On the Airplane with George and what came of it....

Bet you didn't know the late George Carlin inspired needlepoint designs. Are you familiar with SharonG's funny bras? Want to hear where she got the idea?

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-38820

Here are more of the lingerie designs. Certainly this is not what grandma called NP! (The breakfast bra and matching tap pants are on page 5.)

http://www.sharong.com/catalog/bras/index.html

Artists finding each other funny and inspiring each other. I'd love to know what George took away from his meeting with SharonG! The moral is we don't know how we impact other people. I can only hope my impact is good and inspiring and try to learn from other folks' inspiration.

CNN picked up the story and is researching it a bit, maybe for their news or for Larry King or Anderson Cooper. All depends on whether they need something a bit quirky to remember George by.

Rest in peace, funny guy. And thanks.

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Still Putting the Wise Men's Camels Together

As you can see from the photo, I've cut out the 1/4 inch margin all around the stitched NP canvas and snipped inwardly pointing lines into the curved areas. Those cuts, which only go in about halfway, help the turned under edge lie flat. And I laced the wool felt around the foam core, just like you lace a piece of needlework to foam core before framing it. Then I put the two sides together and stitched them, making sure that the hanging loop I made was attached to the back of the NP first. The lumpy upper left area stitched smooth once I started putting things together. I just turned under more/less of the needlepoint or the back felt to make the join smooth. When I cut my foam core I used my color copy of the plain unstitched Liz canvas as a pattern. I cut around it and used the cutout as a template on the foam core, but made the foam core 1/8 inch smaller than the NP. Next time I will make it 1/4 inch smaller all around. I think that will help with the joining of the front to the back. And next time maybe my lacing will be less lumpy! Practice makes perfect....

The final piece isn't shown yet because I need to find trim to hand stitch around the margins. Using 1/4 fat foam core means my ornament is light weight but 1/4 thick, so I need larger braid than I can make to put all around the edges. So I'll need to go shopping Monday and Tuesday to collect supplies.

As always, stay tuned!

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Putting the Wise Men's Camels Together

Remember the Three Wise Men's Camels mini-stocking I finished last winter? (If you are at the Yahoo 360 blog, you can click on Wise Men's Camel Stocking in the right hand column to see a photo of the finished canvas.) I'm starting to assemble it into an ornament. I am using--for the first time--foam core for the middle part, sandwiched between the canvas and a nice piece of tan felt Abby Cat sent me from New Zealand a few years ago. I am not going to include any padding in the middle of the sandwich, just the foam core. If you haven't seen foam core before, it resembles two sheets of heavy, slick paper with a middle of foam. It's used in framing and is light weight and strong. You can buy it in acid-free for framing and it comes in various thicknesses. You can buy a big sheet or remnants and have to cut it to size. I trimmed my little 6x6 square remnant with an exacto knife, and never got it really rounded but I think it will be ok.

The photo above shows the felt laid out with the foam core on top. MAKE SURE that you know which side of the foam core will be facing your NP so you orient the fabic the right way before cutting. I wrote B for back on the correct side that will be the back before I cut my felt. The next step is to fold the margins over, roughly tack them into position by sewing them, and then put dots of glue under the felt to attach it in several places to the foam core middle.

Then I will turn under the edges of my NP canvas and trim them to about 3/8 inch, then start hand sewing the NP to the foam core & felt back. After that I'll need to add trim to hide the seam. Wish me luck!

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Fur and Flowers and Amy

Amy Bunger's website has information on the two newest DVDs she has released. One is about stitching flowers and the other is about stitching fur. You can read about them (and about the earlier DVDs in the series) here.

http://www.amybunger.com/whatsnew.html

After you drool to your heart's content, click on the E-Newsletters link on the left side of the page and have fun reading the May and June 2008 newsletters. They are full of information about what is new in her shop, profiles of canvases she likes, and information about new threads. You also can see Tony Minieri's new fish canvases (complete with stitch guide) which have just been released.

What fun!

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Who Are We and Other Topics UPDATED

UPDATE: When I emailed The Needlepointer to let them know I'd grabbed a photo from their newsletter to illustrate my blurb about their calendar frame, I got a nice note from Donnelle in their shop. She says:

"A little info on the calendar bar. We had it especially made for this monthly project here locally. The calendar bars fit in back of the upper white part. Then there are two hooks at the bottom of the
white frame that you hang a calendar on. It is not completely wood all the way down to the bottom of the calendar. These calendar bars can be purchased through us all at one time and threads for them at a

discounted price. Email shop@theneedlepointer for more information." Thanks for the further information, Donnelle, and thanks for permission to use your photograph.

*************************

I subscribe to the "Got Needlepoint?" newsletter the Needlepoint For Fun folks put out to promote the items they distribute. I particularly enjoyed May 9's issue #22 which reveals some TNNA survey results about needleworkers of all kinds. You can read that there are 71,000 folks in the United States who say NP is their favorite needle art and much more at the following link. You can also sign up for the newsletter there. Didn't know there were 70,998 other folks just like you and me, did you?

http://www.needlepoint-for-fun.com/Got_Needlepoint-backissues.html

The Needlepointer has sent out a newsletter with a photo of their new calender frame that goes with their calendar bar monthly club. Basically you insert a wall calender into the frame and then add your rectangular bar canvas for the month once you stitch it. This is totally different and an interesting new use of NP. The canvases are from Artist Collection/Heartstrings. The image you see above is the calendar frame. You can see the canvases that go with it and sign up for the club here.

http://www.theneedlepointer.com/needlepoint-clubs_CalendarBars.htm

While you are visiting The Needlepointer, you might want to check out their other clubs. This is the main club page. Email them for details about any club that catches your eye.

http://www.theneedlepointer.com/needlepoint-clubs.htm

Are you a fan of dede Odgen's designs? Needle Artworks has new treats from dede up on their website. Check out the elephant, or the Christmas Party Cat, or Mr. Duck in his sweater; I believe the seasonal suns are new, and the patriotic woman in her sunglasses is new to me as well. The little strawberries apparently come in two sizes, if you want something quick and colorful to stitch. Read about any canvas that catches your eye. Some are for beginners and come with an instructional booklet. There are new threads, too. I'm intriqued by Firefly and Miracle Bells myself! Sadly, there are no descriptions beyond colors so I'll just dream about what such threads might be. Anyone with information, email me, ok?

http://www.needleartworks.com/dsgnr/deo/deoimages.htm

http://www.needleartworks.com/thread/cmpnylist.htm

Silver Needle is running specials on overstocked items. You'll be interested in Suzanne Howren and Beth Robertson's little "Stitches to Go" book that is small enough to go in a purse (especially the huge tote bag pocketbook I carry) and has nothing but diagrams of stitches from their Stitches for Effects books. No explanations, no tips on threads, just diagrams. Regular price is $26.95 but if you email or call Silver Needle and mention you heard this was on sale in their shop email newsletter, the sale price is $13.48. The sale price will last for 2-3 weeks or until they run out of copies. So if you are interested, move fast and don't forget to mention that you heard about the price in the e-newsletter.

http://www.thesilverneedle.net/books.php?Reloaded=True&osCsid=64ade2bf3e6d8a88ee2d0dcc4b43fabf#stitchestogo

I think that's enough to keep at least a few of us needlepoint obsessed busy for a while.

Hugs to all 70,999 of you from your Master Enabler!

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow