Sunday, December 11, 2016

Breaking News: Needle in a Haystack Montrose

It's probably not news to folks in the Montrose, California area, but Needle in a Haystack on Honolulu Avenue has a new owner!  We feel very lucky that a new owner wanted to take over when the old wished to retire.
http://www.needhay.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 11, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Silk Gauze Lover's Dream

I didn't realize Frances Peterson, who has been happily posting photographs of her silk gauze needlepoint rugs on Facebook, has a website where she sells her rug charts.
http://petersonpetitpoint.com

The slide show of Frances' rugs in various dollhouses and miniature rooms is great fun to watch and then you can go browse her designs.  I suggest you click on "All Products," click on the first design photo to come up, then hit Next to see everything.  Clicking on the individual pages will give you a better look.

Boy, that Camden rug is a beauty....

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 15, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Etsy is Cracking Down on Copyright Infringement

Looks as if Etsy is cracking down on shop owners who are violating copyright. Good for them!  I don't think using other folks' intellectual property for your own gain is ethical or legal.  Of course I've had blog articles plagiarized, so I have personal reasons to be pretty strict about this both here and on Facebook's Needlepoint Nation.
http://www.thewriteassistantllc.com/2016/11/09/etsy-shop-shutdowns/

It also looks like they are cracking down on shops selling merchandise that they did not make themselves.  I wonder what effect this will have on shops selling needlepoint canvases?  I think this is geared towards shops that import items made in Chinese and Thai factories and pass them off as their own creations.  I'm pleased about this as I feel Etsy is supposed to be a place for creators to sell their personal handwork.

What are your opinions on this?

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 10, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Friday, December 9, 2016

A Shot of Color for a Dreary Day

I write Blog articles ahead of time, mostly about three-four weeks before they will publish.  Therefore I don't really know if today's going to be dreary but hey!--it's December!  Everyone needs a shot of color and fun finishing in December, right?  Therefore I'm reviving Finishing Friday as a special treat.  First, let's see what Ruth Schmuff's students have done with their mermaids from Lulu My Pink Turtle....
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2016/11/beaches-mermaids-and-seashells.html

The design is called La Sirena and it was a mystery class from Bedecked and Beaddazzled last summer.  You can pick up the class kit from Ruth any time you need a mermaid (and mer-cat) in your life.
http://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/product/la-sirena/

Our other shot of fabulousness is from Suzie Vallerie at Enriched Stitch.  This is a Kate Dickerson piece called "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."  This also was a class at Suzie's shop.  She just got it back from the framer.
http://astheneedleturns.com/girls-just-wanna-have-fun/

If you want to play with ribbons, the kit is also available.
http://enrichedstitch.com

Now, don't you feel better?

Hugs from Chilly Hollow!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 17, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Picking Colors

Recently I've been working on a counted canvaswork piece, Gay Ann Roger's Queen Elizabeth Heart.  You can see Beth's finished heart here--
http://bethsneedleworkstash.blogspot.com/2013/01/heart-of-elizabeth-stitched.html

You may have noticed photos of my heart posted here in the background or over in the right hand column as I worked away.  Obviously my colors are totally different.  That's because I bought the instructions used without any of the threads and beads that come in the kit.  I planned to substitute items from my stash.  But what colors?  Should I stick with an Elizabethean look or choose favorite colors?

I am no good at picking colors that will work together so I decide to cheat.  I google'd Japanese kimonos and choose my favorite--a wedding kimono made by Chiso--then picked the colors from that.  You can see the kimono itself in the background of Blog and you can also see it on the Chiso website.  Just click on the arrows to cycle through their lovely pieces.
http://www.chiso.co.jp

The colors I came up with are dark plum, persimmon, harvest gold, and lime green with gold, emerald and ruby touches for the jewelry along with pearls.  The heart is stitched on white Congress cloth.  I had only blue and ecru so I chose to use the ecru rather than buy new.

Then I had to go through the instructions very carefully, listing all the colors used for each part.  That way I knew charcoal silk floss was used in the original for the blackwork.  Then I went through my stash, looking for colors from the kimono that I had in silk flosses so I knew what I had to use on my version of the blackwork.  Make sense?

It took a lot of rummaging and planning and I did change my mind several times, using the harvest gold only once and changing a gold area to lime green, but I finally came up with a pretty unusual color scheme.  When I finish the heart I'll post a photograph of the final look, with apologies to Gay Ann Rogers and thanks for a very interesting design.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 20, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.