Counting Your Valentines UPDATED

Nimble Needle is sending a big Love You note to all the counted canvas work lovers on their blog.
http://thenimbleneedle.blogspot.com/2013/01/counted-valentine-stitching.html

UPDATE:  The shop loves painted canvas fans, too.
http://thenimbleneedle.blogspot.com/2013/01/valentine-canvases.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

And Now What the Pros Have Been Up To

Yesterday we looked at what regular stitching bloggers have been up to. Today's excitement is provided by the professional designers and teachers among us, long may they thrive!  Laura Perin has started a new free mystery chart that uses "winter colors" whatever you consider those to be.  She will post more of this free design over the next 2-3 Mondays.
http://two-handedstitcher.blogspot.com/2012/12/mini-mystery-monday-january-2013.html

http://two-handedstitcher.blogspot.com/2013/01/mini-mystery-monday-january-pt-2.html

http://two-handedstitcher.blogspot.com/2013/01/mini-mystery-monday-january-pt-3.html

Sheena shows how clever Ruth Schmuff is in her stitch choices, plus she will be taking Ruth's next mystery class, an Egyptian cat.  (By the way, I own another Egyptian cat canvas from Tapestry Fair. Lucky me!)
http://www.sheenasstitches.com/happy-new-year-with-patterns/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SheenasStitches+%28Sheena%27s+Stitches%29

Ruth Schmuff has more about her newest mystery class here plus a new thread color club for 2013.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2012/12/color-party.html

http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2012/12/journey-back-in-time-with-me.html

Needle Delights has finished the last of the Double series.
http://needledelightsoriginals.blogspot.com/2013/01/happy-new-year.html

Kelly Clark's just finished her Christmas crazy quilt piece, complete with out of this world seam treatments.  It is amazing!
http://kellyclarkneedlepointhandbook.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-crazy-quilt-is-finished.html

Terry Dryden is almost finished with a quadrant of her newest geometric and has started a realistic poppy series.
http://www.terrydryden.com/-blog/2012/12/30/baroque-diamonds-and-some-new-poppies.html

UPDATE:  Here is the arrow geometric, called "Autumn Arrows."  I think it is beautiful!
http://www.terrydryden.com/-blog/2014/1/8/new-design-autumn-arrows.html

Barbara Elmore has released her teaching schedule.  Wish I could be there!
http://stitchpography.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-new-year-of-stitching.html

Catherine Jordan has done a lovely tree mirror.  I hope this becomes one of her classes because it is beautiful.
http://needleprint.blogspot.com/2012/12/catherines-landscape-mirror.html

Quail Run is going to have a Margaret Bendig class.  Hopefully folks can take this long distance because Margaret's work is lovely and her charts aren't usually available except through her classes.
http://sonorandesertstitching.blogspot.com/2012/12/come-journey-with-margaret-bendig.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Angel Hair

Petei Angel Before 

When you last saw the Petei angel, she looked like this.  Her hair wasn't finished, though.  Should her hair look like a young Brooke Shields?
http://thecapestitcher.blogspot.com/2013/01/angel-progress-head-and-shoulders-shot.html

Or perhaps her hair should be blowing in the breeze like the Queen of the Seas' lovely tresses?
http://stitcherie.ning.com/photo/queen-of-the-sea?context=user

Styling Bo Derek's Hair

No, I was thinking of copying Bo Derek's look in Ten.  Anyone remember that movie?
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Bo-Derek-10-Posters_i7968675_.htm?AID=96280778&ProductTarget=53105935183

I started giving the angel a Bo Derek look by laying long stem stitches using Wool Crepe from Fabulous Fibers and Embellishments on top of the straight vertical stitches (using Lorikeet wool) I'd already done. Wool Crepe is a wool-rayon blend that is very tightly twisted together.  This gives you a strand a bit smaller than #8 perle cotton but with a ridged look due to the tight twist.  I used Sand Daffodil #003 which gave the angel blonde highlights.  You can see more of this fiber at the Fabulous Fibers website.
http://www.fabulousfibers.com/detail.asp?c=Wool+Crepe

I added a bullion and a French knot or two with my Wool Crepe, then switched back to 1-2 plies of my Lorikeet wool to add more French knots, a bullion or two more, stem stitches and chain stitches here and there.  I also tossed in a few beads, using a gorgeous tan faceted Delica bead from Miyuki called Varied Taupe #6276.  It has a lot of shine.  The photos don't really show the beads well, but below is my Petei angel all finished with Bo Derek hair.  What fun!

Petei's Angel is Finished

I never knew that chain stitch would give a braided look to hair, or that beads would also add to the flowing effect.  Probably a smoother hairstyle would look nicer on this angel but I wanted to experiment a little.  Small pieces like this 4x7 angel are perfect for trying something new, just to see how it looks. I like how she turned out and hope she tempts you to experiment on some of your smaller pieces as well.

It's the experiments that we do with our needle that make us better stitchers, after all!

The Petei angel has gone into the drawer with other finished canvases I have yet to make up.  I hate finishing so I tend to accumulate a pile of it, then turn everything into finished pieces all at once.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Exploding Christmas Pillows and Other Holiday Stories

I had to laugh at Linda's holiday stitching experience.  Maybe next year Santa will bring her less clueless guests?
http://splittheneedles.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-christmas-stitching.html

Sue's family does an ornament exchange that sounds like great fun.
http://sudukc.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/hope-everyone-had-a-great-holiday/

Linda started stitching a dragon (with a little help from Brenda Hart).
http://stitchinginsuburbia.blogspot.com/2012/12/happy-new-year.html

Melinda just had a durn good holiday.
http://melindaslivingthegoodlife.blogspot.com/2012/12/happy-new-year.html

Janet Perry was told about this article in the Atlanta Constitution about a church's needlepoint Nativity set and told us all about it.
http://tablet.olivesoftware.com/Olive/Tablet/AtlantaJournalConstitution/SharedArticle.aspx?href=AJC%2F2012%2F12%2F25&id=Ar04504

Diane's been very productive.
http://dianestakingtimeouttoneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-long-peaceful-weekend-of-stitching.html

Finally, thanks to the Needlework Retailer News, I have this link to a 1996 New Year's Resolution for knitters.  Move the purple box in the right hand column to read the whole thing.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wOVPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mgcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6865%2C593616

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Father Frost Class

The newest Shining Needle Society class is a beauty--Carole Lake's Father Frost. The original Father Frost was icy blue, but her parter in crime, uh, teaching has chosen four other colorways so you can deviate from the original if you so choose.  Here is the class information, and ...
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/46618682/SNSAnnouncement_for_FatherFrost.pdf

...here are the photos of all the Fathers.
http://stitchplay.com

I don't envy those who are taking the class and have to choose what color to go with!

P.S.  If you need a needle magnet for your Father Frost piece, how about one of the new Fob Friends snowflakes?
http://fobfriends.blogspot.com/2013/01/snowflake-update.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com