Chilly Hollow Newsletter Article April 2008

Time to pour your favorite beverage, unplug the phone, settle down in your favorite chair--we're going to look at laying tools!There's been an explosion of new styles of laying tools for our stitching pleasure. The most expensive and probably most beautiful a stitcher might use are the glass ones. They come with a lifetime repair warranty and you can also purchase a bracelet to keep your glass laying tool safe but ready for use.

http://www.stitchelegance.com/Laying%20Tools/laying_tools.htm

These are made by the glass artist Michael Ernst. His website has more photos of laying tool colors. Note that he also makes glass crochet hooks and knitting needles. Also, under What's New he has a new hook tool and lovely floral buttons.

http://glasspens.com/layingtools.html

You may have heard of the mellore, which is an English goldwork tool for handling real metal threads. It's sterling silver, fairly expensive, and although you can use it as a laying tool, that's not really what it does. It is designed to punch holes and hold real metal threads in place while they are couched down or bent. Here's a photo.

http://www.berlinembroidery.com/mellore.htm

You can buy a stainless steel "mellore" from M's Canvashouse for $40 less.

http://mscanvashouse.com/shop/product509.html

As we've seen above, laying tools come in all sorts of materials. The wooden ones are both comfortable to hold and very pretty. The metal ones are unsurpassed when it comes to laying silk flosses. These two websites have a variety of laying tools shown with brief descriptions.

http://www.berlinembroidery.com/tools.htm#blt

http://www.stitchers-paradise.com/Display_Case/DC_Laying_Tools_Items.html

The metal Best Laying Tool (also called the BLT) was designed by Shay Pendray. It's very similar to the Japanese Tekobari except is a bit shorter and is less expensive. You can buy it in a gold-plated version now. Some folks prefer the feel of the gold version or think it prettier. The tip of the gold plated BLT is not gold, however.Rainbow Gallery distributes a very nice metal laying tool in a wooden holder and case called the Rainbow Laying Tool. If you like how wooden laying tools feel, but want the more pointed tip of a metal laying tool, this might be the one for you. The wooden case goes over the metal tip when this isn't in use. The set is expensive, but less than buying a laying tool and a wooden case for it separately. The wood each case is made from varies. Two examples are below.

http://www.homesteadneedlearts.com/detail.cfm?ID=59

http://www.a-z-needlepoint.com/products/rainbowlaying.shtml

You can buy regular lovely turned wooden laying tools here as well as a wooden case for your tekobari or BLT. They also sell bracelet-laying tool combos.

http://www.firesidestitchery.com/FIRESIDE/FSgeneralpages/woodaccessory.htm

These wooden laying tools come in a black tube for storage. Note that you can use the awl if you want a shorter laying tool.

http://www.turn-of-the-century.com/embr.htm

If you are into bling, you can buy beaded wooden laying tools.

http://www.nordicneedle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NN&Product_Code=6738

or Tiny URL

http://tinyurl.com/5rg7gp

Bone laying tools are made from cow bone. I suspect they are a replacement for ivory laying tools. Ivory is a banned substance to protect elephants now, but you might find an antique ivory laying tool. These are all carved and very pretty.

http://www.flyingneedle.com/acatalog/Laying_Tools.html

You might want to use a bone needle if you are undecided whether to actually invest in a laying tool. I have one that is three inches long, not four as in this example.

http://www.nordicneedle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Category_Code=E09-00-00&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=6745

or Tiny URL

http://tinyurl.com/5kr89r

You can also use the large needles used in plastic canvas embroidery or just the largest tapestry needle you can find. I've found a big plastic needle for kids at crafts stores which works just fine in emergencies (but these often have ridges that might not do well with silk or other tender threads). I often pick up my size 18 needle and use the eye end as a laying tool when I have one stitch to straighten.

Hummingbird House makes a pewter laying tool. It's called the Elizabethen laying tool. It is the longer, slimmer laying tool in this photo. The fish-shaped item is actually an awl but it can be used as a laying tool if you like shorter laying tools.

http://www.robinsnestdesigns.com/detail.cfm?ID=130

http://www.stitching.com/stitcherysquare/needlaccess.htm

Their Celtic Laying Tool is actually a fancy trolley needle made of pewter.

http://www.robinsnestdesigns.com/detail.cfm?ID=123

Trolley needles and thimble laying tools are metal laying tools that fit over a finger. These are particularly good for folks who don't want to hold a laying tool. You've already seen a fancy pewter trolley needle. Here is the basic version. You wear it on a finger or thumb with the needle side on top or bottom as you prefer. You can squeeze the open sides a bit for a better fit.

http://store.apneedlearts.com/trolleyneedle.html

Grip-it Plus makes the thimble laying tool called The Perfect Stitch. It's essentially a thimble with a needle attached to the side and the top cut off. You'll need to know your thimble size for the finger you plan to wear it on to get a good fit.

http://www.needlepointtooltime.com/product/005

Zecca makes clay handle laying tools in fun colors and shapes. I am dying to actually try one of these out. I buy laying tools according to the feel in my hand. I like a shorter tool and need something that isn't heavy. It's a good idea to hold any laying tool you plan to buy to check if it is too fat/thin/long/short for your own hand size and the grip you exert.

http://www.zecca.net/products/layingtools.html

Now that you are curious, here's how to use a laying tool, with a photo of stitches done with and without a laying tool.

http://www.kaleidostitch.com/content%20pages/Tips/laying%20tool.htm

I find laying tools an essential in my NP toolkit. I have a great variety that I use and switch tools if one doesn't seem to be handing a certain thread well. I also change them according to how tired/hot/cold I am. I am thrilled there is this much choice in such an important aid to our stitching and hope you enjoying picking out a laying tool for yourself.

Fan's Do-Over

Last night I managed to pull myself together enough to rip out the yellow edging on Fan's left sleeve. Then I restitched it. If you look at yesterday's photo, you can compare the look of the slant I used today to the one I tried yesterday that I didn't like. The moral of all this is to use your pencil on your copy of your canvas. If I'd done this, I would have had a better idea of how to orient the long stitches.

I also pulled out a few of the border stitches right under Fan's geta sandals. The bottom edge of the border is one thread narrower than the top. So unlike Butterfly (the other Asian girl in the set) Fan's border is not the same on all four sides. This is fine, my stitch is easy to compensate and the compensation along the bottom won't be noticeable, but I forgot this was the case when I put the stitches in around her feet. So they came out also but I ran out of time to restitch this area.

I also stitched the rest of Fan's hair. The side near her cheek is almost done. The stitching's done but somehow I need to add a bit more of my black Soy Fiber there to build it up to look like the slightly poofy top of her head. So this isn't quite finished but it is close.

I hope to work on the border and background tonight and perhaps finish the stitch on her kimono.

Fan's Sleeves and Border

Over the weekend I picked up little Fan and started stitching away again. I've doubled the size of the border that's stitched, worked on her yellow hair oranment, and stitched the yellow edge to her kimono at her neck and sleeves.

For the border, I have occasionally around her head added a row to the alternating bundles of three stitches. I'm not sure if you can see this but in a few places there was a space next to a bundle that didn't look right if I did the stitches the way they go alternating -- bundles with ones. The thing to remember in compensating stitches is to make them look right instead of doing them right, and occasionally you'll do something that isn't right to get the correct look. Remember in NP that it is the overall look you are aiming at, not getting all the stitches compensated the way they should be.

The yellow dot of a hair ornament is just padded silk floss in the same yellow as the border. I did four layers before I got the look rounded enough. I have not decided whether to remove the orange beads or add more yet. Still mulling that one over! I think I need to finish her hair before I really decide this point. Stitching a painted canvas is often a wait-and-see process since everything you stitch effects everything else. Ripping out can be your friend; so can waiting patiently to make up your mind.

The edging of the kimono is long slanted stitches. I am not sure about the left sleeve yet. The curve that varied quite a bit and I turned Fan on her side with her fan on the right edge to stitch it with the slants the way the sun comes up across the horizon--slanting right and left and also pointing straight up. This made it a bit more jagged-looking than the right sleeve. I am not sure what to do about this yet. I can pull it out and stitch it slanting one way or overstitch that left sleeve to smooth the rough edges. Again, I'll think about this while I do other things.

In other words, stay tuned to see what I decide.

Juanita The Mexican Lady in Size 13 -- or Size 18?

Today we don’t have the weekly update on Juanita, the Mexican Lady canvas from Melissa Shirley that is an adaptation of a Linda Carter Holman painting called “Secrets.” Janet Moyer needs the week off to do other things, but she’ll be back a week from today to finish this piece. I thought I’d take the opportunity of Janet’s absence to talk about things I’ve noticed while sitting in the audience with you, watching Janet stitch her lady to life. To that end I’ve put the largest and most recent photo we have of Juanita above. Here’s a link to a photo of the canvas unstitched, courtesy of Laura Zickas who took the photograph for Needle Nook of La Jolla.

http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/storedir/proddetail.php?prod=ch118-2

The canvas Janet is working on is 13 count. This design is available on 18 count as well. I have stitched one 13 count piece in my NP career. I just like the extra detail on 18 count canvas. But I’ve noticed that 13 count allows Janet to do some things she couldn’t do on 18 count, like use sequins and fancy trim which I think might have been too large to use on 18 count. The hat’s sequins look very nice on Juanita’s hat but they might be too close together if this were an 18 count canvas. They are spaced perfectly right now but on a smaller scale, they might look all wrong. The special sequin trim also might not work on a smaller scale skirt. And the pearl necklace, earrings and diamond ring might not have looked so good unless Janet had been able to find smaller beads and findings to use to create them on 18 count the same way she did on 13 count.

Certainly the fabric calla lilies would be harder to make if they needed to be about 1/3 smaller for a smaller 18 count version of this design. Trying to attach tiny things to canvas is harder than trying to attach slightly larger things. I doubt the artificial roses Janet considered using would work at all on 18 count. They would be too large--Remember, Janet said she would have to take them apart and trim them if she ended up using them on her 13 count version of Juanita.

I also noticed that Janet was used Sampler Thread flosses for her open background stitch and for the white shawl she used Elegance which is a silk perle thread about the size of #8 perle. I think this silk perle thread might look less lacy on 18 count and Janet might have to use the smaller #12 perle instead. This might or might not be an issue, depending on the “look” one was trying to achieve. One would need fewer plies of Sampler Thread for the background, even if you are doing an open stitch. Things like this are just different on a smaller or larger count canvas, and worth considering. If you are used to one size canvas and that’s all you stitch, you are going to find you’ll need more/less plies or perhaps a different type or brand of thread altogether when you go up or down.

Another thing to consider when trying to decide whether to take home a design in 13 or in 18 count is the threads you have easily available. If you are used to #8 perle, you might have to go up a size to #5. Can you easily buy #5 perle cotton? You will need more thread to cover the larger area so remember to buy more than usual. Trio is the new smaller version of Silk n Ivory (a silk/wool blend in a single strand like tapestry wool). If you adore using Silk n Ivory on 13 count canvases, you will have to use Trio instead on 18 count. Usually Silk n Ivory is just too fat to go in the holes (although this does depend on what stitch you have chosen.)

I guess what I’ve learned from watching Janet is that a higher count canvas than what I usually buy means more thread and perhaps a different type/brand than my usual favorites, but there are unique possibilities that open up in what I might do with a design. Luckily I have a gorgeous huge red orchid from JP Designs in my stash on 13 count so eventually I’ll be able to try going up a size.

Wisdom from Jay

But you may not know who Jay Patterson is. He's the stitching genius in the company. I thought you might like to spend a bit of time with Jay this morning. He's summarized 20 years of stitching information on a page on the RG website.

http://www.rainbowgallery.com/stitchinghints.html

Jay also has tips on how to use the various specialty threads that RG sells. Bookmark this one--you'll use it again and again!

http://www.rainbowgallery.com/jaystips.htm