How I Make Stitch Choices (Orna Willis)

Orna Willis talks about how she categorizes stitch choices and explains how she chose the stitches for one of her bird designs in this interesting article on her blog.
http://ornadesign.blogspot.com/2017/05/how-i-make-my-stitch-choices-on-painted.html

By the way, Orna is going to offer a new class about her design choices.  You will stitch along as Orna designs a new piece.  This class is meant to offer insights into what she does and how.  If you are curious about design or you just want to stitch a geometric with a color genius, this class is for you.  Details on her website.
http://ornadesign.blogspot.com/2017/05/my-design-process-how-and-why.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 3, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Studying Sunset and Water

Rachel pulled out an older piece of needlepoint and talked about what stitches she used on it and why in this interesting blog posting.
http://www.blog.virtuosewadventures.co.uk/wordpress/2017/05/02/sunset-study/

Got any ideas for her for the unstitched areas?

Rachel also posted a finished piece, with information about the threads, stitches and canvas to help you learn to analyze what you see and use some of the ideas on your own canvases.
http://www.blog.virtuosewadventures.co.uk/wordpress/2017/05/09/canvaswork-again-the-lady-by-the-lake/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 2, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

SuDu Talks Stitch Guides and Backgrounds and Embellishing and Finishing UPDATED

Sue Dulle's recent blog posting talks about how she uses a stitch guide. It's full of good tips on how to get the most of a guide and how to customize it to your own likes and dislikes. 
https://sudukc.wordpress.com/2017/05/01/melisssa-shirley-wicked/

Sue also talks about stitching her background and why she stitched the letters on her canvas differently than the guide. There are some great tips for stitching darning stitches, too.
https://sudukc.wordpress.com/2017/05/03/melissa-shirley-wicked-background-letters/

She also gives us tips on how to work large projects without forgetting areas.
https://sudukc.wordpress.com/2017/05/05/melissa-shirley-wicked-fun-stuff/

Now she embellishes!
https://sudukc.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/melissa-shirley-wicked-embellishing/

UPDATE:
Finally, Sue writes about finishing. This article alone is worth its weight in gold!  There's more than just finishing in this article, but it's the main focus.
https://sudukc.wordpress.com/2017/05/25/melissa-shirley-wicked-final-thought/

Thanks for writing down your thoughts, Sue.  It's very valuable information.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 1, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Needlepoint Shadbelly Points

I had no idea what shadbelly points were as I don't ride horses.  Very interesting and very chic, too! The examples Horse Country Chic shows are all custom designs from Hingham Square Needlepoint.
http://horsecountrychic.blogspot.com/2017/04/needlepoint-shadbelly-points.html

If you are curious about shadbelly points, this site has lots of photos of their custom designs. None are needlepointed but it give you a good idea of what the needlepoint ones will be compared to.
https://www.tacknrider.com/custom-equiline-shadbelly-gallery/

And here is where you wear such outfits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKQgTiqhPbw

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 30, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

DMC Has Been Sold

Thanks to the Needlework Retailer, I found that DMC has been sold to a private equity group which bought a British yarn and pattern company at the same time.  At the bottom of the article is mentioned a photograph to chart service that DMC is apparently going to offer in the near future.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/04/06/liberty-owner-sews-needle-market-wool-gang-deal/

This isn't exactly breaking news as the acquisition happened last June.
http://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/DMC-to-fly-the-British-flag,699966.html#.WQNo1RSldjc

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 28, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.