Master Needlepointer Program of ANG - Stage 2 - 6/26/23

June 26, 2023--I just received the results of my Stage 2 project for ANG's Master Needlepointer Program.  This one was a doozy and required lots of planning on my part.   I am pleased to have received 118 points out of the 120 available.   Here is the end result.....

Some of the requirements for this stage were:

• Shapes other than square or rectangular are required.
• Design must have at least 12 stitch areas, half of which are bounded by at least one curved edge.
• eight of the 12 supplied stitches must be used and must include at least one diaper pattern.
• Color scheme must be either complementary or split complementary.

For the shape, I chose to use Friendship Circles designed by Carol Algie Higginbotham which had to be enlarged to fit the required dimensions on Congress Cloth (commercial designs are allowed).   This appealed to me because of its symmetry.

Then I chose the split-complementary aqua blue colors from Joen Wolfrom's Color Tool.  This was after using my iPad to place various color schemes on the chosen design as drafted (again on my iPad).

The stitches used had to be compensated on all edges since there isn't a straight line anywhere on the project.   Again, I used my iPad to draft out some of the more complex stitches, especially for the Jessica and Waffle stitches used in the center.   In the example below, I was able to draw in the full design, then "erase" the areas not to be stitched.

The diaper pattern used in the center of the outer four circles was from Ann Strite-Kurz's Diaper Patterns book.   It may not be obvious, but the centers of the four outer circles all have the same pattern, but the four colors are used differently.  Again, I used my iPad to draw the various colors on my graph to see if I liked the outcome.  

A darning stitch was one of the requirements and I chose to place it along the outside edge.  Again, I graphed the "donut" darning pattern on my iPad to make sure I liked the scale and pattern.  Can you tell that the threads are all stitched in the same horizontal direction?

That's pretty much it.  A serious challenge for me and I may have been a bit over ambitious in my choice of stitches, but it all worked in the end.

English Wildflower Basket - 6/24/23

June 24, 2023--This English Wildflower Basket is a lovely painted canvas project designed by Kirk & Bradley.  The stitch guide by Jinny Barney was published in the Needlepoint Now Magazine, 2019 September/October issue.   When I ordered the canvas from Needlepoint.com, I ordered the full kit which included the same stitch guide but set up just a bit differently.  For example, I just completed the background stitch and noticed the magazine stitch guide graphed it as a "wrap" stitch worked on the diagonal.  The stitch guide that came with the kit called for the background stitch to be done using the darning method.  Both have their benefits--the wrap method saves thread (this is what I chose to use) while the darning method allows for the shine of the thread to show through from the back (the thread used was RG Silk Lame Braid which is very shiny but doesn't show in the photo).   

The painted canvas doesn't have a table upon which the vase would sit, so I didn't bother adding one.  

English Wildflower Basket Background Completed

I hardly ever work on painted canvases, preferring counted projects instead.  However, for a class I was to teach to my ANG chapter on working up silk ribbon flowers on canvas, this design was perfect to use as an example.  It was easy to find YouTube videos of the flowers used and they will fill up the canvas beautifully (see the project photo under the tab "Pages" on the right side in the In Process Projects file). 

Next up--the wicker basket to be worked up using Straw Silk threads. 

Beaded Starfish Pendants - 6/9/23

June 9, 2023--Currently I'm President of my local American Needlepoint Guild chapter, Delaware's Seashore Chapter, and I like to give the members little table favors when attending the chapter's Anniversary Lunch in June and the Holiday Lunch in December.  This month's table favors were little beaded starfish pendants which I learned how to do from a free YouTube video designed by Kelly Dale from a shop called Off the Beaded Path (the printed pattern is available at a small cost from the shop).  They are fun and quick to work up and are great stash busters using size 11 and 8 seed beads measuring about 1.75" across.   They can be used as necklace pendants, key fobs, purse charms, etc.  Here's a photo of what I put together for my chapter mates....