Stitching People: Inspiration from the Masters

Chris Tirey Does Lani Ballgown

I don't know about you, but I love stitching people.  So when I noticed these photographs posted on Facebook last month, I wanted to share the fabulous hair and clothing that the masters of needlepoint embellishment are stitching these days.  Starting in alphabetical order, what you see above is Chris Tirey of Nimble Fingers in Houston stitching a Lani ball gown.  The light coverage background, the random placement of sequins for sparkle and the masterful bow all make this a wonderful piece.
http://nimblefingerstx.com/NimblefingersTx.com/Welcome.html

http://www.lanisneedlepoint.com/pd-5e-formal-gown-5.aspx

Lani Stitches her Leopard Evening Coat

Speaking of Lani, Lani herself is a masterful stitcher.  Check out this Leopard Evening Coast stitched by Lani herself with a touch of fur on the collar and hem.  Once again the light coverage background is terrific but what makes this special is the leopard coat's luxury and the fur trim, not to mention the two borders.  This design is new for Fall 2016, by the way.
http://www.lanisneedlepoint.com/ec-1b-leopard-evening-coat.aspx

Kathleen Stitching Santa Using Mark Young's Guide

Mark Young of Labors of Love is also a master of design and stitching.  In the photo above you see Kathleen's stitching Labors of Love's Red Stand Up Santa using Mark's stitch guide.  The beard is a masterpiece of shape and movement and contrasts nicely with Santa's clothing.  This piece is a four-sided tear drop that finishes into a Christmas standup.  You can see all the pieces on the Labors of Love website.
http://www.laborsofloveneedlepoint.com/santas-and-snowmen.html

Madame Pompadour, Stitched From Tony Minieri's Guide

Our last inspirational piece is also a Labors of Love design, stitched using a guide from Tony Minieri.  This is a limited edition canvas titled "Madame Pompadour."  It has magnificent greenery and a background pillar that work perfectly with the dress.  It is exceptionally hard to attach dimensional pieces to a canvas and achieve a balanced look but Tony's student did a terrific job with this.  Labors of Love designs a limited number of canvases with the china faces and hands to be attached when the stitching is finished.  This piece is sold out but you can see other limited edition figures on the Labors of Love website.
http://www.laborsofloveneedlepoint.com/limited-editions.html

By the way, this is the 2017 Limited Edition figure from Labors of Love.  There are only ten.  Place your order now.
https://www.facebook.com/236197349333/photos/a.477851644333.261602.236197349333/10154893875159334/?type=3&theater

Hope you enjoyed seeing what masters of embellished needlepoint canvas can do with the human figure.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 5, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Stitch Your Own Stubbs Needlepoint Slipper Class

Once again Reed Stewart is teaching a "Stitch Your Own Stubbs" class in Palm Beach.  The Stubbs referred to is Stubbs and Wootton, a footwear company, which will be making up the slippers designed in class.  The classes have started already but you might be able to still take the remaining classes or at least sign up for 2018.
https://www.fourarts.org/event/stitch-your-own-stubbs-with-reed-stewart/#lightbox/0/

The "Press" section of the Stubbs and Wootton website shows off their needlepoint and velvet creations.
https://www.stubbsandwootton.com/press/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 19, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

BREAKING NEWS: Leigh Shafer is Dead UPDATED

Messages have been posted to both Facebook and the ANG email list this morning, mourning the passing of Leigh Shafer. Leigh was well known for her lovely personality and her great finishing. She will be greatly missed in the world of needlepoint.

UPDATE POSTED TO FACEBOOK:  Hi everyone, this is Leigh's daughter Marissa. Thank you all for you wonderful and kind words. Mom loved you all so much. We will be doing a celebration of life for her on Sun Jan 29th at the Sedona Public Library at 1pm. I will also be streaming it live on her fb page for those who cannot attend.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 20, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Mary Agnes Is Collecting Nobuko Stitch Variations

Mary Agnes of Needle Nicely in Vero Beach is collecting variations of Nobuko Stitch and making a sampler of them. You can see it here (click on the photo for a closer look).
http://needlenicely.blogspot.com/2017/01/a-study-in-nobuko.html

If you know of other versions of Nobuko, could you let Mary Agnes know?   You can add a comment with a book and page number of where you found the variation or you can contact her via the shop.
http://www.needlenicely.com

Happy collecting, MA!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 5, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Threadaholic Alert: Rainbow Gallery's Glisten

Threadaholic alert! Rainbow Gallery has a new thread called Glisten that mixes metallic and Marino wool.
https://www.facebook.com/rainbowgallerythreads/photos/pcb.1713149552348172/1713149522348175/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/rainbowgallerythreads/photos/pcb.1713149552348172/1713149412348186/?type=3&theater

They say it makes for killer turkey work!  (the canvas is from JP Needlepoint)
https://www.facebook.com/rainbowgallerythreads/photos/a.1466449090351554.1073741828.1439340233062440/1713151629014631/?type=3&theater 

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 17, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.