The Finishing Continues to Come Back

Of course, these last few weeks, I've been focusing on the great Melissa Shirley trunk show. It's such a great opportunity to see a designer's (or the designer and the artists she also represents) full range.

But of course, during this time, we continue to receive our customer's work back fromt he various finishers. And just as what you can needlepoint varies, so does what comes back.

As an example, we have Helen's completed Princess and Me Bride and groom ornament. Isn't it delightful? Helen's wonderful stitching was really complimented by the finisher's wonderful job.

Then we got back Lois's golf club covers in plenty of time for her to play throughout the summer and fall. She chose transferred the numbers herself.

I had stitched this IHA Santa for my daughter on her graduation from high school on June 5. And I even managed to get it back with time to spare!
In addition to the wonderful cording and ribbon, the finisher chose a great material for the back.

And finally, we got back Renee's baby gift. Renee stitched this quickly and we were able to get in back in time for the shower. What a lovely gift!

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day. This lovely flag by Mary Lake Thompson is a sweet variation on the American Flag.

Chanukah House

In addition to having so many of Melissa's canvases, we have been very fortunate to have either finished canvases or works in progress by our customers. Tracy brought in her fabulous Chanukah house. Tracy is doing a wonderful job stitching the house and the figures.

I love the woman in her scarf and apron. Look at the kids, too. The house is painted blue and it highly decorated for Chanukah. On the sides of the house, there are Stars of David, and the bush is decorated with driedels.

I couldn't find a picture of the canvas on Melissa's site but I do know that she will paint a discontinued canvas. So let us know if you are interested.

Flowers in Glass Vases and Bottles

This canvas is just lovely. The flowers are from late spring to early summer (at least here in NJ). I love seeing the stems through the glass. A hand-written stitch guide is available for this canvas.

Wild Women

I love this series of Melissa Shirley's, partially because they are so whimsical. But in addition, the series seems to free stitchers to go over the top when they embellish these canvases. And these designs come to life with embellishment!

In the past, I have loved seeing Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I, Brunhilda and Frieda finished.

These are three relatively newer ones in the series. Fhe first one is Evita. I would have to use beads for her jewelry and pad her bust. Her hair would be marcelled.

For Mae West, I would have to use a laid filling for the background . And of course, she would get a padded bust, too.

For Coco Chanel, I would stitch over the glass of the shop window in accentuate so it would resemble a real shop window. And her pearls would have to be three dimensional.

Think of all the things you could do!

Dogs and Cats With Personality

We just loved the dogs and cats that came with the trunk show. Each one has its own personality. The black cat is either inspecting her Christmas present or she is the Christmas present. It would be fun to do the black figures on the box in velvet like a burnout out paper.

Of course, the golden retriever has such a happy face. He looks like he is ready to join in all the fun. He may be a wanderer since he is wearing bells.

The black dog seems more solemn and perhaps a little older. And I love the black lab in the old-fashioned beach chair. We all know that the pets get the best seats.

I often think it is smarter to do a canvas of a pet that exudes its personality instead of trying to make one look exactly like your pet. It's hard to capture the details in needlepoint.

Melissa Shirley Purses

We received two styles of purses with the trunk show. In this email, I've included three of one style and one of the other. All of them are gorgeous.

Once again, these purses should appeal to a wide variety of tastes. There are two absolutely stunning roses. I can see using either one of these for a summer purse. Think of them against a black linen dress!  I know that at least one if not both roses are done on larger mesh canvas -- so it will be quicker to stitch!

The third one of this style is totally different -- it's a geisha set in a beautiful garden. Again, I can imagine it against a black dress but I think you could use it throughout the year. These three canvases are on #13 mesh.  I must say that the winter scene is possibly more stunning on #13 mesh!

Finally, there is a picture of the pear purse. If you follow the needlepoint magazines, you know that pears have been quite popular recently.  This lovely purse works off of that theme. There is also a similar style purse in apples!

Fabulous Asian Design

I just love this Japanese winter scene. It's stunning.

But I was really surprised when I was editing this picture before I added it to the blog. For some reason, I left it up before I saved it. My husband was sitting across the table from the computer and wanted to know what the design was. He also thought it was stunning.

This design comes purse shapped (like this picture) or in a rectangle that could be used for a pillow or framed. I think it's oneeof the most beautiful needlepoints I've seen.

There is another Asian inspired canvas in the rectangle shaped canvas.

Thanksgiving Canvases

I happen to love Thanksgiving. It was my mother's favorite holiday. As I've gotten older, I've come to really love it, too. I love the colors of the fall. And although I'm not much of a cook, I love making the stuffing for the turkey.

Melissa has this wonderful series of four symbolic figures. We received three of them with the trunk show - the Indian Chief, Indian Woman , the Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Woman. There are also stitch guides available for those of you who like to be guided in selecting your threads and stitches.

I see these as four stand-ups, perhaps on the hall table or on the mantle.

Santa and his sleigh

I just had to share these canvases with you. In the trunk show, we received the one of Santa and the reindeer flying over the green house. But there is a coordinating stocking in which Santa and the reindeer are flying over a red house.

I happen to love the line of Santa and the reindeer in front of the moon. I just think it is so suggestive. The whole scene makes me think of Clement Moore's "A Visit from St. Nick". I had to show you a close-up.

But if you have already stitched all the stockings you need, you can also get this fabulous scene ina rectangle. This is done on 13 mesh so it would be faster to stitch.

Did you know that with Melissa's stockings, she will turn the toe to the left or right. She will also does many of the designs on #13 or #18 mesh.

Traditional 3" round Ornaments

I happen to love the faces on Melissa's Santas. I've selected just two of the many 3" ornaments we received because I was struck by Santa. In the top one, Santa is even hanging a pear ornament - how timely!

Many of the themese from Melissa's and Mary-Lake Thompson's larger canvases are repeated in these 3" gems. So if you don't want to stitch a large canvas, but have fallen in love with a design, you might find it in a smaller canvas.

Ribbon Candy Canvases

I wanted to show you a closer view of some of these canvases. In addition to the expected Christmas candyies, there are also canvases for Halloween ribbon canvases. Think of a black wire tree hung with needlepointed ribbon candies!

The Same Canvas stitched and finished differently

Gretchen and Erin both stitched the same Melissa Shirley witch needlepoint. But as you can see, the choices the stitcher makes can make a big difference. Gretchen used a bright yellow background plus a decorative stitch. Her witch's hair is also using a different stitch.

Erin chose plainter stitches but her blue background changes the whole look. Her witch's hair is also very effective.

Then, once they finished stitching, they made completely different finishing choices. Gretchen had the finisher use a black and white check materials for a pillow. Erin had a feathery material trim her stand-up witch.

Melissa Shirley has some wonderful Halloween canvases. This would be a good time to check her website or all the posting I've done on the blog. I regret to say that we only have the trunk show for less than a week.

Ribbon Candy Canvases

Melissa has a wonderful series of canvases that are finished as ribbon candy. When I look at these, I think how much fun it would be to stitch them in silk lame or Kreinik's new candy colors. Of course, because they are candy, I think they should be shiny!