Phoenix Needlepoint News

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T06:00:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T05:36:00.001-08:00

Here is a little ornament topper that will be available in January - ready to stitch for next year.
He is one of a series, and can be added to almost any Christmas ornament.

We will be closed on Saturday, December 24th and Sunday, December 25th........have a very
Merry Christmas!

ORTS for December

2011-12-12T16:22:00.001-08:00

This is what we made from the Odd Random Threads that we have been saving all year.....fun to hang on your tree if you are a stitcher. Please stop in to receive one as a gift from the shop (while the supply lasts!)

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T06:44:00.000-08:00

Little Gobbler wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

October ORTS

2011-11-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

A few weeks late in posting this, but as you can tell from the photo we did a lot of stitching this month.

September ORTS

2011-10-16T21:01:00.001-07:00

We've started another ORT jar.....with all the new projects being started, bet we can fill it up by the end of the month!

August ORTS

2011-08-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ready for a new one.

July ORTS

2011-07-31T14:53:00.001-07:00

Haven't quite filled this one up yet.

June ORTS

2011-06-30T23:14:00.001-07:00

Another busy month - we filled this one up just in time for the holiday.

June Orts

2011-06-01T23:03:00.000-07:00

Starting Ort Jar #4!

Tapestry Tent Stocking

2011-05-30T13:52:00.001-07:00

Bonnie Williams stitched this Tapestry Tent stocking for her grandaughter, Olivia and did an outstanding job! The mink cuff adds just the right touch to an elegant canvas. Lucky Olivia!!!!

May ORTS

2011-05-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

And yet another busy month of stitching! We have the first two filled ones on display in the window and Mary Romey thought they were so decorative that she decided to get a few vases (and also some for us) and use them in her house. Thanks Mary!

Back From the Finisher

2011-05-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

Barb's Laurel Burch mermaid canvas is now a pillow! After a lot of work in MaryLu's Embellishment class and a lot of searching for the perfect fabrics to do justice to her beautiful stitching, here is the final result.

HAPPY EASTER

2011-04-24T07:11:00.001-07:00

Needlepoint Furniture

2011-04-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Pat's Footstool

Lolly's Sofa

Lolly's sofa was created using a combination of some of her own older stitched pieces in addition to some finished canvases that she purchased. After a "house call" to arrange all the needlepoint on her couch we turned the job over to our talented upholsterer. The finished product worked out so well that we were commissioned to do a footstool for another member of her family.

If you have any older finished needlepoint pieces that don't fit into your current decor this would be a great way to re-cycle them.

April ORTS

2011-04-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

As you can tell from the photo, this has been a busy stitching month. With "donations" from class and our regular stitchers it will soon be time to start #3.

Laurel Burch Birds

2011-03-10T18:44:00.001-08:00

Sylvia Yoder stitched this Laurel Burch canvas in MaryLu's embellishment class. It was a time consumimg project, but she did a beautiful job - and MaryLu's choice of stitches was superb. It was stitched as a gift for a dear friend - LUCKY FRIEND!

March ORT Jar

2011-03-01T18:35:00.001-08:00

We've done a lot of stitching this month - time to start a new jar.

Another Custom Canvas

2011-02-13T14:34:00.001-08:00

The Santa above was a custom canvas we

painted last year for Dee Baukol. It was a large

piece painted on #18 and she finished it just in

time for the next large custom piece pictured on

the left. What a lot of stitching - good work Dee!

February ORT Jar

2011-02-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

Our first ORT jar is filling up fast. We've been doing a lot of stitching!

January 2011

2011-01-03T20:16:00.001-08:00

ORTS

2011-01-03T16:35:00.001-08:00

Our January ORT Jar

One of the cross stitch blogs, itscrazycat.blogspot.com is having an online contest. On each new moon they are asking followers to post a photo of their ORTS (Odd Random Threads). I don't think shops can enter, but thought it was such a clever idea that we will be posting a photo of our shop jar each month.

By the end of the year we should have quite a collection, and Paulette came up with the idea to re-cycle the ORTS into surprise gifts for our students and customers.

If you have a few spare minutes, come in and stitch and add to our ORT collection.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T08:36:00.001-08:00

These are a few pieces from the perpetual calendar that is on display in the shop. These little canvases can also be finished as ornaments for any holiday.

Have a wonderful New Year!

December 2010

2010-12-26T06:15:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas Needlepoint Idea

2010-12-26T05:31:00.000-08:00

canvas by Shelley Tribbey

Ceal Derickson came up with this idea for using Christmas ornaments in a different way, and we thought it was such a good idea that we stitched the above model for the shop. Now that Christmas is over and her relatives have received their gifts we can post this and let the cat out of the "bag".

Ceal finished these bottle bags herself - and it is an easy, quick, and inexpensive way to use a needlepoint ornament. The bags can be purchased from various stores that sell wine or gift items (this velvet one is from BevMo) and most of them sell for under $10.00. After blocking the ornament, simply cut it out leaving 3-4 rows of canvas around the finished needlepoint. Then baste it on the bag and glue trim around the edges over the raw canvas.

Fini! (Except, of course, for the bottle of wine you might want to include in your gift).

Finished Needlepoint for Christmas

2010-12-20T05:38:00.000-08:00

We were fortunate to receive these beautiful finished pillows from Kathy, former owner of The French Knot, just in time for Christmas. They would make great last-minute gifts or can just be a beautiful addition to your holiday decorating. Please stop in to see these and more finished French Knot creations - all available at extremely reasonable prices.

March Needlepoint Calendar

2010-03-13T15:56:00.000-08:00

Here is this month's calendar - still using fibers from our stash.

Great Needlepoint Stash Buster

2010-02-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Our goal at the shop in 2009 was to finish the needlepoint perpetual calendar started in December of 2008.

Except for black and white Designers Dream, and a few background colors, all the fibers used on the completed project were from our stash of mixed fibers. Since the pieces are small it was easy to find a few strands to match the painted colors.

This project was so much fun (and we still have LOTS of stash fiber left) that we are now working on an Advent calendar for December of this year.

Needlepoint Classes

2010-02-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

Embellishment Class

We are pleased to welcome MaryLu Leger as our canvas embellishment teacher. MaryLu was a former shop owner in Las Cruces, New Mexico and has taught locally at Quail Run in Scottsdale. She has studied with many national teachers, and brings a wealth of knowledge and creativity to her classes.

Classes are held every Wednesday from 1 - 3 PM $15.00 per session

Your choice of project

Please call ahead to reserve a space as class size is limited.

Pictured are some examples of how you can transform your painted canvas into a masterpiece.

2010-02-12T17:21:00.001-08:00

Queedlepoint?

2008-11-16T18:27:00.000-08:00

Sandy Budlong came to the shop to purchase Designer's Dream and Burmilana to use on her "penny rug"quilting project and we fell in love with this look! Could it be translated into needlepoint - or vice-versa?

She used our #1009 Christmas tree pattern to create a quilted pillow, and we adapted her techniques to make our #1039 look like a quilted pumpkin.

The "secret" to achieving this look is to choose a relatively simple design and to use either basketweave or any small slanted stitch on the areas that are to be outlined in blanket (or buttonhole) stitch.

To finish this "Thanksgiving" pillow, our finisher actually felted the wool fabric (like the quilters do) and seamed it on the outside. Then we added buttonhole stitch around the outside edge.

Sandy V. Stitch

2008-06-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

NEW STITCH????????
Sandy Vanasek, one of our beginning needlepoint students, accidently created this stitch while attempting to do the Nobuko stitch on her Christmas sampler.

We loved the way it looked, and charted the variation before she ripped to correct it. We found that it could be left open or filled with Continental or long upright crosses over one thread. When stitched with an overdyed fiber it resembled grass, so we added a few French Knot flowers in the open spaces.

The stitch is easy to do, compensates well, and makes an attractive overall background pattern.

The new stitch chart is on the bonus page of our website, so if you would like to try it please feel free to print the graph.

2008-05-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

When Lolly Werner said she wanted to needlepoint a large "pouff" (or ottoman) for her bathroom we were really challanged to design something that would look good in the round and viewed from above.
She wanted fish, so after some research we decided to do a tropical motif that included not only fish, but a variety of sea life. The painted canvas ( on the Custom Design page of our website) would make a marine biologist cringe, as we used fish, shells, and plants from a variety of oceans. However, the goal was to make it colorful and interesting so we included anything that looked good.

Lolly stitched the fish and sea life in basketweave (and got to use a lot of her fiber stash!), and then was left with a huge expanse of background. Since this was such a large piece (30" in diameter), more basketweave would have been boring , but she needed to use a stitch that would also be durable.

To solve the problem we divided the canvas into quadrants and found a four-way Bargello pattern that simulated waves. The result looked perfect and she finished in record time.

Eric, the upholsterer, then built the ottoman using Lolly's choices of fabric and beaded trim. She loved the way this turned out, and we think it's absolutely smashing!!!

2008-05-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

2008-05-19T18:39:00.001-07:00

Wahoo! This is my first post

2008-05-19T18:31:00.001-07:00