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

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

Keep calm and carry on: that’s my best advice when faced with a stitching conundrum. For instance, I am stitching this Black-Eyed Susan to be appliqued onto a Queen Bea Studio purse. I thought it would look really sharp and be perfect for summer. So I thought about what to do with the background…I wanted some punch! I started with a rainbow of colors for the stripes (see bottom)…thought it looked chaotic and jumpy…moved to classic black and white stripes. I like it…it will go with all my cute summer outfits. I’m also still considering the yellow stitch: basket weave or diagonal mosaic.

Always evaluate your stitching…do NOT finish the whole thing and then realize a stitch or a color doesn’t work. Keep calm and ASSESS, then carry on.

PS Don’t tell my 9th grade geometry teacher, Mrs. Bynoe, about that pathetic circle I drew. She could draw a perfect circle free-hand. Impressive.

Lastly, I love the Keep Calm and Carry On expression…check out these canvases from Unique NZ Designs that riff on wonderful British humour (English spelling in honor of Will & Kate).

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

I covet needlepoint purses…it’s an addiction really. Point of It All employee Laurie Bloch stitched this marvelous satchel. In full disclosure mode, I have to confess that I did not call her when it arrived from the finisher…I held onto it and just admired it for a few days. But I did NOT actually wear it out of the shop, so that’s a positive!

The canvas is from L’Esprit de France. They have such unusual canvases….pieces that are unlike any other artist’s. Take a minute to explore the website! They have pillows, shoes (drool, drool, I love shoes), luggage straps, desk sets, and so much  more!

Considering how much I love purses, no one will be surprised that I have stitched the leopard print, the tartan, and part of the zebra striped purses. I also made Chris a watch from L’Esprit.

Happy stitching,
Susan