Hi there! It’s a gloriously beautiful spring day here in Alabama…there’s a cool breeze blowing, the sun is shining, the birdies are chirping, and big puffy white clouds are drifting across the bluest sky you ever saw. It makes my heart sing just to look out the window. In fact, I think I’ll take my project out on the porch in a little while and stitch. 🙂

But before I do…

Remember last week, when we chatted about the design elements on my Tuscaloosa canvas and identified the focal point (and subordinate focal points)? Then, we brainstormed about some descriptive words that could be used to help in exploring different thread options. If you missed that blog post, you can click here to read it.

Well, this week’s post is all about…

Ellen Johnson

Hello lovelies! I’m so happy to be back with you here today. I had a wee bit of a life hiccup these past three weeks…my sweet Mama had to have unexpected open heart surgery (5 bypasses – yikes!) and I’ve been on Mommy Duty. 😉

Now that she’s back in Tuscaloosa, things are starting to settle down some and…

I’m ready to talk needlepoint! How about you?!

Last time, we chatted about how there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution for choosing stitches and threads for your needlepoint projects. Instead, you really need to examine and evaluate each canvas individually. If you missed that blog post, you can click here to read it.

Now, we’re going to examine the design components on my Tuscaloosa needlepoint canvas.

Are you ready to dive in? Great!

Remember, a design component is an item that is painted on your canvas.

Here’s a list of the design components on the Tuscaloosa canvas for you:

• the river
• the trees
• the grassy area
• the park benches
• the sidewalk
• the railing
• the lamp posts
• the riverboat
• Denny Chimes (the bell tower behind the trees)
• the word “Tuscaloosa”
• the sky

The focal point of the design is the word “Tuscaloosa” and the subordinate focal points are Denny Chimes and the riverboat. Since those are the most important design components on the canvas – and what I want people to notice first – let’s begin by jotting down some notes about the different textures each of those items might have.

Denny Chimes is a brick bell tower…

and when I think about bricks, there are several descriptive words that come to mind: rough, mottled colors, hard, and straight.

The bricks used to build Denny Chimes are rusty red in color and their texture is rough. There is also a bit of white limestone at the base and at the crown of the tower. Limestone is smooth and has a matte finish. So, when I start to look for threads, I need to keep all of these things in mind.

Moving along to the riverboat…

it’s made of wood and has been painted glossy white, so it’s shiny. The double paddle wheels are bright red – and they’re shiny, too. The black smoke stacks are made of metal, but they have a slightly matte finish – and they’re topped with gold decorative crowns. Again, I’ll keep all of these textures in mind when I go stash diving for threads (or head to my local needlework shop if I don’t already have what I need!).

And, finally, the word “Tuscaloosa”…

the focal point of the design! This is what I want people to notice first when they look at my finished ornament hanging on the Christmas tree. How can I ensure that it really stands out?  There are a couple of viable options: red metallic thread or red beads. Either would work quite well and, since that is actually one of the last things I’ll stitch, I have plenty of time to make my decision.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the other design components.

The river sparkles when the sunshine glints off the surface. It usually flows very calmly toward its juncture with the Tombigbee River, but it ripples and has foamy waves when boats and barges make their way up and downstream.

There’s a mixture of pine and hardwood trees along the shoreline. The pine trees are very dark evergreen and their needles are long and slender. The hardwood trees have broad bright green leaves.

The grassy area beside the river feels soft under your bare feet – and the grass is emerald green

The park benches, the railing, and the lamp posts are made of cast iron, so they’re hard; they have a bit of a sheen to them because they’ve been painted with glossy black paint. (The lights on the lamp posts have frosted white globes and they glow with a soft light in the evening.)

The sidewalk is rough and hard – it’s made of concrete and it’s very pale gray in color.

The sky is different every day, so I have a lot of leeway in how I choose to stitch it. Summer is my favorite season, so I’m leaning toward a “bluebird” sky with puffy white clouds.

Now, it’s time to take my list of descriptive words and go stash diving for thread options!

Next time, I’ll show you the threads I find and we’ll take a look at some different stitches that can be used to embellish this little canvas to make it really shine.

Until then, what’s your favorite needlepoint thread? Tell me in the comments box below – and why you like it so much – and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a “Spring Fling” thread bouquet from our friends at Rainbow Gallery. (The drawing will be held on April 30, 2018.)

Happy Stitching!
XOXO!!!

PS: Are you a member of the Serendipity Needleworks Facebook group? That’s where we share ideas and cheer each other on and I’d love to have you join us, so click here to request an invite. I’ll see you on the inside! 😉

Ellen Johnson

Just the other day, someone asked me about which stitches might be good to use for the sky on a needlepoint canvas. And that’s a really great question, but you know what? It doesn’t have a “one-size-fits-all” answer.

Ellen Johnson

Last week we talked about making your needlework goals for 2018 S.M.A.R.T.E.R. – and this week, well – it’s time to wrap things up so we can actually start working on those goals and developing your needlework skills! 😉

Let’s recap what you’ve done, so far.

1. You “Kon-Mari’d” your PIPs and prioritized them.
2. You made a list of things you want to accomplish this year – and you turned them into goals.
3. You made your goals S.M.A.R.T.E.R.

Congratulations!!!

You’re doing GREAT! I’m so proud of you for taking the initiative to develop your needlework skills. It’s one thing to say you’re gonna do something, but you’ve proven that you mean business.

Ellen Johnson

Last week, we talked about sorting through all your projects so you could set yourself up for success in 2018. Now, we’re in the second week of the year and I’m wondering…

Did you get your PIPs sorted?

If you did, that’s terrific and a great big CONGRATULATIONS! But, if you didn’t, that’s perfectly okay, too. I know this can be a pretty big undertaking, so, if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed at the prospect of sorting through ALL of your PIPs, why don’t you just take a deep breath and choose one project that has you stumped.

There…feel better?

Great! Go ahead and set that project aside. We’ll come back to it again soon. As for all those other PIPs…

Ellen Johnson

Have You Heard?

This year, I’m not making any New Year’s Resolutions. I’m D-O-N-E with that activity – and moving on to a much more rewarding one! Wanna’ join me? Great! Let’s get started…

Instead of Making Resolutions, I’m Challenging Myself!

First on my agenda is to make some serious headway on all my PIPs. (That’s shorthand for “Projects in Progress”.) And the best way to do that is to “Kon-Mari” them. What the heck does that mean? Let me explain…

Ellen Johnson

If you’ve ever worked a needlepoint canvas using a professional stitch guide, you know the difference that decorative stitches and fancy threads can make in your finished project. The added texture and sparkle bring a flat 2-dimensional design to life and transform a plain needlepoint canvas into a hand-stitched work of art.

Maybe you’ve even taken a class from a guest instructor at a needlepoint shop or guild meeting. You got all inspired to branch out and try new stitches and embellishments. You bought new canvases and threads – the works!

So why does the idea of actually picking your own stitches and threads have you quaking in your boots?

Ellen Johnson

Welcome to the new Serendipity Needleworks website!

I’m so happy that you’re here. Please bookmark this page on the new website so you can visit with me regularly.

Let’s take a quick tour around the website and I’ll share a little about what you can expect to see here.

Ellen Johnson

Bet you never thought about needlepoint canvas much…

But it can affect your needlepoint project more than you might think. Let’s take a peek at the 3 main types of needlepoint canvas that we use most: interlock mono canvas, mono canvas, and Penelope canvas.

Each kind has special features that make it uniquely appropriate for a variety of projects. I prefer cotton canvas from the folks at Zweigart. In my opinion, it’s the best. How can you tell the origin of your canvas? Well, if you’ve ever purchased a needlepoint canvas that has a thin orange thread running through the selvedge, you can count on it being Zweigart canvas.

Ellen Johnson

Last time, we chatted about choosing threads for your canvases so, today, we’re going to talk about needlepoint needles. A tapestry needle is the needle of choice for working needlepoint. It’s a blunt-tipped hand sewing needle with an elongated eye. The large eye can hold thicker needlepoint yarn or multiple strands of needlepoint thread. The rounded end allows the needle to slip between the canvas threads without piercing the horizontal or vertical mesh threads.

Ellen Johnson