Jun 29, 2026

Funky Pumpkins #3 (Kate Dickerson and Lee Cox)

Kristal did a magnificent job stitching this fancy pumpkin using a guide by Lee Cox.

Check out the heavily beaded pumpkin!

Jun 27, 2026

Seaside Houses (Melissa Shirley and Terry Christopher Castillo)

Terry Christopher Castillo shows off a student's "Seaside Houses" piece, a beautifully stitched design by Melissa Shirley, stitched using Terry's guide.

Jun 21, 2026

Raccoon Dracula (Danji and Nancy Yeldell)

Recently I stumbled across this wonderful finishing of Danji's Dracula Raccoon on Instagram, courtesy of Island House Needlepoint.

Pretty spectacular, isn't it?  I discovered that this canvas has a stitch guide by Nancy Yeldell although I can't tell if Island House's Dracula was stitched using it.  Looks like Dracula Raccoon is part of a Halloween series from Danji but I'm unable to find others in the series.  It might be new.

Jun 19, 2026

Boating Stitching Girls (Gayla Elliott and Terry Christopher Castillo)

The boating "Stitching Girl" was stitched by Chris C. using a guide by Terry Christopher Castillo.  This is from Gayla Elliott's "Stitching Girl" series.

Jun 17, 2026

Alphabet Sampler (Alice Peterson and Cynthia Thomas)

Cynthia Thomas shows off a student's "Alphabet Sampler," which is an Alice Peterson design stitched using Cynthia's stitch guide.  So cute!

Jun 13, 2026

Stitch Guides without Photos of Finished Piece

Often stitch guides don't have photos of the finished example.  Ruth Schmuff answers the question of how a stitch guide can be written without the author having stitched the piece.

Basically, with experience you have a good idea of what will work and what won't.  And Ruth's had a LOT of experience!  She's also right, once you start seeing stitches and texture, there is no returning from that.