New Needlepointqueen Blog

Hi, all – many thanks for all of you have visited me, despite my irregular and scant posts!  Please bookmark this page The Needlepoint Queen, as all posts will be made there going forward.  See you there – keep on stitching!  NPQ

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Amazing Amanda Lawford Santa

Some of you are undoubtedly aware that Amanda Lawford has created over the years a staggeringly beautiful collection of standing Santas (available in various sizes  15″ to 30″ tall).  I have two in my personal stash (in progress,  still…….), and have created stitch guides for several in the series for friends, students,  or customers – whomever.  One in particular just thrills me, for a number of reasons.  The friend who stitched it (has two sons and is stitching one for each) and I share a very personal common thread concerning our children.  She is an incredible lady, and did such an awesome job on this Santa. He takes my breath away, makes me smile, and represents the Christmas Season and Spirit beautifully.  Have a look – be sure to click on the picture so you can zoom in to fully appreciate Suzanne’s stitching:

Christmas Everywhere – already?!?!?

Wowee, this has been a fast year – Christmas is barely two weeks away.  As usual, Mz-Oh-I’ll-Do-That-Later (translation: me) is behind the old eight ball.  That’s okay, it’ll all get done, eventually.  We’re having a very chilly, rainy day here in Atlanta – the sort of day that makes you want to cozy up with a cup of coffee, a soft throw, and a good book.  Better yet, multi-task by stitching while you listen to an audio book.

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.

Amy Bunger Outdoes Herself!

In an earlier post, I mentioned Amy’s  series of instructional DVDs – a picture may be worth a thousand words, but, a moving picture tutorial is the living end.  As if having Amy on hand isn’t enough, add that adorable Kelly Clark and whooee – what fun!  One of the things I love best about needlepoint is that there are so many things that look extremely difficult, but are, in fact, easy to do (at least easy once someone shows you how).  Amy and Kelly take needle weaving to new heights here for you, removing all the stumbling blocks.  Here are the two latest in the series:

Yikes!! Thanksgiving’s already upon us….

Okay, another year has just blitzed by at warp speed, and in a scant two weeks’ time, Turkey Day will roll in.  The bad news is, I’m gonna have to do all that cooking and cleaning up and silver polishing and stuff; the good news is that there is so much to be thankful for. My own list  includes those things I cherish dearly: sharing love with my family and friends,  being truly thankful for my son’s continued great health (as well as enjoying my own), the freedom to pursue my heart’s desires (which would include stitching on those countless needlepoint projects) – being blessed is a Godsend, and I am so grateful for it all.  “Nuff with the maudlin carryings-on, here’s a little something to make ya smile.  Keep on stitching, smiling, sharing – and, Happy Thanksgiving!

Dreaming of a Happy Thanksgiving

Amy Bunger Has a New DVD !!!!! Does life get any better?

If you haven’t started your video library of Amy Bunger’s instructional DVDs,  go immediately and get them!   Each one covers different effects and techniques, and they are all wonderful.  It’s the next-best-thing to sitting with Amy at your side, coaching you through a new stitch, whatever.  As always, her calm delivery is soothing, and her great, good humor is delightful.  No matter what level you believe your stitching to be, you can and will learn something new – don’t know how many times I said, “Wow, I never heard that, before!”  The newest, Volume 6, entitled Barely There, walks you through various ways to execute “light coverage”.  Amy goes over the importance of your path in Blackwork and Darning Patterns, thread weights/plies, great stuff.  All of the six are equally fabulous, and will be great additions to your needlework library.

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

SuZy Murphy has a NEW BOOK !!!

Been waiting a long time for Miss Suzy to come up with another great book, and she’s done it. Her brand new  “Suzy’s Mini Stitches” is a treasure trove of ways to fill those smaller areas on your canvas. I know Amy Bunger has them already, so go get yours right away!  For those of you who’ve never taken class with SuZy, ask your local shops to look into having her come in – she’s way too much fun, a beautiful stitcher and designer.  I was lucky to meet her years ago in Detroit at the first ANG Seminar I ever attended. SuZy and her sister, Kitty Mueller, along with Amy Bunger, made the trip memorable for me. What a blast!

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!

My Christmas Tree is Up (not decorated, y’unnerstand…) !!!

And so it begins – the annual visitation of the ornaments.  Many friends (and some family) tease me relentlessly because as each ornament is unwrapped before hanging, the story of how it came to be in our collection must be recalled.  Some were gifts from loved ones, some were carefully made by the children long ago.  Some are treasured hand-me-downs, things that hung on our parents’ trees.  It runs the gamut from funny little plastic things from the lean years to exquisite hand-blown glass balls.  Not to be forgotten are all the needlepoint ornaments – what fun to remember where we were while stitching each one with love.  So, it takes quite a while for me to go through all of them, taking time to relive, remember, and rejoice in each little vignette. It will take several more days to get them all unwrapped and on the tree, but a great deal of fun will be had in the interim.

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!

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Another Turkey Day has arrived, have been cooking for days!  Sometimes it seems that the ratio of hours in  prep to eating/enjoyment are disproportionate, but it’s still worth it – comforting to do the same things over again, remembering other days, and all our many blessings to be thankful for.  My holiday has been grand, hope your has, too.  Gear up – Holiday Season is here! Remember to take time to stitch……

Tips for assembling a Tool Bag

Everybody has their own ideas about the tools they want to have on hand – it’s one thing when we’re at home and have access to our “nest”, fully outfitted and arranged.  But, how about taking it on the road? I stitch with a group once a month (rotating around members’ houses), also attend classes whenever my schedule permits, and adore stitching on the road if there is a willing driver……so I have developed a bag of goodies that go with me no-matter-what.

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!