Errata and Other Help for Joan Eidman's St. Nicholas Series

Joan Eidman has found a typo in the list of threads for her Holly St. Nicholas. 
http://joaneidman.com/stitch-guide-errata/

If you have this in your stash, please correct the thread number and note that you can use another Kreinik braid since the one Joan used is no longer available.   If you aren't certain that you have the Holly St. Nicholas (Joan has three St. Nick canvases), here is a photo of him with his two brothers.
http://joaneidman.com/st-nicholas/

Thanks, Joan!

UPDATE:  Joan also is willing to help folks find beads and such for her Byzantine St. Nicholas. I think that is very nice of her.
http://joaneidman.com/beads-for-byzantine-st-nicholas/

Big Brother is Watching You

Watchers

The St. Charles trade show is over and my latest project for Leigh Designs is now public.   As traditional, Leigh has done a Halloween-themed series called Familiars for the fall.  Familiars are cat companions to witches and each of the eight Familiars designs has black cats galore!
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp516x.html

Three Cats Eye Background Stitches

I stitched Watchers, three cats gathered in the center of the design to keep an eye on all the glow in the dark skulls surrounding them.  When I was starting to stitch the model for Leigh, the news broke about the NSA and our government spying on Americans, monitoring our emails, watching who we call and where we are when we use our cell phones, taking photographs of our license plates, and generally being Big Brother.  So I took the theme of this canvas from the cat eyes to repeat watchful cat eyes in three different stitches all over the background.  I also took full advantage of some of the newest threads available to us stitchers to add green glow-in-the dark eyes to the cats, create a glow in the dark full yellow moon with a pattern and crystal sequins scattered across it, and to make the skulls all glow.

Listeners

Sandy Arthur also stitched a model for Leigh from the Familiars series.  She did Listeners, all sitting on a fence with their scarecrow, listening to the wind blow and waiting for a cloud to cross their moon.  You can see both finished pieces in more detail at the Leigh website (link above).

Your shop can order any of the Familiars for you from Leigh Designs.  The stitch guides from Sandy and myself are also available for your shop to order from Leigh Designs, or you can get your stitch guide directly from me.

Everyone needs a black cat companion, after all!

Easter Bunny Approved

The latest Julia Snyder stitch guide for one of the Eye Candy collages from Ruth Schmuff is available now.  Sadly, I don't have a finished model to show you but Ruth has set out all the goodies Julia uses for this fun piece for the Easter Bunny to approve.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2013/08/looky-looky-just-in-time-for-easter.html

Sources for Stitch Guides for Moonlight Tea Party

Moonlight Tea Party Courtesy of 2 the Point

Recently I got a message from someone who was hoping to find a stitch guide for Tapestry Tent's Moonlight Tea Party (pictured above).  I did a little online research and checked with the stitching mavens at Needlepoint Nation on Facebook and discovered several sources.  I thought since this was a popular canvas, I would list all the places that have guides here to help out other folks who want to stitch this with the help of a stitch guide.

Terry Christopher Costillo did a stitch guide for this piece.  You can contact Terry at her shop, 2 the Point, to inquire about the guide.  Actually, the photo above is courtesy of Terry. It shows the stitched version done by a customer at 2 the Point following Terry's instructions.
http://www.topoint.com

Pocket Full of Stitches probably has done a stitch guide for this canvas.  You can inquire at the shop or email them at pfos@pfos.com.  No one at the shop has stitched this, they've just written a guide, according to my informant.
http://www.pfos.com

BeStitched is working on a stitch guide for this right now.  If you want a copy as well, inquire at the shop.
http://bestitchedneedlepoint.com

Tony Minieri has done a guide for this piece, too.  You can reach him at The Edwardian Needle but since the shop is moving to a new location now, it is closed.  You will have to call and hope that they can help you despite being surrounded by moving boxes!  The shop should be in their new place in early September 2013, by the way.
http://www.theedwardianneedle.com/contact/

Both Amy Bunger and Robin King have done stitch guides for other designs in this series.  You probably can reuse parts of those guides to stitch Moonlight Tea Party.  To see Amy's pricing on Witch Reading, scroll down toward the bottom of this page from her shop stitch guide catalogue.  You will have to buy this canvas or the thread kit for it to be able to buy the stitch guide from Amy, however.
http://www.amybunger.com/f/Peas-Trubey-1.pdf

You can see more about Robin King's Halloween March by looking at her catalogue of available stitch guides here.
http://needlepointstudyhall.blogspot.com/p/stitch-guides-by-robin-king.html

Hope this helps fans of the little witch series stitch their Moonlight Tea Party.

We've Gone to the Dogs

The world is shot to heck and so it's appropriate we've all gone to the dogs, guided by the incomparable Robin King!  All these stitch guides are available from Robin.  Just email and ask.
http://needlepointstudyhall.blogspot.com/2013/08/love-those-dogs.html

Introducing the First Stitch Guide You Can Dance To

Just watch.
http://needlepointland.com/2013/05/03/key-west-bungalow-hd-version/

More details here.  Excuse me while I go yell at Anne Stradal and Whitney for not cluing me into this gem!
http://needlepointland.com/2013/05/02/a-revision-decision-2/

P.S.  Erin McGrath does other stitch guides.  How about one for JP's owl?  I know she does others, I just don't know what they are or whether you can dance to them....
http://needlepointland.com/2012/10/11/heeeeerrrreees-freddy/

Stitch Guides for Andrea Brisben/Changing Woman Designs

"Sailboats," Stitch Guide by Brenda Hart

The gorgeous original designs and the painting reproductions from Andrea Brisben of Changing Woman Designs come with stitch guides in some instances.  If you browse her website, check for titles with an asterisk.  Move your cursor over those tiny photos and you'll get a glimpse of the artistry available in guides for that piece.  I'm just sorry the photos are small because some of these guides are out of this world.  Take Peg's stitching of Toffoli's Sailboats above, following the stitch guide by the incomparable Brenda Hart.  Magnificent!
http://www.changingwomandesigns.com/index.html

The Wizard of Paws

Sandy Arthur has revealed her latest project--the Wizard of Paws from Brenda Stofft Designs.
http://sandyarthur.blogspot.com/2013/08/w-izard-of-paws-aka-brenda-stoffts.html

Sandy will teach this project to guilds and also sell a stitch guide if you want to order the canvas and her guide through your local shop.  If you can, I'd take the class from Sandy as she includes a lot of interesting and new techniques.

Prancing and Parading Around Chilly Hollow

I'm A Cover Girl!

I now officially have The Big Head.  The July-August issue of Needlework Retailer* features my Caribe' Bermuda canvas (and Sandy Arthur's Caribe' Montego box top) on the cover!

This is a big deal for Leigh Designs and for Sandy and myself.  We are in the big time now!

I am even trying to convince Sandy we should have a booth at the next trade show and sell autographs for a quarter.  Each.

So far, Sandy has said No.

(Guess she heard I was planning to hand out autographed photos of Watson and myself as well.)

Sandy stitched the large version of Jamaica for the Columbus trade show.  Here you see it on display on the right.  My small Trinidad pillow is in the center and Sandy's small Montego is on the right.  The smiling redhead in the back is Leigh Richardson herself, the creator of these charmers.
http://yarntree.typepad.com/needlework_news/2013/08/my-entry-1.html

I understand that the large versions of Martinique and Barbados have stitch guides now and so do the small versions of Bermuda, Trinidad and Jamaica.  You can see all the available large Caribe' guides in the link below.   Click on any photo with a stitch guide noted to see the finished model.  The available guides for the small Caribe' coaster sized versions are shown in the second link.
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp626x.html

http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp627x.html

Will you excuse me?  I need to go check to see if the star on my new dressing room's door is large enough, pink enough and sparkly enough....


*Needlework Retailer is the trade magazine for shops that sell needlework in the United States.  It showcases the newest product ads and has a few brief articles about industry news.