Pepperpot Skin Again

Seeing Stars Santa with Pepperpot Face

Last November I showed off my new set of Pepperpot Silk skeins in various skin tones.
http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2015/11/pepperpot-skins.html

I finally got around to stitching a face with it.  Above is Leigh Design's Seeing Stars Santa from her Seashore Santa series.  As you can see, my tent stitches aren't totally even in this extreme closeup but if your stitch tension is tighter than mine and you really like Pepperpot Silk, the colors are lovely and good matches to certain skin tones.  I normally use 2 plies of silk floss for faces so I am not used to pulling threads tight as you can see.
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp835x.html

I used Pepperpot's "Baked Alaska" for Santa's skin and "Cotton Candy" for his pink cheeks.  Cotton Candy isn't one of the skin tone set; Baked Alaska is.  Pepperpot Silks come in a huge range of tans so I think you could pick darker shades for the person you are stitching if they are not particularly fair.
http://www.planetearthfiber.com/index.php/needlepoint-fiber/pepper-pot-silk

This is a thread well worth adding to your stash.  I like my Santa's face and will use this again the next time I stitch a person.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 26, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Gay Ann Speaks

Gay Ann Rogers has started a series of articles on thread on her website. You won't want to miss these! They will be spread out over the next week, but if you get impatient, you can read Gay Ann's lessons from last year.   For those who don't know Gay Ann, she is a retired needlepoint teacher with decades of experience which she is briefly sharing.  Thank you, Gay Ann!
http://www.gayannrogers.com/lessons.html

http://www.gayannrogers.com/2-floss-and-silk.html

http://www.gayannrogers.com/3-1003.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 16, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Nine Easy Ways to Improve Your Stitching

The Stitch Style blog lists nine easy ways to improve your stitching. Thanks, Ginny!
http://stitchstyleblog.com/2016/04/top-5-easiest-ways-improve-stitching-without-much-work/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 24, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Source for Berlin Woolwork Charts?

Thanks to Hands Across the Sea, I realized the Internet Archive has posted issues of Peterson's Magazine online.  One of them has a Berlin woodwork chart!  If you are a fan of 19th Century needlepoint, it might be worth a browse to see what other charts you can find.  Just follow the link here and explore....
https://hands-across-the-sea-samplers.com/its-not-cosmopolitan/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 24, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Ripples and Ruth (A Review)

This week's posting at Sheena's Sweet Stitches has two various of an interesting sky/water stitch plus a review of Ruth Schmuff's fourth Stitches book.
http://www.sheenasstitches.com/ripples/

Another friend just bought Stitches Volume Four and says it has lots of interesting stitches in it. I'm waiting for the iOS app myself (a little bird told me it might be out in June) as that's a better format for me, but it comes in two sizes for the shopper who either travels a lot or who wants a full sized book for visibility.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2016/04/what-i-finished-book.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 13, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.