Winter 2018 TNNA Favorites UPDATED

Each trade show I try to pick my favorite canvases. It's hard, as that is a very personal choice and there are so many great things!  But here are my favs in no particular order:

Scary Books, By Melissa Shirley Designs

The first piece that caught my eye is Melissa Shirley's "Scary Books," complete with angry rat.  This a a fairly large piece, at 16x9 inches on 18 count canvas.  I love the fancy book bindings!

"Dragon" From Kimberly Design

Kimberly's "Dragon" is perfect for the little boy in your life.  Check out the swords and the dragon peeking down at the top!  It's also on 18 count and is 10 inches by 11 inches.    Kimberly's designs are distributed by Ruth Schmuff, by the way.

Seaside Topiary is from Pepperberry Designs.  I find the pastels soothing and charming and I think the background could be made gorgeous to set off the little topiary tree.  It's also on 18 count and is 7x11 inches.

Zecca's "Smile Mask"

I really like Zecca's "Smile Mask" which at 12 x 9 1/2  on 18 count. It's bigger than it looks but it would be a blast to stitch.

VNG's "Perk Up"

Speaking of a fun stitch, how about Perk Up from Vallerie Needlepoint Gallery?   It cracks me up!  I don't know the size or stitch count on this one yet, but I love the lime green and the graphic nature of this cutie.  Coming up with the right background stitch (tiny coffee cups?) would make this a hilarious gift for those of us who aren't alive until that morning cuppa is drunk.

Three of the Eight Leigh Design "Tissue Toppers"

These Tissue Toppers from Leigh Designs are a sentimental favorite as I watched Carolyn stitch the patriotic model and Pat stitch the animal skins and poppies beauty.    They are gorgeous in person.     I also like that there are 8 versions, each totally different.  Click on the photo of each that has a stitch guide listed on the Leigh website to get a good view of them flat and finished.  They are 9 x 5 1/2 finished on 18 count but there is more stitching involved than that since you have four sides and the top.
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp730x.html

Mary Lake-Thompson's Border Collie

I am really fond of the winter dogs and cats from Mary Lake-Thompson/Melissa Shirley.The small Border Collie portrait above is just one example of these really fun designs.  They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are on 18 and 13 count.
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/gallery/?bsn=1

John Johannsen's "Indian Angel"

Speaking of Melissa Shirley Designs, she has reproduced this gorgeous John Johannsen portrait.  It is big at 20x10 on 13 count, but it is beautiful.

And there you have it, my favorites from the Winter 2018 Market.  By the way, Carolyn Hedge Baird tells me the themes she noticed at the show were hedgehogs, llamas and French themes.  So what did you see and what did you fall in love with?

In case you haven't seen it, Stitch by Stitch Larchmont did a short essay on their favorites from Market.
http://www.stitchbystitchneedlepoint.com/so/1M55Dn_y?cid=68bf7f60-0c49-4a61-b2cc-4a9944579072#/main

UPDATE:  Sheena has done an article on her favorites, too.  It's fun to see what all the different pairs of eyes found and liked.
http://www.sheenasstitches.com/january-market-finds/


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 26, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Tablet Holder From K's UPDATED

Brenda invested in a new tablet holder from K's Creations for her metal floor stand.
https://brendasneedlepointstudio.blogspot.com/2018/01/tablet-holder-for-floor-stand-1518.html

This has been available for a while. I was able to find a better photograph at BeStitched.  If you use your tablet (or a larger phone) a lot while you stitch, you'll want to check this out.  Looks like you can hold the table in either the landscape or portrait position and have it high or low, whatever works with your stitching chair.
https://bestitchedneedlepointshop.com/products/ks-metal-frame-tablet-holder

UPDATE:  Jan has one and says it is very easy to assemble. She's also found PDF reader software that allows her to highlight the areas of a chart she has finished.  Clever!
https://threadmedley.wordpress.com/2018/04/14/a-new-toy/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 5, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Mythic Crafts' New Trestle and Table Frames UPDATED

You've heard me rave about the beauty of Mythic Crafts's slate frames before.  Mark builds beautiful frames, boxes, thread keeps and needle minders from scratch.  Here's a quick view of the goods.
https://mythiccrafts.com

The company has recently moved from Canada back to England, and the costs involved in a relocation mean that Mark's newest products—trestle stands and table frames plus resin cast needle minders—have to wait until he can presell the goods and invest in new tools and materials.  So he is going to do a fund raiser and have a massive sale on existing products.  Mark is also going to sell slate frames that are finished with Danish oil instead of  8-10 layers of urethane, which is very time consuming to apply carefully, let dry and then sand before the next layer goes on.  These will be cheaper and just as well made, but not finished like high end furniture.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hand-embroidery-trestles-frames-and-stands-crafts/coming_soon

Now is the time to invest in one of these beauties on sale if you have been eyeing them.  The sale lasts until the end of February and will be advertised on Mary Corbet's website tomorrow, so move fast!

UPDATE:  Mary Corbett has written about Mark and his products and the sale.  If you are on the fence, you might want to read what she has to say.
https://www.needlenthread.com/2018/01/trestles-and-slate-frames-at-a-steal.html#more-48336

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 29, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Royal School of Needlework Video

Want to learn a bit more about the Royal School of Needlework and the various courses they offer? Then you'll enjoy this YouTube video about them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVN31fh-jO8&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 4, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Secret Santa Visits Enriched Stitch

You'll love seeing the ornament exchange pieces that Enriched Stitch's staff gave each other.  Each is cuter than the next and all were chosen with the recipient's interests in mind.
http://astheneedleturns.com/secret-santa-stitching/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 4, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.