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Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Threadaholic Alert: Bisous

Labels: Bisous, news, Planet Earth, Planet Earth Fibers, threads, Tilli Thomas

Tilli Thomas' newest thread--a silk/wool blend called Bisous--is appearing in the shops.

https://enrichedstitch.myshopify.com/products/holiday-hearts-club

This Planet Earth thread is a thin, single strand of half Merino wool, half silk. KC Needlepoint says it is thinner than Essentials. It comes in 30 yard skeins and Planet Earth describes it as "suitable for 18 and 16 mesh." Rittenhouse recommends 2 strands on 18 count and 3 on 13 count for full coverage.

You can see photos of the colors at this link.

https://www.emilysstitchery.com/collections/planet-earth-bisous

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Ridgewood Explores Brick Stitch for New Stitch Monday

Labels: brick stitch, brick stitch beading, New Stitch Monday, Ridgewood, Ridgewood Needlepoint, stitch diagrams, stitches

Ridgewood Needlepoint is exploring brick stitch as part of their New Stitch Monday series.

https://ridgewoodneedlepoint.com/new-stitch-monday-189/

https://ridgewoodneedlepoint.com/new-stitch-monday-190/

Now Ridgewood looks at fancier variations on brick stitch.

https://ridgewoodneedlepoint.com/new-stitch-monday-191/

Instructions for brick stitch beading are included. Be warned, though. Depending on the size of your canvas and beads, the beading thread and the underlying canvas may show. That can provide some interesting shading effects or contrasts if you experiment with colors a bit.

https://ridgewoodneedlepoint.com/new-stitch-monday-194/

Brick stitch is quite versatile. You can add a bead to the stitch after your needle comes up from the back and it will settle in the middle hole. You can work brick stitch in vertical columns, which is particularly useful if you are doing the stitch on black or dark navy where it is hard to see where to put your needle. You can also work brick stitch over threads laid in the ditch between threads which gives a fun effect if you use two colors or add a metallic as the laid thread.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Monday, January 19, 2026

The Cure for Wonky Frames

Labels: frame lock, FrameLok, frames, gadgets, thumb tacks, tools

Needle Point Breeze just posted a photo of the colorful FrameLok tools.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1308938587688595&set=a.585985413317253

What is a FrameLok? It's a set of four gadgets you insert in the inside corners of those old stretcher bars you've had for eons that aren't tight any more. Just add thumb tacks and the stretcher bars are no longer wonky, but stay straight.

https://poppypointe.com/products/frame-lok

This video demonstrates the process. Note that these are regular sized stretcher bars, not the minis. I suspect they'll hang over the side a bit if you are using mini stretcher bars but I think they'll still work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oKDlGzuJps

They come four to a package and you'll need thumbtacks to secure them. You can read the heartwarming story of how they were invented here.

https://framelok.biz/Welcome-to-FrameLok_b_1.html

Here are shops that carry FrameLoks if your favorite store doesn't.

https://framelok.biz/where-to-buy-framelok.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Stitching a House?

Labels: charms, embellishments, houses, M's Canvashouse

Stitching a house? M's Canvashouse has some darling brass embellishments for doors. It's hard to tell from the photo but I think most can be sewn on.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1494050982286514&set=a.608804764144478

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com