At long last.....

I am so pleased to have something to show you. This was the Tug O' War bargello stitched earlier this year and designed by the late Jean Hilton. I wanted to do something with it other than hang it on the wall, and several readers suggested I make it into a serving tray. Wonderful solution! After trying unsuccessfully for several weeks to find a ready made tray that would be suitable in color and size, I eventually took it to a local framer and had a custom tray made. This was also suggested by a reader.

The most challenging thing about the whole process was finding the handles. Having no luck here in the Denver area locating this type of hardware, I turned to the Internet and in the end needed to send away to this company located in WY that had an extensive selection of beautiful hardware for various needs. I was very pleased with the level of service and quality of the products which were made in England.

The framing included using plate glass to prevent accidental breakage and then being sealed in silicone to avoid damage from any leakage should the tray actually be used. Because of the smallish size, my intent for the tray was for decorative purposes only but now it can be safely used.

Another project I am very proud of has been framed and already sitting in place on the sofa table at my daughter's home. Deco Cat was stitched and intended to be made into a large decorative pillow at first. I had purchased all the fabric and trim and set out to turn it into a whimsical creation. After cutting everything out I began sewing and soon realized that this was not going to work out the way I wanted it to. The problem is that the cat design is so large and in order to accommodate two or three mitred fabric borders and fabric covered cord, the pillow would have had to be HUGE to balance with the stitched design. I was so disappointed but managed to take it apart without damaging the canvas and skulked down-trodden to the framers. The framer transformed deco cat into a wonderful work of art (This piece was a Mystery Class by Ruth Schmuff and I wanted it framed like hers!)

Oh, I almost forgot, meet Tahoe the inspiration for my version of deco cat, enjoying a relaxing afternoon with my daughter reading magazines and sharing the sofa.

Thank you for visiting the blog today, I've missed posting and look forward to resuming normalcy as life has been anything but normal lately. I have several new projects to share with you including getting started on a canvas from my Mindy's Needlepoint Factory visit.

Bargello on My Mind

Thank you all so much for your kind words of support; I am very appreciative you took the time to comment, it helped a great deal. As you all knew it would happen, the sun is shining again and things are getting back to normal. YAY!

I went back home on Sunday only to return to town on Monday night thanks to a predicted 12 additional inches of snow in the forecast and waaaaay below normal temperatures looming. I realized I would be stuck for several days if I didn't leave. Anyway this time I brought some stitching with me. I grabbed a bargello project that's been in the hopper for several months (years more likely) and have been stitching as if I were on vacation or something. Stopping only to come up for air and food.

I admired, okay coveted, this booklet of incredible bargello designs created by Jean Hilton, for a long while and found it (miraculously) for sale at one of my needlework chapter's tag sales. Score! I had seen the cover piece, "Down the Garden Path", finished once and had my sights set on doing it. Long ago I pulled threads for it only to later raid the "kit" a number of times leaving me short on what I needed. Most everything in the booklet is stitched in perle coton #3 and round metallics on 18 count canvas (lots of color choices on 18 ct).

I did, however, have almost everything kitted for another interesting design, "Tug O' War" which, because of Jean's thread and canvas color choices, seems to have a southwest flavor. I did some creative substituting (why else keep a stash closet half the size of a small bedroom), mounted the canvas and just began stitching. That was on Tuesday and here is where I am today. To me, there's not a lot to demonstrate here and maybe not even a lot of interesting chatter but let's not let that stop me.

While there are a number of wonderful books around on the topic of bargello, written by artists far more knowledgeable than I, for me it's pretty much establishing a pattern of long and short stitches, repeating it in graduating shades of color and voila an incredible piece of stitched art emerges.  The real talent lies in those professionals that design patterns and experiment with color variations; I just follow their lead.

Not so fast, it sounds a lot easier than it is, actually. Just when you think your only requirement is to methodically stitch along daydreaming, you suddenly realize, wait that doesn't match up. What's wrong now??? Miscount...typically. But for me it's usually I didn't study the pattern closely enough, if at all, and there was a subtle pattern adjustment that went unnoticed...until it was too late. Such is the case here, see the central part of the design? well it has a break in the colors. Oh sure it looks easy to spy now, but if you're cruising along bargello-style, you miss it and I did. Oh well, in the words of Porgy and Bess, "Wintertime and the ripping is easy."

As it turns out it is a good thing I have this positive feeling about ripping out because in my substitution of threads I crossed the line. Thinking it was the color that only counted in bargello I totally ignored that the texture of the threads counts every bit as much. In the full photo (notice the light blue and light peach next to it) of my unfinished piece you can see that instead of using perle coton (because I didn't have that color on hand) I chose to use a stranded silk. Huh? Well the colors were right but now that I see this nearing completion, frankly those silks stand out like sore thumbs. Perle coton has a delightful sheen and it's twist reflects texture adding to the overall beauty of the design. It's actually perfect for bargello, no laying of threads although you do have to make sure you keep dropping your threaded needle to prevent any extra twisting. So soon I'll be off to my LNS for the appropriate colors of perle. Clearly I should have actually read all of those aforementioned books on bargello instead of just looking at the pictures!

I think I would like to have this piece finished into a portfolio of sorts to carry larger pieces of my needlework projects. The finished design size is approximately 9.5"x10.5". As always, thank you for taking the time to visit today, I wish you hours of joy-filled stitching and am looking forward to next time!

Pink Orchid - Part II

Darn, the colors aren't true. I've tried two separate cameras, w/wo flash, under true light and sun light. The box comes out looking too red and the stitching color is off too, sorry. Anyway, thank you all for your comments on Pink Orchid. I'm always happy to hear from you.

This small piece went fast and if it hadn't been for all the stripping of the floss, I think I would have set a personal record for quick finishes. I think of bargello as being the op-art of needlepoint. It can be wavy or jagged or perpendicular, the sky's the limit really. It's made a resurgence in recent years, not that it ever went away, and it seems it's once again getting the attention it deserves. Personally I enjoy a bargello project every so often to offset the complexities of many of the other projects I seem to gravitate to.

But not all bargello works up so quickly nor can it all be stitched without constantly watching the pattern/chart. Emperor's Garden is such a piece. It's a unique piece using all traditional materials. I had to really keep my concentration intact on this one. By traditional I mean stranded wool and 13 ct canvas. I'm not an expert so I don't really know why 13 ct is known as bargello canvas. Calling Janet Perry and other bargello aficionados to address this topic.

As promised, here is Toni's other colorway turning her Pink Orchid into Purple Passion Flower? I think it's also quite beautiful and is another example of how a color change and, in this case, changing the finished size can create a very different look. I love her green leaf beads against the dark purple. I think shades of blues and yellows would be wonderful color choices too.

It's amazing what you can do with needle and thread and a chart, isn't it? Keeping in mind that I stitched the smallest size I used less than one skein of Threadworx Overdye, and that was using all 6 strands. Same for all the floss, less than one skein per color except for the medium pink where I used nearly two. Always having a variety of colored blank canvas on hand in my stash and the beads were part of mixed bag purchased at Hobby Lobby, I was able to keep the project cost down to just a few dollars. Except for the finishing. Yes, the finishing or framing, always gets pricey. No exception here, the box was $108. Well at least I had it in my stash and it now has a purpose and soon will have a new home.

Well thank you kindly for visiting here today, I hope you had fun working along with me on this one. Up next, tackling one of my favorite WIP's, Marnie's Renaissance. Or I could continue with the Red Kerchief, let's see now, where did I put Cyn's article on project rotation? Or I could always check out needleartnut's blog, Pat seems to have rotation down to a science.

PINK ORCHID BARGELLO

by Colorado needleartist/designer Toni Gerdes.

Isn't this a beautiful adaptation of the bargello pomegranate? Toni Gerdes did a wonderful job presenting this bargello project recently at a local EGA meeting. To me it wasn't even a close call whether to stitch this simple, fast and colorful design. Toni used the stitched piece in the photo above as the insert for a hot pink, ultrasuede portfolio. Yes, it's just like an artist's portfolio, it unfolds, has handles and is perfect for carrying larger projects. I love bargello and was quite ready to get started on my own piece. NAN certified, Toni is a beautiful stitcher with great teaching skills, translation: she could teach me anything.

Getting started was easy, choose your colorway. I chose pink canvas and Threadworx # 11011 overdye as my base color. Then using light, medium and dark coordinating shades of both DMC and Anchor floss. Toni's design instructions come in 3 sizes: 6",8" and 11" square. I chose the smallest size as since I already had a HP Needlepoint hand-poured lacquered box just looking for the right design insert.

I actually purchased this box a few years ago for another project, took my stitched piece to my LNS to make sure I had the right color. When I got it home, in my lighting, it clashed. So with the shop's no return-no exchange policy, I was stuck. All's well that ends well.

To start, baste a large "X" across the canvas to identify center, then begin working in quadrants. The first stitch begins 6 threads down from the center hole. I pin-stitched at 3 threads down and using 6 strands of stripped floss I carefully laid my first stitch covering the pin stitch. Bargello in particular calls for the use of a laying tool and this project is no exception. Especially when blending light and darker threads.

The pattern is 1,1,1,2,2,3,4,3,2,2,1,1,1 with a step of 2. So if you can count to four and keep your wits about you, you can do this. For this bargello project it's important that you always begin each new length of overdye thread from the same end every time. Threadworx is a precut overdye strandable thread making it easy to determine which end is which.

Next is filling in the dark green leaves in tent stitch. The tent is done in a different direction for each quadrant. I was nearly done when I suddenly notice a huge knot on the back of my canvas. I began negotiations with myself as to whether to risk cutting the bugger out, leave it there or frog.

So after frogging one entire leaf, since I couldn't get it untangled, I stitched it again. Boo Hiss, naughty floss. I should have taken a picture of that knot, you would have laughed. I did....just not right away.
Now I'm ready to begin the rhythmic bargello starting with the darkest green floss, then the medium, then the lightest shade.

Following with the lightest pink. The real fun begins when the various colors are blended together to give the piece graduated shading. At first this is done blending 3 strands of two colors. Following with either the lighter or darker color on either side of the blended row. I would recommend sorting your threads on thread cards and numbering them. For the shading to be effective, the designer has chosen shades very close in color and I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between some of those close in color.

I've finished the four pomegranates and am ready to move on to the stitching that will fill in making this a 6" x6" square.

Someone once told me how to avoid the "teeth" that show through on long stitches, I forgot what the trick to that is. Anyone out there know what I'm talking about? Next time I will also include a photo of a completed piece in a different colorway. Thanks for visiting today.

EMPEROR'S GARDEN

designed by Josephine Payne. Do you remember her? She hosted a series on public television out of the University of Georgia back in the mid 90's. I was very impressed with her style and invested in her books, video, and pamphlets. Her specialty at the time was bargello, but not your everyday bargello.

Emperor's Garden is considered a 4-way pattern and is one of the most involved designs I've seen including the 12-sided center medallion. I must have been better at counting back then because I don't know that I would tackle this project today.

It was done with Persian yarn on 12 mesh bargello canvas (at least that's what they called it back then and I think it's still available today). I remember it was brown and very rough. Two strands of wool were required for adequate coverage. This particular pattern called for using 5 shades of one color family which was restrictive as not many wools have a dark, medium dark, medium, medium light, and light range in many colors. Obviously green was one of the Paternayan wools with the necessary variation.

What is so fascinating to me about bargello is that, in the case of 4-way, your chart shows only one quadrant of the whole pattern which is repeated four times making it much simpler to execute than the finished piece looks.

I finished this into a pillow complete with mustache fringe. I am proud to show it off on my blog as it has loyally adorned a wing chair in the guest bedroom for all these years.

An interview with a very special lady!

It is my privilege to have accomplished needleartist and friend, Janet Perry, stop by on her virtual book tour. I first "met" Janet when she served as the celebrated Needlepoint Guide for the well known information site, www.about.com. Janet shared her expertise for 5 years on that show and continues to provide a wealth of information on her own website, www.napaneedlepoint.com. I would love to bottle her energy and I have never known her not to willingly share the knowledge of her craft with both expert and novice alike. The new book, "Bargello Revisited" is her latest example of Janet's mastery and skill as a writer and advocate for the needlearts. Enjoy!



What inspired you to write Bargello Revisited? I have been wanting to write a book on Bargello for 20 years and have started to do so at least twice. But this time instead of trying to cram in big projects and lots of theory, I decided to go for lots of little projects and find ways for people to be able to unleash their own creativity.

There seems to be a renewed interest in Bargello, to what do you attribute this? I think it's because Bargello gives you a big bang for the buck. It's incredibly easy to do and the results are so lovely that you feel it must be harder than it is. Besides all that it's less expensive than many other kinds of needlepoint and it is very portable, once the base line is in place all you need is the canvas, a needle and your thread.

Do you have a favorite needle artist that specializes in Bargello? I think I have every Bargello book out there and I love so many of them, but my all-time favorite is Elsa Williams. It was my introduction to Bargello and her designs are so classic and so wonderful, they never go out of date. For a wealth of information, I love Barbara Snook's books. There aren't many pictures of projects, but there are dozens of lines charted.

What pattern do you most enjoy stitching? I love stitching basic scallop patterns, they are so soothing.

What pattern would you consider the most challenging?Four-way Bargello is not my best thing. I always find them challenging. I think that is because the pattern only becomes apparent to me once you get to the larger rings. Since I always start in the center, I'm confused for awhile.

What type of Bargello project would you recommend to a beginner. Look for a simple line pattern, not one with closed shapes. Pick a thread which is easy to use like Silk & Ivory in a color family you really love. And start by making a small project. Once you've finished it, find another line you like and another set of threads and make another small project. With every project you will gain more confidence.

Can you reveal your strategy for putting pattern to design? In other words, how do you decide what Bargello pattern would most compliment any given design, such as a stocking? Some of the shapes I like, such as the mini-socks, mittens, and ornaments can take almost any pattern as long as three repeats can fit across the widest part. But other items, like the 3-D Christmas Tree quite simply wouldn't work with a line pattern, the joint would look weird.

Mostly to decide, I tend to pick the pattern first and then decide what to make from it. So if the item is large, then I know I can pick a bigger pattern.

Is there a rule of thumb for determining how many colors should be used and how many shades of each color? I have a few Bargello pieces which use three colors and one which uses two and I think these look very modern. Pretty much I think Bargello looks best when 3-5 colors are used. If you get too many more than that the object will need to be large so you can see the whole span of color.

Does Bargello look easier than it actually is? Or just the opposite?? Easier. It's just one stitch, grouped in different ways. That's what makes it so fun, the patterns look complex, but they aren't.

Is your book available through your website? Where can we find a copy? I don't sell from my website, but you can order it from Amazon.com, although they are a bit slow. If you want it fast you can order it from your local needlepoint shop, who can get it through my distributors, Rainbow Gallery, Unicorn Books, and Nordic Needle. If you don't have a local store, you can order it from Needle in a Haystack (http://www.needlestack.com).