Are any of you getting stressed about stitching for the holidays?  Do you have a batch of unfinished projects that are supposed to be ready as gifts?

I know at Caroline’s Thread and Canvas we do, and I wish I had a perfect solution for easing the stitching stress.

One thing I try to do is sit down and make a list of my unfinished projects.  Then I try to decide which ones are *must do* gifts.  Those are the ones I really seriously want to give as gifts.  Those are the projects that get the *mid-night oil.*

Then I usually realize that some of the projects I started during the year intended as gifts were really started without a particular recipient in mind.  I just fell in love with the project and wanted to stitch it.

Those go in the *stress-free* pile.  That’s mean I can set them aside, finish them after the holidays and be ahead for needlework gifts next year. 

Another thing to keep in mind when planning your gift projects for next year is that small items, like ornaments, eye glass cases, and box top covers are just as special as a large project.

If you’re now wishing you had a needlepoint stocking for that someone special, remember to start early in the year.  Watch for End of Year sales at your local needlepoint shops.

You may not feel like buying a stocking two days after Christmas, but you’ll be glad you did come January! 

Keep in mind,too, that most finishers have a cut-off around mid-November.  By starting early and paing yourself you’ll be much less stressed about getting those needlework gifts ready on time.

By the way, don’t forget to start watching for The Armchair Chef’s Holiday recipes.

Thinking of Stitching. . .

Caroline

Last week was our final meeting for the semester.  I guess I can report that the club was a success.

 The girls were so enthusiastic that Ive been *hooked in* to doing it again next semester.  It’s really been great to watch their progress and hear them start to talk about different stitches.

It’s especially rewarding to see them helping each other!

 For the last meeting we made Holiday Ornaments out of felt and stuffed them with batting.  It also gave me a chance to teach one more stitch.

Next time I think I’ll try to introduce Huck Weaving and maybe even needlepoint.  At least I’ve got a little time to think about we’ll be doing.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and even found time to do a little stitching.

 As always, Thinking of Stitching!

Caroline

The 45th annual needlework exhibit will be taking place March 1-31, 2008.

 Woodlawn, a National Historic Landmark, located near Mount Vernon, in Alexandria, VA.

The specific location is at the Intersection of US Route 1 and VA Route 235 South– 3 miles from Mount Vernon and 10 miles south of Alexandria.

The exhibit is sponsored by Nelly’s Needlers, a volunteer auxiliary which works year -round to raise funds for the self-supporting, non-profit historic site.

Exhibition Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily including weekends.  Limited historic tours are offered daily between 11:00 and 2:30.  Lunch is served daily in the Underwood Room and is freshly prepared and served by members of Nelly’s Needlers.

Throughout the month various needlework techniques will be highlighted by local teachers, shop owners, and needle artists.

“All entries must be the work of a living person, stitched with a hand-held needle and appropriately finished.”  This includes beadwork, canvaswork, counted thread, cross stitch, embroidery, fine hand sewing, miniature, needle-made lace, quilted accessories, sampler, and smoking.

This is wonderful exhibit.  If you have never been, allow plenty of time to admire the exhibit, browse the lawns and gift shop, and definitely take advantage of the tasty lunch.

I hope everyone enjoyed reading Janet Perry’s Answers to your FAQ’s.  I know I found her advice helpful.

I had so much fun putting this together, I couldn’t resist asking her my own question–

Janet, do you have a favorite tip you would like to offer us?

Here’w what she had to say:

My favorite of all time (it’s in my new needlepoint book, Needlepoint Trade Secrest) is one I learned from Brenda Hart.

Always have some areas of Basketweave on every canvas.

Basketweave gives the eye a place to rest.  This is especially important in a busy canvas.  It also creates a neutral texture which highlights through it’s difference from the other stitches in a piece.

Keep Stitching, Janet

I think this is brilliant.  I never thought about doing this intentionally, but now that Janet has mentioned having some basketweave on every canvas I’ll have to go back and look at mine to see what I’ve done. 

Keep in mind we’re talki ng about painted canvases, not geometrics.

Just had to run out on the shop floor to see, and guess what folks, every canvas I have stitched with decorative stitches has some basketweave!

It definitely wasn’t by plan, but I always found areas where basketweave was the only stitch to use.  Faces, cheecks, hands–that’s pretty obvious; but even in florals and scenes basketweave seemed the obvious choice to compliment the neighboring stitch.

Well, this has been fun!

By the way, we’ve added a couple more Itching for Stitching club meetings.  The girls are having so much fun they don’t want to quit!  So I’ll have a couple of more postings for you.

Thinking of Stitching. . .

Caroline

Almost forgot to remind you, don’t forget the Armchef is featuring pumpkin pie recipes just in time for Thanksgiving on November 20.  See you there!

It was great to get back to Itching for Stitching.  We had to cancel last week since I was out of town.

Of course the first question was, “Where were you last week?” 

I think the girls were eager to start their totes or whatever they wanted to make.  A couple of them want to make a pillow instead of a tote. 

Guess I’ll have to rethink my finishing plans, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something.

I had been debating whether or not to trace a pattern on the fabric or see what they came up with.  I started by drawing some straight lines on each so they could start with stripes.

At least I thought that would give them a plan if they had any reservations about being creative.  I sure didn’t have to worry about that.

As soon as they spotted my marking pencils they were off and running.

They each decided to write out their names and initials.  I had thought about that, but thought letters would be a little difficult to follow.  Wrong!

They took right to it.  I was amazed at how fast they stitched.

I had found some denim fabric that was a light blue and had sparkles throughout.  That was a big hit.  I also decided to use Paternayan this time.  I brought in a bunch different colors for them to choose from.  Naturally pink was a hit.

They kept referring to the Paternayan  as the BIG thread.  I never thought of it that way, but I guess compared to floss it is big.

Since we were only using a single ply they got to experiment with separating it.  Another stitching skill!

There was much discussion about next week being our last meeting and they wanted to know if they could stay for 2 hours instead of one!

Guess they are enjoying their embroidery!

Well, time to Think about Stitching and how we’ll finish our projects up next week. . .

Caroline