You make us so proud

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

It's a magical time in Needlepoint Study Hall. Linda, from the Stitching Sisters blog, and Melinda, from the Living the Good Life blog, have posted their brand-new-just-back-from-the-finishers-and-wow-they-are-spectacular pieces of the Halloweenies, Stirha Cal-Dron and Frank N. Stein.

Ladies, you make us so proud!

These pieces are fabulous. Wonderfully finished, too.

Please check out both the Stitching Sisters and Living the Good Life blogs. Here's the links:

• http://nystitchingsisters.blogspot.com/2010/09/package-arrived.html
• http://melindaslivingthegoodlife.blogspot.com/2010/09/theyre-back-from-san-francisco.html

This is what I love about blogging. Sharing links, progress reports, photos... what a wonderful time.

So, if anyone out there has any progress reports/finished pieces of their Halloweenies, please let us know. We love to brag on you!  Thanks, Robin

Reunited...and it feels so good!

Stirha and Frank are together again.  At least they are in my home.  How many of you have hosted their reunion in your homes?  They are really crazy about each other.  Amy tells us they have "loving nicknames for each other...Adam and Eve".

The background on Frank is skip tent, and it stitches up so fast.  Here is a tip.  Use a small needle for the skip tent background.  You don't want to open up the holes any more than necessary.  I used a Bohin 28.  I would have used a 26 if I had one.  You would not believe how many needles I have, and no size 26!

And once again Amy has beautifully charted the face.  Remember to refer to her diagram rather than stitching by the color on the canvas.  I am not there yet, but I learned on Stirha's face and hands to use the diagram.

Here is a final look at Amy's version of Stirha Cal-Dron.  The beads are so much fun.

April first

Well here it is the first of April and I am still putting beads on Stirha. But I am please with my progress. I need to finish the beads and make the fire and the logs. But I am going to set her aside tomorrow and start on Frank. He is just so darn cute. The stitch guide is just great, so I must get on it.

I am happy to report on the Bead Explosion Kit we featured a few months ago. Sundance has released the kit with all of the bead tubes labeled. The lack of labels is the one thing I disliked about the kit that I saw from market. So thanks to Cassandra and Nandra of Sundance Designs. This will help me learn more about the kinds of beads that are out there and the effect they may have in our needlework. I will try to work this project in to my schedule this month! That's another reason to get to work on Frank, (and finish Stirha).

Happy Stitching.

Wrapping up

Hi.  Just trying to wrap up the things I skipped...hair, beads and logs.  The husband is under the weather so I may be out of pocket.  Keep stitching!

Spiders and Rats

In case you haven't noticed, I skipped ahead to the bottom of the canvas.  The guide is not necessarily  written in stitching order.  So I will go back to the cauldron, hands, hair and fire.  Here are some pointers on the spiders.  I think my are a little large, but I'm keeping them.  Just don't get carried away wrapping the spokes.  Then on the legs.  I stitched the top and bottom legs first in order to get the spacing right.  One trick I noticed after I was finished that keeps the spiders looking the same is to make sure there are five green threads between the two bottom legs.   Two of mine have like seven threads but they are still scary.

Now on to the rat.  Make sure to follow diagram 35 for this.  You may have to cover one of the green tent stitches near his rear end to follow the pattern.  That is ok.  Just lay your stitch over it and keep going.  Amy has charted out the face of the rat very nicely for us.  Follow that chart.  After you have finished the charted diagram there will be some silver threads showing to the left of his face.  Go back and stitch these in the background color.  It makes his face really cute and tiny.  And don't forget to stitch his whiskers.

I have not yet added the dreaded bullion stitches for his ears and the gecko's tails.  I am still  practicing them on another canvas.  They may be the last thing I do on all of the canvases!  Maybe I can get a  private lesson from Amy on making bullion knots.

Have a great week!

Bottom border of blocks and green background with spiders

Robin is right.  It was a wonderful day here in Memphis.  My stitching station affords me the pleasure of looking out into our backyard.  The daffodils are coming up around this garden figure made by my Mother-in-law.  Isn't it sweet?

I got a lot done today.  And still managed to get my husband to take me out for dinner.  I worked the bottom border.  This is another case of "ignore the painted canvas".  It is a fun and easy area to stitch.   I used a size 26 Bohin tapestry needle to stitch the green corners so as not to open the holes to much.   Then I  worked on the green background that houses the geckos.  I will make spiders tomorrow.

Below you will see my helpers.  I don't know if they are just sunning under the Daylight lamp or really interested in what I am doing.  On the left is Joel and on the right is Ethan (I believe you have met Ethan before).  They are named after the film makers, Joel and Ethan Cohen.  Sometimes Joel sticks his paw down to where I am stitching.  Ethan just sits and blinks his eyes.  They are otherwise known as "the boys".

Keep stitching!

Tips for Stirha's belt

Stitch the belt in this order:  First stitch the gold buckle following diagram 17.  Look under the green crescent diagram at how the area is done in basketweave.  Part of the buckle is covered up by her leg.  I had to go in and put in more dress on the right side of the buckle, covering up a couple of gold intersections.  Second, stitch the black part of the belt.  Here it is with these two steps done.   

Third, stitch the crescent stitch as shown in Diagram 17.  I learned all of this the hard way by stitching the belt buckle as painted.  If you want the crescent to come out right you need to basketweave the gold under it as charted in Diagram 17, under the crescent numbers and lines.

I sure hope this makes sense and you don't end up stitching it and then ripping it out like I did.  (Loss of valuable time!)  I think Amy's is a lot prettier than mine, but that's life.  I may have pulled mine too tight.  Try not pulling real tight and I bet your's will look great.  The crescent is really fun to make when the gold is done right to begin with!  I used a size 24 Chenille needle to do the crescent.

Shading the dress.

Hello,  I hope you all are enjoying our project.


I have finished the dress except for the outline stitches between her arms and down her knee.  The first time I thought I had finished the dress I took a long look at it and realized that the arms seemed to merge together.  See the first photo at left.  Look at her wrists to see what I mean.  So I took out the dark thread and replaced it with the lighter.  What a difference a few stitches make.  The whole arm moves forward now in the next photo.

When I add the outline stitches between the arms they will have even more definition.  So play with the colors as you go.  With the way the canvas is painted, and Amy's expert tips, we can give Stirha some nice arms.  I wonder if hers jiggle like mine do now.  What's up with that!

Starting on the dress.

As I said earlier, follow the chart for Stirha's face.  I have still not added the bullions for her jaw and nose as I need more practice there.

I have moved on to the dress because I love composite stitches.  The deal with the dress is you have to break it down into sections.  Amy's tip about how the dress drapes and how to change the pattern is very important.  After you put the "shadows" in, stitch each section separately.  I have put in the first step of the composite here.  The  painted green spots are not necessarily correct, so count them out from the diagram to set the cross stitch.

I will stitch the full composite stitch in the area under the belt and to the left of the solid orange lines first.        

                                   

After a couple of hours...here is the composite stitch for the section below the belt and to the left of the basketweave break in the pattern.  Don't get to caught up in the shading.  It will turn out pretty no matter what you do.  That is the fun of overdyed threads.

Bullions

Thanks goodness for Amy's DVD #1, Tips, Hints and Knots.  I have been practicing making bullion knots with the aid of the DVD.  I am having success but not good enough, in my opinion, to put them on Stirha's face yet.  Amy offers a great tip for making bullion knots that I will share with those not getting the tip from the stitch guide.  It is to use a Milliners needle.  "The eye is very near the size of the shank of the needle necessitating very little loosening to slide the eye of the needle through the wraps."  This works quite well.  Now if I can just do it without poking myself with the sharp tip!

The Face

Please make sure to follow the diagram for Stirha's face.  This is one of those times when Amy would say, "ignore the painted canvas".  I stitched by color till I realized some things were not coming out right.   So be  sure to use Diagram #8.  With that being said, it is really fun to see her face come to life.

Great Hat

Well I have gotten a little more done on Stirha.  I stitched the brim of her hat and the orange band on the hat with the little gold things. I love the overdyed thread we are using here.  Take your time with the gold attachments.  I did it twice as I wasn't pleased with it the first time.  Make sure to use a chenille needle.  Keep Stitching!

Helen's Lace

Helen's Lace has become my favorite stitch. If you were to ask me why, I would say, "I don't know". It just makes me feel good. I first saw the stitch in "Categories For Needlepoint Stitches" by Julia Key H. Snyder. I was happy to see that Amy has included it in Halloweenies character #1, Stirha Cal-Dron. You can see that it is the lining for her cape. We will reverse the direction on the other side of her cape. That is another good thing about the stitch, you can reverse the slant for a different look.

You can also see my rocks in this picture. I pretty much let the colors fall where they may as I did them. I took Jill's advice and planned out my slants before I started. Although I did change a few as I went along. And refer to the picture that came with the guide to see where it is good to do basketweave. That will be around the cauldron and the bird, and is explained in the guide. These areas will get some interesting layers later.

I hope you are doing well. We would love to hear from you.

Peggy

Rocks and Cape

I have finished the rocks and started on the cape.  I love the stitch used on the cape, but it is hard to see using black thread on black canvas.  I know that Kathy and Melinda have completed that section.  Any tips Kathy or Melinda?  I put a white paper in my lap to help see the canvas better.  Some people put a light on the floor to help.  I am going to try going outside and using that wonderful natural light to go back and put in the Kreinik.

Outlines done.

Well, I had hoped to do more today, but I just finished the outlines on Stirha Cal-Dron.  You will be using Burmilana and Lorikeet for the outlines.  A tip is to cut the Lorikeet to the same length as the Burmilana, which is already cut.  Make sure you totally stitch around the rocks as they are held together by the "mortar" which you are stitching.  I referred to my color copy to stitch around the bird.  Amy has made it easy for us to stitch basketweave between the caldron and the witch.  I can handle that!

Here is a tip from Jill:

"One thing I found helpful before I started stitching the rocks, was to kind of map out which ones slant in one direction and which ones in the other, kind of like the roof of the house."

"They do go pretty fast and it's fun.  Hopefully some of the other parts will be just as quick and easy."

Thanks Jill. 

Getting ready

Lots of you have received your first character canvas.  Make sure to make a color copy of the canvas, (for your personal use only), to assist you in placement in the areas where we will "ignore the painted canvas".

Then you are ready to add the rock background.  Take the time to tape down the template provided and then the canvas on top as you see above.  Don't be afraid to use the thick end on the Identi-Pen.  Jill has already stitched some of the background and reports it stitches up quickly.

After I drew the lines I slipped a piece of white paper between the canvas and the template to check my lines. Once satisfied you may mount your canvas on bars.  I have really enjoyed the Evertites and will try to use them on as many characters as I can afford to.  Let's start Sunday afternoon, shall we?

Needle News

As we wait for Stirha Cal-Dron to arrive at our doors, I want to give you a heads up on the needles you will need as we continue Halloweenies.  Along with your usual Tapestry needles, you will need a #24 and #22 Chenille, a #8 Embroidery needle and a #5 Milliner's needle.  I went thru my needle box and found the Chenilles.  I purchased an assorted set of Milliner's.  I know I have a some embroidery needles somewhere.  If I start looking now, maybe I will find them before I get to the section that uses them.

I was concerned about stitching over the stem of the pumpkin on the second floor just to the right of the ghost in the double window on the Haunted House canvas.  I can confirm now that we should stitch over that stem and all pumpkin stems on the canvas.

Keep stitching!

She's ready for her close-up.

Meet Ms. Stirha Cal-Dron.  She is all dressed up in her fancy duds and making a brew/stew for us to enjoy in a matter of days.  Look at the hair, the beads, the logs, the little eyeglasses.  Kelly and Amy have done it again.  Enjoy the view!

Road Trip

Amy, Robin and Jill are heading to market.  Robin will teach and Jill will shop.  Amy reports on the Halloweenies characters who are joining them on their trip.  

“Stirha, Frank, and Dr. Acula are all packed for their trip to California in first class...they are so excited.  Although Stirha is still grumbling about having to ride in the back of the plane on the way home.  Frank, bless his heart, doesn’t care, he’s just so excited to “be there” and the Dr. says that he will sleep the whole way so it matters not which end of the plane he’s in.”  

I think they are going to audition some new threads that Amy will look for at TNNA market.  


Check out their full name on Amy’s website:  http://www.amybunger.com/halloweenies.html 


Kelly Clark and Amy have come up with some new twists on old scary names. This will be a fun journey for everyone.