Floral Trim for The Rabbit

Last night I added a bit more basketweave around the Golden Rabbit's wings, then started on the two trims at the edges of her over- and underskirts. Four colors are used n the original design but I decided to use the copper Kreinik for two of them. The ivory Silk Lame Braid is what I used for the flower shapes made of tent and reversed tent stitches. I have no idea what I'll do next but probably it'll involve more basketweave marathon while I think about it. Beads go in the center of the ivory flowers but I might use the little gold beads in her necklace instead of the larger pale copper beads. I don't want to cover up the flowers with a big fat bead in the middle.

Stay tuned.....

In other news, Stitch Niche is posting photos of new canvases daily as they arrive from their Dallas show orders. You can see them here. The second link is their shop newsletter, full of photos of projects finished and underway as usual.
http://www.needlepointyaya.com/website/new/may/mayindex.htm

http://www.needlepointyaya.com/newsletter/may/maynews.htm

Needle Works in Austin is also posting new items. I was particularly interested in SharonG's new half nature/half meditation pieces and in the bird stockings from Share One's Ideas. To see everything from these two designers, click on their name in the left hand column. Don't miss SharonG's Twin Beaks. The pun makes me laugh and the abstract birds would be fabulous stitched in silks and metallic fancy stitches.
Somebody call Marnie Ritter--have I got a painted canvas for her!
http://www.theneedleworks.com/catalog/

In designer news, Lani's updated her website. It's not quite done but you'll enjoy seeing the lovely slide show of finished pieces and the bare naked painted canvases are a treat!
http://www.lanienterprises.com/indexa.html

My final posting is really special. You may know that Kimberly Crum (now Kim Smith) has stopped created charts. I think her pieces are fabulous so I was really sorry when all the work got to be more than she wanted to take on. But we can take heart that occasionally, very occasionally, she creates painted canvases. The newest one is up on her blog. I don't know the size, cost, if a stitch guide comes with it, or any of the details, but the design itself is vintage Kimberly--floral and rthymic and nature in motion. Lovely! I was especially charmed by the large leaf and how the background is denser at the top and then fades towards the bottom. Thank heavens Kimberly gets inspired occasionally!
http://akimberlydesign.blogspot.com/2009/05/swooosh.html

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

Bunny Wings

As you can see, I completely abandoned the basketweave background marathon last night and concentrated on stitching the Golden Rabbit's wings. The white thread is my ivory and gold Silk Lame Braid, while the golden thread is the Lorikeet wool. I used only two plies of the wool here so as not to completely hide the Silk Lame Braid. Once the rows of stitches were in place, I filled in the empty spots betwen stitches with my pale copper beads from Toho. It took a while to stitch everything and I'm not 100% sure that the edges are compensated properly, but today I'll fill in the background around the wings and figure out if there are places that need padding out where they meet my DMC ecru perle background stitches.

I also gave the rabbit a necklace of little gold Mill Hill Petite beads. The pale copper beads didn't look good against the brown of her neck fur, so I went with gold.

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

News in CH and Elsewhere

When either Needle Pointers or Needlepoint Now arrive in my mailbox, I study the issue cover to cover. I love all the articles (Hey! The Spinister Stitcher is writing for NP Now! I hoped they bribed her with champagne--Coni's definitely a champagne kind of gal.) and I read each ad, too. Gives me plenty to talk to you about.

First up, new monthly clubs! Choice is good, right? Chandail has a new Kelly Clark club--Christmas alphabet blocks. I wish the finished photo was better but the idea is fabulous.
http://www.chandailneedlework.com/series/MerryChristmasBlocks.php

Needle and Thread of Tomball has a darling little scissor fob of the month club. If you want to do something small, this is the monthly club for you.
http://www.needleandthreadoftomball.com/jm/

Pocket Full of Stitches has gone Kelly Clark with a lovely Thanksgiving set called The First Harvest. Details and the canvases are here.
http://www.pfos.com/KellyClark_TheFirstHarvest1.HTM

Stitch and Frame has a Cross a Month series to stitch and display. They also have a Fleur de Lis series for those who love French pattern. The Cajun Twelve Months of Christmas series is also on this page. Fun! I think all the designs are from Jude Designs (second link), but I can't be sure. Nice job, whoever the designer is.
http://www.stitchandframelafayette.com/Needlepoint_by_Category/Category/Monthly_Series_Sets.htm

http://www.spicyneedlepoint.com/index.htm

What's the Point has the last new club, a series of Kathy Schenkel Santas. Sadly, their monthly club page hasn't been updated with photos yet, but it shouldn't be long as this club starts in July.
http://www.whatsthepoint.biz/clubs.php

I discovered that Sign of the Arrow has yearly limited edition ornaments. 2009 isn't up yet but if you are a fan of this famous shop that donates a huge portion of their profits to charity, you'll enjoy seeing the little designs that come with a stitch guide and threads. These appear to be on plain canvas so you either will follow a chart or transfer an outline to the canvas.
http://www.signofthearrow.com/shopping/category.php?category=4

Ok, everyone go get a beverage, then settle down with your monthly club design and we'll watch Debbie get her cat design worked up. Coni, pass the champagne bottle, please.

Oh, the news from CH is that the white irises are blooming.

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

Wings for Liz

The endless basketweave marathon continued last night but I did make a start on the Golden Rabbit's wings. Here you go, Liz! You've been asking what I planned to do. This time I didn't really plan, I just browsed through "Sundance Beads for Needlepoint: How To & Why Knot." The booklet has 25 unnamed stitches in the back that the Sundance folks like using when beading. The diagonal flow appealed to me and I thought the stitch would look nice with the ones I used on the pet guardian angel's robe. I didn't plan to alternate my ivory Silk Lame Braid with my overdyed golden Gloriana silk floss. It just happened as I was studying the stitch diagram and deciding which areas were more prominant and where the beads would go. Angel wings are usually white and the ivory mixed with gold was the closest I have to white in my color scheme. The pale copper beads will sit in the unstitched holes once the rows of stitches are laid out.

I still have a lot of background to do. I'll work on that tonight for a while and then switch to filling in more wing area.

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

Influences, with Thanks

When I am running a background marathon, my mind often starts to wander. Last night I started to think about Jean Hilton's death, all the wonderful comments people posted to the ANG email list thanking her after she was gone, and the lady who wrote we should thank the folks who have made our needlepoint better, more fun, more skilled, more creative or just more MORE.

I should do that. But who do I thank? There are hundreds of stitchers who have influenced me via the Internet, especially ANG's email list. There are designers who have inspired me, books that have given me endless ideas, fellow stitchers who encourage and instruct me. How do I make a list? Ok, here goes--

The Internet has made a huge difference in my needlepoint life. I especially want to thank the folks on the ANG email list who pose questions, answers, and links and have eased my lonely stitching life no end. I also want to thank my fellow bloggers who are always interesting and who make the NP Blog-o-sphere of the last 3-4 years such a fun place.

When it comes to books, I have to thank TNNA whose little How to Needlepoint booklet opened the door to endless pleasure; Kaffe Fassett, the master of color, whose Glorious Needlepoint showed me what NP could be; Jo I. Christensen, who wrote the Needlepoint Bible I use almost weekly; and finally Brenda Hart, whose stitch dictionaries are always inspiring.

I want to thank Marnie Ritter, whose incredible plate designs in the old Needlepoint News and Needlepoint Plus magazine are as beautiful and relevant today as they were when published twenty years ago. She is still publishing gorgeous things in Needlepoint Now, using a multitude of threads and stitches she has created out of thin air. I can't tell her how much I love her work!

I want to thank three painted canvas designers who do the realistic, shaded pieces I so admire--Leigh, Mindy and SharonG. Your gorgeous designs make my fingers itch to stitch and my brain goes into overdrive, trying to come up with something that will add a new dimension to your works of art. Thank you all, and thank you for your willingness to share personal help, advice and stitching tidbits. These are really exceptional women, not just exceptional designers.

And finally, I want to thank the late Nina Goerres, who got me started writing about needlepoint on a regular basis, and blog readers, who keep me going because you keep coming back here.

The iris above is from my garden. It is a meagre thank you for all you've done for me. Now, who do you want to thank? Act now, while they can still hear your gratitude....

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