Monday, April 8, 2024

New Canvas Totes and Wristlets from Planet Earth

Planet Earth has two new canvas products:  a tote bag with removable shoulder strap and a wristlet.  You can see the five wristlet colors here-

You can see the two colors of the tote bag here and look at the removable strap and the inside fabric and pockets here--

These are brand new so your shop may not have them in stock yet.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 2, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Sunday, April 7, 2024

Stitches in Sterling (Nancy Cucci)

Nancy Cucci's class pieces for ANG are always beautiful.  Melita started this a long time ago in an ANG chapter class, but recently picked it up again.  

It didn't take long and I bet it's really sparkly in person.


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 12, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Saturday, April 6, 2024

Breaking News: Kreinik Sold to Rainbow Gallery

The rumor mill is reporting that Kreinik has been sold to Rainbow Gallery, thus joining the Fleur de Paris family of threads.

Here's to a great retirement for Doug Kreinik and good luck to Danny as he takes over.

UPDATE:  NJNA says the business and equipment is being moved from West Virginia to California.

UPDATE #2: Dena of Kreinik talks about the process of moving Kreinik to California to merge with Rainbow Gallery.  She'll still be working for Kreinik/Rainbow Gallery/Fleur de Paris, never fear!  Send inquiries to info@kreinik.com.

UPDATE #3: A bit from Homestead Needle Arts who managed a visit to Kreinik before they closed.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 6, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tips on Finding Missed Stitches

Lori from Waste Knot* has posted a video on Instagram with tips on finding missed stitches.  As a shop owner, Lori checks finished items for missed stitches before handing them over to the finisher.  She likes to hold items up to the sunshine to look for an empty spot where a stitch was missed.  She also uses magnifiers to look over finished pieces.  Lori says that most missed stitches are in an area where there's a color change.

Personally, I like to take a photo of a finished piece to study.  The camera sees things I don't, no matter how many times I look over a piece.

Bug Eye magnifiers come in two sizes.  I think there are several manufacturers of these tools but they appear to be the same except perhaps for price.  Some may be heavy glass, others acrylic.  Some are set in a metal collar.


*Waste Knot is my "local" shop.  I just adore it!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 2, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Friday, April 5, 2024

Threadaholic Alert: A Comparison of Crewel Wools WITH MORE

Mary Corbet has started a series about crewel-weight embroidery wool.  She's starting out by comparing what Appleton crewel, Fine d'Aubusson wool, Heathway, and DMC's Eco Vita are like when just cut from their skeins.  You'll see how thick they are, learn the number of colors and shades available from each brand, and compare prices for each.

Here's how each of the four stitch up.  Remember, the examples are done on cross stitch fabric, so what you get on needlepoint canvas will be a bit different.

Next, Mary uses her four wools in long and short and satin stitch so you can see how they look when stitched in these filling stitches.

Mary is continuing her exploration of crewel wools with five more:  Bella Lusso (Fleur de Paris), Simply Wool (Gentle Arts), La Nollin (formerly Renaissance Dyeing), Overdyed Italian Wool (ThreadworX's overdyed Bella Lusso), and Array Wool (Zollie). Hang on!  It's going to be fun!

The next crewel weight wool Mary is exploring in depth is Array Wool from Zollie.  It's originally intended for weavers.

Mary continues to look at Array Wool, Bello Lusso, ThreadworX, Renaissance Dyeing, and Simply Wool brands of crewel wools.

Next up, Mary introduces a lovely crewel wool from Australia's Gumnut Yarns.  I've been lucky enough to buy some of this and it's got lovely, lovely colors.



By the way, Mary's creating an article index so you can find all the crewel wool articles easier.


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 2, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.