Featured

While I wasn't paying attention, TNNA's needlepoint website has posted quite a few Artist and Shop profiles.  These are great fun to read on a slow news morning, so bookmark them so you can visit occasionally and get to know the designers and shops who make our needlepoint such fun.  This is the latest Featured Artist profile.  Older ones are listed at the bottom of the page.
http://www.worldofneedlepoint.com/featuredartist.html

Here is the last Featured Shop.  Again, older profiles are listed at the bottom of the page.
http://www.worldofneedlepoint.com/featuredshop.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

After Luna

dede's Cat Topiary Garden

I have finished work on Red Geisha (sorry, no pictures until after the Columbus trade show), which means I am now doing the last sections on my Ladies of the Night piece.  Luna's cloak is huge and I'm still working to get that area done before I can pick up the last bit, her sleeves. I have probably more than two weeks' worth of stitching before I finish Luna.

But I am already planning for my next project.  I'm going to be working an 11 1/2 x 13 1/2 inch canvas from dede Odgen which I call the Cat Topiary Garden.
http://www.canvasesbegone.com/5973/dede+Topiary+Garden+needlepoint+hp+18+or+13+ct.html

This is intended to hang on the door of my mother's new apartment.  All her neighbors have floral wreaths on their doors but Mom says they look like funeral wreaths, so I've been hunting for something to stitch for her to put on her door.  This canvas is perfect as it combines her love of gardens with her love of cats.

The reason I'm mentioning this so early is that I picked up Cat Topiary Garden at the Canvases Be Gone website at a good price, and the owner of the business tells me she has several of these same canvases (in both 13 or 18 count--I bought an 18 count version) still in stock.  She got them from dede herself as they are a discontinued design.  So if you want to stitch along with me, get in touch with Canvases Be Gone and get your canvas now before I start mine.

There won't be a stitch guide for Cat Topiary Garden since it is discontinued, so I'll be talking about this canvas here in enough detail you'll be able to stitch with me whether you got the 13 or 18 count version.  I plan to use light coverage stitches, tulle, beads, and perhaps old Czech glass buttons as I create a door hanging that'll make Mom proud.  I'll also talk about how I finish this piece so you can follow along there in case you want a wall or door hanging as well.

So if you are interested in stitching with me, get your canvas now before I am ready to start.  Full disclosure:  I know Dale who owns Canvases Be Gone but I didn't know she had multiple copies of this design until after I ordered mine.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Smart Cookies UPDATED

Liz from LizArt is a magnet collector who's a little tired of a clump of magnets.  So she designed a way to keep them organized, thus winning my first Smart Cookie award of the week.
http://lizartblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/magnet-minder.html

Art Needlepoint has some thoughts to share on choosing your next canvas to stitch.
http://artneedlepoint.com/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=1264&PostID=71848

Does turkeywork make you want to hide in a closet?  Mary Corbet has tools to make the turkeywork look better, and there's a link to her turkeywork stitch tutorial video, too.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2011/05/embroidery-fluff-how-to-make-it-fluffy.html

Finally, Laura Perin has announced her next cyberclass--on shadow stitching, which is a form of light coverage stitching.  The details are on her website (second link below).
http://two-handedstitcher.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-cyber-class.html

http://laurajperindesigns.tripod.com/id33.htm

UPDATE:  Laura clarifies what shadow stitching means.
http://two-handedstitcher.blogspot.com/2011/05/fyi-just-to-clarify.html

Smart cookies, these ladies.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Purses Galore

Since Red Geisha will adorn the front of a purse (this one, actually, but in black),
http://www.stirlingcases.com/products_sub.php?id=14

I thought it would be nice to show off other purses that have popped up on the World Wide Web recently.  Rittenhouse has just written a little article about all the purse canvases they have in stock.  There's a huge variety in size, shape and price for the interested stitcher.
http://rittenhouseneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2011/05/purses.html

Vicky just got this fabulous Lee tiger design back from Marlene's Finishing.  Isn't it gorgeous?!
http://mostlyneedlepoint.com/05/13/741/

Finally, the Pischke Pocket totes are coming out with new colors and designs all the time.
http://www.needlepoint.com/kits/pischke-pockets.html?gclid=CM3zhfqC6qgCFZF25Qod8ie2Dw

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Red Geisha's Hair

Melissa Shirley's Red Geisha

As promised, here is Red Geisha's wig.  Because her hair is black, it is difficult to see the effect in photographs, so I made the photograph black and white.  This shows the slants of her hair much better than a color photo does.  Her hair is made up of a silk/cashmere blend (Empress Elite from The Pure Palette) and overdyed Kreinik (from ThreadworX).  Around her hairline and the nape of her neck, the hair is a mix of straight and slanted stitches in black and gray to mimic the painted canvas.  You can see that much better in the black and white photo than in real life.  Further up the wig starts.  The wig is made of bundles of black Empress Elite couched down by the overdyed Kreinik which is silver/charcoal/black.  Each row is tied down in a slightly different place than the previous row was.  Each row slants to match the painted gray lines on the original canvas.  The best places to see the slant are the side hair next to her left eye and the hair just above her forehead.

This is a very easy technique, although it takes time and a lot of thread.  The effect is slightly stylized, which is appropriate for a geisha portrait such as this one.  It has the added bonus of being hard to snag, which is important as this will be on the front of a purse.

Red Geisha's Wig

And now, here is Red Geisha's wig in color.  She is not finished yet but this is the last you'll see of her until after she makes her appearance at the Columbus TNNA trade show at Melissa Shirley's booth.  I'll just say that tulle, sequins, and beads are about to be applied!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com