Embroidery Across the "Pond"

Kreinik's blog highlights the work of the English designer Yvonne Close who runs West End Embroidery this morning.  Like cupcakes?  Like counted canvaswork?  Then check our Yvonne's full range of charts in the second link below.
http://www.kreinikthread.blogspot.com/2014/03/everlasting-cupcakes.html

http://www.westendembroidery.com/West_End_Designs.html

If counted canvaswork isn't your thing, then you might like Mary Whelan's art embroidery from Ireland.  She incorporates beads and stumpwork techniques into her pieces, some of which are for sale.  Mary's style is very restrained and very very beautiful.  I don't think I've seen anything exactly like it before. She also does mosaics, which you can see if you click on Portfolio and then choose the Mosaic section of her site.  The greeting cards are in the Store area.
http://www.marywhelanart.com/embroidery.html

It's inspiring to see needlework from Great Britain that's totally unlike American needlework.  Keep up the good work, ladies!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 10, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Army Life (and Later)

Virginia has received her wonderful Lee Army ornament back from the finisher. This is a tribute to her husband's military career.  It turned out wonderfully!
http://stitchstyleblog.com/2015/05/lee-army-round/

Speaking of the military, you may have noticed the fund raiser for Sandy Sandell that has appeared on the right side of Blog.  Sandy has intestinal cancer.  He is a minister in northern Thailand, close to the border of Myamar, who practices dentistry among various tribal groups who don't have access to a dentist.  He's been doing this for decades.  The insurance his church sponsor offers covers a third of his medical treatment costs and friends are trying to raise more money.  If you can help, please do so by clicking on that link to donate.  You can read more about Sandy's amazing careers here.
http://helpsandy.net

Are their kids in your family who play the Call of Duty games on video game consoles like the xBox and Playstation?  If they are playing Call of Duty:  Black Ops they are playing what Sandy did for real in Vietnam.  Fred Lindsey's book has excerpts of some of the things Sandy did for his country in the war to keep South Vietman independent of the North.  I've heard many more stories about him along the same lines.  His spiritual descendants are carrying out covert missions today, with much better equipment, but the same tactics Sandy and his friends devised 40 years ago.
http://tinyurl.com/kmtoep8

The media have portrayed Vietnam vets as either crazy maniacs or damaged Jason Bourne-type superheroes since the Vietnam War ended.  They have no idea how heroic most of them still are in their daily lives.  We lost a saint when Sandy Sandell died.
http://www2.lcc.org/index.php/missions

https://vimeo.com/164117944

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 18, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Stories from Renee and Ellen

Renee of Gone Stitching talks about why her customers stitch.   I see myself in some of Renee's stories and you will, too.
http://needlepointofview.com/2015/05/10/the-stories-behind-the-stitches/

By the way, Ellen at Serendipity Needleworks is also talking about the meaning in stitching Christmas ornaments.
http://blog.serendipityneedleworks.com/2015/05/11/creating-heirlooms/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 11, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Montenegren Made Easy

The May newsletter from Bedecked and Beaddazzled is full of class information but this time there is also a great diagram of Montenegren Stitch which Ruth used as a border on a current class piece.  I personally find this a hard stitch to understand and this is the best diagram I've ever seen.  Thanks, Ruth!
http://www.bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/content/uploads/bedeckednewsmay2015.pdf 

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 1, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Odds and Ends

Randi celebrated Mother's Day this year with a wonderful pillow she designed for her mom. 
http://twisinc.blogspot.com/2015/05/happy-mothers-day.html

Jenny Henry celebrated with a DIY project to create a lavender sachet for Mom.
https://jennyhenrydesigns.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/needlepoint-lavender-sachet-for-mom/

Melita has created bookends by combining two charts from Jean Hilton and Pat Mazu. Very clever!
https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/bookends/

Ridgewood shows off two collages--one for police and one for fire fighters.  Here in a very rural area we celebrate the volunteer rescue squad but these are perfect for more urban areas.  Sorry, I don't know the designer.
http://ridgewoodneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2015/05/calling-all-first-responders.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 9, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.