Lots of Monthly Club News

Chandail Circus Club

In the last month a great many shops have posted news about their new monthly clubs, or updated already revealed clubs with photos of stitched models.  I've collected all this information for your viewing pleasure (in no particular order) since I know these clubs are wildly popular.

If you are a fan of Kelly Clark's designs or just like Christmas, this Heritage Ornament club is just the thing for you.
http://www.needlepoint-knitting.com/kelly-clark-heritage-ornaments.htm

Needle Works has posted photos of all the stitched purse ornaments in their club.  Very cute!  I just wish the photos would enlarge.
http://theneedleworks.com/purses/

There are photos of the Kelly Clark pears club, too.
http://theneedleworks.com/pears/

The Circus has come to town at Chandail Needlework with a series of ornaments from Kirk & Hamilton.  Click on "Larger Size" under each photo and prepare to be amazed and amused.
http://www.chandailneedlework.com/series/CircusCircus.php

Ruth Schmuff is offering an Atomic Christmas ornament club for the retro 60s fans among us. These Eye Candy canvases are totally fun and totally unlike anything else.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2010/09/its-atomic-christmas.html

If you prefer setting up your own club and using threads from your stash, And More has a cute selection of hearts of the month.
http://www.artistscollection.net/Artists_Collection/Hearts_of_the_Month.html

Along the same line, Artists Collection has angels of the month canvases.
http://www.artistscollection.net/Artists_Collection/Angels.html

Pocket Full of Stitches has glimpses of their Christmas tree club canvases on their blog, and...
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2010/08/these-firs-really-are-fabulous.html

...they have updated their website page for their Haunted Night Letters club  finished stitched models, AND...
http://www.pfos.com/ChristmasClubs/Kelly%20Clarks%2012%20Days/PocketFullofStitchesHauntedNight.HTM

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboYvys159fRZ_JlBbSHnldL98_5vLK16DXgAJbVCP8fFJUuemie8kF31JjXCsozZBf_21E5WPCmsiIaQz6QwXMKrC2MQ82pQZUVqUDQ4ip8P4uslux0CsnHBF0Wb5ltTYA9L2DAoUNSj7/s1600/HauntedNight.jpg

...there are photos of their cupcake club canvases that look good enough to eat.
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2010/09/cupcakery.html

Finally, Pocket Full of Stitches is going to do something fun in conjunction with the seasonal tree stitch guides from Eye Candy that Needlepoint Now is going to publish starting with the September/October 2010 issue that is just now being mailed--they are kitting up each tree as the guide comes out in the magazine.  If you are stitching these trees and want PFOS to pull together thread kits for you, here are the details.
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2010/09/have-you-seen-most-recent-needlepoint.html

Here's a bit more about this issue from the editor of NP Now's blog.
http://nneditor.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/septoct-issue/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Pirate Cat Bandana and Belt

Dressing the Pirate Cat

Our Pirate Cat has his shoulder belt finished, the belt buckle restitched with reverse tent \ on top of the original tent / stitches because the Very Velvet was hiding the silver metallic with fuzz, and the neck scarf and head bandana are stitched.  Interestingly, the bandana looks smooth in real life but the photo emphasizes areas where the longer stitches aren't 100% smooth.  I'll go over them with my laying tool again and see if I can make that better.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

You Have Until October 10

Geisha with Tea Pot by Unknown Designer

...to take advantage of a fabulous sale at SF Stitch in San Francisco.  Canvases are 65% off.  There are some great buys available on the Sale and Consignment pages, too, but the wonderful silk gauze kits are not on sale.  I wonder if the canvas above is by Juell?
http://www.sfstitch.net/index.html

Tapestry Fair's Peacock Feathers

I like to credit designers when I can but the above canvas I didn't recognize when I used it as the Canvas of the Day.  Fortunately, Peggi of Tapestry Fair recognized it as one of her designs from about 1977.  Thanks, Peggi.  (It's on sale as are all of CanvasBeGone's Floral Category canvases until the end of September, by the way.)
http://www.canvasesbegone.com/3014/Peacock+Feathers+with+Ferns+needlepoint+hp+18+ct.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Return to EGA Seminar

Thanks to Deb who took photos at Merchandise Night and Laura Perin who participated in it and blogged about the experience, I have one more trip to EGA's San Francisco Seminar for you.  The first link is to Deb's photo album.  She did ask permission to take the photos and send them to me to post here on Blog, which was very considerate of her!
http://picasaweb.google.com/112940975742528105882/EGAConference09082010?feat=email#

The second link is Lara Perin's photo essay about selling at Merchandise Night and seeing all the happy stitchers.
http://two-handedstitcher.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-big-city-adventure.html

Thanks to these nice folks, it's almost like being there!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

The Pirate Cat Has a Sweet Face and Brocade Shirt

A Face and A Shirt

Last night I had a little more time to stitch than has been normal recently, so I finished the Dotted Swiss stitch on the kitten's shirt by doing tent stitches with Shimmer Vineyard Silk in a darker brown shade than the Classic Vineyard Silk.  If your shop doesn't carry the Vineyard Silk line, let me just say you can buy four types of this silk tapestry style thread:  Classic is a solid color thread that looks like a soft silk/wool tapestry thread although it is 100% silk.  It's soft and stitches on either 13 or 18 count beautifully.  Shimmer is Classic with a metallic thread woven in so it is slightly stiffer.   Tone on Tone is Classic dyed in various shades of the same color and Merino Wool s a wool thread I haven't seen personally yet.  Here is more about the brand.
http://www.vineyardsilk.com/products.htm

Anyway, using Shimmer Vineyard Silks for my tent stitches added just a hint of sparkle. I was hoping that it would make the shirt look like heavy brocade.  In person it is a nice effect, although I doubt you can tell in the photo above.

After my success with the shirt, I decided to finish the cat's face.  I'd already stitched the eyes and pink nose/mouth in tent stitches using perle type threads.  I wanted to use brick stitch for the rest of the face, just like I'd used it for the paw.  I think it turned out quite nicely.

Close up: Would you trust that face?

One of the things you have to consider when using more than one stitch on a painted canvas is what will happen in the area where two different stitches meet.  Will you have to compensate?  Will that look good?  Tent stitches slant /// and brick stitches are upright lines ||| so you can see there might be gaps.  In a few places I squeezed in another tent stitch if a straight stitch didn't look like it would cover but mostly the brick stitches laid up against the tent stitches nicely.  Mixing tent and brick stitches probably worked well here because I was using size 8 perle cotton and Trebizond silk which is the same diameter and will spread out a bit on 18 count to cover well.

With the pirate hat, shirt and face stitched, I can now work on the bandanas around the kitten's head and neck.  I wanted all those areas finished before I laid in long padded stitches for the kerchief areas.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow