Needlepoint: A New Needle Adventure

I have been so happy with all the specialty stitches I have learned this year thanks to Chatelaine designs and all the wonderful facebook posts that I have been drawn to branch out.   I just enthralled with the stitches I have learned so far and am always looking for  a place to use them.  I have not been called to do any hardanger I think because I cannot bear the throught of cutting holes in something I spend hours stitching!  I am a big chicken I suppose.

I have done a few needlepoint kits in the past that were basically just half crosses; tent, continental and basketweave.  I got a little bored with them frankly.

After a visit to a shop, I have been looking again at Needlepoint sites and have realized a couple of things.......

There are incredibly beautiful pieces out there that are far beyond the typical 'half cross" technique that I have done before.  There seem to be thousands of variations on the tent and continental stitches.

Needlepoint canvases can be VERY expensive.....as can the fibers used.  But oh my are they beautiful!  There seems to be a huge difference in the hand painted canvases versus the canvases I have dealt with in kits I have purchased and worked in the past.

Many Needlepoint canvases do not come with "instructions".  There are "stitching guides" available in some cases, but they, too, are expensive.  For the most part, it seems that needlepoint stitchers pick their own fibers and stitches and create really amazing things.

So I have gone a little crazy trying to find out where to learn some of these wonderful stitches and found a Cyber class offered by Laura J. Perin (a needlepoint designer).  I am thrilled to be a part of it and will be posting my progress.  It is called Autumn Leaves.

I was luck enough to get the last kit available.
Just what I need is another project!

Today, Monday, November 2, 2015 the "kit" came in from Laura J. Perin.  I am so excited about starting on this new adventure that I am over the moon!  So, I put the binding on the mono canvas and looked through all the instructions....I have to decide how I am going to mount the fabric on either 11" stretcher bars that I have or a scroll rod.

I choose the teal option for this project.  The fibers are just beautiful.  This will be a first for me.

I use seam binding that I get from thrift stores to bind the edges of the mono canvas.  The canvas is very stiff so this makes the edges softer and I do not like using masking tape for some reason.  Hopefuly this will work

I have not yet found any other participants in this class but I am sure some will emerge as time goes by.

For those who follow me, I think I am going to tag these posts as needlepoint so you do not have to suffer though them if you are not interested.

Thanks for visiting and stay tuned for the "progress".