I command you to Bee Happy! And I can do that, you know…I have a MAGIC WAND! Isn’t it adorable? The design is by Kathy Schenkel and she has other magic wand canvases.

I mostly used basketweave but I did do the Hesitation stitch for the yellow (stitched in Neon Rays) and the Nobuko stitch for the orange (also stitched in Neon Rays). See diagrams below.

Happy stitching…grant lots of wishes today!
Susan

Chris and I hit the open road this weekend for a wedding in Kennett Square, PA (right near Winterthur and Longwood Gardens, which are lovely)…I know my road trip is not of vital importance to you but I mention it in regard to stitching. It is really important to have a “road-worthy” canvas…13 mesh, big blocks of color, little shading, and only a few (if any) decorative stitches. When you’re travelling, you really don’t want to deal with intricate shading on 18 mesh!

I chose to work on two canvases from my stash:

These canvases, from Unique NZ Designs, were perfect for the car ride. And a big thanks to Chris for doing all of the driving so I could stitch!

Happy stitching,
Susan

We’ve just had a British Invasion at The Point of It All! New artists Kirk and Hamilton from London have sent a brilliant (I’m really getting into this British thing!) trunk show. Check out their website by clicking here.

The canvases will be here until October 8th. All of them are 20% off. Browse the designs and come by the shop or drop me an email!

Happy stitching,
Susan

How cute are these mini Wizard of Oz characters?! Objectively adorable! New from Kathy Schenkel. Make them into little tiny stand-ups or turn them into ornaments for your Oz Christmas tree…wait, you don’t have a Wizard of Oz tree…shameful!

Lots of opportunities to use different fibers…Fuzzy Stuff for the Cowardly Lion; Balger for the Ruby Slippers; Neon Rays Ribbon for Dorothy’s pinafore; Petite Peluche for Toto…oh so much fun to stitch!

I know I’m not supposed to take home every canvas that arrives at the shop but sometimes it’s soooo hard to resist. (Note to husband: Chris, honey, I’m really trying to restrain myself…but do NOT look in my lunch box tonight!)

Happy stitching,
Susan

Front view of the hip belt from Colors of Praise…I received sooo many compliments today!

From the back

From the side

From the other side

I think this belt would also look great with a pair of dark blue jeans and a little t-shirt and adorable flats!

Happy stitching,
Susan

I drove up to Baltimore yesterday for a Cash & Carry market…I handed over the cash and the artists handed over the canvases! I got great canvases from Jean Smith…a symphony of florals. I’ve clipped them together so you can look through them like a mini trunk show…come by the shop! Or if you are far away, peruse her website to see her sophisticated take on flowers.

Lots of new pieces from Amanda Lawford too…this wonderful Santa (see above) has to be ordered but it is SPECTACULAR! Really a show stopper. I can’t wait for him to arrive. Absolutely stunning.

Terrific canvases from Sue of Cooper Oaks…as always.

Time for a new canvas? Yes! Happy shopping…Happy stitching,
Susan

Hello stitchers! We have a wonderful trunk show from Whimsy & Grace…specifically her Napoleonic Bee Collection. All canvases are 20% off. If you see and need (yes NEED) any Napoleonic Bee canvases on her website, I would be happy to order them for you.

The trunk show will be at POIA until Saturday, August 20th.

Happy stitching!
Susan

FYI I am stitching the bee napkin rings (not yet pictured on the W & G website) in the coral and butter colorway, using Claret Trio (stranded) and vintage gold balger #12 from Kreinik. I’m doing 12 napkin rings and yes, I *am* crazy. I can’t seat 12 people at my current dining room table but I bet I’ll have a bigger dining room at some point and I need to be prepared!

I just received my finished True Love purse…isn’t it wonderful? The artist is the fantastically hip Jenny Henry. Big surprise: I stitched a purse.

It’s hard to see from the photos but each of the white stitches is actually a pearl. I painstakingly attached each bead individually. Very tedious. I just learned about a new beading technique. Come up from behind the canvas, place your bead on the needle and then go back through the canvas as if you were doing a regular stitch, but here’s the rub: do your stitch backwards (see diagram above). If you are a right handed stitcher,  you would come up from the bottom left corner and go down through the top right. When you are beading, come up from the bottom right, attach your bead, then go down through the top left. I promise this makes your beads lay like a normal stitch. It’s cool.

Try THIS at home, kids!

Happy stitching,
Susan

Hip Belts: Do I mean a belt you wear on your hips or do I mean a super cool belt??? I mean both! I love, love, love these fashion-forward belts from Colors of Praise! Marie’s juxtaposition of pattern and color is awesome. I’ve just started stitching #751 and am really enjoying it. It’s fun to change threads all the time. I’m using Silk & Ivory, which is usually a no-no for belts but it’s rather tight on 14 mesh and frankly I’ve got tons of the colors in my stash.

Won’t I look adorable in my hip belt? I’m picturing white jeans and a white tee…cute needlepoint shoes, too!

Happy stitching,
Susan

How amazing is this custom portrait of Buster Battle, my Chocolate Labrador Extraordinaire?! I gave a picture (see first image below) to super talented custom artist, Deborah, and here’s what she came up with…I am soooo pleased!

Buster has been the subject of many needlepoint canvases…this one is on 13 mesh. It is sometimes hard to get the details as precise on 13 but some people just can’t see to stitch on 18 mesh, the finer gauge. I think this piece looks great and the detail is marvelous. The piece really looks like old Buster, not just any Chocolate Lab.

I used a combination of fibers: Silk & Ivory, Flair (yucky but great effect), and Appleton wool. The blue wall is done in the Byzantine stitch (see below).

Happy stitching! Susan