Sunglasses Sugar Skull with Appliqued Flair

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for hanging with me... waiting for another blog.

I really wish I could do 2 things at the same time.  Since we last met, I stitched the models for the 2 classes I am teaching at the upcoming TNNA in Long Beach:

• Sunglasses Sugar Skull "Elton John" by NeedleDeeva (453-D).
• The Thistle by Zecca (178).

Teaching at TNNA is an honor and thrill. The students are shop owners from across the country. What an opportunity. It is also a lot of work. Stitching under deadlines, assembling donated thread kits, typing the teaching manual, printing the stitch guides, shipping all items to California. But, what an opportunity!

Get your Map of the USA handy and see how many states you can identify. Is you favorite needlepoint shop owner taking the class?

• So far, shop owners from MA, OH, MN, GA, VA, SC, CA have signed up for the Sunglasses Sugar Skull class. And, there are 12 seats still available for the Saturday class, February 2.

• So far, shop owners from KY, VA, MN, FL, TX, HI, MI, SC, MA, OR, and CT have signed up for the Thistle class. And, there are 9 seats still available for the Sunday class, February 3.

Let's talk about the Sugar Skulls. NeedleDeeva came up with some really cute Sugar Skull designs. Lately, I have been focusing on the 5 small ones. Actually, I do have 4 out of 5 stitched. They are at the finisher (Elizabeth Turner Collection in Lexington, KY), and we will be reunited at Market in just a few weeks. Purr-fect timing.

How to pick which Sugar Skull to teach? Talk about a Sophie's Choice moment! But, with any class project, I look for "teachable moments." The Sunglasses on this Sugar Skull were quite endearing, so I picked him. I was glad I did.

Here is the "before" picture:

Sunglasses Sugar Skull by NeedleDeeva (ND 453-D)
Comes with Stitch Guide by Robin King

Here is the "after" picture:

Sunglasses Sugar Skull by NeedleDeeva (ND 453-D)
Comes with Stitch Guide by Robin King

Talk about fun threads: Flair, Glow in the Dark Neon Rays, Petite Sparkle Rays, Petite Very Velvet, Petite Frosty Rays, Neon Rays, Splendor, Sundance Beads, The Collection Sequins, Swarovski 6MM Margarita Crystal Beads, Kreinik size 8, Kreinik Hot Wire, DMC Memory Thread, DMC Floss, and River Silks Ribbons. I kept saying over and over again, "If not on a Sugar Skull... when!

So, what was the "teachable moment" for the Sunglasses Sugar Skull? The Appliqued Flair technique for his sunglasses.

Appliqued Flair chart diagram
from ND 453-D Stitch Guide by Robin King

Have you ever done Appliqued Flair? It was taught to me several years ago by Amy Bunger. We also featured it in "Barely There"; DVD #6 from the How'd You Do That? series. The idea is to stretch and tack down with one strand of floss (applique) the Flair across a surface. No under stitching is necessary; thus the concept of "barely there." 

The trick is to work across the surface, tacking as you go, working in a Zig Zag sequence which best uses the stretch of the Flair. After all, we do call Flair "Barbie's pantyhose."

Here's the group of the 4 Sugar Skulls being finished. Can't wait for Judee/NeedleDeeva to see them.

Sugar Skulls by NeedleDeeva
Stitch Guides by Robin King

Next time, we will talk about The Thistle.

Until then... Hugs, Robin

Needlepoint Study Hall blog is 3 years old

Hi Everybody ... Robin here.

Join me in wishing a Happy Birthday to the Needlepoint Study Hall blog.

Yes, it was three years ago today (12-22-2009), Peggy McGowan started the NSH blog. A week later (12-27-2009) I joined her in writing blog posts. I want to thank Peggy for this creative opportunity.

Much has been shared over these past three years... that's what we like to do.

So far, there have been 281,442 Visitors and we have 106 "official" followers. There have been 419 posts and 224,665 page views. Wow. That's a lot of needlepoint information... plus, a few cat photos along the way. LOL.

Have a slice of cake on us. Until the next time... Hugs, Robin

12 Days of Christmas by Judy, Melissa & Robin

Hi Everybody... Robin here...

Christmas countdown is upon us, and, on Facebook, many folks have been showing their 12 Days of Christmas pieces worked in needlepoint. 

Several years ago, Judy Rogers (Arlington, TN) attended my Saturday canvas enhancement classes, and her epic project was working on all of the

12 Days of Christmas designed by Melissa Shirley (MSD 497A-L). 

Each piece is 3" x 4" on 18 mesh. 

'Tis the Season... so I thought it would be fun to share with you these stitchings by

Judy Rogers with my stitch design inspirations. 

Go ahead and sing along with me ... 

♬ On the First Day of Christmas my True Love gave to me... ♫

Thanks, again, to Judy Rogers. We had good times, didn't we.

Until the next time... Hugs, Robin

Caswell Stitch

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

One week to Christmas. Wrapping up Hanukah. Busy times, indeed.

This weekend, I returned to writing Stitch Guides. Many have been waiting their turn for far too long, and I do apologize. To those still in the queue... please know I am working as hard as I can to get these back to you.

I began with the Melissa Shirley Designs canvases: Pink Flower Purse 1306B and Mellow Yellow Flower Purse 1306C. Both designs were on 18 mesh. The same customer chose both of them.  Won't she have a fun time.

Here are the threads chosen for each stitch guide. Very pretty, right?

Pink Flower Purse • MSD 1306-B
Melissa Shirley Designs
Stitch Guide by Robin King

Mellow Yellow Flower Purse • MSD 1306-C
Melissa Shirley Designs
Stitch Guide by Robin King

When I was charting the stitch for one of the Leaves, I noticed the name
Caswell Stitch. I have heard the name, but never met the author of the stitch. Through Facebook, however, I did send a shout out to Ann and here is what she said.

"The stitch was actually listed and named by Father Bob for a county in North Carolina. However he often would tease me and my husband, saying it described the way we fit together."

It is fun to learn the history of stitches.

So... just in case you don't know the Caswell Stitch... here it is.

Work it in Horizontal Rows... very similar to the construction of Criss Cross Hungarian, but on a larger scale.

These two Stitch Guides are finished and ready to return to their owner. My queue has been reduced by two. Woohoo!

Next up: Elephant Walk by Treglown Designs and a sweet Strictly Christmas Large Stocking (CS323) featuring a Girl Teddy Bear decorating the Tree; both on 13 mesh.

Any of the stitch guide I write are available for purchase. On my To Do List for 2013 is to better organize/advertise all the stitch guides I have had the opportunity to write, so (hopefully) others might want them, too.

Well, that's all for now. I'll be checking in before Christmas. Fingers crossed, I will have some photos to share about the TWO classes I will be teaching at the TNNA Winter Market in February 2013.

Until then... Hugs, Robin

Traveling to The Enriched Stitch, CT

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

Since my last blog entry, I have traveled and taught at The Enriched Stitch located in Wilton, CT.

The Enriched Stitch
Wilton, Connecticut

I met shop owner, Suzie Vallerie, at the TNNA Fall Market in Baltimore, MD this past September when she was shopping in the NeedleDeeva booth/room. She liked my ideas worked on the Flowers in a Vase canvas (ND 311) by NeedleDeeva, and invited me to teach at her shop.

The Enriched Stitch is a new needlepoint store, and is developing a wonderful reputation of being a teaching/destination shop. Located about 1 hour outside of NYC, Suzie uses Skype and Facetime technology for the ultimate shopping experience. Be sure to visit the link to their website. There, you will see her upcoming Rebecca Wood Christmas Banner exclusive, her listing of fun classes, as well as a chance to visit her blog. The Enriched Stitch is also one of the participating retailers in the NeedleDeeva's Thanksgiving Club. There is a lot going on is that building!

Suzie's shop was decorated for Christmas. So pretty. Look at the festive welcome they gave me.

A festive welcome to all.

Day One of my teaching event focused on the Flowers in a Vase. The class was sold out. Stumpwork, Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Beading, Sparkles, and composite stitches were demonstrated. The Stitch guide was reviewed, and yes, we even did some stitching. Here is a photo Suzie took. You can see more of them on her blog.

Flowers in a Vase class demonstration at The Enriched Stitch

Day Two was a Canvas Enrichment class. I love the "enrichment" name Suzie gave the class. Very clever. After agreeing to teach a canvas enrichment class, I decided to compile the stitches I had charted over the years into one (or two, as the case was) Stitch Books. Affordable spiral binding at FedEx Office made everything look impressive with easy reference.

Stitches A-J and Stitches K-Z are my new BFF.

I also traveled with my favorite Brenda Hart books, plus all of the needlepoint APPs which are available. I was prepared for all kinds of stitch suggestions.

Here are some of the canvases needing some enrichment. I am anxious to seeing their progress. You can see the other photos on The Enriched Stitch's blog.

Becki was working on this Liz stocking.

Close up of the first stitches for Santa's Coat.

Lisa was working on this Brenda Stofft canvas.

Debbie was working on this Rebecca Wood stocking.

Carina was working on this Angel Topper by Melissa Shirley Designs.

Kim was working on this EWE & Eye canvas.

I also learned an interesting technique at The Enriched Stitch from Aggie (one of the resident teachers). During one of the class demonstrations, I was using the E-Z Beader from The Collection Designs. Normally, I take the round spiral sticky disc out of the clear plastic container, and save the container for when I was finished beading. Aggie said to use the clear plastic container with the E-Z Beader; working in tandem and the clear plastic container would catch any beads which flicked off and away.

This technique enriched my day.

Genius. Thanks, Aggie for this pearl of wisdom. You really "enriched" my day.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Connecticut. Tasty food and drinks, too. Suzie, Nancy, Aggie and Becki were wonderful hostesses. Looking forward to my next time at
The Enriched Stitch.

Until the next time... Hugs, Robin

The Stars are Out Tonight

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

Well, once again Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread.com website posted a wonderful stitch. One I hadn't seen before, and can't wait to give it a try.

What's the stitch?  Mary outdid herself: The 6-point Star and the 8-point Star. So creative. So many possibilities. Stars. Snowflakes. Wonderment. Here's the link.

Wonderful Stars by Mary Corbet.
Needle 'n Thread.com

Over the years, I have stitched and charted quite a few Stars. Here are some of my favorites:

Mary's Gown is stitched with Sirna Stars.
Stitch Guide by Robin King

Need to regain the crisp edge of the star?
Do it with Fly Stitches.

Make a 5-point Star and make it an eyelet, too.

Anything by Brenda Hart is always a favorite.
Stitches for the Millennium is in my library. Is it in yours?

Nice little geometric background with a "star" feel.

There are other Stars out there, too.

Check out all of the Ruth Schmuff publications (books, CDs, APPs). Also, the Sandra Arthur books and APPs. Steph's Stitching blog did a recent posting about stars as she works the Betsy Ross canvas.

Thanks, ladies for doing the heavy lifting for us.

Hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving. Until the next time... Hugs, Robin

Fab Firs Photo Shoot

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

The Fab Firs came to visit for their "official" photo shoot.

Fab Firs by NeedleDeeva (ND 1370A-i)
Each canvas comes with Stitch Guide by Vicky De Angelis

For new blog readers, the Fab Firs are a series/club/collection of Fir Trees by NeedleDeeva and stitched by Vicky De Angelis. Each canvas comes with a stitch guide. There are 9 designs in the series, on 18 mesh, and are 4.5" x 4.5" triangles. (They are the same size of the Creeps, if that gives you some perspective.)

The Fab Firs have their own Facebook page. They also have their own page on the NeedleDeeva website. Your Local Needlepoint Store can order them for you; either individually or collectively.  Four of the Fab Firs come with special Swarovski Crystals for that puff-fect touch.

NeedleDeeva's knowledge of Fir Trees is enlightening. Did you know she is from Colorado? Land of the Trees, for sure.

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Here are the Fab Firs by name and number:

• Scottish Pine (1370A)
• Norfolk Island Pine (1370B)
• Southern Yellow Pine (1370C)
• Blue Fir (1370D)
• Rocky Mountain Blue Spruce (1370E)
• White Pine (1370F)
• Gingerbread Spice Pine (1370G)
• Norway Pine (1370H)
• Jack Pinion Pine (1370i)

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In my world, no photo shoot is complete without a visit from a cat. This time it was Lana who graced us with her presence.

Enjoy these behind-the-scene photos:

Making sure every Fab Fir is seen.

The Talent has arrived on the set.

Lana checks out the props.

"Oooh... I love sparkly things."

Lana is off screen while set decoration continues.

♫ It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... ♬

Then, a little Photoshop magic occurred. 

Dramatic lighting.

Nice cropping for detailed viewing.

Two versions were created. Now, that's customer service.

Fab Firs finished by Barbara's Needlepoint, Sioux Falls, SD.

Official Fab Firs photo as seen on Facebook.

Big thanks to Barbara's Needlepoint in Sioux Falls, SD who did the finishing including the metal stands. They really make the Fab Firs outstanding in their field. LOL.

Until the next time... Hugs Robin