New Colors -- Planet Earth / Silk & Ivory

The National NeedleArts Association is having its Winter show next month in California and in preparation for the show manufacturers and designers are releasing their new products. Brown Paper Packages, the distributor of Silk & Ivory, recently dispatched 4 new colors bringing their total number of colors to 220. Tilli Thomas, the makers of Planet Earth, also released their new colors -- thirteen new luscious colors bringing their total number of colors to 165.

The Silk and Ivory colors are Pewter, Onyx, Smoky Quartz and Straw. Silk and Ivory is a 50% silk, 50% Merino wool thread, made in Switzerland. It offers a incredibly soft feel, has a medium twist and a lustrous appearance. If you haven't tried Silk & Ivory before consider using it on the background of your next 13/14 mesh piece.

Also for use on 13/14 mesh canvas is Planet Earth, a 100% silk, single stranded thread. The colors of Planet Earth are wonderfully saturated and vivid. Their new color families include a fantastic array of yellow-orange from Amber to Persimmon (see above). Also released is a blue family that includes colors entitled Venus, Calypso, Poseidon and Neptune (bottom right) as well as a great new neutral family (Almond, Honey, Cashew and Dijon -- at right).

Here at Rittenhouse Needlepoint, Planet Earth is one of our favorite fibers. We recommend it all the time for 13/14 mesh canvas. It is affordable and wears well and as they continue to add colors it just keeps getting better and better.

Stitch of the Week: Diamond Straight

The Diamond Straight is an easy stitch to learn. It is comprised entirely of straight stitches. The pattern is: over one, three, five, three, one -- skip a row of holes, repeat. The tallest stitch of the second row lines up with the bottom of the smallest unit of the first row, one canvas thread to the right or the left (in the skipped row of holes).

After you have stitched the diamond units you fill in the empty spaces with Continental stitches in a complementary-colored thread. These fill-in stitches create a lattice pattern which nicely enhances and completes the diamond pattern.

When stitching a straight stitch over one canvas thread it is sometimes wise to do the stitch twice so as to avoid the dreaded disappearing stitch syndrome. A straight stitch over one canvas thread has a tendency to disappear. Doing it twice makes it more prominent. Try it -- see if you like it.

The Diamond Straight has a wonderful quilted appearance therefore I think that it would be useful for Santa's clothing or bag. It also would make great paths, roads and backgrounds.

Frog Class Reunion

On Thursday night we had a reunion for the frog class of 2009. We had a good turnout including many completed frogs! Each was more creative than the next.

Martha Hurt, pictured here, stitched a Mosaic Frog (item 6356) from Julie Pischke for her grand-daughter Chantria. Jonne Smith completed Woodland Animals Frog from Edie & Ginger for her cabin in the woods. Other completed frogs included Michael McAlister's Ms. Key West (Julie Pischke, item #6359), Fran Dorfman's Baby Hanukkah Frog (item #15010) and Brit Traugott's Baby Ho Ho Ho.

Still-in-process frogs included Mindy Bogue's US Traveler Frog and Lois Kyler's Flora Frog (item #6348). And then of course there was your intrepid blogger's frog -- Imari Frog which sadly is nowhere near being finished (I can tell you more about this some other time).

Of course, the point wasn't necessarily to finish but rather to enjoy ourselves which is something that we all did with pizza, champagne and good camaraderie.

Trunk Shows Galore -- Online and Otherwise

The big news is that we've got three trunk shows in residence right now -- Tapestry Tent/Liz, Patty Paints and Brenda Stofft. The Tapestry Tent show is departing shortly (12/13) but what a show it has been. Liz, the painter for Tapestry Tent, is really an accomplished artist. Her canvases, particularly her Christmas stockings, are quite spectacular -- with lots of unusual themes and incredible detail. You can see the trunk show online by selecting "canvases" from the home page and then typing in the search box "Tapestry Tent".

Patty Paints features Americana-type, Colonial Era inspired canvases but she also has some more contemporary designs for Halloween and even Dr. Scholl's sandal toppers (a nice way to have a pair of needlepoint shoes that are more affordable to have finished than a full shoe). You can see the Patty Paints trunk show online by selecting "Canvases" from the main page and then typing in the search box "Patty Paints".

Lastly, we have the designs of Brenda Stofft in house until January. Brenda is a designer who we were unfamiliar with until a customer of ours asked us to purchase a couple of her pieces. Well, one thing led to another and we are happy to offer her line for sale. She has a wonderful whimisical sense of humor and you can see the Brenda Stofft trunk show online by selecting ... well, you know the drill.

Happy shopping.

Stitch of the Week: Roumanian Leaf

The Roumanian Leaf is an interesting stitch. It is a nice stand-alone stitch but would also make for an interesting background. As the name implies, the stitch looks like a leaf of sorts. However, it also looks like a stylized tree/Christmas tree. It is important to study the diagram carefully in order to get the count right when doing the Roumanian Leaf. The stitch begins with a straight up and down stitch and then consists of a series of "V"s that get wider, stay the same size, and then eventually get smaller.

The first part of the stitch is a simple Gobelin stitch (straight up and down vertically) over two horizontal canvas threads.

This Gobelin stitch is then flanked by two diagonal stitches which are begun one horizontal canvas thread below the top of the Gobelin stitch. Each of the diagonal stitches goes over two horizontal canvas threads and one vertical canvas thread (either to the right or the left). This first group of stitches ends immediately underneath (one horizontal canvas thread below) where the Gobelin stitch ended. A tacking stitch completes the group.

A second group of stitches is done underneath the first group. It starts with two diagonal stitches, each beginning one horizontal canvas thread beneath (and one vertical canvas thread to the right or the left) of where the first diagonal stitches began. This second and larger "V" flanks the stitches of the first group. The second group ends in the same manner as the first group (i.e., with a tacking stitch, straight up and down over one canvas thread).

The Roumanian Leaf continues with another group of stitches forming a still larger"V" and ending underneath where the stitches of group two ended. This, the largest of the "V"s, is repeated two more times as shown in the diagram. Don't forget the tacking stitch.

The final "V" formation begins down one horizontal thread and to the right or the left one vertical thread from where the third group of large "V" stitches began. This final "V" is more sharply slanted than the previous "V"s and brings the Roumanian stitch to a close.

In terms of spacing for multiple Roumanian Leafs, the important thing to remember is that the top of the Gobelin stitch for the next Roumanian leaf unit shares the same hole as the farthest right or left hole of the final, longest "V" stitch. You will also know if your spacing is correct if the beginning of the first of the three longest "V"s shares the bottom hole of the previously executed Roumanian leaf stitch unit.

One Year Anniversary Party Today

We've been receiving fruit and flowers this morning. Why? Because it is a special day here at Rittenhouse Needlepoint. We are one year old today!

That's right -- we opened just one year ago today -- on the day after Thanksgiving. For those of you who were with us during that first weekend you know how far we've come in a year. Definitely a lot more stuff for sale now then there was during that first weekend. But hey -- what do you want? We put the whole store together in something like six weeks!

Of course, some things don't change. The coat rack is still here but now it is covered with a visiting trunk show of beautiful Christmas stockings and the majority of our canvases adorn the flip panels -- the ones that did not arrive in time for our original opening.

Stop by the shop between 4 and 7 and help us celebrate!

Stitch of the Week: Parisian Stripe

A nice and relaxing stitch this week. Parisian stripe is simply the Parisian stitch where the long stitches line up underneath one another thus creating a small space that can be filled in with short stitches in a different color. The Parisian Stripe leaves a good backing on the reverse side of the canvas. It would work well as a background stitch or as a filling stitch for large areas. It has the regular appearance of a geometric stitch and little texture therefore it is relatively undemanding and discreet.

The stitch is done in horizontal rows alternating one short stitch and one long stitch. The combination can be: short stitch over 1 canvas thread and long stitch over 3 canvas threads or short over 2 and long over 4 canvas threads. In subsequent rows, the long stitches are lined up underneath one another leaving a space that is later filled in with short stitches in a different colored thread or for a more subtle look in a different thread texture.

The stitch is easy to compensate and therefore works well in small areas. Possible thread combinations include wool with pear cotton or a variegated thread with a coordinating solid color thread. Because the stitch is made up entirely of Gobelin stitches it might be necessary to use more thread than usual for your canvas mesh size.

According to Suzanne Howeren and Beth Robertson in their wonderful book, More Stitches for Effect, this stitch works well "for grass, fields, shrubbery, trees, beaches, clothing and animal fur" (p. 54)