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Archive for the ‘Christmas Mantle’ Category

Let It Snow – Needlepoint Stitches

Of course, the penguins on the Isaac and Alexander stockings have to be walking on snow. Should it be soft and fluffy or icy and crunchy? My answer is both.

The large penguin on Issac’s stocking is walking of soft fluffy snow which is a variation of the oblong cross stitch. I have worked it across only one horizontal canvas thread rather than on two canvas threads as shown  in The Needlepoint Book by Joe Ippolito Christensen.

PuffySnow

This diagram shows it done in two different thread colors because it is worked in two separate parts. First worked the light yellow stitches and then the dark yellow stitches, but both with the same slightly off-white thread. I used a slight off-white thread so that the stark white of the penguin would be more pronounced.

LargePenguin
The Santa Penguin looks like he is walking on a cloud. Having worked the stitches over just one canvas thread, I got a thick, dense stitch which added a nice dimension.

And yes, he is not finished! He will get an eye for which I will use a glass bead and maybe a tie around his sack.

When I got to the penguin on the Alexander stocking, I decided that I didn’t like him floating in the blue as printed in my design.  I thought that I would put him on some soft snow like Santa penguin. It didn’t work. So, he was bound to get the icy snow. Using a vertical giant knitting stitch, I put him on ice.

 

Icey Snow

I worked the stitches from left starting at the top of each column of stitches. Since there wasn’t any snow printed on my canvas, I was free to put in an many icy spikes and as irregularly as I wanted. The fact that the printed background was blue, the finish stitches have an even icier feel because a bit of the blue peaks through.

Again I used a slightly off-white thread to contract the little penguins white and he needs an eye, too.

LittlePenguin

 

 

If you look closely at the two penguins, you might notice that the two skies behind the penguins look irregular.  It is not just the lighting, They are! In the next blog, I will explain the stitches and threads I used.

I’ll probably use the same oblong cross stitch for the exhaust of Santa’s plane on Issac’s stocking. What do you think?

Back to Christmas Needlepoint Stockings

(Written by Peggy Bond)  I had a little more time this year than I had with the War and Peace stocking. Time is not the issue but the challenge is two needlepoint stockings for my nephew’s twins Alex and Isaac – same but different designs are the order of the day.

isaac-stocking_final alexander-stocking_14

With plenty of time this season, I decided to experiment with some texture and color variations while stitching.  For example, I dressed up the Christmas present in the heel of Isaac’s with a green and yellow checkerboard pattern.

present-green-and-yellow

And, then I stitched the background in an oblong reversed cashmere box stitch, but in two different shades of yellow.

yellow-background

For the background diagram above, I have accentuated the yellow color differences. The finished stitching is below. Unless you are aware of the slight variation in the yellows, you probably wouldn’t notice it. However, it does give the finished stocking an added dimension. It almost looks like variegated thread.

Close up of Present Needlepoint Stitches

Close up of Present Needlepoint Stitches

 

More information on these stitches can be found in The Needlepoint Book by Joe Ippolito Christensen.

I am now working on the Isaac’s penguin walking along the powdery snow, and will post my progress in a day or so…

Friday Favorites – Christmas Belt Deadline – Stockings – Belts – Reviews and More

This week was really busy, it seems like the Christmas has arrived and we’d like to announce our deadlines.

Needlepoint Belts – We need orders to be place by Nov. 1 to guarantee they will arrive before Christmas.  We are also offering an express order option to be place by Nov. 17, there will be a $100 fee for this service and only a available for a few belts, we just don’t have enough stitchers.

Needlepoint Kits – Orders placed by Dec. 11 are guaranteed to arrive before Christmas.  Orders placed by Dec. 16th will have the option to pay for 3 Day air to guarantee on time arrival.  (We will use FedEx over Christmas, FedEx 3 day air is a $10 surcharge, Priority Mail may arrive in time, but we cannot guarantee this)

Needlepoint Pillows – Already Past.

Onto the fun stuff!  Here are some reviews that came in this week:

“LOVED the License Plate Canvas! Thanks so much.”  Sarah 2014-10-15

“Got the canvas yesterday!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!  It looks amazing!  I can’t wait to start it (and finish it!!!!).  I’m so happy to have found you and look forward to doing business with you again soon!!!!!  Thanks again!!!”  Tenley 2014-10-15

“I got my canvas in the mail today and it looks awesome! I am so excited to start working on it but also very nervous to mess it up!”  Halie 2014-10-14

Since we’re on the topic of Christmas, we do love to personalized designs.  You can see the two stocking canvas designs below in the Christmas Needlepoint section of our shop.  If you have an idea for a stocking but don’t see anything similar in our shop, let us know we’d be happy to commission a new design for you!

Personalized Needlepoint Christmas Stocking Canvas

French Horn and Christmas Tree Personalized Needlepoint Christmas Stocking Canvas

Next up are lots of needlepoint belt kits!  There are a lot of notable designs, too many to name…  Again, many are available in our needlepoint belt shop section.  These are going to look amazing once they are stitched!

Duck Hunting - Lobsters - Jockey Silks - American Flag Needlepoint Belt Kits

Duck Hunting – Lobsters – Jockey Silks – American Flag Needlepoint Belt Kits

Alabama Campus, Trout, and Custom Needlepoint Belt Canvases

Alabama Campus, Trout, and Custom Needlepoint Belt Canvases

Those of you who follow our website know that we specialize in needlepoint animal portraits created from your own photos!  Too cute!

Dog Portrait Needlepoint Kits

Dog Portrait Needlepoint Kits

Next is a Jackson Hole needlepoint pillow design.

Jackson Hole Wyoming Needlepoint Pillow Kit

Jackson Hole Wyoming Needlepoint Pillow Kit

Last are more custom projects that came out really well!

Custom Needlepoint Kits

Custom Needlepoint Kits

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Favorites – Christmas Needlepoint Ideas – Custom Dogs – and Cute Kids Projects!

Labor day is here, and while it is sad to see summer coming to a close, we’re feeling very blessed and happy to help design more great new needlepoint projects.

Here is some feedback from our customers last week:

“My needlepoint came this afternoon.  It looks awesome. Hopefully I don’t mess it up too badly. Thanks for all of your help.”  Lynette 8-25-2014

“Loved my belts  They were on my doorstep today” Becky 8-25-2014

“I love them~!” Anna 8-25-2014

“I have finished the canvas and love how it came out. Thanks for your help!” Margo 8-24-2014

Before we get to the Christmas ideas, I want you to see the new fish we designed for needlepoint belts this week.  They are amazing!

If you love to fish, let us know your favorites and we can do a custom needlepoint belt design for you!  Available as DYI needlepoint kit or as a fully stitched needlepoint belt.

Amazing Fishing Needlepoint Belts and More

Amazing Fishing Needlepoint Belts and More

Onto the Christmas Needlepoint ideas.

Georgia Bulldogs Christmas Needlepoint

Georgia Bulldogs Christmas Needlepoint

Christmas Stocking and Vintage Santa Needlepoint Canvases

Christmas Stocking and Vintage Santa Needlepoint Canvases

Below are some fun kids projects we did, we can personalize the rainbow to any name!

Kids Rainbow and Balloons Needlepoint Canvases

Kids Rainbow and Balloons Needlepoint Canvases

The Pomeranian needlepoint canvas is available in shop, click the following link to see more needlepoint dogs!

Pomeranian and Dog Playing Needlepoint Kits

 

 

New Christmas and Kids Handpainted Needlepoint Canvases

I’ve mentioned her before, but it is aways good to remind our readers.

We have a great painter in the Denver area that will do custom projects for us.

This week I met with her for two projects she painted of kids names spelled out in playful kid shapes.  (see the bottom photo)

While chatting, she also had two projects she had finished for women in her stitching group which I love!  The angel stocking really came out amazing.

Angel Hand Painted Needlepoint Christmas Stocking Canvas

Angel Hand Painted Needlepoint Christmas Stocking Canvas

The santa greetings is just fun, she even had the needlepoint that she stitched years ago with her!

Greetings Santa HandPainted Needlepoint Canvas

Greetings Santa HandPainted Needlepoint Canvas

Greetings Holiday Needlepoint

Greetings Holiday Needlepoint

Kids Alphabet Personalized Name Needlepoint Canvas

Kids Alphabet Personalized Name Needlepoint Canvas

 

 

 

Sailing and Skiing Needlepoint Christmas Stockings

Those of you who are waiting untill the last minute to pick out a canvas to stitch for Christmas this year should check out our two new needlepoint Christmas stocking designs!

The first design in this post hits close to home (Colorado). It is the Winter Ski Christmas Stocking Needlepoint Kit.  The needlepoint canvas features snow capped mountains, skiers, and more snow flakes in a fun modern design that opens a lot of fancy stitch possibilities.  The name will be personalized to order when your canvas is made.

Winter Ski Christmas Stocking Needlepoint Kit

Winter Ski Christmas Stocking Needlepoint Kit

I’m a sailor, so I really wanted to design something for our little boy.  We came up with the Anchors Aweigh Sailing Christmas Stocking Needlepoint Kit.  I’m sure you will be seeing a post about this in the future.  If you’re into a specific type of boat, let us know and we will integrate it into the design!

Anchors Aweigh Sailing Christmas Needlepoint Kit

Anchors Aweigh Sailing Christmas Needlepoint Kit