Karen, has just completed this Purple Palm Designs canvas and it is spectacular.  She played with variegated threads and how to stitch with them to get different effects.   Karen stitched with the variegated thread as it came off the skein to get the "striping" effect that we all know, she also separated the thread and turned every other strand to give her the tweed effect.  Her last usage of the thread is in the background where she again used the thread as it came but started basketweaving with it and then she began to "dance with the thread" as she calls it.   She did a basic basketweave to start and then began to skip a few threads and move ahead a few threads.  You have to pay attention to how the thread is "pooling" together and if it pools too much, you need to move around.  This all takes a good bit of practice and patience.  Your backs may not be as neat as usual but the end result is amazing.  Karen is quite talented and loves florals and animals as she really plays with stitches and threads.

Emily is back stitching on her Halloweens by Kelly Clark Needlepoint with a stitch guide by Amy Bunger.    She has loved stitching this series and has become the master at Bullion Knots.  Pretty soon we will be able to post the entire series stitch by Emily.

Karen ususally stitches large pieces but has started a little Halloween village by Kathy Schenkel.  She adds these little pieces in to give herself a break from the big canvases.  Also,  little canvases allow her to use up her stash.

Diane is stitching the Town Square Shops from Bedecked and Bedazzled.  The canvases are by Ruth Schmuff and the stitch guides are by Robin King.  Her first finish is the shoe shop.  I love the lacing of the Ribbon on this piece.

Diane's second piece she is working on is from the Embroiderer's Guild of America and it is the Star Spangled Fandangle Patriotic Sparklers.  This series a Cyber class and if you send in a picture of all six stitched, you get a free pattern for a 7th piece.  However, you must be a member of EGA to participate.

Diane stitched these 4 darling Associated Talents 3D Mini Cottages.  She finally had time to step away from her contract stitching and work on these.  I love her padded stitches on the columns and her peppermints.   These are a great fun little project and easy to transport.

Karen is in the Christmas spirit and is stitching away!  I wish I had her speed and time!  She used Threadworx #12 over dyed Kreinik for the background on this snowman by DC Designs, and loved the effect.  White velvet was used for the snowflakes and I can't wait to use it for clouds after seeing the result.

 In this Debbie Mum ornament by Melissa Shirley Designs, Karen intentionally did not line up her stitches in the whipped cream in order to show movement.  I love that she is not afraid to try stitches and experiment.

Diane, goes to a stitching retreat every year and this year she stitched this flag on 40 ct. linen.  She didn't even use a magnifier!

Diane stitched this foldable ort box with interlock canvas.  This would be a great stash buster.  This popular project was an ANG exclusive pattern designed by Marilyn Owen.

This cutie is just one of Karen's current projects.  She tried the Gathering Stitch for the first time but used silk  ribbon and it is fabulous!  The background is going to be stitched in Gloriana and I cannot wait to see what she does.

Emily has finally finished Stirha Cauldron.  The canvas is by Kelly Clark Needlepoint and the stitch guide was by Amy Bunger.  These move pretty quickly but there are layers of stitching and LOTS of bouillon knots.  Emily is now the resident expert on bouillon knots!  You can see all of the knots in the lizards tails, the mouse's ears, Stirha's fingers and nose and the wood that is the base of the cauldron.  The bead work that is the foam coming out of the cauldron is amazing.

Diane can finally share her Alice Peterson Phantom Pumpkin!  This is a gift for her daughter and she used a Sudberry tray and fabric that we had here at the store to create a mat for the canvas.  This canvas comes with a stitch guide but like many of us she changed some of the stitches to suit her needs and to make the best use of the Rainbow Gallery Glow in the Dark threads.

Diane is still working on her Pepperberry Snowman but we have one completed one back from the finisher and it is adorable!  I stitched this one and decided not to cut the turkey work for the Pom Pom and I love it.  I used the Turkey work stitch that ANG has on their website.  It goes so much faster than the way most books show the stitch.

Emily is back to working on Stirha Cauldron.  She is almost finished.  She is doing the Halloweenie series from Kelly Clark Needlepoint and using the stitch guides by Amy Bunger.  Stirha is moving along nicely and I hope to get a more completed picture up soon.

Diane is stitching this darling Pepperberry Snowman!  We had him as a class and had a great time.  We loved learning the padding for the brim of his hat.  Some of us turkey worked the pom pom on his hat and others did the twisted stitch.  We learned the reverse chain for the dark blue parts of the hat and that was much more fun than the traditional chain stitch.  This was such a fun piece and went fairly quickly.

Diane is another one of our speed stitchers, she has finished several other things but I cannot post them as they are gifts!  They will go up later in the year.

Karen is back at it again.  She pulled these out of her stash and is working on them again.  These are from her earlier days and she was not quite as daring with her stitching.  They are still beautiful even is she does not like to do a good bit of basket weave.

Karen is at it again!  She finished the Melissa Shirley flower vase and is now on to this Associated Talents Crab.  Once again, she just plays with threads and stitches.  Some of her favorite threads are the Painters Threads Collection over dyed YLI, Gloriana, Gumnuts and Belle Soie.

Linda finished stitching the Associated Talents mask for a pumpkin we have in the store.  AT is nice  and puts free stitch guides on their website and Linda used that stitch guide for the most part.  She substituted threads and beads we had in stock and tried out some new threads as well.

The Mummy was an old cross stitch pattern Linda had and she counted it out on needlepoint canvas and used her stash for all of the threads and the piece allowed her to use lots of different stitches as well.  We just love him.

Diane finished her Shining Needle Society Soduko.  She had barely started the last time I posted but she said these little squares were like potato chips.  You can't do just one, you just keep stitching and stitching and before she knew it she was done.  I love this piece and may consider it for myself later (way later if you saw the size of my stash).

Louise's Ladies Stitching

Emily is stitching Stirha Cal-Dron by Kelly Clark with a stitch guide from Amy Bunger.  She has started with the stone wall on the background.  She is using Lorikeet over dyed wool and is loving it.

Diane has been with us for a year and is quite the busy lady.  She stitches, makes jewelry and is an avid reader.  One of her current needlepoint projects is a counted piece "Sudoko Delight"  by Kathy Rees of Needle Delights.  This is a teaching piece through Shining Needle Society.   Although a kit was offered to Diane, she chose to change the colors to suit her tastes.  

Louise's Ladies Stitching

     Our Louise's staff is always stitching on something when we are not at work.  Here is a sample of what two of the ladies are doing.

     Linda is working on an Associated Talents Halloween mask for a ceramic pumpkin we have hear in the shop.  There are lots of stitches and threads in this piece.  Associated Talents has a free stitch guide to go with this canvas but we did change a few things.  Linda used some Silken Straw which is new to us at Louise's Needlework.   Beads are a big part of this canvas and Linda is about to begin that process.

Karen, is new to us and is working on a Melissa Shirley piece.  She has only been stitching for about 2 years and she has taken to it like a duck to water!  She is fearless and will try any thread and and stitch and any combination of the two.  We love to see her progress on her canvases and Karen stitches extremely quickly so she completes all kinds of canvases.  

Next post we will have to see what Emily and Diane are working on!