Have you found the Stitcherie site that Ruth Schmuff set up on ning.com? It’s a neat place to show-and-tell in cyberspace, communicate with other stitchers, get ideas, etc.  Jump over there  and sign up – you’ll like it (and, it’s free).  One of the subscribers posted a picture of her completed Santa ornament, commenting that she had stitched her Turkey Work on the diagonal, which brought up a discussion of that particular method (there are so many).  It is my favorite method, very easy, puts a whole lot of thread on top of your canvas (think thick fur). If you want a copy of the diagram for that method,  go to the “Contact Me” page for my email address.

Here’s a picture of the front:

Amy's "Barely There" - Go Get It !!!

Have fun, keep on stitching – I’m off to work on a stocking…………more later – NPQ

I did decorate my Christmas tree, can’t believe the Holidays came and went, as has most of January!  Been traveling, working, visiting family, stitching, and even knitting a little.   Winter blahs made me decide to put up a Spring Village picture – probably pushing the season, but,  hey!  A little day dreaming can be a good thing……….

Gotta quit talking and get back to stitching – don’t forget to make stitching part of your every day, too!

The picture below is a finished piece stitched by yet another friend.  It is the Candy Town Village designed by Deborah Wilson of Beau Geste, now Bella Donna.  It is a magnificent piece, probably still available fully kitted with stitch guide included.  Follow the link to their site to check on availability.  It was a great fun piece to work, too.

My next post will have some suggestions for gifts for your stitching friends,  and maybe a few random goodies, too.  Keep on stitching!

Obviously, one must have an assortment of needles – at a minimum, my bag will have Tapestry and Chenilles in sizes 20, 22, 24, and 26.  Milliner’s needles are handy to have on hand (you might want to make a perfect bullion knot, so much easier with a Milliner’s needle).  Don’t forget to throw in a few threaders and magnet pairs, too.  Scissors, of course – exquisite embroidery scissors, scissors for cutting metallic threads, an all-purpose pair in case you need to cut paper, cardboard, whatever.  My bag has an assortment of laying tools- my personal favorite is a shaped, wooden tool about 7 inches long, but it’s important also to have a Tekobari (not to be confused with the BLT) and perhaps one other like the Trolley Needle.  There are a number of lovely hair and shawl “pins” that make good laying tools, too.  A 6″ ruler is handy, along with an assortment of colored pencils and a good mechanical pencil.  Spare rust-proof tacks and a tool to remove them; an Alan wrench to adjust/assemble a Lowery Stand; T-Tool to adjust Evertite Stretcher Bars; Bugz-Eye Magnifier; and Pink Hair Tape (think Sally’s Beauty Supply, this handy tape will hold things out of the way without leaving sticky residue – just don’t leave it there indefinitely……..) are all useful.  One incredibly handy tool is a telescoping magnet wand- especially for dropped needles in the car or on an airplane!  Add a bit of paper or card stock (for notes or masking stitch diagrams for purposes of determining compensation), and I’m ready to go. 

Not necessary, but oh-so-wonderful to have are adornments for your scissors and threaders.  My faves are by Lee Cox, an amazing artist (and stitcher, by the way) who creates dichroic glass beads, then combines them with silver beads and Swarovski crystal beads into the most beautiful tassels. Her bracelets and necklaces are spectacular, too.  Will put a link in next post so you can see her beautiful work.

Set up your tool bag, and you’ll be ready to go, too!