Nativity versus Nativity

For me, there's nothing more interesting than comparing what two talented stitchers do with the identical canvas. Unless they are both working a set!

Here's Kelly Clark's entire painted but unstitched Nativity set. There are 17 pieces in all on two pages.
http://www.kellyclarkneedlepoint.com/nativity

Here is what Amy Bunger is doing with the set. Click on any photo and then use the arrows to navigate. http://www.amybunger.com/nativity_set_home_study.html

Here is what Chaparral is doing with the set. I am sorry, but I don't know who did the stitching for their series. They have a lot of talented people working at the shop.
http://www.ndlpt.com/html/series/snativity.html

Very interesting! Some things are similar and some are different but they all are wonderful. I had a lot of fun studying the photos to pick out what each stitcher did differently and what they did the same, and figuring out what I liked and what I didn't. There really is no one "right" way to stitch a painted canvas. You do the best you can with your talent and the threads and stitches available to you.

But seeing masters at work is very educational!

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Motto for the Day

Since today is the first work day after the time changed for us in the U.S.A. (we lost an hour's sleep Saturday night), I was especially pleased to come across the above design by Rob Ryan, courtesy of Art N Light's blog.

Rob has an Etsy store, where you can buy this charming pillow top.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5204464

Thinking of this will make stitching tonight, and maybe even getting up at 5 a.m. tomorrow, easier.

Maybe. But at least I have a motto now!

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Hot Fix Swarovski Crystals

The latest thing to do with your needlepoint canvas is to attach Swarovski crystals that have heat-activated glue on the back on top of your stitching. This is done with a gadget similar to a hot glue gun. But different. Here are excellent pictures and instructions for attaching the crystals in general. I'll get to specifics for needlepoint in a minute.
http://www.hotfixcrystals.com/files/applicatorhowto.htm

There seem to be two types of hot fix "guns."
http://www.bullarddesigns.com/crystal_sets/lorna_det.htm

Here are tips for using both kinds of gadgets, again not specifically geared to needlepoint.
http://bcqonline.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=8&chapter=0

The Swarovski crystals come in various sizes. See chart here. There are a variety of colors also.
http://www.bullarddesigns.com/crystal_sets/crystal_catalog1.htm

Michele Herron of the Bristly Thistle has been experimenting with the crystals. You can read about her experiences on her blog. Check out the March 7th Kelly Clark basket canvas entry and the February 28th Melissa Shirley dress canvas entry.
http://bristlythistle.blogspot.com/

From Michele's experience it looks like the crystals which are 2 mm (6ss) cover approximately one thread intersection so they are similar to one tent stitch and the crystals which are 4 mm (16ss) cover approximately 4 tent stitches. Michele says you need a steady hand because it is easy to glue the smaller crystals to the wrong spot (although it seems you can reheat and move the crystals a small distance if necessary). Michele also says there is a bit of melting of her underlying Kreinik metallic thread as she set crystals on that background but she had no trouble gluing on top of silk threads. You might want to do some testing before you try this on an expensive stitched canvas, although she thinks that not pressing so hard helped keep this to a minimum and any melting didn't show up. Remember, her Kreinik background for the basket canvas is black, which probably also helped make a bit of heat melt inconspicuous. I would be very careful if my background was very light in color myself.

The first person I know of who used the hot fix crystals on her needlepoint was Ruth Schmuff. Here is her two sided Peppermint Santa, designed by Melissa Shirley.
http://www.tistheseason.org/blog/2009/01/santa-came.html

Ruth sells the Peppermint Santa canvas (both single and double sided versions) in her shop and sells a hot fix kit as well. I can't find the tool or crystal set on her website so I can't give you a price.
http://www.bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/products.php?catid=181&firstcid=3

If you are interested in hot fix crystals, I'd contact either Michele (here's the Bristly Thistle link)
http://www.bristlythistle.com/

or Ruth at their shops and see if you can buy a set and get personal tips for using the set on your canvas that really really needs Bling!

By the way, I can only vouch for Michele's and Ruth's online shops. I know nothing about the other links I put in this post. They were chosen for good information and photos, not because I know they are a good place to buy.

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Book Review: Sundance Beads For Needlepoint--How To & Why Knot!

A friend sent me a copy of the new little booklet from Sundance called Sundance Beads for Needlepoint--How To and Why Knot! I'd been very curious about it since I heard Sundance had written a book to help folks put beads on their needlepoint. Sundance beads are a particular favorite of mine as they come in a lot of colors and finishes. Here's the Sundance website, but you won't see the booklet there. I guess they haven't updated their website in the last month or so since the book came out. Click on Catalogue, then choose beads from the drop down menu to see the huge variety of beads they sell.
http://www.sundancedesignsonline.com/

Back to the book review--Sundance Beads for Needlepoint is a small booklet, only 20 pages from cover to cover, but it is chock full of information from Cassandra Prescott and her daughter Nandra Hotchkiss. They are stitchers as well as designers and since they use lots of beads in their stitching and sell beads, they wrote this as a guide to folks who want to use beads to embellish their designs. Cassie and Nandra explain the various bead sizes and tell you which ones work best on which size canvas depending on how you plan to stitch with them, then go into great detail about the various finishes of beads you can buy. They talk about beading threads and needles, tell you how to use Nymo and beading wax, and explain how to start and stop beading. They even recommend how to hold your beads while working with them.

But the best part of the book for me is their brief section on the basic bead stitches, which is immediately followed by 9 pages of diagrams of stitches they love to use with beads. This is invaluable information that I have not seen elsewhere, at least not in such great detail. And because I know the source is very knowledgable, this is great information to have.

I was unable to find a source for the booklet online this morning. Hopefully someone who reads this can tell us where they've seen the booklets for sale or if their shop carries it. I believe it costs $15 but without any online sources, I can't confirm the price.

If you are really into beading your needlepoint, this book is highly recommended.

UPDATE: Judy Harper's blog has more information about Sundance beads and photos of her beaded projects.
http://fairy-crafts.blogspot.com/2009/03/using-sundance-beads.html

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

More Wings for the Renaissance Rat

Last night I worked another two rows of Angel's Wing stitch on Miss Rat, then stitched her paw and part of her face when I got too tired to concentrate on the wings. Her fur is in Impressions #1136 which is a light cinnamon-brown. I using tent stitches for the fur currently. Stay tuned to see what I put on top of them!

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow