Stitch a Snail for Storage

Tricia Nguyen (she of the fabulous reproduction 17th Century jacket) has a new fund raiser going.  Stitch a Snail for Storage allows you to purchase a kit for a reproduction 17th Century motif (a snail if you haven't guessed) using reproduction threads and Tricia's instructions.  You can see the snail and start reading about it here.
http://thistle-threads.com.mytempweb.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/stitch-a-snail-for-storage/

Part of the kit price will be donated to the Fashion Museum in Bath.  They will use the funds to buy boxes with special acrylic mounts to display their collection of embroidered gloves on so that they can be handled safely when shown to costume and embroidery researchers.

If you are more curious, click on the header at the blog link above and start scrolling through blog entries until you reach the one above.  You'll see more details from the glove the snail motif was taken from and also see the reproduction thread that Tricia uses for this project.

Here's where you can buy the kit and find the link to the instructions for making it up.  It isn't a lot of money but this might be the perfect small gift for a stitcher in your life and has the bonus of helping a fantastic glove collection available to those who would see, admire and understand it.
http://thistle-threads.com/shop/ltdmuseum/nwn_122010_glitteringsnail.html

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

Monthly Club News

With January approaching, shops that start their monthly clubs the first month of the year are announcing their new design series.

Needlenook of La Jolla has Twinkle Toes, A Collection of Designs stockings with guides from Julia Snyder.  To me they look like jeweled mini stockings that will be great on a Christmas tree or hung in a row on your fireplace mantel.  I'm not sure about the size, however.  These are not shown on the ACOD website (second link), but you might find a single stocking there that charms you if you don't want to commit to a whole year of socks.
http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/events/cod/index.html

http://www.acollectionofdesigns.com/

The Needlepointer has announced that their 2011 monthly clubs will be Ribbon Candy (designer unspecified but I think these canvases are by Melissa Shirley), Thanksgiving letters featuring gourds, pumpkins and squashes (Melissa Shirley) and Peppermint Patty, a series of eight two sided candies (designer unknown).  Sadly, there's nothing on their website yet about the new clubs or their current trunk show by Raymond Crawford, but The Needlepointer promises great prices for Raymond's delights and I'm sure things will go up on their website soon.
http://www.theneedlepointer.com/monthly_clubs.php

Little Shoppe of Stitches has some wonderful clubs, including the Christmas wreath club, their 3-D cupcakes and of course the Twelve Days of Christmas pear ornaments which are also 3-D.  These are ready for any one who doesn't have clubs available in their local shop or who, like me, has a "local" shop that is too far to visit all that often.
http://store.littleshoppeofstitches.com/onlinekits.html

In Do It Yourself club news, if you want something very different for a personal club (or your shop is looking for recommendations), why not check out the landscape club from Julie Mar Designs?  She does wonderful vingettes of the Great Smoky Mountains and of the beach, too.  After all, her home of North Carolina has both mountains and ocean views.
http://www.juliemardesigns.com/c/LANDSCAPECLUB/Landscape+Club.html

And finally, don't forget to browse all the Petei Santa kits available from The French Knot in Texas.  If this doesn't put you in a Christmas mood, nothing will!
http://www.thefrenchknot.com/x-petei.htm

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

Introducing the Turkey Canvas

Mary Lake Thompson Turkey

Nancy is my next volunteer. She writes:

Thanks for the opportunity to seek your guidance on a canvas. Mine is a large turkey by Mary Lake Thompson [published by Melissa Shirley Designs].
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/galsearch/index.cgi?index=1189016781_15552&col=

Here are the specifics:
Design size: 12" wide x 9" high
Canvas size: 18" x 15"
Canvas gauge: 13

Issues:  Design exceeds the painted border, requiring further stitching decisions.  Design elements are very detailed. I look at it and can't figure out what to do beyond basketweave. Would light coverage work here? If so, which areas?

We have lots of wild turkeys around our property, and I'd love to have this one inside! But I'm having trouble getting started.

I answered Nancy this way:

Jane: Heck, yeah light coverage would work on this canvas. Do you have any problems with doing a white border outside the red border so it looks like the turkey is stepping outside of a mat in a framed canvas?

Nancy: I have no problem with doing a white border outside the red border - something of that nature is almost necessary. I don't know quite how to plan it.

Nancy:  I have no LNS in the area. I've been trying to add to my stash, but no real way to see all the thread possibilities out there. So your suggestions from what you are aware of will be so welcome. I happily order from several stores that do mail and Internet orders.

I have looked through my threads and have several that could work in the piece, mostly Splendor and Needlepoint Inc.silk and Impressions silk/wool with some additional random threads pulled because they are in the color range. And Wow! there are a LOT of colors in this piece!

I don't know if you're familiar with wild turkey, but they do have a touch of iridescence to their feathers, if that helps to put you in mind of threads.

We have a herd that roams Chilly Hollow (photo from last week above).

It's funny, but normally the males only display in the spring at mating season. This year they've been in full strut for a couple of weeks now. I don't know if it's climate change or what. Maybe they're trying to inspire me to get going on this canvas! They come up and knock their beaks on the patio door, trying to communicate with their reflections. This can go on for an hour or more in the mornings!

I'm going to go now and see if I have the right stretcher bars and get Mr. Turkey taped and stapled.

I have been enjoying the work you are doing on the first reader canvases and really look forward to our work together. My family is primed for this adventure and all want links to your blog when we get started!

Jane: The first thing I want to know is if there are any threads and/or stitches you already know you do or do not want to use on this piece.

Nancy: You asked about threads and/or stitches I know I want to avoid. I'm game for trying any stitches you want to suggest. The only threads I know I'd like to avoid: I have trouble with Vineyard Shimmer getting all bunchy on the surface. And I really prefer to avoid rayons! I could live the rest of my stitching life without Patina and Fiesta.

Jane: I don’t like nylon threads either, although I have to say Rainbow Gallery’s Panache isn’t half bad as nylon threads go. Ok, we have the preliminaries in place, so let’s start talking turkey.

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

A Book Lover's Delights

I have a treat this morning for folks who adore stitching books.  I've found great new books (well, they are new to me) on the Alex Paras Needle Arts website.
http://store.apneedlearts.com/neli.html

Thistle Needleworks has a nifty small Quick Stitch Reference book that is perfect for travel.  I haven't seen this in person but I've seen Judie's stitching (your stocking is decorating my car rear view mirror this year, Judie) and I know this will be a useful little book.  If you travel, this might be the perfect gift for yourself.

Counted canvaswork folks love playing around with colors and patterns, so I think they might be interested in Stitching Inside the Box, which is from Finger Step Designs.  The book is about creating your own band sampler and can be used for both cross stitch and needlepoint samplers.

There is lots more here, but I think the Magazine section is of particular interest since AP Needlearts is selling old copies of Needlepoint Now and Embroidery and Cross Stitch at discount.  If you are missing issues or just want to explore these magazines at a lower than usual price, check them out.

There are many other great books listed here but anyone who wanted the out of print Knots, Fur and Turkeywork can pick a first edition up here.

Ridgewood Needlepoint Blog has posted photos of the new book versions of Ruth Schmuff's Stitches, Volumes One and Two.  Ruth's books originally were only on CD and as smart phone apps, but since many of us don't have computer or Internet access when we are stitching, hard copies were made available.  These are great books, by the way.  I have these CDs (but not the Backgrounds one, are you listening, Santa?) and adore them!
http://ridgewoodneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2010/12/stitches-volume-i-and-ii.html

If you are love reading about books as well as reading them, then you will want to visit Marianne's blog where she talks about how the books she sells go in and out of fashion.  As usual, you can tell how much Marianne loves the books she describes in loving detail. I imagine what is happening is that the folks who love her books buy and more on, without new buyers finding out about books they might really enjoy.  So make a habit of visiting Marianne's website to keep up with books before they go out of style and disappear again.  Like me, you will find books you never heard of that tempt you to add them to your bookshelves.
http://needlepointtalk.net/2010/12/18/book-fashions

http://www.newneedlepoint.com/

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

I'm iPhone Mobile Now

In my march into the 21st Century (dragging my needlepoint behind me in a little red wagon borrowed from Beloved's grandson) I have made Blog "mobile enabled."  This means that if you want to read Blog on your smart phone, it is in a format made specifically for mobile devices.

I actually prefer the usual format when reading blogs on mobile devices.  If you are like me, scroll down to the bottom of the page when using your smart phone and click on "View Web Version" and you'll be back at a regular computer view that shows the column on the right hand side of the page.  You can toggle back to "View Mobile Version" if you change your mind.

For those who blog via Blogger, Google seems to be rolling out this feature to those who use their Blogger in Draft setting.  When it is available for your blog, you'll get a message from Blogger when you log into your account that allows you to turn on the mobile view if you wish.

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