Yum! Check These Out...

Every so often I take a stroll thru Blogland to see if I can find more bloggers that are sharing their passion for needlework. I like finding blogs with pictures, so I can see what they're talking about. And blogs that have other types of pictures (landscapes, flowers, food) are a definite bonus!


(Okay...so I snuck in a un-related picture of an apricot here, just to have a photo in this plain chunk of text...but pictures just make things more fun, don't you think?)

Anyway, I find it curious that the majority of blogs I've found are usually cross-stitch oriented, rather than needlepoint-oriented. Why that's so, I just don't know. But I'm always searching for some good blogs that give details about stitch and thread choices for needlepoint canvases (or counted canvaswork designs.) Needlepoint seems so much more of an interpretative art these days, that it's great for all of us stitchers to learn by seeing how other stitchers are interpreting their canvases.

That's not to say I don't enjoy the cross-stitch blogs. I do. Tremendously. Maybe because I don't do any cross-stitch these days, I get a thrill looking over some other stitcher's shoulder as she/he shares their latest work-in-progress.

I love seeing everyone's "smalls"....or what the latest Quaker-inspired design might be....or what sampler has everyone talking....And I've even added patterns to my own stash because I've seen them being worked on someone's blog.

So here are a few more creative and inspiring needlework blogs that I've found and added to my list at right:

Create Needlepoint!

Terry Dryden Needlework Designs

Spinster Stitcher

Stitch With Me

Please give them a visit some time....or better yet - start your own!

Blue, Blue, My World is So BLUE - continued

About a week later I decided to place a small ad in NEEDLEWORK RETAILER, a magazine that goes out to stitchery stores around the country. I decided to send a picture of STARRY NIGHTS because it was so different from my other quilts, and would surely catch the eye of store owners.

Well, it certainly caught the eye of the people at the magazine! The editor, Megan, called me and asked if they could use STARRY NIGHTS on the cover of their magazine, because they loved the colors of the design and it matched the BLUE cover of their magazine perfectly. I was delighted! And when she asked me to mail her the model, I hesitated and said," Well, actually, the model is being photographed for the Nordic Needle Catalog cover, so you'll have to call them and get them to mail the model directly to you." And that's exactly what they did.

And so, STARRY NIGHTS got to be on the cover of TWO publications in January. And as a result, I've been printing lots and lots of copies of STARRY NIGHTS....which pleases me no end.... I'm so delighted (and relieved) that stitchers DO like this pattern after all!

And I've learned some valuable lessons from this experience:

First, even when you're not totally sure how your project is going to look -- KEEP STITCHING, and trust that it will come out all right in the end....really;

Second, it pays to advertise. Yup, it really does;

And third, never, ever underestimate the power of being BLUE.

(And for those of you who might be interested: Starry Nights is not an actual QUILT...it's only 10.5" x 10.5" and stitched on 18 ct. needlepoint canvas, using LOTS of different #5 pearl cotton threads, DMC floss, and metallic ribbons. Please take a look on my website, listed on the right, to see more of my needlepoint quilt designs.)

Blue, Blue, My World is BLUE

This year has gotten off to a gallopin' good start for me. ...

Well, it really started back in November of last year, when I got a call from Sue & Roz at the Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota. They were preparing their annual big catalog for the coming year and wondered if I had any new projects that they could use on the cover. They specifically requested something that was BLUE, because that was the color scheme of this year's cover.

Since I really, really wanted to be on the cover of their catalog, I frantically thought about the new projects I had underway, and the only BLUE one was a completely new idea of mine that was just barely started. I called it STARRY NIGHTS, because the inspiration was the swirly Van Gogh painting (and the song "Starry, Starry Nights" that kept running thru my head when I thought of this project). I wanted it to have an "art quilt" feel to it, and I wanted it to have lots of different star blocks swirling around in a blur of blues and purples.....

At this point, I wasn't really sure whether it would work out or not, but I took a big gulp and said to Roz,"Well, I do have a new blue piece called STARRY NIGHTS started...and I think I can get it finished, framed and mailed to you in two weeks." They were delighted to feature one of my pieces on the cover, and I was delighted to have one of my pieces on the cover, but after I hung up the phone I thought, "Oh, good grief, what have I promised?!? Is it even possible to finish this project so it looks decent - and not a mishmash of colors??? Yikes, what have I done??"

But as they say, fools rush in where angels fear to tread....and I was determined to get STARRY NIGHTS on the cover of that catalog! So.....I stitched. And stitched. And stitched. All day, from morning til late at night. For days..... I listened to books on tape; I listened to tv news, weather, soaps and talk shows. Real marathon stitching - I kid you not. And the whole time I'm thinking, "Is this thing working? Am I pushing this too far? Are the colors going to get muddy? Are stitchers going to like this? Or will they think it's a muddy mess?" I had no idea....I just kept stitching and trusting my instincts to follow the image I had in my mind, and hope somehow it would come out all right in the end. I didn't even have the luxury of stepping back or setting it aside to ponder for awhile....the clock was ticking on this one and I just HAD to keep stitching.

Once it was done, I framed it and sent it off to Nordic Needle. And took a deep breath of relief.

It was DONE. And time would tell if stitchers liked it....

to be continued.....

Why "The Two-Handed Stitcher"?

Once upon a stitching time, there was a stitchery store in Palo Alto, CA called "The Ugly Duckling." It was located in what originally was a big barn belonging to Leland Stanford (as in Stanford University). Over time it was eventually turned into a charming assortment of shops plus the usual bank, hair salon, ice cream parlor, etc. But the best shop was, of course, the cozy and charming stitchery store....which at that time was primarly filled with cross stitch stuff.

They also had an intriguing assortment of classes. I was especially fascinated by a series of classes on BLACKWORK. A technique I hadn't ever seen up close and personal before. And I was smitten! The series of classes started out with a small project, just to get a feel for blackwork.... Then there was a more advanced sampler of blackwork designs....Then a medium sized medieval grouping of monks.... And finally, the PIECE DE RESISTANCE -- a HUGE elongated drawing of a medieval woman (taken from an English brass rubbing) with what looked to my dazzled eyes to be about 100 different blackwork patterns, plus gold couched outlines and real gold leather applique on her dress. WELL! I really had to take this series of classes, because I just had to learn this gorgeous technique!

I believe the teacher's name was Diane Owens, and she was a lover of ALL THINGS ENGLISH. She had extensive training in English embroidery techniques, so she was an especially wonderful teacher for this fascinating and traditional blackwork technique. I remember the class was a rather small group of women, all as excited about this piece as I was. And we all got to choose our own colors for this medieval lady; most stitched her in black, but someone stitched her in burgundy, someone else chose dark blue, and I chose a dark forest green.

We sat in a circle in the store, and each of us had a big Dazor magnifier light to use - a real luxury in those days! We even had the opportunity to buy a real English floor stand, that we learned to use properly: basting heavy carpet/twill tape along the edges of our fabric, then positioning the long, massive side bars to provide optimum stability and tautness to our long length of laced-up fabric.

Working on this huge project was so different from any other small, hand-held cross stitch project I had ever done. We all sat stitching with intense concentration, totally focused on our variety of minute and elaborately stitched blackwork patterns. And time and time again, the teacher would insist, cajole, and encourage us to use both hands to stitch. "I know it feels awkward at first," she said, "but if you work at keeping one hand on top of the fabric, and one hand under the fabric, you can pass the needle from one hand to the other, and over time it really will become more natural to you."

And she was right. Over the years, stitching with two hands has become second nature to me, and I simply don't feel comfortable stitching any other way. Of course, the advantages of two-handed stitching became immediately apparent and quite attractive to me because I realized I could stitch FASTER, and thus could get projects done quicker....which also meant I could start even MORE projects sooner. Yes, I definitely became hooked on stitching with two hands.....

And, oh, yes....I also fell in love with blackwork. Which set me off on a life-long quest to find suitable ways to incorporate traditional blackwork techniques in other, more contemporary settings.


And, yes, I'll admit there are some drawbacks to two-handed stitching.
...and as for the use of laying tools.....
....well, I'll leave those topics for another time, okay?