More Callaway (with Pictures!)

There's a little bit more about the Callaway Needle Arts experience available online from the Needleart Nut who has added more about what she did there to her blog.  Here's the first new section.
http://needleartnut.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-about-callaway.html

and here is the end.  Doesn't it sound like fun!?!  If you missed Pat's earlier postings, you can find them by looking in the right hand column and clicking on Callaway Gardens, then going to the bottom of the page and reading toward the top.  Blogs always have the latest entry at the top and the first at the bottom.
http://needleartnut.blogspot.com/2010/01/last-part.html

If you are tempted and curious about the classes for next January, Gay Ann Rogers has posted both photographs she took of this year's activities and photographs of the class models for 2011 on her website.  Click on a thumbnail and explore.  Note that there is a link to the registration form and also a listing of classes, too.  The Callaway website will have everything in detail later, but Gay Ann is treating us to a glimpse to tide us over until the official site is ready.  Right now the folks who run Callaway are lying on the floor moaning....
http://www.gayannrogers.com/site_2/Callaway_2010.html

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

Stars for the New Millennium Colors

Yesterday I posted the errata sheet I have from the ANG email list to help those who are working this piece, along with a note from the folks at Needlepoint Etc. (a Yahoo Group) who worked this piece.  Hopefully it will be useful for us stitchers working this right now.  If you belong to Needlepoint Etc. look at their files for color choices, a blank form to use to make up your thread list and this same errata sheet.

The first step in working this piece is to choose your colors.  Five are used in the piece.  The first thread you choose is an overdyed silk or cotton floss thread with at least 4 distinct colors in it.  The overdyed thread is used here and there on the design, mostly in the middle border between the outside large border and the inner sashing. The bulk of the design is worked in four colors (Tony calls them A, B, C and D) chosen from the overdye's colors and used to pick your other threads.  Tony recommends your four colors be distinct from each other to bring the pattern to life.

To help guide stitchers in color choices he explains that colors A and B are quite dominant in the piece.  A is used in the outer border and B is used for the sashing that divides each star quilt square form the others.  He also lists twelve different color combinations that his students used when he taught this piece and includes his model colors in the list.  Most stitchers choose from these colors although I think Silk n Colors Morning Garden and Spring Frocks have been discontinued.  This chart book was published in 1999 so many threads we have available today were not used, but that doesn't matter. Tony tells you that you need things like  "Medium Round thread choices," which means a medium shade of threads like pearl cotton, Patina, Trebizond, etc.  This makes it easy to pick threads when you want to substitute for something on one of the thread lists or when you choose a color and can't find the equivalent shade for the stranded cotton or whatever you need.

Choosing threads and colors is a threadaholic's delight!  I had a blast with this part of the design, aided by my friend Linda C.  who was a color genius.  Above you see my choices:  Violet (A), Black (B), Terracotta (C) and Copper Metallic (D).  There is no overdyed skein in the photo because there is no overdyed silk or cotton thread that mixes these colors, so I faked my overdye.

The design goes on a 15x18 inch piece of 18 count canvas.  The color doesn't matter since it doesn't show through the threads anywhere.

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

Stars for the New Millennium Errata Sheet

Errata Sheet for Stars by Tony Minieri

An unknown source posted this on ANG email list many years back.  I can't vouch for its veracity.  Note many of the problems listed were due to the number of plies recommended.  If you didn't use one of Tony's recommended color schemes, this may not apply to you.  The Needlepoint Etc. Yahoo Group also posted this information (and a blank form to fill in your colors) with a note that they had no problem with the number of plies and that they were advised to do the sashing as they worked to minimize wear and tear on these areas.  If you do this, you have to count very carefully the whole time you work the piece.

page 26 of Vivien Leigh - Do not end off the B-7 as you can carry it to Area 2.

page 27 there are two number 6s in the diagram - the one in the lower left corner should be 5

page 34 of Marlon Brando, step three- I used 4 plies of D-3 for this, as I thought it was too skimpy with only 1 ply.

page 35 - Area 3 - I used 4 plies of D-3 here also.

page 48 - Area 5 of Cary Grant - I used 3 plies of D-2.

page 71 of Ava Gardner - Area 2 - My book says use 4 srands B-11 but that color was not listed on the cover page for this square. I determined that it was supposed to read C-2 by looking at the pictures and the master chart for that square.

page 77 of Humphrey Bogart - I used 2 plies of A-11 for the first step, as again I thought it did not cover well.

page 80 - I used 5 strands of A-9 to get good coverage

no page number - Ingrid Bergman - This was the most difficult to get to look good. Areas 1 and 2 became very thick and it was hard to lay the Neon Rays nicely.

page 84 - Pull the Mistake Stitch tightly to reveal the Smyrna underneath. Mine got buried and I gave up and just left it that way.

page 85 - Do the D-4 stitch after Afrea 6. Then you can carry the thread without a stop and start.

page 88 - Gary Cooper - Page 88 left off B-11 which was required for page 91.

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

What Size Beads for What Size Lingerie Canvas?

Yesterday I noticed that Judy Harper recommends size 14 beads for 18 count needlepoint canvas and size 11 beads for 13 count.  She's got several examples on her blog of lovely beaded effects using the skip tent method of beading and varying whether she uses sparkly or less sparkly beads.
http://fairy-crafts.blogspot.com/2010/01/beads-with-needlepoint-and-plaid-egg.html

Her recommendation much matches what Fireside Stitchery used to post on their website:
18 count canvas:  14/0 or 1.25mm
13-14 count canvas:  11/0 or 1.33mm
12 count canvas:  10/0 or 1.35mm
10 count canvas: 8/0 or 6/0;  3-3.5mm
7 count plastic canvas: 5/0 or 4mm


Remember that bead sizes are written either 11 or 11/0--it's the same thing--and that the smaller the number, the larger the bead.  (Judy also points out that the term "seed beads" can mean any size.  A seed bead isn't always a tiny bead.)


So how come I'm using size 11 beads on size 18 needlepoint canvas?  Easy!  The totally clear beads I want to use don't come in size 14.  So I have to use a bead a little larger than I should.  Besides, I've noticed that the shape of the bead also effects what size bead fits what size canvas.  My Miyuki beads are also size 11 but they are smaller than the round size 11 Sundance beads.  Their shape is a cylinder so they fit together better on the 18 count canvas than my other size 11 beads which are rounded.  The Miyuki beads are't much larger than my Sundance size 14 hex beads!


In other words, depending on the effect you want, you don't have to stick to the recommended sizes.  Of course if you plan to completely cover a canvas like I'm doing, you probably wouldn't want beads much larger than one size above the recommended one.  But beads vary A LOT, so you have a little leeway on what you do. 


If you want to put a bead at the end of a coil of DMC memory thread to make a hat ornament, it probably doesn't matter what size it is as long as it looks good with the design.  In the photo above, the belt buckle is covered with rows of size 14 beads, and the belt area to the right of the buckle is covered with size 11 beads.  You can see the sizes are pretty similar.


In the photo above you see one leg of the tap pants iced over with beads.  The black area near the crotch has a missing bead because I didn't get them packed in tightly enough.  I'll go back and add that later.


I started out adding beads in horizontal rows, sort of like doing continental tent stitches.  I normally work from the top down but rapidly discovered that this hides the bead hole I should go down in.  So I have changed my working method to beading from the bottom of an area up.  This makes it easier for me to see where things go, especially if I start my stitch at the top and go down in the hole nearest the row of beads under where I am working.


I worked most of the leg this way and then realized it was even easier to work beads on the diagonal like basketweave.  So I am now working on the other leg from the bottom up along diagonal rows, switching thread colors when I move to another area in my stitching path.


I'm still using one ply of DMC cotton floss and going through each bead twice.  When I finish this canvas and move to the bra canvas, I'll try doubling my thread in the needle and attaching each bead in two passes--one through the bead and the second with a thread on either side to hold the bead steady.  I want to compare how easy the two methods are before I make a recommendation.

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

All Beads Are Not Alike

Before I started this project, I thought of beads as items that are attached to needlepoint a few at a time, preferably with a doubled strand of silk (for strength).  Judy Harper uses beads on her canvases as accents, to bring sparkle or a bit of shine to her designs.  Her way of working is similar to the way I've used beads in the past.  You can read about Judy's use of beads on her blog.  This entry is a good explanation of how she works.
http://fairy-crafts.blogspot.com/2009/11/beads-on-jeweled-bracelet.html

But like anything else in needlework (or in Life), there are many ways to go about beading.  I decided it was time to take a serious look at the beads themselves.  With the help of Nandra at Sundance Designs and Pat in North Carolina, and a few visits to bead sources in my area, I collected a ton of clear beads to examine.  What you see in the photo above are beads from Sundance, from Tojo, from Mill Hill, from SJ Designs, from Miyuki and from unnamed sources.  Each is different.  Some are larger than others; some have different finishes; some are different shapes.

Generally speaking, beads come in frosted, regular, or iridescent finishes.  Beads also come in various shapes such as faceted hex beads, square cubes, oval drop beads with holes near one end, round glass beads, or column shaped beads that are rounded cylinders like a cut up length of spaghetti.  They also can have their holes lined with paint, sometimes with silver and sometimes with gold (the gold lined ones seem to be called Gilt Lined).

I knew I wanted clear beads that would allow the painted canvas below to show and also that would allow the threads they were attached with to show.  That removed frosted beads and beads whose holes were lined from the equation.  Since I'm working on size 18 NP canvas, I knew I wanted beads that were size 11 or the smaller size 14.  So I tossed out all the beads that didn't meet my criteria and ended up with three contenders.

Here they are, with a photograph and then the description of each below.

Sundance hex beads #250 (size 14) with an iridescent finish -  The 250 beads are very sparkly because they are six sided and the sides act as facets, reflecting the light from the iridescent coating.  An area stitched with them looks a bit like candied fruit.  If you haven't seen sugar-coated citrus slices, or coated grapes with egg white, rolled them in a dish of sugar and then frozen them, here is a link-
http://www.mattplappert.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/fruit2.jpg

Sundance round beads #160 (size 11) -  These are completely clear glass beads that are round.   An area stitched with these looks like it is covered in a coating of ice.

Miyuki Delica beads #4054 (size 11) with a slight iridescent finish - These are not as iridescent or sparkly as the Sundance #250 beads, probably because they are cylinder-shaped without facets.  Their shine is intermediate between the two other bead types.  An area stitched with them looks icy but reflects the light more than the Sundance 160s.

I decided using the Sundance #160 beads (the round glass ones) would give me the look I wanted but I probably will also use a few Miyuki #4054 beads on the dog tags and belt buckle to give that area a bit of a special shine.

If you are interested in seeing more bead colors and finishes, explore Sundance Designs' website.  First, head to the link below.  Then using the drop down menu header, choose Beads as the "Product Type."  The clear 160 beads in size 11 I'm using are at the bottom of the first page.  Click on any photo to see a larger image and the list of sizes that color is available in.
http://www.sundancedesignsonline.com/catalog.php

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