EGA - Master Craftsman Program in Canvas Embroidery

Yet again it has been a while since I have checked in.  However, now that I have signed up for the EGA's Master Craftsman Program in Canvas Embroidery, I plan to be here more frequently as I document my journey.  Currently awaiting the "starting" information package so that I can dig in.  If you have done this program I would love to hear from you.

I am super excited for a variety of reasons:

1. We have booked our booth for the Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitching Show in London, UK for October 2015!  Ally Pally here we come - I have REALLY missed doing this show.
2. I have finished "10 Ways To Love" and just need to get some quality photographs so the chart can be assembled and kitted.  Sorry about the orientation, I seriously can't figure out how to orient this the right way as it is actually 'up and down' in the true image.
   
3. I just purchased Mary Corbet's "Stitch Sampler Alphabet" and am truly stunned by her talent.  The chart comes as a searchable pdf with incredible photos and detail even when the images are expanded to greater than 150%.  I really recommend taking a look: Link to Mary Corbett's Stitch Sampler Alphabet page
4. In less than a month I will be hosting Hazel Blomkamp when she arrives in Ottawa and will have the honour of taking her crewelwork class  "Dancing Threads".  This will be my first foray into crewelwork and a bit of a stretch for me, beyond the bounds of counted thread.
   

And now I am preparing two class proposals for the Embroidery Association of Canada's Seminar 2017.  With any luck, I will be able to report favorably on this in an upcoming missive.  Have a great week and take a break from your stitching to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Hugs,
Karen

Oh my goodness - I did not realize that I have not posted in over a year, I guess things just got away from me last year.  So there are two more brief notes, first I am happy to share that the new design "A Collected Decade" is ready for release as is Chris House's RSN winning design "A Whirlwind of Stitches".  Both are available in the 2015 catalog - just send me a quick note if you'd like a copy.

Pulled Thread Design : Pulled Arrows

I've gone and "guilded". I thought that since we are moving to Ottawa, and as the guild Seminar 2014 will be held in Ottawa, it would be a great way to meet new people, explore the city and do something I love.
And as always, I've become OCD about the whole thing and have decided to enter a few designs in competition, along with designing one specifically for the Pulled Thread competition.

I've never designed with Pulled Thread.

I've never done Pulled Thread before.

But in complete Textured Treasures style, I am jumping right in. I'd enclose an "in process" picture, but I've left my camera at home and my cell takes lousy pics. I will try to visually describe the piece so far, without a photo: It is stitched on Wichelt Riviera Linene, 32 count aqua. There are two vertical columns, that look like cut pieces of ribbon with two points on each end, and four horizontal columns, also like cut ribbons. I've interwoven the arrows in an over-under fashion. The borders of the arrows are stitched with DMC Colour Variations Perle #5 4020 and then there is a second border (this one is really too difficult to explain) that goes around the entire piece in #5 white. Eyelets at all junctions are done with a single strand of DMC E334.

Today I jumped into the pulled thread work with some Mitred Cable Stitch Diamonds, [see instruction sheets on pulled thread at Nordic Needle....I think this is #10 on the 201 class], inside which I've put a Rhodes Diamond. I also began on the pulled thread within the ribbons with Thread Art Perle (DMC didn't have a colour and weight that I needed). I like the feel of the Thread Art, it's nice and soft, but it doesn't seem to wear as well as the DMC - the gloss lowers faster, even with only 18" cuts.

BTW - I treated myself to a moleskin notebook to keep this design's notes in; justifying it as being my "competition design book". Chris thinks I'm insane as I've already 4 other active design books and I keep losing those! But this one is apparently guranteed to hold it's pages, whereas my larger UofGuelph one has an inordinate amount of fibre tape holding in my Pastel Alphabet pages.

The Pastel Alphabet Sampler is complete! 131102

I just picked this up from Michaels (yes, I had to use a corporate framer as the thing is huge and would otherwise bankrupt me) and after $250 for framing and another $100 for an easel to display the finished work, it is ready to show.

What do you think? I've become so enamoured with the piece that I have started on another one in primary colours but using more advanced stitch combinations for each box. I have to mention my suppliers here because I could not have made it this far without their continued support:

Rainbow Gallery - most wonderful collection of needlework fibres; they are my inspiration for texture and depth.

DMC - the designer support program is excellent and I have discovered a whole new fibre: Floche....so soft, watch for it in new and upcoming designs.

Wichelt - fabric and Mill Hill bead supplier; I just finished two "freebie" designs for them; watch the Wichelt website in December / January.

Zweigart - also fabrics; nice evenweaves with good weight and endurance.

I'm now working on a couple of new design too: Sight Monochrome and Qarawiyyin.

I LOVE STITCHING. :)

Pastel Alphabet Sampler is DONE

131102 Pastel Alphabet Sampler
(C) Textured Treasures

It's been 5 years - but it's finally done.

Need a new web site name!!

So things are ramping up again. Pastel Alphabet Sampler is out being framed; Celtic Mosaic is being transcribed; a draft copy of Sight has been completed - I am just waiting on sample fibres from DMC so I can stitch up the final version; and several other new designs are half-charted, half swimming around in my head....so it's about time to set up a web presence... BUT While I was off having children, I neglected to renew my domain and one of those domain pirates snatched it up and wants to charge me thousands to get it back. Which I don't have. SO I need to come up with some new ideas for domain names. I have tried a few but nothing seems to fit with me or Textured Treasures. I am hoping that someone out there in the ethereal world might have a suggestion - or two. I can design all I like, I can go to shows and exhibit, I can even do a retail show or two (hoping to get back into the Ally Pally show by 2015), but I don't think it will do much good unless there is a home for all the images of my work. That being said, I think I will need a good, yet artistic, web designer as well.

Getting ready to exhibit again

I have been having a "crisis of design" lately.  In trying to finish off some designs to have them ready for the October 2013 Creative Festival in Toronto, I have rediscovered designers that I admire.  However, a long known personal flaw has resurfaced - "if I can't design as well as that, there really is no point".  So I am in a bit of a funk today.  That being said, here are the designs I'll be teaching in October for "Stitch a Scrapbook Page".

The central design will be the focus of the 3-hour class, where an actual photo is attached at the end.  All of the designs are 10 x 10" to fit perfectly into scrapbooking - a nice way to combine two obsessions.  The other two designs have cross-stitched photos, and then additional counted thread embellishment and framing.

AND.....(yes, I was totally shocked too)

I pulled out the alphabet sampler and it's going to be done for the show.  I'm working on the final border now as fibres from Rainbow Gallery arrived yesterday [they have the most wonderful designer support I can not praise that company enough].  Here's a peak prior to finishing....

There are a few others that I'd like to work on...but the stitch diagrams for the alphabet sampler are taking up almost all of my time...the chart / book alone is more than 26 pages...but it's going to be super worth it, even as a hands-on reference of hundreds of stitches.  Sometimes I just don't feel like looking up my stitch online and prefer my books.  Just in case you're wondering, my favourite stitch reference books are (in no particular order):

• The Needlepoint Book by Jo Ippolito Christensen
• Mary Thomas' Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches
• The Complete Needlepoint Guide by Susan Sturgeon-Roberts
• A-Z of Embroidery Stitches from Inspirations Magazine (I like the magazine too, but can't afford a subscription in that it's overseas  :(   )

That's it for now...one post every two years?  Might have to improve on that.