Bristly Thistle Needlepoint News

A group of customers stitched these 12 months of nutcrackers by Patty Paints, using her stitch guides. Our finisher came up with a new twist on finishing them—they are weighted to stand and they have a gold teardrop loop on top that folds down. This way you can display them as stand-ups or as hanging ornaments. (posted by Michele)

My husband and I fought off cabin fever by going to Frankenmuth to see some PWDs at a dog show. We made a side trip to Bronner’s Christmas store, the self-proclaimed largest Christmas store in the world. That put me in the mood for the box waiting for me from Amanda Lawford. At market in Long Beach, Amanda had her entire collection of giant Santas in her booth. I fell in love with all of them and ordered these two. They are on 13 mesh and will lend themselves to wonderful stitches and fabulous threads. Whether they are made into a framed piece, a banner or a standup for your tree, fireplace or entryway, they will be sure to bring smiles—and oohs and aahs.

A bit of Santa history—Santa wasn’t associated with a red robe until Coca Cola began their print ads for their soft drink.

Here is an interesting link with more history of Santa’s robe color. (posted by Michele)

I was so enthused that Julia’s Needleworks now represents the JB line that I stitched this roll-up nutcracker “Partridge in a Pear Tree” in record time. I will be making stitch guides for the entire series of the 12 days of Christmas. And then there are the large standup Santas in my stash…I see Swarovski crystals in my future. (Click on this picture to see the detail.) (posted by Michele)

Well it’s one week later and we are in controlled chaos in the store. Our new store has fresh white painted walls, parquet wood floors and lots of natural light for matching colors. Upstairs we have a classroom area, stitching area and a photography area for our web pictures. We are still in boxes and finding canvases is sometimes challenging, but we are all excited with our new space. We installed slat wall on one wall of the store which allowed us to take threads out of baskets and boxes. It makes it seem as though we increased our thread inventory by 25%–now we can see even more possibilities when we pull threads for a canvas. See the inside pictures on our website! (posted by Michele)

I love this Goodnight Moon canvas. I have such fond memories of reading that book to our daughters and I think it would be a perfect gift (perhaps with the book) for a new baby or a young child.

You can see more new items from Silver Needle and other designers on our website. (posted by Michele)

Whatever the occasion, we can custom paint a canvas for you. We have painted wedding and birth announcements, footstools, belts (think college, favorite sports team, golf club logos, etc.), purse inserts, pillows and lots of rugs. We can paint to match wedding colors, fabrics, room colors, etc. Your only limit is your imagination or you can just borrow ours.

This is an example of a leash we commissioned for our Portuguese Water Dog Morgan .

You can see more custom canvases on our website. (posted by Michele)

Summer graduations and weddings are just around the corner for needlepointers. These new jewelry boxes from LEE are absolutely gorgeous and would make perfect graduation or bridesmaid gifts. They come in blue, hot pink, red, magenta and black textured leather.

For those of you who are planning ahead, we are offering these boxes for $55. Add a border of your own design (or choose one from June McKnight’s Borders book) and you can finish these yourself (or have us do it if you like). There are several Lee canvases that fit the opening, or you could create a monogram.

You can see more new items on our website. (posted by Michele)

Here’s one of my “awake at 3 am” ideas. Ring bearers are a wonderful part of a traditional wedding, but what do you do with the ring bearer’s pillow when the day is done? You might keep it on display for the first year, or bring it out for anniversaries, or you might just store it and never look at it again. I love the idea of a needlepoint ring bearer’s Limoges box. The flowers or design can be color-coordinated with the wedding colors. You could stitch only the top canvas (which can be ordered separately) and use fabric inspired by the bridesmaid dresses or reception designs for the base. The inside of the box can be personalized with the wedding date and the bride and groom’s names or their combined monogram. The boxes with the floral design are especially lovely when stitched in 3-D with silk ribbon. The best part is that the bride and groom will have a very personal and beautiful memento of their wedding day that they will be able to enjoy long after the day. These designs by DJ are perfect for this special gift. (posted by Michele)

As a reward for stitching class models, I let myself work on a couple of small projects for myself at the end of the day.

I pulled this Heart canvas from my before-store stash. I worked the red and pink areas in basketweave using Petite Very Velvet and Trebizond. While stitching with the Trebizond, I found that longer lengths tended to shred at the end, so I began using 12-14” lengths. Because I hate ripping out, I needed to save the areas that were obviously worn. I took a 12” length of Trebizond and split it into thirds. I threaded one strand on my needle and went over the distressed areas. For perfectionists, this won’t work, but I don’t think anyone will get into the tree to scrutinize this ornament that closely.

I had never really appreciated Kreinik’s Japan gold braid until I stitched this canvas. I had intended to bead all of the gold areas and then came to my senses. I found the gold braid stitch in June McKnight’s book “Needlepoint Borders”. The stitch is a large cross with reversing mosaic ties done with #12 braid. I then couched the braid horizontally above and below the border using a strand of the Japan gold itself to attach it. The bottom of the center medallion is a fern variation. For the swirly lines, I again couched #12 Kreinik Japan gold braid. The floral motifs were going to be gold-plated beads, but I found they stood out from the canvas too much. I had tried the lazy daisy stitch with #12, but it was too bulky. Finally, I took #8 Japan gold braid and stitched lazy daisies with French knots in the centers. They look like gold peas in gold pods.

I’ve always wanted to take the time to learn goldwork. Until I can find that time, I think this “faux goldwork” is something I will use again.

Here is another of my “rewards” canvases—projects I stitch when I have finished stitching models for the day.

The background is Renaissance Shimmer stitched in a horizontal Parisian stripe. The snowflakes were going to be beads, but French knots in Kreinik 032 #12 braid did the trick. The fur trim is a chenille thread I found in a fabric store that I couched down with a strand of Floche. I used my curved scissors to trim the chenille to the proper shape and scale. The wreath is made of French knots with beads. Santa’s beard is the criss-cross Hungarian in perle cotton with Neon Rays cross-stitches in the voids. These canvases come with all the materials you need to finish them yourself. I’m afraid to finish canvases, but even I was able to pull it off.