Winter Farm Fun in Connecticut

Linda went to Enriched Stitch's fall retreat in Connecticut and has posted about the experience. The canvas they were all stitching is called :Winter Farm Fun."  It's one of Ewe and Eye's rustic rural scenes, stitched by Suzy Vallerie and taught by her and her fabulous shop team.
http://blog.njneedleartists.org/2014/10/24/shopping/

While there she discovered one of my secret weapons--light coverage stitches!
http://blog.njneedleartists.org/2014/10/25/winter-farm-fun-day-1/

http://blog.njneedleartists.org/2014/10/30/winter-farm-fun-day-2/

Here are a few more pictures from the Enriched Stitch blog.
http://astheneedleturns.com/retreat-2014-3/

If you'd like to see the finished model Suzy did and hear about some of the special touches, here's her blog posting about the design.
http://astheneedleturns.com/just-in-the-nick-of-time/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright September 26, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

In Stitches Does Halloween

In Stitches is the counted thread shop (with knitting and needlepoint) close to the entrance to Woodlawn Plantation. They offer a lot of counted and cross stitch patterns but they also have needlepoint, so I wasn't totally surprised when their Halloween blog posting featured two wonderful needlepoint patterns.  First there's Shelly Tribbey's skeleton in a top hat, perfect for the Halloween dandy!  I think finishing this in a little coffin would be perfect!
http://institchesshopblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-victoria-sampler-trunk-show-and-more.html

The photo of the Quilted Jack o' Lantern (fourth from the bottom) is a counted canvaswork classic from Pat Timpanaro of Neon Flamingo.  I hope this chart is still available.  It's a fun sampler of stitches for the fan of counted work.
http://www.neonflamingo.com/Designs/Jack.htm

Sometimes you can find great designs in the most unlikely places....

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 26, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tips for Better Stem Stitches

I use stem stitch a lot. If you do, too, then you'll went to read Mary Corbet's tips for better stitch stitches. 
http://www.needlenthread.com/2014/10/12-tips-for-a-better-stem-stitch.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 16, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Egyptian Cat Returns

Sepals at Base of Lotus Blossom

As you can probably tell, I'm stitching the Egyptian Cat from Tapestry Fair again.  The design is called Cleo's Cat and it's painted on 18 count canvas.  I call her Catra, short for CleoCATra.  The design is 10 inches wide by 11 1/2 tall, so she's a pretty big girl.  Recently I've been working on the lotus pillars that flank Catra.
http://www.tapestryfair.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=1

I discovered something interesting when I started to do the lotus flower sepals in padded satin stitches.  When I used the thicker Felicity's Garden (green) or Silk and Ivory (blue), I could use horizontal stitches over the padding.

When I used the thinner Impressions (purple), the satin stitches had to be on the diagonal to cover in one layer.  Diagonal stitches cover better than horizontal or vertical ones!

In the photo above you can see the vertical padding in the blue and purple sepals on the left side partly covered by horizontal and diagonal satin stitches.

Experiment a bit with this on some scrap canvas and you'll see what I mean.  Try doing brick stitches and then do Mosaic stitches with the same thread, then switch to a thicker (or thinner) one and do the stitches again.  It's amazing how much better Mosaic stitches cover if your thread is on the skimpy side.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 26, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Let's Visit Quail Run (and More)

Sue's on the road and managed to squeeze a visit to Quail Run in while she was away. Luckily she took her camera with her....
http://blog.njneedleartists.org/2014/10/16/a-stop-at-quail-run/

Sue and Rosie also went to BeStitched, Old Town Needlework, and Bead World.  Next year I'm going on vacation with THEM!
http://blog.njneedleartists.org/2014/10/17/make-a-u-curve-ahead/


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 16, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.