Author Archives: dmbstitch

Nov20

Stocking is Finished!

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I finally finished the Christmas stocking for my daughter-in-law.  Since I couldn’t be at tonight’s meeting and I hope to finish it and give it to her before the December meeting, I figured I’d post a picture.  

Overall it came out with the effect I was looking for.   I’m not in love with the sky although it was the exact effect I was looking for!  Sue C came up with a few suggestions (what would we do without our friends who share their thoughts and opinions?!!).  The one suggestion I loved was to attach snowflake buttons, especially where the color changes to take away from the linear effect I don’t like.  I bought some cute snowflake buttons that are perfect and will put them on once it is blocked.  This was definitely a fun piece to do but now I need one like Frankie where I don’t have to decide on fibers or stitches!

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As you can see, it’s now on the blocking board (yes, I block right-side down!).  I’ve had to block it twice so far and it looks like it will need at least a 3rd round.  I don’t know if it’s because of the size or the canvas – it’s interwoven, not mono.  I’m hoping this  next round will finish it.  I haven’t blocked in a number of years so there’s also that!

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Finishing will be next.  I have white with gold flecks for the lining.  For the backing I’m debating between dark green, white, and a blue to match the sky.  I’ll probably have to play with it a bit to make the final decision once it’s blocked and off the board.

I will take pictures of the finished product to show.  I’m really hoping she likes it.

Happy Stitching!

Diane

Oct7

October Stitch of the Month

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Five of us (Carol, Linda, Diane, Sue R, and Gwen) attended this month’s Stitch of the Month session hosted by Carol.  While it took us a while to figure out where to start, how close to go to the center motif, and how to continue the next from the center motif instead of having to end the thread and start again at the bottom, we each made a lot of progress on our projects.  We were amazed to see the different effects of each of the metallic colors against the canvas and other areas of the design.  Some of them you have to look at closely in the photo but they are dramatic in person and look like they are part of the fabric.  We weren’t sure whether we were supposed to do the center backstitch in the center motif but none of us got that far yet.  We had lots of discussion about what the next 2 months will bring to finish the piece, even though we’ve seen the finished work!   I wasn’t sure I liked mine and am considering using a #4 braid instead of the #8, but looking at the picture I may leave it as is – although if I have some #4 braid, I may try a strand to see how it turns out!

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As usual, we had great conversation and enjoyed a fabulous fruit torte dessert provided by Carol.  We had just a little assistance from the kitties, who were quite well-behaved!

May23

The Gazebo in New Hope

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I was about 24 inches short of the Kreinik for the wedding sampler so I called around and found that The Gazebo in New Hope had a spool.  A quick trip over there was an experience.  The place is hard to find the first time as it is in the back of an odd shaped outdoor mall with several buildings.

They are both needlepoint and knitting.  They have tons of fibers, canvases, and charts.  Fortunately I was on a mission so I couldn’t spend a lot of time because I would have spent a lot of money!!  Gwen had mentioned how good it was and I would totally agree.  The place is small but well organized to show all the fibers, canvases, charts, and supplies.

Definitely worth the initial trip and many future trips!!!

May3

Rittenhouse Needlepoint

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I was in Philadelphia Thursday evening and knew I needed a few fibers for my SOTM and another project I’m doing as well as a few other items like magnets.  Since I was right around the corner from Rittenhouse Needlepoint and had about 1/2 hour free, I just needed to stop in.  What a great experience.

The shop is on the 2nd floor and you must ring a bell to be admitted to the building.  The space is packed with tons of fibers, canvases, and ideas for finishing projects.   I was immediately greeted by one of the shopkeepers whose name I didn’t get and Russell, one of the owners.  The woman helped me find the fibers I needed and offered to order what they didn’t have.  Meanwhile she encouraged me to spend time and just look around; she was leaving but Russell was there if I had any questions. Russell then gave me a “back room” tour where they do custom finishing on-site and custom painting of canvases.  While not large, they have made wonderful use of the space they have.

For finishing, they have lots of ideas and you can either take your piece in to be finished or send it to them.  They make custom wood trays that are gorgeous.  If finishing with fabric, they have lots of fabrics to choose from.  If you take the piece in, they will work with you testing out different fabrics, cording, etc.  If you send it in, they will select some ideas and email you photos so you can decide what you really want.

They have a lot of canvases and I did not have time to really look although I did pick a few I’m really interested in doing – next time I’ll be sure to allow more time!   They have a stitch notebook with samples they let you peruse if looking for ideas.

Their website (http://rittenhouseneedlepoint.com)  is wonderful; their canvases are grouped by type rather than by designer.

I could have spent  a lot more time (and money!) if I hadn’t had another commitment.  It was definitely worth the stop and I know I’ll be going back!

Aug26

My free day at Seminar

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As many of you know, I was in Philly on Saturday and Sunday for a wedding, which was fabulous!!  Sunday morning after the brunch, my husband was willing to walk over to Seminar with me to check out the shopping and exhibits.  The shop is outstanding – I’ve been wanting to get to Rittenhouse for a while but always seem to end up in Philly on days when they are closed.  The number of different fibers was amazing – my husband had no idea how many different types of fibers there were; he gave up asking after the first few!  I had a specific thread I wanted  (a light brown Sea Grass) for a small section of my piano piece – they didn’t have a lot of the Sea Grass; however I still found what I wanted.  When I go on Wednesday, I’m going to take a painted canvas I have that I’m going to make for my future daughter-in-law so I can at least start to kit it given all the amazing fiber options.  Supposedly, they have even more at their shop.  And the staff were wonderful, asking if I needed help but not bothering me.

I did get to meet up with Sue C and Rosie.  Rosie had to go off to class while Sue, my husband, and I checked out the exhibit area.  The exhibit area is small but packed full of finished projects.  I have to go back on Wednesday to check out the Independent entries because they all have write-ups on what the creator thought or was trying to do.  The 2013 seminar projects have several I’m eager to do if I can only get to Anaheim!  A friend from college is going to be teaching a fabulous evening bag so that was fun to see.

I’m looking forward to Wednesday, taking my class and just experiencing the whole atmosphere.  In just the few hours I was there today, I spoke to so many people who all share our love of needlepoint.  The energy and enthusiasm is really encouraging.