Painted Canvases for St. Paddy's Day

St. Patrick's Day is today! Alex Paras has a nice selection of Irish-themed canvases for your shopping pleasure.
http://store.apneedlearts.com/stpatricksday.html

So does Melissa Shirley's website.
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/gallery/?index=5997&cat=70

And EyeCandy has a charming Irish cat.
http://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2013/03/happy-st-patricks-day.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Painless Pearl Cotton

Whether you call it perle cotton like I do or pearl cotton like DMC does, skeins of their thread can be a challenge to untangle.  So DMC has posted tips on how to attain tangle free lengths of this thread.
http://dmc-threads.com/cutting-perfect-lengths-pearl-cotton/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Philly in Stitches

Rittenhouse, which is based in Philadelphia, has quite a few canvases that celebrate the city. If you are a history or movie buff, or just have a special place in your heart for the town, you will enjoy a little browse.
http://rittenhouseneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-city-of-brotherly-love.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Twinkle Thread UPDATED

I have heard a new thread called Twinkle, a mix of metallic and rayon, is now available. Here is a photo of the colors available plus a little bit about it.  The shop says it is between Kreinik's #8 and #12 in size and works well on 18 count.  Personally, I find both #8 and #12 braid a little too fat for some stitches on 18 count, so proceed with caution.  I'd love to hear about it in the Comments (or email me at chillyhollow@hotmail.com) if you have seen or stitched with Twinkle.
http://astheneedleturns.com/twinkle-twinkle-little-star/

UPDATE:  Enriched Stitch has come through with a closeup photo and more information on Twinkle. Thank you!
http://astheneedleturns.com/more-on-twinkles/

Gone Stitching distributes Twinkle and has added some photos to their shop website.
http://www.gonestitching.net/index.php/twinkle.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Background Touch

I like to stitch my backgrounds first, or nearly first, when I work on a painted canvas. I think they are so important that I like to have them out of the way so that the rest of the canvas rests lightly on what stitches and threads I've chosen. Their importance is emphasized by this posting at the Stitching Up a Storm in Alamo City blog.  What to see what Diana Bosworth did for other backgrounds in her Petei Santa stitch guides?  Visit the second link.
http://janew1102.typepad.com/my_weblog/2013/02/english-pearly-santa.html

http://www.thefrenchknot.com/x-petei.htm

Many of the backgrounds are tent stitched but many aren't, even though there isn't much background behind the Santas to work with.  Diana's a genius, isn't she?

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.