Aloha All,
This year has started off with a bang. My first Zoom-bellishment class of 2021 was held by Bedecked & Beadazzled in early January. These classes are wonderful. It is easy for Ruth, or any teacher, to demonstrate different techniques. Everyone gets a close up view of the technique on our screen at home. Zoom classes also make it easy for people to gather from around the country in the comfort of their own stitching space. This makes for a fun class!
Todays stitch comes to you courtesy of Jane Wood. If you have been following me for a while you know Jane is a good friend and blogger. She hosts “Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure” which is full of fun needlepoint news. There are also tabs at the top of blog for many different ideas related to needlepoint, i.e. tutorials, shop clubs, needlepoint markets, to name a few.. Take time and browse through the tabs, you may find something you always wanted to know.😁
Let’s get started with todays stitch!
Stitch:
Currently Jane has been working on Tapestry Fair’s Birdhouse, Flower Cottage, shown below. A Combination Scotch and Inverse Mosaic Stitch, Dotted Swiss, & Tent stitch are used for the bird’s body and head.
Since I have this canvas in my collection, it’s fun to see the stitches being used to bring this canvas to life.
The Combination Scotch and Inverse Mosaic is stitched in the blue portion of birds body. The Yellow area on the birds breast is a Dotted Swiss stitch. I have included a Dotted Swiss Variation chart. It isn’t the exact stitch that is used by Jane. You still see how the stitch will look.
The Dotted Swiss stitch works well in small areas and provides a nice texture. The yellow area above the body of the bird is stitched using the Dotted Swiss stitch, while the head is tent stitched.
The chart I have included is a Dotted Swiss variation. Dotted Swiss stitch is made up of tent and Cross stitches. Depending on the book you look in you may find 1 cross stitch between 1 tent stitch or 3 tent stitches. The variation I charted leaves one empty thread between the tent and cross stitch. This allows shading to show through in a painted canvas. If I were using this stitch, I would stitch on the true diagonal, starting on the left side stitch the cross stitches, skip a thread, then again on the true diagonal, stitch the tent stitches.
This stitch would also make a nice background or night sky. For a background or sky I might use two ply of a silk or one strand of Petite Silk Lamé. The cross stitch could be a bead which would look good for stars or snowflakes. As I always say, audition threads and embellishments until you find the look you want.
Thanks again Jane for the wonderful chart and stitch sample.
Classes:
Embellishment Class:
A couple of weeks ago I took my first Zoom-bellishment class of the year. It was held by Ruth Schmuff at Bedecked & Beadazzled. Here is the canvas I chose.
Ruth wrote the stitch guides and sent all canvases out the week before class. This gives you some time to read your guide and start stitching before class, if you want to. By doing this you come to class prepared with any questions.
Because I didn’t read the guide fully, I ended up ripping and re-stitching an area. Yes, I know I should read the guide fully before starting, not just skim through it!LOL!😹
It was a good sized class and we all were able to get questions answered. Ruth had time to demonstrate a few techniques including how she beads. I will trial this since her beads sit beautifully. It is all about keeping the beading thread tight.
As always I love to see what everyone is stitching so I didn’t get much stitched. Instead I had fun socializing. This is one of the reasons why I love zoom classes.😁 If you would like to see some of the class pieces you can check them out at “Not Your Grandmother’s Needlepoint“.
Ruth teases you before class showing some of the canvases and threads that people chose. After class she posts photos of all the beautiful stitching that was completed during class, https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2021/01/look-at-what-they-did/.
The next Zoom-bellishment class is in April! What fun we will have and yes I am taking the class. This isn’t too long to wait, but if you want to take a zoom class sooner, there are a few zoom classes coming up at the Beehive!😁
Upcoming Classes:
Transformation:
This weekend Kimberly Smith is teaching her design Transformation on Zoom through Bedecked & Beadazzled. So many people were interested in this class that a second class was added on June 12th and 13th.
I love this design and have signed up for the June class because the January class is full. Kimberly incorporated, ribbon embroidery, gold work, dimensional copper wings, plus many other fun techniques.
If you love the design but can’t take the class there is always a kit available. You can email Ruth at, sales@bedeckedandbeadazzled.com.
In February Kelly Clark is teaching her Halloween Crow House, click on link for more information. I was tempted since I love the owls and this piece is full of fun techniques. Unfortunately I am overwhelmed by my current class projects, yes there are a few!
This & That:
Currently I am still working on my Halloween Steampunk Mer-Fairy by Lulu Mypinkturtle. I am having fun and still working on the background. I want to finish the background before I start the fun part.
So between Steampunk, Om, Chameleon, and a few others, I have my plate full of fabulous canvases!😻
I have been feeling a little guilty about my poor neglected collection of canvases. So much so that I actually decided to send a few to Needlepoint Destashing. One of my good friends told me about this site because she also felt that some of her canvases needed a new home.
The mother and daughter team that run Needlepoint Destashing are doing a marvelous job. The website is constantly updated and yes they have a few of my canvases right now.
Over the years my tastes have changed and it is nice to know that my canvases are finding new homes. Someone will actually stitch what I had hanging in my closet which makes me feel good. I also get a little extra money to take a new class! Now this is a great motivator to clean up your office and stitching space!
Kitty Crew:
Some of you are probably wondering how the fur babies are doing. Well Beardie’s moving into the house caused a little friction. Noe has her little nose bent out of shape because she wants all the attention. Beardie has moved into Noe’s two favorite spots in the house, the small cat stand and the loveseat! So Noe has not been very nice to her birth mother, hissing, smacking, and chasing have been her new behaviors. It isn’t completely new, but Beardie is now the recipient versus Tango.
Also, they are all lazy! We added one new litter box so we have four litter boxes, one for each cat. Well, they are feuding over the one new box and making a real mess, to the point of leaving their business on top and not covering it! Yes, this is laziness at its best. Here are a couple of photos of the children.
As you can see Noe was just a tad bit miffed! Too bad, her mum needs to discipline her to stop being a bully.😂
That’s all for now, so do what you love and take time to put in a few stitches!
Sheena 😻
