Stitch Guided By Sheena

Sheena's updated her blog to list her available stitch guides, which are available by emailing her directly or calling Wool and Willow Needlepoint, her home shop.  She specializes in Cleveland landmark canvases but will work with you on any canvas you need a road map for.  All the contact information is at the link below.  Clicking on Home will take you to her blog and clicking on Stitches will take you to interesting stitches she'd graphed for you to use.
http://www.sheenassweetstitches.com/p/stitch-guides.html

Welcome to Fall

Robin King celebrates the Fall Equinox this week with a little article about her Debbie Mumm Harvest Fairy stitch guide. You can read all about the canvas and finishing and learn just how to order the canvas and stitch guide from Melissa Shirley and Robin herself by clicking here.
http://needlepointstudyhall.blogspot.com/2011/09/harvest-fairy-autumnal-equinox.html

Happy Harvest, everyone!

My Miko Stitch Guide Is Now Available

Miko Stitch Guide Now Available

The second stitch guide in a series of three Fash Inserts** from Leigh Designs I'm stitching is available from me now.  This piece is called Miko and I had great fun stitching her.  Miko was designed to be inserted in the Lee nylon tote bag (see photo below),

but she's willing to be framed or made into a standup paperweight for your desk if you prefer.  Covered in beads and sequins and with a beaded background, she's quite a charmer.  Your shop can order the canvas and the stitch guide from Leigh Designs for you or you can add the stitch guide alone to your collection of reference materials by contacting me at sgfromchnp at gmaildotcom.


**Smilin' Jack the pumpkin and the Tea House are the others in the series I'm doing for Leigh Designs.  Smilin' Jack is finished and the stitch guide for him is now available. You can see all the Fash Inserts available from Leigh at the LD website.
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp761x.html

Julia's Needleworks Has Guides

Julia represents a great many wonderful painted canvas designers (Peter Ashe, AGA, JB Designs, JHL Designs, etc.) and has free guides for a few of these canvases posted on the Julia's Needleworks website.  Browse here and see if your Julia piece has a free guide available.
http://needleworks.ehclients.com//index.php/julia/stitch-guides

The Cat's Out of the Bag...

September/October 2011 Issue of Needlepoint Now

...and the magazines are in the mail.  My complimentary copies of the September/October 2011 issue of Needlepoint Now arrived yesterday and guess what's inside?

Yes, Temple of 1000 Cranes is one of the featured canvases!  My stitch guide for this piece is included so you can stitch this beautiful Leigh Designs fantasy pagoda. Or if you are stitching one of the other seven in the set, crib ideas from my pagoda for yours.  Haven't seen these yet?  Here's the link to Leigh's website.
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp714x.html

I still sell the full guide (my version is 22 pages while NP Now managed to squeeze everything into 4 since we omitted a lot of photos and the essay on light coverage stitching) but most folks will want to pick up a copy of the magazine since that will be cheaper than buying the guide.  You will want a copy of this issue anyway since there are guides by Robin King (a darling owl ornament for Halloween), a charted patriotic apple by Susan Chaleff, Amy Wolfson (whom you know as AmyBear) charts her first wonderful design--Dan'l Webster frog, Shirley White charts an elegant Christmas ball, Debroah Forney does a geometric pattern based on Chinese ethnic patterns, Debbie Stiehler does a Chinese coin purse that has a fabulous background pattern perfect for Asian-themed pieces, and the legendary Susan Portra does a guide for the cover canvas.  Oh, and Laura Perin contributes the first step in a small three part pattern that is old gold and purple with touches of other harvest colors.  Then there are the regular articles on new products, how to use common stitches in unusual ways and how to use them to build a complex design, and of course The Spinister Stitcher makes an appearance.  It's just a wonderful issue and I am thrilled to be included.

I've kept this secret since last January.  How is that possible?!

Enjoy.