It's not your Grandmother's Needlepoint

The snow, oh the snow!

2010-02-07T19:18:00.002-05:00

What's a girl to do when it snows this much?

For a state that doesn't usually get snow we got a crazy amount of snow Friday into Saturday. 30+ inches!!!! What were the weather gods thinking.

The shop has been closed since Thursday night!

I've been working on the next lesson of the Heart Mystery Class. It's starting to look like something! I think you are really going to like it. Check back next Sunday to see what I've done.

I've also been packing crystals like a crazy person. In addition to the full line of 2mm round crystals we have started adding select colors in 4mm rounds and 3mm bicones and my favorite margaritas. Yes, I like margaritas (rocks, no salt) but I also like swarovski margaritas. These are the pretty little flower shaped crystals. The collection of sizes and colors in these is growing too. 6mm to 12mm in assorted flower colors.

Maybe the colorful flower colors of crystals will bring us Spring flowers.

Until then, we're digging out. Karl took lots of pictures including this one of me digging. It is an amazing amount of snow.

We're expecting more snow Tuesday night and I've heard rumors of the weekend being hit again. Geez!

What a difference a color makes

2010-01-29T08:42:00.002-05:00

Wow, what a difference. This summer a group of us stitched Melissa Shirley's Mellow Yellow canvas as the very first Mystery Class at Bedecked and Beadazzled.

It was so much fun, and I love my finished purse.

But wow, what a difference a color change can make! A friend of mine stitched the background of hers in black. That was the only color change. We did a different stitch in the background to cover the pink paint more thoroughly, but that's it. Everything else is exactly the same. It is stunning!

She's seeing it here first as she was gracious enough to let me photograph and post before she picks it up. Thanks Sue!

It's simply appliqued to an LL Bean tote bag. Finishing is simple and affordable but with really big gorgeous results. Of course the stitching is lovely too.

Thanks for letting me share this.

What a class

2010-01-24T20:40:00.005-05:00

Today was the first day of our Melissa Shirley Mystery Class. I think I surprised a few people with the choices I made for how to stitch this canvas.

Here's the canvas before we began embellishing it.

And here it is after lesson #1's stitching is complete.

I hope you can see the subtle details, because it is really cool. Ultimately, I want this heart to be rich and dramatic —— a sparkling jewel of golds and roses.

We began by attaching sequins in the background of the design area. The only challenge here is that we are using invisible thread and invisible thread really is invisible.

Now for the fun part. Thanks to taking a class with Caela Conn Tyler last October I have been introduced to the magic of tulle. Tulle is bridal veiling and comes in multitudes of colors. Lay the tulle on top of your canvas and you can oh so subtly change the color of the design. I wanted to warm up the canvas colors on this piece.

You need to tack the tulle in place. We learned that the tulle stretches in one direction more than the other so tacking the tulle loosely on all 4 sides is a must.

Once the tulle is in place we worked an open stitch over the entire background using Sparkle Braid in the gold/pink/green/blue mix. This gives everything an elegant richness that is way too cool.

Here's a closeup of one corner of the background with stitching and tulle in place.

Working through tulle has pluses and minuses.
A. It is really, really pretty.
B. You can not use a laying tool when stitching on tulle, you will snag it so choose your threads and stitches accordingly.
C. If you make a mistake while stitching, you can not back your stitches out. You have to unthread the needle and one by one take your stitches out.
D. The color tulle you choose to put on top of your canvas is not always the color you expect. We tried pinks, and creams and light yellow but the color that worked its magic on this piece is dark gold!

Everyone now has choices to make. Add the tulle or don't add the tulle. We'll see who chooses what next time.

If you don't love cute kitties come back in a few days

2010-01-18T11:17:00.002-05:00

What can I say, sometimes the spirit just moves me to post kitty pictures. I try not to do it often but sometimes I just can't resist.

Here's Richie, my youngest.

Here's the canvas we designed from one of his baby pictures.

Tigger who was the dearest cat I ever met. Boy did he love ice cream with mom :-)

He too has a special canvas.

And last for today is Hunter. He is by my side through every needlepoint project but he does wish I would stitch smaller pieces. Those big evertites are scary.

He too has a canvas. Yes, he does have that wonderful spot on his side.

Hugs from me and the boys. Happy Stitching.
Ruth

Sometimes Enough is not Enough

2010-01-10T20:37:00.004-05:00

Our Merry Christmas Mystery Class came to an end today. And while I will miss all of you dear friends and the fun we have had, I'm excited to be sending it off to the finisher. This piece is singularly the best time I have had stitching anything to date. How's that for a big statement.

Today we tackled the center square. The background is a pretty open stitch and must be completed first before the letters.

What to do with letters that are this thin? We could Tent Stitch them, but then we would have jagged edges on many of the curves. We could Cross Stitch them which would even everything out. Or we could do my favorite option. Couch Kreinik metallic along the strokes of the letters. To me this is the prettiest option. It does have some drawbacks.

Since the background is semi-open, you do have to pay attention to where your threads travel on the back. This means tacking your red and green threads directly behind the letters. It's a little fussy, but worth the effort. Take it slow and when necessary scooch the threads behind the letters and tack them in place.

After I finished the center I still wasn't satisfied. I felt it needed more. Enough wasn't enough. I added a simple gold border around the entire design.

Now it's finished and as I said, off to the finisher. It will be back in a few short weeks ready for your perusal.

Merry Christmas from she who still has her tree up!

New Year New Project

2010-01-08T08:04:00.003-05:00

Woo Hoo I get to start a new project! You know that elation of the first stitches on a brand new canvas. Well, we have a new Mystery Class Starting at Bedecked and Beadazzled at the end of January and I finally get to start stitching on it. I've had to leave it in the shop untouched for months waiting until I could bring it home to play.

I have so many fun ideas that I'm just itching to try. Stay tuned, hopefully you will enjoy watching what I come up with.

Here's my latest muse. Handpainted on 13ct canvas by Melissa Shirley.

For those who are following we have our last Mystery Class with Raymond Crawford's Merry Christmas on Sunday. I'll post the final stitched piece that evening. Then it's off to the finisher!

Bling in the New Year!

2009-12-31T15:17:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm a bling kind of girl so what better day to post about my favorite bling than on New Year's Eve the blingiest of holidays.

Okay, I'm seriously doing my part to add a little extra bling to Christmas. Halloween will be next, but New Years, what is it without bling!

I'm totally addicted to the new Swarovski 2mm round crystals. They have a sparkle that is unmatched by anything else. Since they are tiny and round they easily fit needlepoint canvas. The 2mm round crystals are about the same size as a size 11 seed bead, but oh the sparkle. It makes my heart beat fast. All those places I typically use seed beads, now I use crystals.

This is the color card complete with real 4 mm crystals sewn on in 80+ colors. Oh my! The 2mm round are not yet available in all these colors but the larger sizes are and there's plenty of places we can use them in needlepoint too.

So, you can see why I had to add the crystals to our store. We have the full line of 2mm in stock now!

More bling to follow.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T18:16:00.005-05:00

I hope you are all enjoying your holidays with family and friends. Today was quiet and I was able to finish Merry Christmas!

I couldn't wait to share. It seemed appropriate to post this early and not wait until Sunday night after class.

Some of the squares repeat techniques from previous squares for balance. Others use new threads and of course more crystals. I've always loved crystals but now more than ever they seem to really be the answer.

Beads are great, but you run the risk that a finish could come off over time or that the lining could change color. Crystals are what they are. They don't change and the sparkle is simply amazing! It's swarovski!!

I had really been looking forward to working these two squares. I knew I wanted to use iron-on crystal trim for the lime stripes. The ornament, well the ornament is just fun. It works up quickly and is just the balance the design needs.

All that's left is the center square.

Merry Christmas!

Ready for Santa

2009-12-20T15:30:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Mother Nature dropping 20 inches of snow on us yesterday I am semi-snowbound. Now, maybe if I had a 4 wheel drive car (santa are you listening?)or if I didn't live at the bottom of a hill that is also a dead end I might have gotten out today. Maybe tomorrow.

Good news is that I did get to play santa's elf and get a little more prepared for the fat man's visit.

I also got to revamp the blog so that I can add bigger pictures. Lets see what you think.

I used to be so over the top that I would move all the stuff that sits out all year long to the basement for the holidays and put out nothing but Christmas. That's a good plan, but time is getting the best of me so now, Christmas gets scattered in with the art pieces.

The peppermint santa fits in nicely with faux orchids.

Here's my village tree with a few gift boxes beneath it.

And a few more pretty gift boxes that mom stitched.

This is my favorite combination of ornaments on the tree this year. Hearts covered in swarovski crystals, my original santa ornament collection, crystal covered jingle bells and pink and green beaded garland. You knew it would be pink and green didn't you?

Isn't santa fun?

Last but not least is my stitching santa reminding me to get back to stitching. I have many stitches to finish before Christmas.

Happy Holidays to everyone.

love
ruth

In the Limelight

2009-12-15T12:24:00.002-05:00

A fellow blogger, Susan Elliott was in the shop on Saturday. She is Plays-with-needles listed in the right sidebar of the blog.

I love her blog. It's always so fresh and happy and filled with beautiful pictures.

Speaking of beautiful pictures, check out the post she did on the shop.

Susan, I am honored and impressed seeing the shop through your eyes. I think I want to live there. OOPS! I already do. How cool is that?

It's Beginning to Feel a lot Like Christmas

2009-12-13T21:23:00.005-05:00

It's less than 2 weeks until Christmas and our Merry Christmas Mystery Class is really taking shape! Today was lesson 5. We accomplished more squares than usual, but some were repeats and others were super easy.

The holly was our feature this afternoon. Well, really the holly berries where the feature. You know I love my crystals. I've been working beads and crystals into my needlepoint since the beginning but lately I've been turning up the volume. More crystals and better crystals. I love Swarovski.

The berries are covered in 2mm Swarovski crystals. These crystals are roughly the size of an 11o seed bead, but they are round and have tons of tiny facets on them. So the sparkle is amazing! If I only need a bead here or there or if I plan on alternating beads with stitches, crystals are the way to go.

Since I'm day by day becoming more of a crystal junkie I'll be putting them in the shop very soon for all to enjoy.

Gee what mischief do you think I will get into for the ornament?

I have to confer with Santa on that detail. Meet me back here the Sunday after Christmas and I'll let you know what we decide.

Until then, Merry Christmas.
Ruth

Now where are those Spring Flowers???

2009-12-07T22:15:00.003-05:00

Woo Hoo! Mellow Yellow is back from the finisher and they did a great job. It's gorgeous! Don't you just love the handles? Hot pink leather, an orange lining and beautious beaded handles.

Now where are my Spring Flowers so that I can carry it?

Guess I'm going to have to wait a few months, but until then it certainly is pretty.

Another signature for our wall

2009-12-03T12:42:00.003-05:00

This is such a fun addition to the classroom. We have a large framed print of the bee from our logo and each time a teacher comes to inspire us or a designer comes to visit I ask them to autograph the board. As we look back we will remember all the fun we have had.

Brenda Hart has been here many times since we opened and her signature means the world to me. She is a very talented designer and teacher not to mention a dear friend. We have a blast every minute we are together whether it is brainstorming stitches, sniping about what crazy idea she wants me to try with one ply of silk or shopping.

Kudos to you Brenda. You are the best.

Light your fire

2009-11-29T18:35:00.003-05:00

Well as you can guess today's Merry Christmas Mystery lesson was the candle. Light your fire is the perfect name for the sparkling candle accented with sequins and beads.

This week's lesson really is a quick stitch.

The candle is of course the star of the show. The candle flame is Water N'Ice in Long Stitch and it just sparkles!!! The candle itself is 3 different stitches all quick and fun to do. The dripping candle wax is another quickie, flair in long stitches. Now here's a little side note, if you want your candle wax to have a little yellow cast from the reflection of the candle flame, stitch areas in yellow first in plain old basketweave and then add the long stitches of flair over the top. The yellow shows through just a bit. Very cool effect.

We also did the green square in Star Octagon Stitch - that's a fun little stitch that looks great in a combination of silk and metallic.

Haven't decided if I want to do the ornament or the holly yet. Depends what arrives in beads and crystals early this week.

Merry Christmas Poinsettia

2009-11-15T22:24:00.002-05:00

Today was the day we tackled the poinsettia in the Merry Christmas Mystery Class. We're coming along. When you look at it, we've already completed quite a few squares.

I really like the poinsettia. And not just because there are crystals in the center. While that isn't a bad thing, that's not the only thing I like about it.

We started with T Stitch in Sparkle Braid covering all the petals and allowing just a bit of the shading to show through. Now, here's the cool part. After all the T Stitch was done we filled in some of the open stitches with Tent Stitch in a darker shade of Sparkle Braid. It's just enough to make the shading pop.

This is a great technique for anything that is painted with a lot of shades and tones. One color of one thread across everything in an open stitch and then enhance the dark shadows.

To really bring the Poinsettia to live we added veins in Chain Stitch and Stem Stitch and of course crystals in the center.

We also finished two other small squares in class!

I'm off to start lesson #4. Wonder what fun we can have there.

Perfect Pears

2009-11-09T09:24:00.003-05:00

Apparently I have a thing for needlepoint pears.

Vintage Pears is a Melissa Shirley canvas that I just love. Beverly Churchfield did the stitchguide for it and it is amazing. The stitch selections and thread selections are so much fun they really take the canvas to the next level.

I added pears to my line of handpainted canvases this Summer. We have the large and small sizes to fit in different sizes of Stirling bags. This is the large size and it fits the smaller Stirling tote.

And here's the small size that fits in the shoulder bag or the accessory bag. The design looks good both horizontal and vertical. Stitch it up and decide on the bag later. One of my smarter moments :-)

This isn't a new obsession for pears. Back in the late 90's (yes, I've been around that long) I designed Gilded Pears, a counted work piece. It's also available as a painted canvas with a stitch guide.

I guess its true, I have a thing for needlepoint pears.

Merry Christmas Lesson #2

2009-11-01T21:08:00.002-05:00

Here we go. Lesson #2 of the Merry Christmas canvas was today at the shop. We tackled a few more squares. Still many to go but this is a great way to stay on track and feel like you are accomplishing lots! Little goals do the trick.

Today we did simple Long Stitch triangles in 2 of the squares. Nothing exotic, we needed an easy square to get us started today.

We made a big sparkly pink snowflake. I'm convinced the world would be a better place if it snowed pink. Maybe some purple too. You may have noticed that I like bling. I also try to go for the unexpected, so rather than completely beading the snowflake which was my first thought, I put beads in the background. It's just a bit of glitter. The snowflake itself is a Laid Filling Stitch. Long Stitches of Perle Cotton overstitched with Petite Sparkle Rays. The final touch are the crystals on top for a little more sparkle.

We also did the diagonal pink and white striped section at the top. It's the easy sections that give me the most pause. The stripes aren't painted on a true diagonal nor are they perfectly even, so I had to do something that didn't work against those things. It's nothing more elaborate than Long Stitches but then I ruched Petite Sparkle Rays and couched it in place to make the sections divide with a little bit of frosty magic. Not a bad solution.

That's it for this lesson. It's super quick to stitch. All of you lovely ladies who are trying to play catch up because you have just received your canvas or are still waiting, here's your chance!

More bling to follow.......

What a Wonderful Weekend

2009-10-29T21:36:00.002-04:00

You can not imagine how much fun we had last weekend. We had just unpacked the store and were open to welcome customers Tuesday morning.

Thursday night Caela Conn Tyler came to teach 3 days of exceptional classes for us. Oh the fun! Friday we had a wonderful lecture/spontaneous painted canvas embellishment class and then Saturday and Sunday we stitched Piazza San Marco.

Piazza is a gorgeous piece and so much fun to stitch. Caela has worked out all the details. All we had to do was relax and follow along on the journey. We did have to count but no one seemed to mind. We were entranced with the project. If you have the chance to take Piazza San Marco do so, you will love the project and the class.

Caela is a truly gracious teacher willing to share her talents and skills. We've already invited her back!

You can see our new classroom in these photos. The space is quite comfortable. Plenty of room for everyone!

One of the new additions to the classroom is this large poster of our Bee. I'm asking each of the teachers to autograph it when they come to visit. It will be a great reminder of all the years of fun, learning and friendship we are going to have in this space.

I can't wait to watch it all unfold!

We're Open!

2009-10-21T09:30:00.002-04:00

The new store is unpacked and ready for primetime viewing. It really is a very cool space that I think you are going to enjoy. All the stuff that made the old store so me is still here along with lots of fun new things to explore. The walls are still my funky shade of lime green that just makes everything happy. Some of the floors have tiger carpet. (More to come later) All in all a very good move.

The move was especially good thanks to the help of a group of very dear friends who kicked in and went well beyond the call of duty to get us unpacked and prettied up in just 48 hours!!! You girls rock!

I've attached lots of pics and will add more in the next few days. Our big (and I do mean big) sign is being installed on Thursday. That will make it super easy for you to find us.

Let's go for a tour of the front room.....

Our pretty armoire is the first thing to welcome you as you enter. Currently it is all decked out for Halloween.

The chandelier made the move safe and sound. Every needlepoint store needs its icon.

The wall to the right of the front counter will feature our current and upcoming clubs and classes. In other words, this is where the action is!

Models, gifts and treasures are here to tempt you.

One of our big canvas walls is currently all Christmas. You know I love Christmas!

What? A doorway? A hall filled with DMC and Anchor threads? More areas to explore.

At the back of the front room, can you see, there's another room with more canvases!!! This will be the trunkshow room. All of our designer catalogs are here too, so this is the perfect place to hang out and plan that next great project.

There you have it. Tour du jour part one. Pictures of the exterior and the classroom and the counted canvaswork room to follow as soon as I catch my breath.

thank you all for loving the shop and what we do in it!

Merry Christmas -- Ho Ho Ho

2009-10-17T20:59:00.003-04:00

Well, where to begin. At the beginning of course... Today was the first day of our Merry Christmas Mystery Class. I know, you think I am crazy having class today when we move the store tomorrow, but it was important, so we did it. (Many of you who have ordered this class to be shipped long distance will find your supplies arriving next week. There are still some canvases to ship as I am waiting for more to arrive.)

Raymond Crawford designed this canvas and it is charming. It's my mission to kick it up a notch. You know, add a little bling.

We started with the borders which I wanted to be a little more whimsical. All gold was just too traditional. They are now tiny red and gold checks. We also tackled 2 tiny squares. In my mind, the small squares should be little jewels as in a quilt, while allowing the iconic squares to steal the show.

Another challenge with this canvas is that it isn't stitch painted. There's nothing wrong with that, it just means that your little squares vs my little squares may be different sizes. I have to take that into account and not do my typical OCD planning. That's hard for me :-)

Hope you like what you see.

On to the move. Here we go. We're all packed and the movers come tomorrow. We can do it! It's going to be great! Pictures soon. I promise.

Not So Mellow Yellow

2009-10-11T08:54:00.002-04:00

I just had to share. Sue has been taking my Mellow Yellow Mystery Class at the shop but made one major change....the background. We picked a different stitch and different threads so that the background could be changed from pink to black. I've included this option in the stitchguide so that others can change too. Everything else is pretty much the same as on mine.

It looks great! It makes all the colors pop! One small change can change the feel of the entire piece.

It's off to the finisher so we'll have new pictures when it returns. Mellow Yellow and Not So Mellow Yellow..... Oh what fun!

Mellow Yellow now complete!

2009-10-04T22:07:00.002-04:00

It's finished and I love it! I'm really quite pleased with how this Melissa Shirley canvas turned out. I've been stitching this canvas and teaching it at the shop as a Mystery Class. With each lesson, a new section of the canvas is revealed stitched.

Each section was a challenge to make the flowers and butterflies move forward and back in space as they should. In the end the flowers have the charm and whimsy that I wanted.

Since I last posted 2 weeks ago I completed the yellow flower on the right. The cool thing about this flower is that it uses one of those overdyes that has many different colors in it. The kind of overdye we all buy because it is pretty but we never really know what to do with it. This one had yellow and pink and green and orange all in the same thread. It's called Miami Deco and it's by Gloriana Threads. It became the perfect outline around the flower petals. How cute is that?

The other challenge on this canvas was the final butterfly. This butterfly needed to be the item that comes forward in the design. It needed to project in front of the zinnias and the other flowers. WOW, what to do? I decided on wired ribbon. 1.5" in width, folded and pleated to make wings. They are fluffy and cute and create just the effect I wanted.

Next step is finishing so off to the finisher it goes. I'll post pictures when it returns. Until then, I'll be stitching and teaching our next Mystery Class - Merry Christmas by Raymond Crawford!

Progress is being made

2009-10-02T20:52:00.002-04:00

I promise, pictures are coming. The new space will be ready in a week. Can you believe it? Probably not, but I have a great contractor and he's getting the job done.

Ceiling is in
Lights abound
There are holes cut in walls (I know, it sounds weird, but trust me this is a good thing)
Paint is on the walls (Yes, it's green)
Carpet arrives on Friday and then the games can begin!

We will be closed on the 18th of October so that we can move more efficiently but other than that, business as usual. We are still open in our regular location in Cockeysville.

Our hours at the new store will remain the same, so come see the new shop after the 20th of October

1520 York Road, Cockeysville, MD 21093

See you soon.
Love
Ruth

Sometimes Life Throws You A Curve

2009-09-25T08:13:00.002-04:00

So here we are happily hosting classes with teachers, Brenda Hart was just here and Caela Conn Tyler is coming in a few weeks, and running our very own Mystery Classes. All is right with my little part of the needlepoint world.

We were a smidge cramped for space. Not terrible most class days, but I could see it coming. Needlepointers like to spread out.

So, we start planning on taking over part of the space next door. It was vacant and would be perfect for a classroom. Merrily we go along when woosh, they pulled the carpet out from under me. After 4 months of thinking the space was ours and that the buildout would be starting momentarily we find that the space has been leased from under us.

We have to move. Okay, not on my radar for this week, this month or even this year, but what's a girl to do?

So, the search began... Brenda Hart was here in the midst of this turmoil and was very patient with the drive bys we did of potential locations on the way too and from class.

The really good news is that we found a darling space. It's bigger than what we have with a huge classroom. Good parking. I won't say great, but good and easier than what we have. Walking distance to Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, Dunkin Donuts and a seafood restaurant.

Hours will be the same. We only plan on closing for one day- a Sunday.

So, the renovation begins today.

We'll be in the space for Caela's class in October. It's going to be quite a ride. Stay tuned, I'll post pictures soon.

Zinnias!

2009-09-20T22:44:00.002-04:00

The zinnias are just amazing. The moment I saw this canvas I knew how I wanted to stitch the zinnias. I had to do my background first and a few other flowers but now the zinnias are in bloom!!!! Six colors of River Silks 7mm ribbon and a handful of swarovski crystals and we have the most beautiful flowers. They are quick to stitch so no complaints there.

The butterfly was another challenge. It had to look light and airy but yet sit in front of the zinnias. Thanks to the magic of Basketweave Twill, one of my favorite stitches, and beads I was able to make that happen.

One more flower and one more butterfly and this gorgeous canvas will be complete. Hmmmm, how shall we stitch them? More beads? More ribbons? Must go play.