When I was at the needlepoint market in California, I discovered this fabulous new stitching tool! Picture this scenario: you are working with Trio on 18 mesh canvas. You need to separate the yarn into 1 ply sections. You carefully try to pull off a section...you end up with a huge knotted mess that you have to cut off and throw away. Frustration builds! Instead of hurling the canvas across the room and shouting naughty words, use the Thread Separator from the Puffin Company. Simply cut a length of fiber and attach one end to the clamp. Rest the whole piece on a table and grab the other end of the thread. As you pull off the desired ply, let the piece dangle from the edge of the table. Voila, your threads are separated! It's miraculous! I don't know how I was plying without this little gadget. Click here to go to their website and see a video demonstration.
The separator comes in a variety of styles and costs $15. Email me and I'll send you one. It's a lifesaver! (And makes it more fun to stitch on 18 mesh canvas.)
As always, Happy Stitching,
Susan
All of my friends are having babies so I am busy making Baby Sleeping signs! I am working on this one (above) for my friend, Betsy, who is having a little girl.
It's hard to see in a small picture but I had to stitch basketweave in the central white area. I tried doing a different stitch but the compensation was just too awkward. Compensation is what happens when you can only do part of a decorative stitch because you "run into" another color. When you compensate, you do as much of the stitch as you can in the confined space. Take Nobuko for example (diagram above).
The pattern calls for one regular stitch and then one stitch that crosses over 3 intersections of mesh. If I was doing Nobuko in the central white area of the Baby Is Sleeping canvas, I would have to compensate often. For instance, I would run into the blue letters and only be able to cross over 2 intersections at some points.
For this reason, I decided it would take more time to compensate Nobuko than just stitch basketweave. Some stitches are easy to compensate (Diagonal Mosaic for instance) and others are much harder. Until you are really comfortable with decorative stitches, only use them in big areas that need little compensation.
Have fun with these stitches...they can be really fun and they certainly enhance a canvas!
Now, I'm on to my next baby project for my friend, Katya!
The Point of It All is hosting a trunk show from the Silver Needle! It will be at the shop through Saturday, December 27th. Here's their website: Silver Needle
Adorable Beatrix Potter canvases--Peter Rabbit is darling! There is also Paddington Bear, Good Night Moon, and other storybook characters. The Adirondack collection is charming. Come in and check it out!
I'm back and ready to blog! I've just returned from the needlework market in Long Beach, Californina....so many canvases, so little time to stitch! I bought more than 400 canvases. New pieces have already begun to arrive and UPS delivers more every day! I'll post more pictures soon. Here are pictures of some of my favorite canvases :
Check out this case for my cell phone! I took a small canvas and traced a slightly larger outline of my phone and then stitched away. You could also use an eyeglass case canvas. The result is a beautiful and easy to spot protective case for my phone. Yet another stylish needlepoint accessory!
(The "SK" stands for my maiden name--Susan Kenney--and the initials have long been my nickname.)
Happy stitching! Susan
So we renovated the shop last week to make is a lot more user friendly. We moved some things around and updated some areas to make it so more than one person can walk down the hallway at once! We also moved the canvas display leaves so that customers can actually look through them comfortably. Hopefully these changes will make the customers much happier to spend their afternoons with us and be able to review their canvases and fibers in peace.
Posts
All Comments
