmere/silk thread by Pure Palette/Dreamhouse Ventures

Now that I've been blogging regularly since 2006, folks have started sending me products to review.  I have mixed feelings about this.  I am happy to have access to things that my local shops don't carry or that I haven't talked myself into spending money to mail order, but I am a bit worried about not presenting things fairly to you, Blog's readers.  It is all too easy to give a good review of things sent by friends or by small business owners that you know are struggling to make it in a harsh economy.  I want to be fair to all involved, so any time I am sent things to review, I'll mention they were sent to be reviewed and will cover all aspects of the items, the good and the bad points.  Just because something doesn't work well for me doesn't mean it is bad in general.  Needlepointers have a huge range of interests and stitching styles.  I don't use a lot of perle cotton, for example, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad thread.  I just happen to not use it very much.   I want to explain enough about anything I review so you know as much as possible and can decide for yourself whether you want to seek it out.

Empress Color #8454 Dry Martini

With all the above in mind, I'm going to do a short review of Empress, a new 100% merino cashmere silk blend from The Pure Palette, which also  carries Soy Luster (a floss made of soybeans) and Baroque Silk (a three ply silk floss).  Empress is brand new.  It was just introduced this year and luckily Needlewoman East has a nice selection of colors.  I bought a skein of olive green this summer to play with.  In the photo below are the test samples I played around with.

Empress feels great when you hold the skein or stitch with it.  A strand is about the size of a strand of Appleton crewel wool, and it looks just like crewel wool when you pull out a loose end to cut off a stitching length.  Above you see tent stitches and then rows of cashmere stitch on 18 count.  One strand covers well and looks very much like any wool thread except for the soft feel when you touch the stitches.  I am allergic to wool, particularly Paternayan, and avoid stitching with it in the summertime but I had no trouble stitching with Empress, even though it was 85 degrees in Chilly Hollow when I stitched the above.  I didn't think to test vertical stitches with Empress but I think one strand would also cover pretty well on 18 count in upright stitches, which usually need more thread to cover the NP canvas completely.  You are going to need to use two strands on 13 or 14 count to cover.

The Pure Palette's website hasn't been updated in quite a while, so only Soy Luster is listed there.  They also have a silk thread called Baroque Silk.
http://www.thepurepalette.com/index.html

Fortunately, Needle in a Haystack has photos of most of the colors of Soy Luster and of Baroque Silk on their website.  Here're the links, Soy Luster first. and Baroque Silk second.
http://www.needlestack.com/WebStore/Thread/TPP_SoyLuster.html

http://www.needlestack.com/WebStore/Thread/TPP_BaroqueSilk.html

As far as I can find out, no one has posted photographs of Empress on their websites yet so when Dreamhouse Ventures sent me a selection of their Empress that might work on Luna, I laid them all out and took a photograph for you to see.  The colors are, from left to right:

Cabernet 8178, Vintage Linen 8490. Gravity 8248, Heliotrope 1168, Iris 8204, Big Sky 8240, Santa Fe 8242, Old Men 8564, Dusty Miller 8562, Soot 8566, Twister 8582, and Witching Hour 8600.  The dark gray skein above the row of the others is Tarnish 8596.  I opened it so you could see the thread texture.  The olive green Dry Martini 8454 is pictured separately above.  The colors are generally soft and muted, which is pretty much what I remember of the display of these threads at Needlewoman East which had about 30-40 colors my last visit.

It's a lovely thread, and one I will enjoy using because it feels so good when you stitch with it.

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

Thread Review: High Cotton UPDATED

Hyla Hurley's High Cotton

Thanks to friends who went to the St. Charles trade show, I have samples of several new threads introduced there for you to see.  The first is a new five ply cotton called High Cotton, from Hyla Hurley of Point of It All Designs.  I am told there are 74 colors now and will be 125 by January's TNNA trade show.  Vicky DeAngelis told us the periwinkles and aquas were especially gorgeous.  I haven't been able to find photographs online for you.  I am told that A Thread Garden in Ventura, CA and...
http://thethreadgarden.com/Needlepoint_News.html

...Waste Knot in Arlington, VA have both ordered this new thread.  You'll be able to get it from them fairly soon and probably from more places as interest grows.
http://www.wasteknotneedlepoint.com/

I'm sure you are like me and wondered why do we need more cotton floss in our stitching toolboxes?  That was before I opened the skein, removed an 18 inch length, and started stitching with it.

High Cotton (named for the very Southern phrase "being in high cotton" which means to be rich or to have things going very well) has five plies which when separated, are thicker than individual plies of the six ply DMC cotton floss.  High Cotton plies are more tightly twisted than DMC or Anchor floss.  There's a lot of shine in this thread, particularly when you strip the plies and recombine them to stitch.

The thread feels soft, but substantial.  It's not going to fray going through needlepoint canvas holes as you work unless you use a very long length.

I worked samples on 18 count canvas with all five plies.  In the photo on the left you can see that I did some basketweave, then moved down and did two rows of long couched stitches.  The messy, bumpy look is because 5 plies are too many on 18 count.  When I switched to 2 plies in the tiny cluster of mosaic stitches at the top, it looked great.  I also did a tiny vertical row of continental stitches with two plies and repeated the long couched stitches at the bottom with two plies.  This thread needs plenty of room to spread out.  When you give it that room, it is FABULOUS.  The shine is as nice as twisted silks and the thread behaves well, although you'll need a laying tool to keep long stitches flat.  The tight twist that makes each ply means each ply has a mind of its own and will turn when you want it to lay flat.  I don't see as much shine with short stitches as with long ones but using a laying tool with long stitches really brings sheen to the stitches.

Beautiful High Cotton Stitches

You probably can't tell from the photo above but in person these stitches, particularly when oriented horizontally, look like two different colors because of the light reflection. You would have thought it was a checkerboard looking at it in person.  I love this thread!

I have no idea what the retail costs will be but if you want a high sheen on a project, High Cotton will be perfect.  I hope to be able to find more colors so I can use this thread.  It looks like it will be especially good for light coverage stitches because of the shine and the fact that only 2 plies cover very well on 18 count.

Remember, the number of plies you need will vary according to the stitch and color of the thread you are stitching with, but High Cotton seems to cover well with fewer plies.

If you are interested in more information, my spies gave me Hyla Hurley's email address.  Email me privately at chillyhollow AT hotmail DOT com and I'll share it with you.  I've also been told that M's Canvashouse has High Cotton in stock at the Columbus ANG Seminar shop.  If you are in Columbus for ANG, check it out.

UPDATE:  Thanks to Hyla Hurley, I have another photo of High Cotton skeins to help show off the range of colors.

The colors are, from left to right, Raspberry 901, Cosmopolitan 902, Pacific 524, Sky 519, Adams 2 513, Lemon Drop 704, Custard 604, Creamsicle 610, Rhubarb 807, Arielle 431, and Robin's Egg 433.

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

Rows Upon Rows (with Tips)

I worked on more of Cha's background last night.  I have 13 rows to do, but each row (this is an 18 count canvas, remember?) is 12 inches long.  My calculator tells me I have 18x12x13 or 2808 tent stitches left.  Eeeeekkkk!

When I can't stand it any more, I'll take a break and stitch a couple of tail feathers.  In the meanwhile, here are some online tips I've stumbled across.  First of all, since I am working a lot with silk ribbons, here is what River Silks says about starting and ending silk ribbons.
http://www.riversilks.com/stitch_instruction.html

DMC posted about how to cut a skein of perle cotton for easy use at the top of this article.  It'll probably work for many types of thread skeins, unless you are like me and you hate using pre-cut threads.
http://www.dmc-usa.com/majic/pageServer/130100031i/en_US/Getting-Ready-to-Stitch.html

e-Rose has found a great silk threads comparison table.  There's a link to it on her blog.  Many of the brands and some of the shops are English so if you want to mail order something exotic to substitute for a silk you are bored with, this is the place to find help.
http://elmsleyrose.blogspot.com/2010/08/silk-thread-comparison-table.html

Hope all this good information comes in handy while I count down toward the end of stitching Cha-Cha.

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

More Feathers, More Ripping?

Yesterday was full of errands and chores so I didn't get as much wing stitched as I had hoped but I still have a photo to share of Cha's right wing.  I am not happy with the lowest orange line of feathers since I've decided longer looks better but they will be easy to remove and restitch.  It is just hard to do long straight stitches on a curved wing. I'm going to leave the orange tips of the feathers until last and probably do very short Japanese ribbon stitches there as I did on the other wing.  Regardless, this is progress that isn't tent stitches so I am happy!

In other news, Linda's posted a quick review (with photos) of Ruth Schmuff's new books.  These are the hard copy form of her Stitch Encyclopedias that originally were just on CDs.
http://nystitchingsisters.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-new-favorite-books.html

Janet Perry's done a review of the new Painter's Palette threads.
http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com/painters-palette-thread-review

Needlepoint.com has a contest going on their blog.  The price is a $25 gift certificate.  Once you enter, click on one of the header items (Naturally I choose Sale--LOL) and then look on the left side of the page.  Click on Needlepoint U to see their online classes, clearly labeled as to difficulty level, complete with a Yahoo Group to help you with questions and problems.
http://www.needlepoint.com/blog/?p=556

If your wallet is empty these days, how about a free elementary embroidery book posted online?  Mary Corbet has the details and a link to the book which-- although old-- has great tips for those doing needle painting of flowers, for example.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2010/07/elementary-embroidery-online-book-free.html

My final link this morning is for sampler lovers.  The Museum of Fine Art in Boston is looking for help finding samplers similar to one in their collection.  Tricia of Thistle Threads suggested they harness the power of the Internet to find sampler lovers who might recognize the motifs on this sampler as occurring other places.  So go and help the museum out, ok?
http://thistle-threads.com.mytempweb.com/blog/index.php/2010/07/distributed-sampler-intelligence/

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

Preparing for Columbus and Other News

All over the U.S. needlepoint designers, tool makers, shop owners and the thread artists are packing to head to Columbus, Ohio for the TNNA trade show there.  Barbara Bergsten is finishing purses.  Isn't that Stirling Bag gorgeous?!
http://createneedlepoint.typepad.com/create_needlepoint/2010/06/easy-needlepoint-finishing.html

Laura Perin's released a new design based on daisies.  If you are a summer person or love daisys, you have to see it.  Hummm. Here in CH summer daisies are white but we get fall ones that are light purple with big yellow centers.  Wouldn't that be a great color scheme for this piece?
http://two-handedstitcher.blogspot.com/2010/06/is-it-summer-yet.html

The Point of It All has rearranged their shop.  I just love the red walls, the window seat covered with NP pillows, and glimpses of all those cupboards.  Wonder what treasures are inside?  Next time you are in D.C., take a peek and let me know, ok?
http://blog.thepointofitallonline.com/2010/06/shop-remodel.html

Finally, Mary Corbert has written about Accentuate.  If you aren't familiar with this thin metallic thread, you should take a look at the photos and read how Mary uses it.  If your shop doesn't stock it, maybe they'll order some for you at the TNNA show.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2010/06/accentuate-thread-review.html

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

More Needlepoint and Thread News

Caron has added photos of their newest Watercolours colors on their website.  Aren't they pretty?  I really "need" some pale pink Sandalwood 262!
http://www.caron-net.com/tcolorV_newJan2010.html

Janet Perry posts photos of other new colors for Bella Lusso and Planet Earth silks on her revamped site.  We've seen the new Silk & Ivory colors already but they are great to see again.
http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com/new-colors-in-bella-lusso-silk-ivory-and-planet-earth

Needle Works in Austin has added two new Nativity sets and a bunch of Texas A&M and UT canvases to their store.  The little slatback floral chairs are new to me also.  Remember, they change the front page of their catalog frequently so if you are slow in checking the link, these may be somewhere else.
http://www.theneedleworks.com/catalog/

AP Needle Arts is having a Petei Santa trunk show.  There are a ton of little Santas on sale there.
http://store.apneedlearts.com/trunkshows.html

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

What's A Threadaholic To Do?

I am pretty much stuck at home under 18-24 inches of snow, depending on where I measure.  Some of us love snow!  We eat it, we lay in it, we run around like a maniac in it.

But some of us don't!  (Especially when it is still falling.  The white streaks above are snowflakes coming down hard.)  I'm one of the latter group.  So what's a threadaholic to do when they are stuck at home four days before Christmas?  Why, do Internet shopping, of course!

Fireside Stitchery sent an email this morning reminding me of their yearly clubs which are about to start up again.  My favorite is their unique Thread Collectors Club.  Have a thread you adore that you can't get locally?  For a monthly fee, have a selection of colors sent to your door. You collect your favorite brand at a discount a month at a time.  Here are all the thread brands they offer this way.
http://www.firesidestitchery.com/fs/clubs/index.cfm?fuseaction=getClubList&CategoryId=2&showStart=1&groupNo=1

Nordic Needle also emailed me this morning.  Their weekly newsletter has specials, including a pages and pages of threads on sale.  There is a lot of Kreinik metallics available, mostly in Cord and the larger 12, 16 and 24 sizes, and they have selected colors of Silk Mori and Silk Serica also on sale.  Check out the selection here.
http://www.nordicneedle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=NN&Offset=0&Category_Code=L06-00-00&ph=&pl=&CpField=&CpValue=&show=&SortBy=&Search=

If you are more interested in monthly canvas clubs, how about the feathers and fur group, the nature set, or the Getting Ready for Christmas club What's the Point offers?  Click on the photo of the stitched example to see the entire set.  By the way, if you are a Buckeye fan, click on the Buckeye Corner link on the left side of the page to see Ohio-specific canvases.
http://www.whatsthepoint.biz/clubs.php

That ought to keep us busy until all the snow melts!

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

The Discontinued Blues

The photo above is my loot from an emergency run to Needlewoman East over the weekend.  They were having their Christmas sale and I really really really needed to stock up on the above metallics (which knocked my stash credits from 96 back down to 77, by the way). What you see (from left to right) are the Naturals line from Kreinik:  Green Tea #4001, Spiced Chai #4002, Ginseng Gold #4003,  Earl Grey #4004, Sugar Cube #4005 and Rosehip #4006.  These are also called the Tea Threads as all the names are inspired by tea.  I happen to love Spiced Chai and probably will also use Sugar Cube 4005 (which is a muted silver in real life) on O'jishi.
http://www.kreinik.com/articles/color_cht.html

The reason I was in such a panic about buying these is that they are being discontinued by Kreinik.  I got a note from Anne Stradal of ABS Designs last week telling me Kreinik was letting folks know they are discontinuing these threads because the raw material that makes them is no longer available.  She wanted to give me a heads up since she knows I'm writing a stitch guide for O'jishi and using one of the doomed threads.  (Thanks, Anne!)

Turns out I need not have hoarded these threads.  I got a nice note from Doug Kreinik (in response to my pathetic whining email to the company) that he's been working for the last two months to find substitutes and shortly will have samples of replacements to test.  I would imagine that the shops will have the new versions of these threads before they run out of the old in most cases.  Keep your fingers crossed that he can match them very closely!

However, the Discontinued Blues are a problem most stitchers come up against at least occasionally.  If you belong to the American Needlepoint Guild's email list, you'll see periodic messages from folks asking what thread is a good substitute for something that is no longer made.  What do you do in those instances?  Of course asking the ANG email list is a great first step.  We stitchers will always search our stash looking for that discontinued color or the thread from the 1980s that is no longer made or maybe we remember what a thread you've never heard of is like so we can suggest a modern replacement.

Another place to go is The Thread Thesaurus by Ann Caswell, Suzanne Howren and Beth Robertson.  This invaluable resource lists over 350 threads and is an excellent guide to finding a substitute.  I highly recommend this book for any threadaholic, and anyone who has to do a lot of mail ordering of threads.  There is an updated edition so you might get the original at a good price.  Both will be very useful when it comes to finding out about threads and finding substitutions for something you can't get.
http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/whatsnew/books.html

Now that stitch guides are available for a great many canvases, this problem of discontinued threads is likely to grow as threads become unavailable for many reasons, often out of the blue.  I hope stitch guide writers will list DMC or Kreinik equivalents for many of their threads so that folks can look for a match easily.  It is easy to call your local shop and say you need a silk that is about the color of DMC #whatever.

If you don't want to buy a book you'll use only occasionally, try looking at online thread conversion lists.  Here is a page listing quite a few.

http://www.cameoroze.com/101/too_convert.htm

Use your favorite search engine to find "conversion chart Splendor DMC" or whatever to see what else you can find.  Note that these charts are not perfect.  Often there is not an exact equivalent of a thread in another line, but at least you can get close.

And if all else fails, ask your fellow stitchers.  We are always willing to help.

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

Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow