Want to Be a Las Vegas Showgirl Instead?

Then you will need this Leigh canvas and stitch guide! The headdress and bodice are beaded, then the rest of the canvas is long and short feather stitched with one ply of Splendor. The words in the background are the finishing touch. Leona, who wrote the guide, added them. I think they make a lovely background! Here's the link to see more--

http://www.needlepointyaya.com/website/new/july/july2/july2.htm

You can see the rest of the Leigh showgirls here.

http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp502x.html

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Want to be a Commando Nerd Needlepoint Patch Beta Tester?

Do you have an iPhone? Better yet, know lots of folks who do? Then this NP patch is something you really need!

http://www.tikaro.com/2008/07/velcro-backed-qrcode-patches-t.html

I am not sure the patches themselves are needlepointed-John Young doesn't say. If you follow his blog, he does needlepoint designs that are machine readable and that can direct the machine (or in this case, the iPhone with the reader downloaded) to a website. Any website. You can send folks to the ANG website, to your home page, to your shop, etc.

This is exceedingly cool. Especially for NP nerds like us.

Jane, waving like mad from CH

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Goldfish Bubbles

I added bubbles to the goldfish canvas Monday night. These came with the canvas and I placed them about where they originally were attached to the canvas. I believe Gail said they were Austrailian pearls. The colors vary and are quite pretty.

Now everything is done but the finishing. However, since I have several pieces to finish, it will be a bit before this is really done.

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Other Needlepoint Blogs

My Blogspot blog allows me to both list needlepoint blogs I follow and show titles of updated entries made to them. I added that function a week or so ago and hope that someday I'll be able to use something similar on the more extensive blog list at my main Yahoo 360 blog (link below).

Blogs are a lot of fun to read, particularly on the days when I am too tired to stitch but still want some NP content in my life. They are a constant source of knowledge for me and I thought you might like to hear about some special things I've read on other blogs recently.

Do you love blackwork? Do you love mystery pieces where you start stitching and have no clue what the final design will look like? If so, do I have a blog for you! Laura Perin, whose beautiful and stylish blog I follow religiously, is going to do a mystery blackwork piece. You can read about this free (!!!) and fun project here. I am swamped with things to stitch with deadlines but you can bet I'll be watching Laura's mystery blackwork piece develop from the sidelines.

http://two-handedstitcher.blogspot.com/2008/07/stitch-with-me.html

Janet Perry and I have different tastes and styles of needlepointing but her blog is always worth keeping an eye on. She turns up fascinating gems like this one about the late Sol Kent and his elegant geometric NP on a style blog.

http://thepeakofchic.blogspot.com/2008/07/sol-kent-and-his-sophisticated.html

Are you tempted to try your own finishing of small ornaments? Then Pat in NC is going to be your new best friend! Pat explains in the link below how she finished a wonderful little Squiggee bird ornament and mounted it on a post. If you click on "Squiggee's Birds" in the Labels List column on the right you will see all Pat's blog entries about the birds. (Remember to click on Older Posts to continue reading.) Aren't they NEAT?! If you want to try this, visit Squiggee's website and pick out birds of your own (second link below).

http://needleartnut.blogspot.com/2008/07/details-on-peach-delight-and-squiggees.html

http://www.squiggeedesigns.com/

Are you sick of cutsey NP? Do all those Christmas designs make you want to throw up? Are you tired of fancy stitches and fancier threads? Are you looking for guy stuff to stitch? Meet John Young and his Nerdlepoint! His original designs are all inspired by his strong design sense. I enjoy visiting his blog very much to see his NP and read about other interests in his life. The second link below talks about why we do what we do and it's a great read to end this blog entry with.

http://www.tikaro.com/2008/07/boxcar-alligator-needlepoint-p.html

http://www.tikaro.com/2007/12/moments-of-grace-through-chick.html

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Water Stitch

As you can see in the above photo, all the water is finished. I used David McCaskill's water stitch from the ANG website.

http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2003/mar.php

If you have trouble seeing the blue silk and metallic stitches behind the goldfish, this canvas that The Bristley Thistle just finished has water stitch at the bottom.

http://bristlythistle.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/small-needlepoint-projects/

Had lots of trouble with it as diagrammed, though, so I worked the stitch by turning the goldfish on his head and turning the directions ninety degrees also. This made the stitch / and \ slants with tent and reverse tent stitches. Here's a diagram of how I worked.


First, I worked all the / stitches shown in black. I did them in horizontal rows. Next, I worked the \ green stitches, also in horizontal rows. Then I did the red tent stitches (you guessed it--in horizontal rows) and followed that with my orange reverse tent stitches.

This made more sense to me but everyone is different. David's original diagram of this stitch may make much more sense to you. Thanks, Anne, for the tip about turning the instructions and canvas on their side! It really helped me.

The last step is attaching the pearls that Squigee included with the canvas. Thanks, Gail! This has been a delight to stitch!

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow