Abstract Floral Design

This lovely pillow came back last week. I love the design because it is a little different. It really mae a colorful and delightful pillow. Unfortunately, I wasn't at the store when we opened the finishing box so I can't give the stitcher credit!

Renee's Pillow

Renee does lovely initial pillows as baby gifts. This one is just lovely. Renee has exquisite taste. She always brings her own trim and material for the finisher. That way she knows it will be what she has in mind.

They are such thoughtful baby gifts.

Judy's Roosters

Judy had one of her roosters made into a pillow a while ago. But she had extra fabric so when she finished the second rooster, she wanted to make it into a matching pillow. Unfortunately, she didn't have any trim left. So she cleverly sent a fabric only pillow that had been made with the same fabric and trim to our wonderful finisher.

When the two pillows came back, we really couldn't tell which one was the new one. I believe these have a place of honor in her kitchen.

Fabulous Bee Pillow

This lovely bee pillow was stitched by Joice. She used candlelight for the wings. (We just received a new shipment of this wonderful thread. It comes in a large spool -- 125 yards. We have all the colors but love the rainbow color the best. It's an opalescent white that lets the painting show through.) And she used fuzzy stuff for the body so it also glimmers a little.

When we sent it to the finisher, we requested that she used yellow and black cording and a gingham back. The effect is fantastic.

Halloween Cat

You may not know it but I really love Halloween. I love the autumn colors and kids dressed in costumes. I had this canvas made into a candy bag so that we could use it to serve the Halloween candy.

We have the canvas and the stitch guide in the store so if you love Halloween you might want to get it. It's on #13 mesh so it's relatively quick to stitch.

Bertha's Lovely Egg

As you may remember, I fell in love with Ann Pace's "sugar" eggs at an ANG auction several years ago. It took me a little while to find out who did the fabulous egg. I had to do one and Bertha loved mine. She finished it quickly and we just got it back from the finisher. It's just lovely.

Some canvases really remind me of my childhood. The finishing of this egg with the tableaux within the egg made me think of Sugar eggs we got at Easter. (The paper dolls made me think of the paper doll books my grandmother let us play with.)

Needles and Taking Care of Your Canvas

Yesterday, a customer came in to get more thread for a project she had put down for several years.  When she pulled out the canvas, it was on an embroidery hoop so the canvas was really misshapen.  Then, as we looked at the canvas, I realized that she had left her needle in the work.  Unfortunately, the canvas had been left at the shore.  So the needle had rusted and there was a rust spot on her stitched piece.

I know we all believe that we will never leave a piece for a long time -- but life happens.  It's important to develop good habits so your work doesn't get ruined by mistake.

I know people have favorite needles to but they need to check the needle to make sure the plating hasn't worn off.  When the plating wears off, the smudging can come off on the stitched piece -- once again ruining your work.

Bonnie's Tritych

 
Bonnie chose three Sharon G canvases for a grouping -- and waited until they were all done to ahve them framed. Each canvas is a little different but they certainly belong together.

She used the same Silk Lame thread for the border so that they would share at least one thread across all all three canvas. Bonnie did an absolutely fantastic job with the canvases -- the three framed pieces are absolutely stunning!  Unfortunately, my photos of the other two canvases did not come out.

Bill's Needlepoint

Bill is an absolutely amazing stitcher. He likes to work in pearl cotton and used lots of different stitches. In addition, he is confident enough to vary the stitch to suit his purposes.

On his penguins, he used a bargello background but in a single color so it doesn't distract from the penguins. Look as he cleverly did gray at the bottom of the sky to suggest mountains. In addition, he changed the background on the bottom so it looks as if the penguins are not floating in air!

The bottom photo is of bill holding a purse he stitched for his daughter. (Once again, my trust memory card failed me and I don't have a picture of the front of the purse.) But the tri-fold purse is absolutely stunning.

Marianne's Geometric

Marianne did a beautiful job on her Susan Roberts canvas. The picture does not do it justice. Marianne used a lot of velvets plus stitches to get the effects.Unfortunately, in our photo, you can't really get the full effect.  It's stunning.

MacKenzie Childs Needlepont Ornaments

Vanessa has been stitching away. Her exquisiote Mackenzie Childs needlepointed ornaments came back and they are lovely. The finishing on the hearts includes a wire loop -- just like on a regular onrament. But the stitching is absolutely exquisite.

The canvases of larger ornaments are also beautiful. Vanessa used both stitches and threads to make her ornaments pop. For Christmas ornaments, it's important to use metallic threads so that the ornaments can be seen on the tree.

Weddings

Our customers are frequently looking for a canvas to commemorate a wedding.  A very popular option wedding gift has been putting doing a monogram on a canvas. Frequently, we've used the colors used in the wedding on the pillow. Christine, our letterer does a fantastic job.

Christmas ornaments are also a very popular idea. 

I just couldn't resist this charming ornament. It's perfect to commemorate a wedding. There is even room to put the bride and groom's names and perhaps the date on the cake.

We have one that shows a woman's hand with a diamond ring for the newly engaged.

Helen is working on the Cooper Oaks canvas of the bride and groom at the beach.  So many choices but so little time.  Better start stitching.

Chinese Snowman

We have two of this canvas in stock. I bought it at a show thinking that the canvas was of a Snowman graduate -- it was only when I read the fine print that I realized it was a Chinese Snowman. But my oldest daughter is taking Chinese, so I decided to do this adorable ornament for her. I used a bullion knot for the nose. And I love the finishing.

Remember our current deadline for finishing is August 2.

Fall Leaves

This is a lovely canvas. It always amazes me that there are so few canvases of leaves. (But of course, I love the autumn colors.) This delightful canvas features leaves in stunning blues, red and purples. It virtually pops off the wall.

Jane's Pillow

Last week, I posted about Jane's pillow but then realized that the photo of the whole picture didn't post. So, the pillow is so beautiful it's worth re-doing.

Jane's finished needlepoint is beautiful. I love the way the finisher used luxurious fabrics to frame it -- but by having the rusty fabric inside the flange, it kept the focus on needlepoint.

This pillow is beautiful.

Fun Canvases with Stitch Guides

In fact, these two canvases come with the stitch guides and the threads! But unlike the kits of olden days when there was only one thread, these are kitted with a variety of threads for Threadworx. If you like working with a stitch guide, think about one of these canvases. The stitches are well-diagrammed and theere is a great color picture.
Of course, I want to remind you that a stitch guide is just that -- a guide for your stitching. Once you own the piece, you should feel free to add your own personal touches.

Sally's Pillow

Sally is away this week at the shore so she hasn't seen her pillow yet. This is the third of a series of large canvases by a fabulous designer. (The other two scenes are a harbor scene and a farm scene that have been on my blog this month.)

In the current heat wave, the lake looks so enticing! This pillow is a delightful project for either the stitcher who loves using different threads and stitches or the one who prefers the traditional tent stitch. Sally did most of her pillow in the tent stitch, using mostly wool. One of the best things about needlework today is that there are so many options for us.

Valentine's Day Door

Once again, I have a limited number of canvases.  This door  used pipe cleaners so that the arch of the Victorian House stands out.  Usually, by the time Valentine's Day arrives, I'm sick of the winter and desperate for a little color.  So if you started to stitch this door now, you could have it back in time to put out for Valentine's Day.

I loved making the Valentine's Day Door like the pink icing on a cake.  I used Rainbow Gallery's Silk Lame braid to get that frosty look!

Metallic Soft Twist

This week, I discovered that we had about ten packs of Metallic Soft Twist cording. I think I bought it when we were doing the Candy Village Class but somehow never managed to use it. Each package contains a little over a yard of twisted cording. We have both gold cording and a copper/gold mix.

I know when I get around to the border of a piece, I am frequently just ready to have the stitching done. So instead of stitching a complicated border, I would couch down the metallic soft twist.

Imagine creating mitered corners and then using the metallic soft twist in between each corner.

Of course, my original idea would also be great. You could coil the twist and then couch it down. It would be great for lolliops, domed roofs, hair for whimsical angels, etc. It would also work on buildings. It's only $2.50 a package so it's an inexpensive embellisment.

Christmas Door

We also have several Christmas doors available with the stitch guide. If you like this canvas, call us and we will sell you the canvas and the stitch guide. Once our limited supply is gone, there won't be any more.

This Christmas Door canvas is based on a very formal looking house. Of course, it has the red door -- so appropriate for Christmas. The wreaths and the Evergreens are done using overdyed threads. But in order to create perspective, we used a finer thread and French knots on the wreath. On the Evergreens, we used Watercolors and Colonial knots.