INDEPENDENT NEEDLEWORK NEWS

You still have time to sign up for this year’s Needle Arts Mystery Retreat, Canvas Country, put on by talented designers Patricia Hartman and Mary Knapp, both of Creative Reflections, Jackie Murawski of Sam-Cloth Designs, Linda Reinmiller, and Debbie Rowley of DebBee’s Designs.

This year’s Needle Arts Mystery Retreat is being held in Nashville, Tennessee from July 19th through July 22nd, so the registration deadline is June 15th, which is fast approaching!

A couple more teasers to whet your appetite are included in this post.

Also, take another look at this previous post and then this one, too.

Now hurry up — there’s no time to waste!

Technorati Tags: Jackie Murawski, Mary Knapp, Patricia Hartman, Linda Reinmiller, Debbie Rowley, Needle Arts Mystery Retreat, Canvas Country, Creative Reflections, Sam-Cloth Designs, DebBee’s Designs, needlepoint, charted needlework, canvaswork, canvas work

CRAFT magazine is teaming up with The National NeedleArts Association to hold a Stitch N’ Pitch design contest.

If you love baseball, which has to be the theme of the design, this is your chance! Designs may be in crochet, cross stitch, embroidery, knitting, or needlepoint.

The deadline for this contest is May 31st, so if you’re interested, hurry over here to check out the rules and the details.

Technorati Tags: contest, cross stitch, design, stitch n’ pitch, craft magazine, embroidery, knitting, crochet, needlepoint, TNNA, National NeedleArts Association

Have you registered for the Mystery Retreat I told you about two weeks ago? If not, perhaps I can push you over the edge with a few pictures of previous years’ Mystery Retreat projects.

The picture above and the picture below are the same design, from 2006, but in different colorways. Touch choice, don’t you agree? They’re both marvelous!

And the third picture is the Mystery Retreat design from 2005 stitched in Jackie Murawski’s colorway (which is strikingly similar to the colors she’s chosen for 2007 … I wonder if that gives us any more information of which we’re not entirely aware?). This one is another beauty:

I’m also impressed by the wide variety of different stitches in both projects. Not only does that make for a wonderful learning experience, but the various design elements could easily be used separately to stitch smaller items for use as gifts, cards, needlebooks, and so on … so many possibilities …

To get more information and sign up for this year’s Needle Arts Mystery Retreat being brought to you by Patricia Hartman and Mary Knapp, both of Creative Reflections, Jackie Murawski of Sam-Cloth Designs, Linda Reinmiller, and Debbie Rowley of DebBee’s Designs, hurry on over to Canvas Country.

Technorati Tags: Jackie Murawski, Mary Knapp, Patricia Hartman, Linda Reinmiller, Debbie Rowley, Needle Arts Mystery Retreat, Canvas Country, Creative Reflections, Sam-Cloth Designs, DebBee’s Designs, needlepoint, charted needlework, canvaswork, canvas work

I enjoy reading Janet Perry’s blog. She has a vast array of experience and shares it in a way that makes me feel as if I’m sitting in the same room with her, one on one.

Recently, she offered some wonderful suggestions for filling a section with French knots. Although she calls her technique The Lazy Stitcher’s Guide to French Knots, it’s definitely more work than I’m used to doing in French knots — but that’s because I’ve never filled a section with them. I’ve only done the scattered kind, or the kind that represent eyes and such. I’ve looked at French knots from my point of view, which is that of a cross stitcher; using French knots to fill a section as Janet does is more of a needlepoint technique than a cross stitch technique. I’ve also seen French knots used to fill large areas in crazy quilting. I admit I’m still a bit intimidated by French knots, so I’ve always tended to avoid patterns which call for a lot of them — or to replace them with beads. However, Janet’s method sounds so intriguing because of the way it creates texture that I’m actually excited to try it out. Look how great the foam on this beer turned out when Janet used her technique:

Janet mentions using this technique for fields of flowers and for sheep. I’m imagining billowing clouds … or smoke. What other ideas come to you?

Technorati Tags: Janet Perry, Nuts About Needlepoint, needlepoint, cross stitch, French knot, texture, crazy quilt

This year is the third annual Needle Arts Mystery Retreat. This year’s retreat, Canvas Country, will be held in Nashville, Tennessee during the weekend of July 19th - 22nd.

The five designers involved in this fun but mysterious stitching event are Patricia Hartman and Mary Knapp, both of Creative Reflections, Jackie Murawski of Sam-Cloth Designs, Linda Reinmiller, and Debbie Rowley of DebBee’s Designs. Be sure to visit the designers’ websites for an idea of their styles!

At the retreat, these designers will present a trunk show of their work, and you’ll have opportunities for stash enhancement. You’ll want to save up for this shopping excursion, as these designers are some of the top needlework instructors in the US — and most of their designs are NOT available in stores!

Each designer created a portion of the Mystery Retreat design and then stitched the entire project model in her choice of colors. After you see what the design looks like stitched in each of the five stunning colorways which resulted, you will select one of those colorways for your project. The pictures shown here depict the five color palettes available this year.

This gorgeous charted needlework project will be done on 18 count canvas using a combination of silk and other (non-wool) fibers.

You’ll find more information about this wonderful Mystery Retreat weekend here. Additionally, I will be posting even more information about it here in a day or two, so watch this space!

Technorati Tags: Jackie Murawski, Mary Knapp, Patricia Hartman, Linda Reinmiller, Debbie Rowley, Needle Arts Mystery Retreat, Canvas Country, Creative Reflections, Sam-Cloth Designs, DebBee’s Designs, needlepoint, charted needlework, canvaswork, canvas work

Isn’t this chair the coolest? According to the designer, Lindsey Weisenthal, as posted on her website, it is made of steel, plastic canvas, and yarn. I think it looks quite comfortable! I wonder how long it takes to make each one?

Technorati Tags: needlepoint, Lindsey Weisenthal, plastic canvas, chair