My brother-in-law's stocking is finally finished.  As my sister said, it has been a loooooong labor of love. This poor Santa has mostly languished in the closet, waiting for me to love him.

Because this is a Tapestry Tent canvas, most of the work was done in basketweave, French knots and lots of beads.

My favorite part is the cuff background--it's a mini scallop shape from one of Brenda Hart's books.  I brought home a skein of Vineyard Silk and Silk & Ivory to see which would work best for this vertical stitch on 18 count canvas.  Surprisingly the Vineyard Silk fit the bill perfectly.

I've since been rewarding myself by stitching ornament after ornament, looking forward to special new canvases at market.

A smaller project

I have (mostly) finished the Easter March and its stitch guide.  I have moved on to my 3D turkey, but I was itching for a new small project.

I raided the ACOD trunk show for this shoe canvas and tried the new Painter's Thread for the main part of the shoe.  I bought a designer ring of the Painter's Threads at market.  I had no idea what they were or how they could be used, but they were too beautiful to pass up.

The thread is YLI Shimmer Blend Ribbon that has been hand dyed.  Each of the 25 colors is named for a famous painter, therefore Painter's Threads.

I loved the thread--it will work on 13 or 18 mesh, can be finger-laid and is beautifully shaded.  Use the thread and you can ignore shading!  I'm going to try it next for tassels.

For the rest of the shoe, I used Coronet Braid for the gold areas, ruched and couched Neon Rays + for the green and used Petite Frosty Rays and the blanket stitch for the purple.  Now all that's left is a bit of background and French knots for the jewel. (I did consider ordering a flat back semi-precious cabochon, but luckily my web connection was too slow.  Then again, maybe I will....

Needlepoint Decorating

I played hooky from the shop yesterday and a wonderful time touring 4 homes in our historic district. They were all beautifully decorated for the holiday season, but one house in particular stood out for me and my fellow needlepoint addicts.

The owner of the home had stitched quite a collection of needlepoint ornaments and she displayed them in imaginative ways.  Ornaments were hung from cabinet knobs, door handles and hung on the side of lampshades.  I’ve also seen wreaths and garlands that were adorned with needlepoint ornaments.  Whether you have a huge collection of needlepoint ornaments that more than fill a tree or you have just begun your collection, you can spread holiday cheer throughout your home.

Happy Holidays, Michele