Gregory Peck Beaded

Gregory Peck Block Finished Except for Border Sashing

Last night I finished the corners on my current Stars block and added two violet beads to each corner of the central star.  I thought black beads would work but since I have copper, terracotta and violet beads also, I tried all four colors.  I'm glad I did.  The violet beads were the hands down winners when it came to enhancing Gregory Peck!  (And covering the unsightly holes of the bare canvas that show because the threads I used were slightly thinner than Tony's.)

The last step before I put Stars away again is to complete the sashing around this square.  I hope to do that tonight.

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

The New, The Old and The Fabulous

This morning's eye candy includes ten pages of new painted canvases from Julia's Needleworks (fans of Peter Ashe, Marcy and others will find plenty to enjoy here),
http://needleworks.ehclients.com/index.php/private-tradeshow/

a trip to Art by Dede to see dede Odgen's fabulous designs,
http://www.dedesneedleworks.com/

a side trip to Canvases Be Gone to see older dede pieces for sale at a very good price,
http://www.canvasesbegone.com/dede/

and a visit to Zoshide which bills itself as "Zoshide, A Connoisseur's Needlework."  This is a place to view and purchase unique finished needlepoint, pieces that have been stitched but not made up, and a few special edition unstitched canvases.
http://www.zoshide.com/

The above photo is called "My Toys."  This is a painted canvas by Marcy/Julia's Needleworks.  I thought it was charming.

I hope you enjoy the beautiful pieces, new and old, available for us needlepoint connoisseurs.

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

Almost Done With Gregory

As you can see, the Gregory Peck block is almost done.  Though I struggled with the star and the flanking lozenges, once I got through them the rest went very quickly.  I still have to couch down the long threads in the corners.  Tony tells his students to couch a line at a time but I'm going to try laying all the underlying threads and then doing the couching pattern as I know juggling two needles and threads is going to make my thread tension uneven.

I plan to couch down the corners with copper, then I will add beads (black?) down the middle of the black star arms to hide the gaps where the canvas shows through.  After that, I'll need to stitch the two pieces of sashing that are to the right and bottom of the square.  Wish me luck!

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

Books and Projects and TNNA Reports

Remember the review of the Royal School of Needlework's crewel book?  Here's another review, this time on their blackwork volume.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2011/01/book-review-rsn-essential-stitch-guide-for-blackwork.html

Speaking of crewel (which we really weren't), I found a place that sells miniature crewel kits. You can read about them and find the link to the seller's website here.
http://tudordollhouse.blogspot.com/2011/01/miniature-crewel-work-kits.html

And speaking of book reviews (which we were),  Sandy Higgins' finishing book is out in a new edition.  Here is a review.
http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com/sandys-finishing-touches-book-review

It's not often I see unusual uses of needlepoint but Rittenhouse is showing off clock faces in NP which are amazing.  The designs are by Zecca and Rittenhouse is going to do a class on them.
http://rittenhouseneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2011/01/needlepoint-clocks.html

Anyone on the fence about signing up for Fabulous Firs club at Pocket Full of Stitches will want to see the models all finished as standups.
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2011/01/our-finished-fabulous-forest.html

DMC has posted about TNNA on their blog.
http://dmc-threads.com/tnna-recap/

Needle Works has posted their TNNA newsletter on their website.  It's all photos of their favorite painted canvases and threads.
http://theneedleworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/2011marketnewsletter.pdf

Finally, the new gal at Needle Works reports on her first TNNA show.  I love seeing what fresh eyes to the NP world see and especially how dede Odgen's new seahorse canvas's illusion was done.
http://theneedleworks.typepad.com/the_needle_works/2011/01/my-first-market-adventure.html

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

Who's On Facebook?

Let's see who has a Facebook page:
Needlepoint Now
Melissa Shirley
Robin King
SharonG (look for Sharon Berish Garmize)
Needlenook of La Jolla
Aristeia Needlepoint
Peacock Alley Needlepoint
Waste Knot Needlepoint
Sara Leigh Merrey
Vicky De Angelis
Ada Haydon
Doug Kreinik
Julia Snyder
Raymond M. Crawford
Colleen Church
Janet Burnett
Jody Williamson-Valentine
Summer Truswell
DeElda Erbe Wittmack
Beth Robertson
Terry Dryden
Brenda Stofft
PFOS Lubbock
American Needlepoint Guild (ANG)
Michele Roberts
Caela Tyler
Judee Karchmer
Chaparral Needlework
Chandail Needlework
Needlepoint Guide
Pat Delp
Cathe Ray
Painted Pony Designs
Sue Dulle
Linda Reinmiller
Cindy Valentine
John Waddell
Barbara Bergsten
Gail C. Hendrix
Evan Burroughs
Berlin Embroidery Designs
Amy Bunger
Amy's Golden Strand
Squiggee
The French Knot

Just log into your FB account and search for them.  If you know of other needlepoint companies, shops and designers with accounts, please add them to the Comments or email me at chilly hollow at hot maildot com and I'll add them for you.

By the way, I don't do FB any more except to keep up with my family.  I have too much on my plate already!

I will update the above list as I find more NPrs on FB, but I can't say how often any of the above update their "wall" or how interesting to fellow stitchers the information will be.

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