Southwest theme Stitch Guides by Robin King

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

Whew!! That was a fast week. How was it for you?

I'm into the one-week countdown for boarding the next plane 🛩.

Where you going, Robin? I will be traveling to Scottsdale, AZ to teach at Quail Run Needlework; owner is Susan Barlow. Lucky me, I get to go there twice a year: September and January.

Here's a fun tidbit to know about Susan. Not only is she the shop owner and an excellent needlepointer, she is also an artist whose Southwestern designs are offered thru her wholesale line, Quail Run Designs.

I have had the lucky opportunity to write several Southwestern themed stitch guides for classes at Quail Run Needlework. Here are some stitch guides from previous years...

"Adobe" by Peter Ashe
stitch guide by Robin King

"Adobe" by Quail Run Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

"All in the Family" by Quail Run Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

"Approaching the Skies" by Quail Run Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

"Desert Council" by Quail Run  Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

"Desert Sun" by Quail Run Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

"Enchanted Pueblo" by Sundance Designs
artist, Tish
stitch guide by Robin King

"Five Women" by Quail Run Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

"Magic Sun" by Quail Run Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

"Prickly Pear and Quails" by Quail Run Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

"Purple Adobe" by Quail Run Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

There were also many designs in the Quail Run Designs catalog "not" of the Southwestern theme.

"Pumpkin" by Quail Run Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

"Man About Town" by Quail Run Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

"Because You're Mine I Walk the Line" by Quail Run Designs
artist, Nancy Coffelt
stitch guide by Robin King

"Nothing but Blue Skies" by Quail Run Designs
artist, Nancy Coffelt
stitch guide by Robin King

"Oriental Woman 2" by Quail Run Designs
artist, Charlotte McDonnell
stitch guide by Robin King

"Oriental Woman 1" by Quail Run Designs
artist, Charlotte McDonnell
stitch guide by Robin King

I wrote a stitch guide for Purple Palm Designs. Look at that assortment of cacti. 🌵

"Desert Light" by Purple Palm Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

And, I also wrote a guide for Little Bird Designs; the artist's mom, Rosanne, was attending the class.

"Inspired by Fawkes" by Little Bird Designs
stitch guide by Robin King

Oh, and not to state the obvious, all of my stitch guides are available. Email me creativecats@comcast.net for any inquiries. 😊

Next week there will be 12 more 😳 new stitch guides at the Quail Run class. 🙃 Quite an eclectic grouping from designers including Quail Run Designs; Birds of a Feather; Susan Roberts/Ashley Dillon; Maggie Co.; Nenah Stone Designs; Needle Deeva; Tapestry Fair; Trubey Designs; Julia's Needleworks/Peter Ashe; Winnetka Designs; and Shorebirds Designs/Kathryn Molineux.

new Stitch Guides from Robin King

I will be away next Sunday (class runs Saturday thru Tuesday) so I will resume blogging about my Quail Run/Arizona experience after I get home. Look for me on the following Sunday, 10/01/17.

You can follow Quail Run Needlework on Facebook; I know they will be posting progress reports.

Here's a fun stitch I've charted for next week's upcoming class at Quail Run. Wonder which canvas it goes to?

a stitch for you

Well, the countdown clock ⏰ is ticking. Time to get ready for my travels. Lots to do: laundry, packing, preparing stitch guides for travel, etc... Plus, hug a cat or two.   >^..^<

Until the next time... HUGS, Robin

Robin at North Shore Needleworks, Chicago IL

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

I'm home from teaching this past weekend in the Chicago area. What a fun time! 😀

North Shore Needleworks
1512 Shermer Road, Unit C
Northbrook, IL 60062

Located in Northbrook, IL, North Shore Needleworks is truly a lovely shop. Carol and Jake Jakimow are the owners. Nice folks. They also have talented and knowledgable employees giving great customer service. And, did I mention.... threads? Yes, they have threads galore!

Thread wall part 1
North Shore Needleworks

Thread wall part 2
North Shore Needleworks

Thread wall part 3
North Shore Needleworks

River Silks Ribbon and Kreinik wall
North Shore Needleworks

Here's a photo of the classroom. Look at the set up! Everybody gets usage of a System 4 floor stand and an Ott Lamp during class. Sweet. 😊

The classroom
North Shore Needleworks

There were 14 people in the class. We had 2 sisters from Iowa... they won the Travel Trophy 🏆. There were 2 friends from Minnesota. There was a lady from Wisconsin. The rest of the folks came from the Chicago area.

We had an eclectic group of canvases from designers including: Lani's Needlepoint; Kirk & Bradley; Julia's Needleworks (artist, Bracha Lavee); Ewe & Eye; Machelle Somerville; Maggie Co (artist, Kym Bowles); Cooper Oaks Design (artist, Melissa McLeod); Melissa Shirley Designs (artist, John Johannsen); Leigh Designs; Burnett & Bradley; CBK Needlepoint (artist, Scott Church Creative); Associated Talents; and Melissa Shirley Designs (artist, Mary Lake-Thompson).

Here are some work-in-progress photos. I'm sorry I didn't get photos from everyone.

Christmas Tree Stand Up (KB289)
stitch guide by Robin King
stitched by Lisa Abrams

Dancing Miriam (BL-100)
stitch guide by Robin King
stitched by Pat Dettman

Dancing Miriam (BL-100)
stitch guide by Robin King
stitched by Debby Fulton

Ellie (EWE 1145)
stitch guide by Robin King
stitched by Cathe McEnerney

Gardening (Maggie M-1897)
stitch guide by Robin King
stitched by Mary Beth Richards

God Bless America (CBK Needlepoint MML 921)
stitch guide by Robin King
stitched by Maureen Belzer

Machi (Leigh 5006)
stitch guide by Robin King
stitched by Ellen Turf

Penguins Out for a Ride (Scott Church Creative SC-PL44)
stitch guide by Robin King
stitched by Barb Alden

Sweet Dreams (KC 149)
stitch guide by Robin King
stitched by Karla Goodman

There was also a famous person in my class: Linda Corirossi; a national needlepoint teacher, stitch guide writer, and book author who lives in the Chicago area. Linda is one of the teachers at North Shore Needleworks. I have both of her books and have been a fan of hers for years.

Canvas Embellishment by Linda Corirossi

Canvas Embellishment (The Sequel) by Linda Corirossi

Long-time blog readers might remember another article about Linda Corirossi. You can imagine how thrilled I was to meet her and to have her in my class.

Linda had selected the "Lilac Lamb (J211-A on 13 mesh)" from Melissa Shirley Designs (artist, John Johannsen) for me to write the stitch guide. Talk about pressure! 😳 Once I calmed down, I did what I do for anyone's stitch guide: offer ideas and techniques that I like to do.

When writing the stitch guide, I noticed the Lamb's Face. There was only one eye showing.

Was this an intended 3/4 pose... exaggerating the wide-set feature of a Lamb? Whatever the reason, it just looked wrong. Eyes are so important to needlepoint, and this cyclops wasn't endearing. I mentioned this to Linda Corirossi and she agreed.

Linda threaded up the needle & thread and asked if I would get the new eye started. What an honor. I decided to "flip horizontal" the right eye. I set the gray edge and then Linda filled in the rest. Teamwork.

Two eyes
Linda added the Rya Stitch for some 3D eyelashes.

Rya Stitch
great for Eyelashes

Talk about some cuties! Both the Lamb and Linda... and me. 🐑

Lilac Lamb (J211-A)
Melissa Shirley Designs, artist John Johannsen
stitch guide by Robin King
stitched by Linda Corirossi

Last thing to mention about my visit to the Chicago area... wow, there are so many nice restaurants! And with that you have great cocktail options.

Cheers!

I had my first grapefruit beer. It was a Stiegl Radler Grapefruit: half Stiegl Goldbräu and half soda with real grapefruit juice. All I can say is that it was delicious, light and memorable. Big smiles.

Well, I'm glad to be home. I'm on the road again in 2 weeks. Time to get busy.

Until the next time... Hugs, Robin

Birthday Bash at The Needle Bug

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

September is here, too. Hello football games 🏈. Hello fall season 🍂. Hello happy birthday month to Leigh Miller 🎂.

You might ask, "Who is Leigh Miller?" Leigh owns The Needle Bug, a needlepoint shop in Montgomery, AL.

The Needle Bug in Montgomery, AL

I like to call it the "Jewel of the South."  So much goes on there: a strong stable of national needlepoint teachers come teach at her shop (I'm lucky to be one... see you in November!); a vivacious ANG (American Needlepoint Group) Montgomery chapter gathers at The Needle Bug; and the inventory is well-stocked (but not limited to) threads, ribbons, beads, totes, reading glasses, magnets, canvases, and books. Bells and whistles galore. The Needle Bug has weekly stitch-ins and trunk shows as well as hosts stitching retreats including the debut of CANVAS a needlepoint adventure in January 2018. Full service PLUS!

There is much more to Leigh Miller than needlepoint. She has a compassionate heart for animals, too. And on this topic, she decided years ago to not make her birthday about "her" but rather a way for others to celebrate her day by helping others. Specifically to help the animals 🐶🐕🐱🐈.

Leigh created the "Birthday Bash" shelter animal food fundraiser benefitting the Montgomery Humane Society.  This is her 7th year. Last year The Needle Bug (with wonderful support from the needlepoint community and beyond) donated 5,250 LBS of dog/cat food; bringing a total of over 12,000 LBS since the beginning.

A view inside The Needle Bug during Birthday Bash 2016

Here is how the Birthday Bash works... Starting September 1, The Needle Bug takes donations for the days of September leading up to her birthday on September 17. Customers can bring in dog/cat food of any amount, and they can use up to 50 pounds of it toward a discount on 1 in-stock item in the shop. For example: 30LB of food = 30% off an in-stock item. Some customers take this opportunity to donate up to 300 and even 400 LBS of food even though their maximum discount is 50%. The Birthday Bash also accepts monetary donations from those far away. 😊 Of course, The Needle Bug makes a day of it (on Leigh's special day) with Silent Auctions, food, drink and fun; thus it is called a "Birthday Bash."

You can follow The Needle Bug on Facebook.

Here is their contact info:
The Needle Bug
7012 Vaughn Road
Montgomery, AL 36116
(334) 270-0064
info@theneedlebug.com
www.theneedlebug.com
Hours: M, W, Th, F 10AM-4PM; Tues 10AM - 6PM; Saturday: by appointment only.

Here are some stitches in honor of this year's Birthday Bash at The Needle Bug...

Paw Print Background stitch for you.

Every dog needs a Bone.

A Birthday Bash stitch for you.

Let's sing Leigh a Happy Birthday ♬ and help out those furry pups and mews, too.

I will be teaching in the Chicago area at North Shore Needleworks next week. Coming home late Sunday. I will blog about my adventures on the next day.

Until then... HUGS, Robin