BREAKING NEWS: The Au Ver A Soie Factory Fire UPDATED

The Au Ver A Soie silk factory in France has had a fire. The company confirmed the disaster on their Facebook page. Stay tuned. I hope no one was hurt and the factory can be quickly repaired.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Au-Ver-à-Soie/229228770460019

http://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/Loir-et-Cher/Actualite/Faits-divers-justice/n/Contenus/Articles/2015/02/20/Bracieux-l-entreprise-Au-Ver-a-soie-detruite-par-le-feu-2230804

The latest UPDATE:
http://needlestack.typepad.com/whats_new/2015/02/au-ver-à-soie-will-rebuild-facility-after-thursdays-fire.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 20, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Progress Reports (with Birds a'Plenty) UPDATED

The cold and snowy winter weather seems to bring out the whimsy in shop owners and managers who are stitching away on some colorful and fun projects.  Ruth Schmuff has posted the first class photos of her latest mystery class which is called "Twirl."  The canvas is by Amy Bruecken and distributed by Ruth.  The next--and last!--lesson is in three weeks. Wonder what Ruth will do next?!
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2015/02/twirl.html

Virginia of Enriched Stitch is also stitching birds--Vicki Sawyer's "Party in the Coop."  Melissa Shirley adapted Vicki's artwork to needlepoint canvas.  Virginia will eventually make a stitch guide available so you can have your own hen party.
http://stitchstyleblog.com/2015/02/party-in-the-coup-progress/

UPDATE:  Virginia has finished her Party in the Coop.  Contact her at Enriched Stitch, through her blog or email her directly at stitchstyleblog@gmail.com. Your shop can also pick up Virginia's guide from Melissa Shirley when they order you the canvas.
http://stitchstyleblog.com/2015/02/finished-party-in-the-coop/

Stay tuned for more feathered fun with needles.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 16, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

O Beads

A trip to Potomac Beads over the weekend revealed a new bead type--the O bead.  They are approximately 4mm in diameter, which covers around 4 tent stitches.  I discovered that size 14 beads won't hold them in place securely but size 11 (sometimes written 11/0) beads work very nicely without hiding the O underneath.  I can see all sorts of applications for this little donut-shaped bead, some of which come with two colors, one on each side.  Since you can't go to the bead shop with me, browse Fusion Beads to see the available colors.  I can highly recommend Fusion Beads' online shop, by the way.
http://www.fusionbeads.com/O-Bead-Czech-Seed-Beads#!O-Bead-Czech-Seed-Beads

O Beads and Their Tube

Here is how I'm using my brassy-gold Os, spilled out on the 18 count canvas so you can guess at the size.  

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 10, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Susan Explains Why She Studies Japanese Embroidery

I don't know how you feel about Japanese Embroidery but Susan's explanation of why she studies it made me take another look at an ethnic embroidery style I personally find static. 
 http://plays-with-needles.blogspot.com/2015/02/why-study-japanese-embroidery.html

If you are charmed by the above, read what Carol-Anne has to say about her Japanese Embroidery adventure.
http://threadsacrosstheweb.blogspot.com/2015/02/happy-tenth-anniversary.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 13, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Virginia Goes NC

Virginia's been on a road trip to North Carolina.  Naturally, she made sure she made lots of needlepoint-related stops!  First she visited the offices of Kirk and Bradley/Elizabeth Bradley, then she went to Needlepoint.com.
http://stitchstyleblog.com/2015/02/behind-the-scenes-at-kirk-and-bradley/

http://stitchstyleblog.com/2015/02/elizabeth-bradley-home/

Then she stopped at Adornment Needlepoint.  I've heard great things about this shop!
http://stitchstyleblog.com/2015/02/road-trip-round-day-two/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 10, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.