Threadaholic Alert: Pashmina from Gloriana

Gloriana's new Pashmina thread is becoming more widely available so I thought I'd post some photos.   This is a four-stranded blend of silk and cashmere as you can see in this closeup photograph. I understand with care you can split each of the four plies in half to have eight plies, but I don't know how many plies will work on 18 count.  I would start with two and see how it works up as a lot will depend on the stitch used and your personal stitch tension.
https://www.traditionalstitches.com/p_glorpashmina.html

Needle in a Haystack has photos of most of the colors (Pashmina isn't on the Gloriana website yet).  Note that these are overdyes, so there will be some color variation in the skein.
http://www.needlestack.com/WebStore/Thread/Gloriana_Pashmina.html

Rittenhouse appears to have photos of all the colors up on their website.  You have to choose a color and click to see a better photo.
https://rittenhouseneedlepoint.com/fiber/pashmina.html

The prices vary greatly among all three sites but not all the skeins being sold are the same size and Traditional Stitches is a Canadian shop.  I am looking forward to my favorite shop getting some of this in stock so I can try it.  I love Gloriana's colors.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 7, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Mary Agnes' Frogging Tip

Needle Nicely's Mary Agnes is working the Kimono chart in her shop as a class.  Here's a bit about it.  Sorry, the Shining Needle Society class mentioned here is long over.
https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2011/11/evolution-of-maggie-lane-kimono.html

There is a lot of outlining to do before starting to fill in the sections, and of course folks make counting errors.  Here is how Mary Agnes rips out and then cleans up the line afterwards.  Clever!
http://needlenicely.blogspot.com/2017/12/cleaning-up-after-ripping.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 7, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Anna's Golden Rules

Anna Pearson has posted a list of what she calls "Golden Rules" that will help you create perfect needlepoint on her blog. They are interesting, and thought-provoking, reading.
http://anna-pearson-needlepoint.blogspot.com/2017/11/golden-rules-for-perfect-needlepoint.html

Thanks for sharing your extensive experience with us, Anna!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright November 14, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Japanese Ribbon Stitch: The Video UPDATED

Ruth Schmuff did a little video on how to do Japanese ribbon stitch for one of her mystery classes and shared it with all of us.  It's very easy to do, but hard to explain, so this is a very helpful video.  Note that Ruth uses the Japanese ribbon stitch to lock the wide 7mm ribbon into the needle and also uses it to create foliage on her canvas.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2017/12/funny-how-mind-works_5.html

I suspect she is using River Silks silk ribbons as it comes in 4mm, 7mm and 13mm widths and is exceptionally strong.  It won't fray as you stitch with it and comes in a huge range of colors. I highly recommend River Silks ribbons.
http://riversilks.com

UPDATE:  Because you can't ever have too many video tutorials on Japanese ribbon stitch, here is what Melissa of The Wool and the Floss says--

https://www.instagram.com/p/DFgkEmCPvjC/

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

The Smart Cookie Beader

Linda at Split the Needles has won the Smart Cookie Award for January with her Christmas banner. Check out the lettering! It's done with beads on an ombre shading style, with lighter pink at the top of each letter, then a darker pink and finally into the sparkly darker red beads that I expect have an iridescent finish.  It is a neat way to dress up letters and something we should all consider for those cute sayings canvases.
http://splittheneedles.blogspot.com/2017/12/elf-christmas-banner.html

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