Make Your Own Display Stands

Thanks to Tara, I have a link to a great tutorial on how to make your own display stands or easels for flat backed stitched items.  It's clever, it's easy and it is fun to customize your own look with ribbon, buttons, scrapbooking decorations and beads.
https://thecopperfox.blogspot.com/2017/08/how-to-make-your-own-display-stands.html?m=1

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 26, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Upholstered Chair

Peggi of Tapestry Fair has collected vintage stitching for years, hoping to turn it into an upholstered chair. And this year she did it!  Kudos to you, Peggi.  Love the little faces on the arm fronts.
https://tapestryfair.blogspot.com/2017/12/early-christmas-present.html?spref=fb

Mary Agnes has read this and been inspired to reuse her old shop models this way.
http://needlenicely.blogspot.com/2017/12/uses-for-old-stitched-needlepoint.html

http://needlenicely.blogspot.com/2018/01/uses-for-old-stitched-needlepoint-ii.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 24, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

BeStitched Talks Bullions, French Knots and Colonial Knots

Lisa from BeStitched has released a free video tutorial on how to make bullions, French knots and Colonial knots.  It is very interesting to watch her make all three.
https://vimeo.com/201741974?inf_contact_key=d064f5d8f9c74a14fedf8ec4795c1204b5b52adbb73ba5634be53cac411f8926

Lisa is probably using the blunt point bullion needles from Colonial Needle.  You can also get a set of sharp pointed bullion needles from the same source.
http://colonialneedle.com/Bullion-Tapestry-Points.html

By the way, if videos really help you more than written material, you might consider subscribing to BeStitched's Needlepoint Flix.  Click on Join for all the details about the variety of subscription levels available.
http://www.needlepointfix.com

You can also read my review of Needlepoint Flix, although I am pretty sure the coupon no longer works.  I wrote this in 2015 after all!
https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2015/06/needlepoint-flix-review.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 15, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Threadaholic Alert: Tonkin Threads from France UPDATED

Thanks to the Needlework Retailer, I just heard about Tonkin Threads, a polyester metallic thread from France.  It is apparently 4-stranded but I am not certain it can be plied.
http://yarntree.typepad.com/needlework_news/2017/12/tonkin-threads.html

You can buy individual cards of it from Sajou in France. They describe it as "embroidery floss."
http://www.sajou.fr/en/287-tonkin-embroidery-floss-10m-cards-per-unit

In the USA, Tres Chic Stitchery has collections in two colorways.
http://treschicstitchery.com/specialty-threads/?sort=alphaasc&page=3

From just looking at the photos Tonkin Threads remind me of Rainbow Gallery's Entice or Gone Stitching's Twinkle although I don't think either of these can be plied.  If you try it, do let me know what you think about this new thread.
http://www.rainbowgallery.com/product/entice/

http://www.gonestitching.net/product/twinkling-gems-splendor-kit/

UPDATE:  Here's a bit more about Tonkin Threads from the Needlework Retailer.  Hummm….
"Puffed texture with glints of metallic" sounds an awful lot like DMC's Etoile metallic blended floss! Tonkin is a single strand, though.  Etoile is a six ply cotton blend floss.
https://yarntree.typepad.com/needlework_news/2019/12/tonkin-threads-from-sajou.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 22, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Kreinik Emergency

Barbara Elmore's Fuchsia

My last project was Barbara Elmore's "Fuchsia," published by Sundance.  Isn't it pretty?!

Notice that the border is three gold stitches wide.  I decided to tent stitch it with Kreinik's size 16 braid in Kreinik's classic gold 002.  I had two spools of the size 16 braid and surely that would be enough, right?

[Everyone starts laughing, and with good reason.]

Sadly one of the spools wasn't totally full and I ran out of Kreinik size 16 braid when there was only about 6 inches of border to go.  What to do?!  I had a lot of Kreinik's size 8 braid in 002 gold so I decided I would use a doubled length of that to finish the border's basketweave.  The color is exactly the same and the size is exactly half of size 16 braid so I thought it might work.  After all, I cannot get Kreinik metallics locally and mail order was going to take nearly a week because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Size 8 Doubled on Top, Size 16 Below

Sadly, the light reflection on the metallic thread is different.  If you look at the closeup of the gold border you will see the size 8 braid above the empty line of basketweave (pretty level with the top of the magnet) and the size 16 braid below the empty line.  In person the color change is not quite as obvious as in the photo but anyone looking closely will know that the gold isn't quite the same.

Gold Hiding under Lots of Beads

Fortunately for me, I had always planned to scatter beads at random on top of the gold border, thus hiding the slight difference in how the size 8 and size 16 reflect the light.  So I managed, but if you cannot distract the eye in your canvas, take the time to mail order more of the size of Kreinik you need.  You'll be glad you didn't fake it.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 19, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.