Welcome 2012! Welcome two more purses to Susan’s needlepoint purse wardrobe!

Two new purses from the Elizabeth Turner Collection: one in my tried-and-true satchel style and one in the new opera bag style. You can see the finished version here It’s soft-sided with a shoulder strap..a petite thing for an evening on the town. I think I will change the dark red to black and possibly some of the metallic silver to metallic gold so the purse goes with more outfits. You can change the colors, you know! Don’t be limited to what’s painted on the canvas…be imaginative and creative!

As for the fun summer colors on the satchel bag, what color shall I do the background? On Point readers and Facebook followers, please vote! Things to keep in mind: this will be my everyday bag in the summer so I don’t want it to get dirty (so probably not white). I don’t mind stitching it black because black over white canvas will not be the nightmare that black on black is. I tried a bit of yellow and I think it looks snappy. I am using Silk & Ivory for the bright colors and Appleton for the background. Please also give ideas for a background stitch. I AM OPEN TO YOUR IDEAS!

Happy stitching!
Susan

So I am designing a purse with bees on it (I collect bee items). It’s a big purse so I wanted to cover the background quickly and add interest in the form of a decorative stitch. At first I tried doing the stitch right up against the bee but I thought things got a little crowded. It was hard to see the bee. Then I decided to add a basketweave border around the bee…I think it is MUCH more successful. Now the bee stands out and doesn’t get lost in the decorative stitch.

I used Byzantine in the final version (of course I didn’t take a picture of the final version…sorry, blonde moment)…but here’s a diagram:

Essentially you go over 3 intersections at a time…do that 4 times and then drop down a line and repeat. It’s fun!

I will keep you posted on the purse’s progress.

Happy stitching,
Susan

Well another icy blast has hit Washington, DC…I just got out my lady-sized shovel and saw to the front steps of The Point of It All. Come on, stitchers, it’s cozy inside the shop…we’ve got fresh coffee and hot chocolate and plenty of wonderful canvases! A perfect day for needlepoint if you ask me.

This will be a quick post today (since I need to shovel more). Check out this FABULOUS geometric purse from Mindy!

And here’s a close up

I did some decorative stitches…I was going to add little seed beads but I ran out of gas on this project. I love how all the stitches work together to create an interesting pattern but not one that is too overwhelming. Sometimes, I think, stitchers put in too many stitchers and the effect is chaotic. I am a basket weave girl at heart but I do try to branch out every once in a while.

Check out Mindy’s canvases by clicking here. Actually when I just went to the website, none of her canvases was showing up but I am inserting this link anyway…hopefully her site will work again soon.

Happy stitching and stay warm,
Susan