A Beard for Christmas

This time of the year all the great holiday ornaments folks have displayed will tempt us to purchase a Santa canvas to stitch for the 2016 holidays.  Then we are faced with the task of coming up with a great beard stitch. One of the beard masters is Janet Zigler Casey, who teaches a very popular line of holiday ornaments.  I thought you'd like to see all her beards.  Click on each thumbnail portrait to get a better look.
http://www.jzcdesigns.com/christmas.htm

If you stitch a lot of Santa Clauses and don't already own Diana Bosworth's little booklet Beards I Have Known, put it on your Christmas wish list.  It is full of great ideas for stitches and threads to make fabulous beards.
http://www.nimbleneedlenj.com/product/needlepoint-stitch-reference-book-beards-that-i-have-known-by-diana-bosworth/

Diana herself is another beard expert.  Check out the Petei Santas at the French Knot in Texas, most of which Diana stitched!
http://www.thefrenchknot.com/x-petei.htm

Merry Christmas, Santa!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 7, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Perils of a Pillow UPDATED

Liz Morrow of LizArt decided to make an original Bargello design as a Christmas present for good friends. And of course there were issues such as finding the right background, running out of thread that is discontinued, etc.  But you wouldn't know it from how this turned out.
http://lizartblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/j-m-bargello.html

The moral is that everyone, even great designers like Liz, run into problems as they stitch.  Personally, I do my best work when overcoming these problems, so keep at it.  Nothing runs smoothly all the time, after all.

UPDATE:  Here is the finished pillow.  It is magnificent!
http://lizartblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/j-bargello-pillow.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 4, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Christmas Shopping at DMC

I haven't paid a lot of attention to DMC's new Common Threads site but it does have some fabulous gifts for stitchers. They have two styles of wooden sewing boxes, although I have no idea why they are only offered in washed-out blue-gray.
http://commonthread.us/large-wood-sewing-box-antique-gray-plus-floss.html

http://commonthread.us/gondola-wood-sewing-box-antique-gray-plus-floss.html

If you want stocking stuffers, they have a finger tip magnifier...
http://commonthread.us/finger-magnifying-glass-red-2.html

...and cute DMC-themed pins, either the skeins shown or two card spools shown at the bottom of the page.
http://commonthread.us/mercerie-brooch-rwb.html?utm_source=Commonthread+Website+Signup&utm_campaign=ea5b2b8e4a-Stocking_Stuffers_12_10_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_946d6b91ed-ea5b2b8e4a-82345393

If you want something to stitch fast, there are mini stockings, although they really are geared towards cross stitchers.  Regardless, it's fun to browse all the styles.
http://commonthread.us/dmc-products/stitchables/stockings.html

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

A Business Tip

Needlework Unlimited in Minneapolis posted about how much it helps their bottom line if you pay by cash or check instead of credit card.  It's something to think about, particularly if you are purchasing something for less than $25.
https://needleworkunlimited.wordpress.com/2015/12/03/why-we-love-cash-checks/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 3, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Happy Hannakuh

Menorah One

Doris of Needlepoint Gallery & More just sent me wonderful photographs of finishing she did for a customer.  She wanted to know if I could help identify the designer for her as her customer did such a fabulous job --check out those beaded flames!-- other customers want to order this Menorah design, too.  With a little help from the nice folks at Facebook's Needlepoint Nation, we found the designer--Princess and Me!
http://princessandme.com/judaica

Menorah Two

Here's the link to Doris' shop, by the way.  Thanks for sharing the wonderful finishing and the fabulous stitching, Doris!
http://www.theneedlepointgallery.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 3, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.