Callaway 2010 Website Up

The Callaway Gardens Needle Arts 2010 website is up. The classes are listed under the Course Description tab but I'd encourage you to look at all the sections as the header for each is a close up from various lovely stitched models.
http://www.callawaygardens.com/Callaway/info/calendar/calendar.needlearts.event.aspx

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

Muzzle and Snowflakes

I have finished Elmer the Candy Cane Dog's muzzle, using white and gray Wisper in tent stitches.  The tent stitches mean this fuzzy thread isn't as fuzzy as it could be, but it still stands out a little as being different from his body and the candy cane, which is what I wanted.  (By the way, my card of white Wisper does not have a color number but the gray Wisper is W60.)  Wisper is a thin fuzzy thread that is a mix of kid mohair and nylon.  I doubled a strand in my needle so it would cover my 18 count canvas ok.  Wisper usually looks better in long stitches, and you can use the tip of your needle or a laying tool to gently stroke the stitches after you lay them on the canvas to bring more of the fuzzies to the front.  Since I was using tent stitches I didn't bother to do this.

The same photo above shows I've been working on the big snowflakes at the top and bottom of the canvas.  The top is finished.  The empty spots are where beads will go.

The bottom shows better how I went about stitching the big snowflakes.  Using the same white Very Velvet I used to couch the long diagonal lines, I tent stitched all the single stitches in the centers of the snowflakes.  That is what you see in the stocking toe.  Then I used a new white thread called either Faux Fur or Santa's Beard & Suit to insert long stitches in the snowflake arms.  That is the step you see finished at the stocking top.

I should explain that both Faux Fur and Santa's Beard & Suit are from Rainbow Gallery.  Both threads are very fuzzy and are meant for 13 count canvas.  They are made up of 85 percent acrylic and 15% wool and both threads come from Italy. As far as I can tell, these two threads are identical except that there are 10 yards on the Santa's Beard & Suit card while the Faux Fur card holds 20 yards.  I used Santa's Beard because there wasn't much thread left on the card and I hoped to use it all up (although I didn't).  The Santa's Beard thread is fuzzier than my Very Velvet so it is a little harder to stitch with but it looks lovely as the fuzzy snowflakes.  The fact that the centers of each snowflake are done in Very Velvet isn't obvious.  I took advantage of the characteristics of each thread to stitch the snowflakes, using the clear definition of the Very Velvet for the single tent stitches and avoiding the fact that Very Velvet picked up red fuzzies from my red Crystal Braid and looked pink by finishing the snowflakes with Santa's Beard.

Mixing four different white threads (Very Velvet, Santa's Beard & Suit, Wisper and Burmilana) worked well for me on this piece as all four were the same stark white shade.  I don't think I would have mixed thread brands if some of them had been cream, some white and some ivory.

My next step will be choosing the beads and trim that will finish this darling little stocking.

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

Patchwork Pears and Halloween Baskets

Chaparral Needlepoint has two new monthly clubs they have announced in newsletters.  They have Kelly Clark's Patterned Pears which are a patchwork pattern and which come with a stitch guide by KC herself, and are starting a Halloween basket series with stitch guides by Cynthia Thomas.  I don't know the designer for these baskets but each little monster face looks like a lot of fun to stitch.  Sadly, photos are not on the Chaparral website but they do show the Mile High Princess monthly heart club that started in January on their home page.  Their newsletter says you can see photos of the patchwork Pears in an ad in the March/April Needlepoint Now.
http://www.ndlpt.com/

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

Dog Body

The candy cane dog has a body now, after much struggling.  I wanted to try using a different animal fur stitch than my usual interlocking Goblein or random long and short stitches.  So I pulled out my copies of the three Stitches for Effects books and rummaged through them.  Gosh, there are a TON of canvases suitable for dog beds or baskets or pillows or leashes!  But after a little searching (fur is the best way to find stitches for dogs in these books) I came up with something different--Horizontal Parisian (Stitches for Effects p. 35) or Parisian Strip (also knows as Parisian Row Variation, from More Stitches for Effect p. 54).  These two stitches are actually the same stitch--a straight stitch over two threads immediately followed by a straight stitch over four threads.  The shorter stitch is centered a thread below the top--or above the bottom depending on how you look at it--of the longer stitch. Once you do a short/long pair, then you repeat this endless across the row.  Short over two, then long over four threads.  The next row you put the short stitches under the long ones of the previous rows and then repeat the pairs.  The only difference between Horizontal Parisian and Parisian Strip is whether your pair of stitches are upright (Parisian Strip) or horizontal (Horizontal Parisian).  Mrs. Howren and Robertson say this is an easy stitch to compensate and it is perfect for small areas.

However, when I tried using Horizontal Parisian for Elmer's face and Parisian Strip for his body, it didn't look right. I think I didn't have enough space for the stitches to look good.  So I tried long tent stitches (which are just tent stitches over two threads instead of one)--too regular.  Then I went to Goblein--too regular.  Finally I gave up and used Interlocking Goblein which is one of my standby stitches.  It looks just the way I wanted Elmer to look and worked well with the black tip of his tail which was already stitched in packed stem stitches.

I used tan Impressions 1136 for the bulk of Elmer's fur, with four plies of Mandarin Floss M821 for the dark brown shadows and two plies of Cashmere H04 which is a dark brown with a green tinge for the very darkest areas I wanted in deepest shadow.  I'd already used the Impressions and the Mandarin Floss for Elmer's nose and to outline his eyes.

It did take several hours to try out stitches, reject them, rip them out and try something else, so Elmer's muzzle is unstitched.  I'm debating whether to use tent stitches there or continue with the Interlocking Goblein.  I'm also debating whether to use the same threads (gray Medici and white Burmilana) as his stocking cap or whether to use something else entirely.  I see more test stitching in my immediate future.

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

Update from Other Stars and Kirk & Hamilton Stitchers

Other folks are blog-stitching Tony Minieri's Stars or a Kirk & Hamilton piece and I wanted you to know they've posted updates on their work on the Internet.

First, Donna is reporting about the Stars experience she is having.  Right now she is still settling on colors but I think she's on the right track.
http://majtravaux.blogspot.com/2010/03/stars-post-1.html

http://majtravaux.blogspot.com/2010/03/stars-2.html

Donna also found out whose Stars piece she admired at the Woodlawn Plantation exhibit last year.  Small world!
http://majtravaux.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-have-answer.html

Sara Leigh, who belongs to the same stitching group as Donna, has her colors chosen.  They are cheerful and give me hope spring is on the way.  (Maybe.)
http://remedialstitcher.blogspot.com/2010/02/slight-progress.html

Robin King is stitching a small Kirk & Hamilton cat design.  You can watch her progress stitching the cat and its pumpkin balloon on the Needlepoint Study Hall blog.
http://needlepointstudyhall.blogspot.com/2010/02/floating-cat.html

http://needlepointstudyhall.blogspot.com/2010/03/golden-lights.html

Anyone else?

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