July 9, 2019 Tuesday

The First Day of My Remodeled Websit

Resolutions for Stitchers

1.  Take all the pent-up anxiety about perfection and redirect that energy toward creativity. Open up your minds and think of creative  possibilities you can bring to your needlework, ways that will personalize it and make it distinctly yours.  Here are two ways to start:

Oops you made a mistake and you face a lot of ripping.

Ask yourself, is it really a mistake or a variation?

You do have to rip if you crossed most of your crosses in one direction and suddenly you started crossing them in the other direction, yep no way around that. Why? The real reason for good technique is that it allows all your attention to focus on your design (where it should be).

You don't have to rip if you made a leaf one row bigger than the design called for. This is obsessive behavior that needs redirecting.

You do need to rip if you make something so large it is out of scale with the rest of the design; you do not have to rip if it is barely noticeable.

You do not have to rip if you mixed up colors and the design is not exactly as the designer's model. For heaven's sake, if it looks OK, stop obsessing.

You do have to rip if a color or texture is not in harmony with the rest of the design.

You do not have to throw away a design if you run out of a dye lot.

If it looks like you are headed toward thread shortage, don't use the thread to the last strand, save at least 1/4 of it. Buy some more and decide where and how to introduce the new dyelot. I actually prefer to work with multiple dyelots. If you pay attention to lights and darks etc., they can bring an added depth to your design.

2. In memory of Audrey Francini, my generation's greatest needlewoman, slow down. Needlework is not a speed contest. Audrey was the slowest stitcher I have known. She was also the best. I have a couple of great stories about Audrey and her speed, I'll tell them in the next couple of mornings.

3. Forget about the Needlepoint Police. They don't exist except in their minds. You may meet people who think they know it all. Good for them, I applaude their confidence, but I don't buy into it.

I have probably told this story a dozen times but it is worth telling again and again. Years ago a friend wrote to me and asked, will this Kreinik braid look good with this silk?

I replied, beats me, try it and see.

Friend: whadaya mean you don't know, you're the teacher.

My reply: if the Immortal Artists Of The Western World don't know without trying, how would I, one mere mortal needlework teacher? (There's a bit more to thsi story too, I'll tell the rest another time).

All this goes to say once again, there is no real right and wrong, there are problems of course. The best way to find solutions is to think creatively.

Those are my New Year's Stitching Resolutions for 2021, still good for 2022

Reminders for me as well as for all of you.

September 26, 2023  Tuesday     

I spent the early a.m. working on Surprise Windows, the ones with Carolyn's beautiful tools! They are just as pretty this year!

Later on more kitting and more fiddling with the General Sale, those new designs I will sell for the first time.

BUT I do have a Surprise for my Surprise Windows: a new design for Downton Abbey, one I have been saving for a special treat. I decided now is the time as I just read that Downton Abbey may return to television for a 7th season!

I will let it be a Surprise in my Surprise Windows, so I will say only one thing: it isn't Sybil's Dress, it is simpler. But I have news too about Sybil's Dress. It is in the pipeline, ie I have a drawing and I bought a whole lot of beautiful beads! I thought I would make it a more complex design, something like last year's Dowager in the Evening.

We'll see. Meanwhile, back to work on EWeek's Surprise Windows.

September 25, 2023 Monday     

This morning a monochromatic colorization changes an Elizabethan themed geometric into Winter. How did I do this?

I put the design in Photoshop and fiddled with blues. This wouldn't work with every geometric but this one has such high contrasts.

So if I wanted to convert the design to blue threads how would I do it? Simply convert the thread list into a series of blues and white. I would begin with the list of Kreinik braids because they have the smallest range of blues and match the silks and other threads to the Kreinik braids.

And remember, not all blues have to match, just as they don't match in the colorization.

Even if you end up preferring the original Elizabethan blacks and whites, attempting to convert the design into a monochromatic scheme of blues is a great thread color exercise.

I had forgotten all about this design from 8 years ago, when I came across it by accident and thought, perfect for a conversion. One helpmate: no actual beads, they are all stitched 'beads.'

September 24, 2023 Sunday      

I like to include a geometric or two from my past in my EWeek Surprise Windows and this year I had a novel idea. I remembered an Elizabethan-style geometric I had made with Blackwork patterns, stitched beads, a crown and a monogram, and contrasting white patterns reflecting an Elizabethan collar.

When I looked at the design and all its contrasting patterns, I had an idea about the geometric.

Tomorrow my idea.

September 23, 2023 Saturday     

I am at work full time on my sale, mostly with small tasks too boring to write about: for example I spent most of my time yesterday wrapping little packages of sequins and beads too in bubble wrap so that they travel safely. Today more of the same.

Later on when the light is right, I will take some photographs and begin in earnest work on Queendom Website.

Meanwhile a bit of exciting news! Carolyn Meacham has sent me Surprise Windows of her beautiful sewing tools. A treat to look through them all!  Best most exciting part of EWeek to see what Carolyn sends.

Maybe I will have a look again through the windows before I start my day.

September 22, 2023 Friday     

I spent yesterday working on sequins and thinking about Winter Designs, when I remembered I made a small Winter's Cottage Sewing Case.  I looked for it and sure enough, a Small Cottage with a needle book and a holder for a pair of tiny scissors.

I just finished posting it on Queendom Website's Home Page.

I will offer the Instructions Only of these old designs of mine, for I no longer have the supplies to make the kits.  For whichever I include, I will ask Cathe Ray if she wants to offer kits. Cathe is so good at threads and ground fabrics, so I'm hoping she will do this.

Busy day today, more preparations as the days march unrelentingly toward October 19, the day my EWeek Sale will open. Here's hoping I finish it all!

On with the day. Hope you have a good one.

September 21, 2023 Thursday     

Preparations for EWeek: I am still counting sequins into little baggies and it indeed is a tedious job. Happily I am moving right along but can see that I will need all my time to finish.

Today I plan to count sequins for a while, then will toggle to doing webwork, then will end the day counting more sequins.

I do love working on themes of winter and it is difficult to keep from starting yet more. It has been a long time since I have picked up my needle and it will be a good while longer. When I do, I have  a plan to finish a needle book I started a year ago.

Then I have in mind a design for the Summer Solstice. I have quietly been buying beads for the design, even before I have time to draw a rough sketch and start.

Such is life: no time now for it, except to think about it as I count beads and staple labels onto threads.

On with the day.

September 20, 2023 Wednesday     

In EWeek, my once-a-year sale in October I have two parts: the General Sale, usually comprised of new designs, and Surprise Windows, all sorts of different designs from my past, some limited in numbers, some severely limited in numbers, and some more or less unlimited in numbers. I say 'unlimited' with some caution because I am always limited by my capacity to pack and ship.

This year, the lines are blurred, as I have added a new design or two to the Surprise Windows (attention: Downton Abbey people, I will  have a new geometric in Surprise Windows), whereas I am considering adding Snowflake Girl to my General Sale. She is certainly an old design of mine and one I have sold often, but she also fits so well with my theme of Winter.

Two of my favorite days of the year, as I have often mentioned are the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice, the latter being my favorite day of the year.

I still have almost a month to go but that time can evaporate in a heart beat.  If you have any suggestions for me, please let me know. Thx!

On with my day of counting tiny sequins into tiny baggies, a genuinely tedious job.

September 19, 2023 Tuesday     

A month from today my traditional fall sale called EWeek begins. Am I ready? Not yet, but I am chugging along.

I have spent the last few days reading requests, scrolling through my files and counting beads and sequins into tiny baggies, the latter going on and on and on forever.

Sequins are more difficult to handle that beads and it takes me a very long time to package them. Why? I have to check the sequins as I package them. Also sequins often stick together. The ones I like best are vintage and often prone to faults. I have a little white sequin that I love but I have to check each carefully and I end up throwing away almost half of them.

So why use sequins?  Quite honestly I never paid much attention to them till my artist friend Marcie introduced me to vintage sequins years and years ago. Marcie has an incredibly beautiful eye and I love what she has introduced me to over the years.

I am off soon for computer help, then counting beads for the balance of the day and evening. As I said, I am chugging along at a fairly good pace.

September 18, 2023 Monday     

This morning a photo of one of my most traditional long band samplers, my Acorn Sampler from long ago. Slightly later than Drawn Thread Sampler, the instructions for Acorn Sampler are 77 pages long, with 5 Oversize Graphs.

I have received several requests for the sampler and wonder if I should include it in my Surprise Windows. If I do so, I will sell the instructions only as I don't have the threads and doubt I could get them so close to my sale. My sale is only a month off now, in fact it starts precisely a month and a day from now.

So how am I doing?  I'm making progress! I decided to have two days of Surprise Windows, Saturday and Sunday, and am happy to say I heard from Carolyn. She is back from her travels and is hard at work at assembling beautiful old needlework tools for Surprise Windows.  I am excited to see what she offers, in fact can't wait!

Every year I have a favorite or two and I always hope they won't sell so I can buy them later. But they always sell, and I understand why. Carolyn has spectacular offerings!

On with the day. Hope you have a good one.

September 16, 2023 Saturday     

Progress! I am happy to report that I asked Cathe Ray if she would put together supplies for Drawn Thread Sampler and she wrote yesterday to say yes, she would.

The samplers can be worked on almost any ground. If someone wants to work on linen, I highly suggest she avoid a wobbly wiggly linen; choose one with a density and a firmness. The challenge to the sampler is your tension and a firm ground will help a lot.

Although Zweigart long ago discontinued linen congress cloth, Cathe Ray has a stash of it and I think the sampler would be wonderful on it, one of many reasons I was glad she agreed to assemble supplies for the design.

I am working away. I made some progress yesterday.  I have decided on designs for the general sale and am now at work on deciding about the Surprise Windows.  So far I know of four, and I'm happy to say Carolyn will be back with a selection of beautiful tools. I can't wait to see them!

I have so many newbies these days and I hope to have a couple  of windows just for them. If any of you can think of simpler designs I should offer, would you let me know? Thank you.

Meanwhile, on with my day. Hope you have a good one.

September 15, 2023 Friday     

Heads up! Today we are halfway through September. Doesn't seem possible.

DH and I had a busy week with company all week long, but now my time belongs again to me and I will work in earnest on EWeek throughout the weekend.

By the end of the weekend, I should have a master list of my General Sale and a good start on the master list of the Surprise Windows.

So far, I know that I will offer both Echoes and my Drawn Thread Sampler in Surprise Windows and a good number of people have asked for Pride and Prejudice Needle Book again, so I am guessing it will appear.

I have several other considerations, including a new Downton Abbey Geometric that I have had sequestered for a year, this time a little 'Downstairs Square' borrowed from Lady's Maid Anna.

All this reminds me, do you know that there may be a new Downton Abbey series after all these years?

Enough for this morning, I'd best get on with the day. Actually I am happy to have a day of work ahead, the only distraction being doing laundry, the easiest of all household chores.

September 14, 2023 Thursday     

This morning I have posted a photo of the only really challenging piece I ever taught, my Drawn Thread Sampler. I have told a bit of its history on Queendom Website's Home Page.

I stitched the sampler years and years ago and taught it at an EGA Seminar in Williamsburg. Since then I have sold it a number of times but in the last year I said I would bring it back yet again and this year I will offer it in my Surprise Windows.

As I said, this is the only really challenging piece I taught and the part that makes me chuckle is this: the only thread I used is the much-maligned pearl cotton.  If I remember correctly, it takes 5 balls of pearl cotton #8 and 5 balls of pearl cotton #12.

Pearl cotton. Always seen as a beginner's thread. Not so here. I have written for years and years, if you receive a kit of mine with a lot of pearl cotton included, beware, for the project will be challenging.

None the more than this one, the whole sampler only pearl cotton.

I will sell the instructions only (well over 100 pages long) and let people choose a favorite ground fabric and color or colors of pearl cotton.

September 13, 2023 Wednesday     

Yesterday more goodies arrived in the mail, namely Soie d'Alger so that I can complete my Snow Maiden kits. Rejoice! Maybe by the  weekend I will have Snow Maiden put together. Picture me happy that my sale prep is indeed under way.

And Echoes. Now I have at least three designs ready for October.

DH and I have a busy week continuing, with more company today and tomorrow, so I will take time off and probably not start work in earnest again until Friday. I will try and photograph my new beads and I will post a photo soon as I have one.

Off now to straighten up and get ready for this afternoon. Sadly nary a needle anywhere in sight.

September 12, 2023 Tuesday     

When I was looking for photos of Echoes I and II to post on Queendom Website I found a photo of Echoes II that my friend Val snapped at the needlework show she and her buddies put on every other year.

I know the show is coming up next spring and this year Val (to my delight) chose my ECS and Susan B. Sampler for my coming entry.  There is a bit more to the story and I will tell it tomorrow morning.

So how am I doing in general? I've been super busy working on kits for EWeek this year, both the general sale and the Surprise Windows.  I am still waiting for some threads, hope they arrive soon.

And then yesterday a great treat arrived! New beads in the mail. Just what I need, more beads, but I simply couldn't resist. When I have a chance to photograph them, I will post a photo. They are to die for!

Brought a bit of cheer into my life.

September 10, 2023 Sunday     

Yesterday I officially began work on EWeek 2023. Officially. On and off unofficially I have been working away so that I am happy to say, Snow Maiden kits are almost finished. I am waiting for one last thread to finish the final 10 kits.

Added features of EWeek are my Surprise Windows. As the month wears on, I will explain how they work and even mount two such Practice Surprise Windows so that newbies can practice the skills and be ready for action on October 21 and 22.

For some time I have been cleaning up around here. It isn't a do-able job and I doubt I will ever finish, but on a daily basis I unearth stuff, my most recent find a pair of kits for Echoes of Elizabeth I and II.

I didn't even know I had them. How did I find them? Rooting around in three drawers I haven't touched for a very long time. I was looking for a Soie d'Alger color. I didn't find the Soie d'Alger color, but I did find these kits. Likely they will end up in a Surprise Window, either on Saturday or Sunday, or maybe one pair on Saturday and one on Sunday. To be determined....

September 8, 2023 Friday     

Yes, I have been away from Queendom Website for nearly three weeks, due to computer problems.

As I summarized on Queendom Website's Home Page, my computer woes had to do with my new computer and uploading data from my old computer (MacSoph VI > MacSoph VII.

I am back now and hopefully will be relatively trouble-free through EWeek, my fall sale which will start on October 19.

All through my hiatus from Queendom Website, I have been correcting instructions and putting together kits.

More tomorrow morning: I have some questions for you.    Meanwhile I am happy to be back online.

From Elizabethan to Winter with a simple change of colors.