STITCHING IS MY HAPPY PLACE!
I have the good fortune at this
stage in my live to stitch to my heart’s content. But my greatest joy is from teaching and
sharing this wonderful art with anyone who will listen! I accomplish this feat through many venues: Seminars, retreats, shop classes, chapter
classes, online mystery classes and stitch guides – just to name a few.
People often ask me how I decide
what stitch and/or what thread I use when writing a class or stitch guide. If you know anything about me you know that I
love to embellish. Dimensional and textured stitches and techniques are a great
way to begin the introduction of stepping beyond flat surface stitches and
basketweave.
How do you accomplish adding
texture and dimension to needlework surfaces they might ask? You must first
decide what you want the end result to be.
Do you want elegance or whimsically fu-fu for instance? Of course, stitches play a major part in
reaching your goal. I find, however,
that threads are a great resource for changing a simple stitch technique into
something unforgettable on the design. I
love introducing my students to threads that they may not be familiar with or
have never used. Often there is a
hesitancy to try a new thread from the uncertainty of knowing how to use
them. I also am mindful that not all stitchers
have many readily available resources from which to choose. Not all shops can
carry all threads, etc.
I am currently working on several
Online Mystery Classes. One of the
attractions to these classes is the introduction of new or unfamiliar threads
to the students. Not only do we
introduce them to new products, we also can provide them with suggested
resources for obtaining those products if they do not have a local needlepoint
shop or their shop chooses not to carry a certain line.
My first go-to website for thread
shopping is always Rainbow Gallery! Why
you ask? Think about it. How many manufacturer/distributor sites can
you visit and cover such a wide gamut of textures and finishes?
I like to include fuzzy, smooth,
shiny, matte, metallic, dull, overdye, thick, thin, etc. For me my mind immediately goes to Rainbow
Gallery as a source that will have the widest variety of thread finishes from
which to choose. What a wonderful
convenience for the shops to be able to combine such a great variety of threads
in one order.
On one of my current Online
Mystery Classes – Arctic Parade by Brenda Stofft – it is a fantastic adventure
into all kinds of techniques. We have
only begun our two-year journey and I have selected threads such as the ole
standby Splendor Silk and Mandarin Floss or the new Capri for some of the
basics.
But wait! There are tons of animals in this piece! How about Fuzzy Stuff or Fancy Fur for those animals that have
long fur – bears, fox, toys, or Artic Rays for some fuzz with bling for maybe
some birds and other accessories? Smooth
bodies? How about the different sizes of
Very Velvet, Super Suede or Ultra-Suede – moose antlers, sweet little seals?
See anything shiny here – like maybe flags? Snow
on the ground? This is going to be an
incredible journey for me and my class participants!
Isn’t Fancy Fur the perfect ‘fur’
for this guy? And look at the Frosty
Rays collar – it worked out so well. The
new Capri gave us just the finish we wanted for the trellis holding the
flowers.
Shine – do we need shine? There is lots of gold and glimmer in this
piece. If we want a ribbon type thread
there are tons of options from Rainbow Gallery such as Neon Rays, Neon Rays+
and Sparkle Rays or Sparkle Braid. Fyre
Werks and Water ‘N Ice can work in the ribbon category as well. Then there are
the rayons such as Patina and Panache. How
about the new combination threads that have polyester, silk, etc. combined with
a metallic that will give a somewhat subtle glimmer – Entice, Silk Lamè Braid –
several weights.
Speaking of metallic, there is a
wide range of threads available that fill this spot – Fyre Werks, lots of
different braids – Sparkle Braid, Treasure Braid and Treasure Ribbon to name a
few.
This great design also by Leigh – Beijing
Butterflies – uses Neon Rays+ in the
purple butterfly wings, Silk Lamè Braid in the brown butterfly and the subtle
background butterflies, and, of course, the wonderful Splendor to create the
lovely thread-painted flowers in the front.
Other great go-to threads are
Flair and Water ‘N Ice – they fill a need that is hard to conquer. They give
you the shimmer and see-through effect you need for glass, water, ice,
etc. Here is a Leigh Designs piece from
her Old Crow Series – Fast Friends – where we stretched Flair over the leaves.
And look at the potion vapor from Night Cap as well as the martini glass of
Water ‘N Ice.
A recent
Online Mystery Class from Annie Lane – Cat’s in a Dinghy – used Flair on the
fishy tails. Also notice the patent leather in the Captain’s hat – just to name
a couple of other items. And of course there is sparkle in the water!
If you haven’t gotten the
impression from me that this one-stop website is very valuable to me in that it
saves me an immense amount of time for having the convenience of doing my major
thread selecting in one place then you are missing something. I know of very
few designs that I have worked on that do not contain something from Rainbow
Gallery. Having read this and looked at
some past projects, think of what we are looking at in our future Online
Mystery Classes: Robin’s Wreath, from
Melissa Prince, Santa’s Reward from BB Needlepoint, Songbirds from Danji a
Laurel Burch design, the Menorah from Tapestry Fair. And that’s just highlighting a few. The
remainder of 2016 and all of 2017 is all lined up for you. And we are working hard on 2018! You think I might find some uses for the line
of threads manufactured by Rainbow Gallery in some of these?
We have come so far in adding to
our thread selections and competition is getting heavier and heavier. Perhaps the best thing about this wonderful
thread line is what is behind it! I have
had the good fortune of working with some wonderful people at Rainbow Gallery
over the years.
They have always been very patient
with me and help me find threads that I may not be aware are even there. Their quality of service and customer care is
unsurpassed! The turnaround time is
unmatched! I hope to continue this great
pairing with their fantastic color, texture and fiber choices for many years to
come!
So, run over to the website of
Rainbow Gallery - www.rainbowgallery.com - and
scan over their wonderful offerings and ask your local needlepoint shop if they
might consider adding yet another line of their wonderful products to those
they probably already carry.
When you get through there, scroll
down through past postings and review more detailed information about our
upcoming Online Mystery Classes.
Have a great day and remember to
always stitch with a smile! Sandy
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