Our First Two Big-Time Classes - Needlepoint · Please consider adding Cross Stitch to your arsenal...

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May 2018 NewsletterIn this Issue:

1. Our First Two Big Time Classes2. News roundup3. Thread of the Month: Stef Francis 12 Ply Silk4. Stitch of the Month: Little Wavy5. Notes on Needlepoint

Our First Two Big-Time Classes Why do I say, "Our first two big-time classes?" Well, because this is the firsttime in the nearly ten years that we have been open that we will be bringing inprofessional teachers to our store to teach. And boy are we excited!

First up is "78 Stitches, 78 Threads" with Ruth Dilts. This wonderful class is acrash-course in all things Rainbow Gallery. You know Rainbow Gallery threads.You've been using them forever. They are those threads that come on cards

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and are on the ubiquitous spin racks found pretty much wherever needlepointsupplies are sold. True confession here -- I've been in the business for a whilenow and even I have trouble keeping all the names of their products straight inmy mind so I can only imagine what a jumble it must be for people who don'thandle them every day. Well, now is your chance to start untangling thatconfusing web. And best of all with this class you will end up with a permanentreference volume to take home with you so that in the future you need never beconfused by the plethora of Rainbow Gallery options ever again. And, one thingI will say about RG threads which is hugely in their favor is that in this day of $6& $7/skein threads, Rainbow Gallery products continue to be affordable whichis, as a soon-to-be ex-ex-convict used to say, a "good thing".

Yes, you get ALL of these cards!

In addition to the variety thicknesses and interesting textures, you will learnabout the composition of the threads, usage guidelines and special tips orhandling instructions. The fee for the class is $495 and includes two days ofinstruction (July 20 & 21) by Ruth, a needlepoint instructor with vast amounts ofexperience as well as the author of two successful needlepoint books(Needlepoint 101 & Needlepoint 202). Class will run from 10:30 to 5:30 with abreak for lunch (not included). Participants will receive canvas, stretcher bars,handout, thread cards (full or partial), needle, 3 ring binder and sheetprotectors. This is going to be a class that we will offer twice a year atRittenhouse (email Russell if you are interested in a future date) but don't wait.Be among the first to experience the fun and interesting world of Rainbow


Gallery.

Our second "Big-Time Class" is being offered in August (the 15-18th). Thisfour-day instructional event (I can't even call it a "class") features Jo IppolitoChristensen the author of the incomparable Needlepoint Book (now in its 3rded.). Jo will be teaching her "Coveted Formula for Selecting Stitches andThreads" This first time offered, expanded version of the class (it's normally a 2or 3 day class) which she prefers to call "Canvas Empowerment" as opposedto "Canvas Embellishment" will take students on a journey through theprinciples of good design. Prior to the meeting, students will submit a canvas oftheir own choosing to Jo for her to review (the canvas does not need to havebeen purchased at Rittenhouse Needlepoint -- isn't that nice of us?- howeverstudents will be expected to purchase the thread for their project at the shopduring the class to take full advantage of Jo's knowledge and input). Eachstudent will then receive a customized list of stitch suggestions from ourneedlepoint guru.


During the blissful four days of uninterupted stitching and learning(imagine!), Jo will teach her formula for simplifying the frequentlyoverwhelming choice of threads and stitches. Jo is a strong advocate forapplying design principles and color theory to needlepoint. In class, studentswill learn how to use stitch "families" as well as various ways to unifytheir design. They will also learn how to create perspective and establishprimary and secondary focal areas. This class will provide you with a firmgrounding in art principles which you will then be able to apply to all your futureneedlework projects.


The cost for this career-altering experience is a very reasonable $795 andincludes four days of instruction as well as custom stitch guide by Jo IppolitoChristensen. Who knows -- you might even be able to get her to autograph yourcopy of The Needlepoint Book! Students should be advancedbeginner/intermediate (that is, you should be familiar with executing decorativestitches, following a stitch diagram, working on a frame, etc.) Call today toreserve your spot. Canvases must be submitted to Jo by July 1st and this classis limited to 12 students. Call Russell (215-563-4566) or enail for moreinformation or if you need advice on lodging in the area.

We are so excited to offer professional instruction to our clientele in our newdedicated classroom space so please help us to give Jo and Ruth a warmwelcome into the Rittenhouse family and even if you are not signing up forclass stop by the shop to meet them and say "Hello".

News Roundup

Here are some tasty tidbits from around the store (in no particular order):

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Philadelphia%20Lodgings


Preparations for "Destination Dallas" Begin. For those of you who may not beaware (in other words most likely nearly all of you and no reason why youwould be aware of Destination Dallas). "Destination Dallas" is the premierneedlepoint-only wholesale trade event held annually in ... wait for it ...Dallas,TX in September. At this year's event, Hollie and Stephen will bepresenting a slew of new designs from Changing Women (one of our wholesalelines that includes primarily needlepoint renditions of art masterpieces but alsoa smattering of other designs including florals and birds.

Re-designed "Chat Noir" canvas which is far more faithful to the original

We've been building quite a strong line out of Changing Woman but we arealso very excited to introduce into our Rittenhouse Needlepoint line a series of"Spooky Bottles". These designs were developed primarily by our painterMarisha Lozado with input from our Finishing Lead, Hayley Marsh. We thinkthese 3-dimensional bottles featuring creepy crawlies and wicked wigglieswill be quite popular.

https://rittenhouseneedlepoint.com/canvas.html?manufacturer=8448https://rittenhouseneedlepoint.com/canvas.html?manufacturer=8448


One of our new "Spooky Bottles" see article below for how it stitches up

In Other News ...

Shipment of New Threads from Caron -- Rittenhouse Needlepoint now offersthe full line of Wildflowers from Caron. This will be a nice addition to our otherlines from Caron that include the full lines of Soie Cristale, Watercolours andWaterlilies. Look to see Wildflowers available for sale online soon.


Full Line of Wildflowers from Caron now at Rittenhouse Needlepoint

"Fundamentals of Needlepoint" Class Ongoing -- Hollie Axel, our NeedlepointEducator, reports that enrollment in the "Fundamentals of Needlepoint" classhas been encouraging. This four session class introduces students to thebasics of needlepoint -- its terminology, tools and techniques. The class resultsin the creation of a small stitch sampler as well as mastery of approximately adozen different stitches including the Basketweave stitch.


Finished sampler from "Fundamentals of Needlepoint" class

Cross Stitch Class -- Many of our customers may not be aware that we offer aCross Stitch class on Saturday afternoons (3:00 pm). Our instructor is Victoria.She is young, enthusiastic and most welcoming. Cross stitch is a great way toenter the world of needle arts. It is far more affordable than needlepoint and insome ways more satisfying too as one gets to "see" the pattern take shapebefore one's eyes rather than "merely" stitching over a design that has alreadybeen painted in place. Please consider adding Cross Stitch to your arsenal ofcrafts if you haven't already tried it and for those of you who are new to thefabulous world of thread -- consider Cross Stitch. It will give you an opportunityto use some of our yummy fibers but at an entry level price point that is moredo-able than some hand-painted canvases. Note: During summer it might bebest to call first if you plan on attending the Cross Stitch class just to makeextra sure that class is in fact happening because Victoria -- just like you andme -- enjoys a nice lazy summer afternoon off too.


Cross Stitchers should consider Simply Shaker Sampler Threads from TheGentle Arts

In the Finishing Department, the winter holidays are already here! Our staff areworking on all kinds of exciting pieces for the coming season - everything frombeautifully stitched stockings to 3D creations! Our turnaround time is always 4-6weeks, so we will be taking in new finishing all the way until mid November(and even later as "Rush" projects for an additional fee). If you've got projectsyou're still stitching and you want them to be finished as gifts for this year - letthis message inspire you to carve out some time this weekend to get crackin'and make some good progress!

Needlepoint makes the best Christmas ornaments!


Thread of the Month: Stef Francis 12 Ply Silk

A new addition to the thread family at Rittenhouse Needlepoint is StefFrancis 12 Strand Silk. Stef Francis is a family-run company from Englandthat hand dyes yarn, thread, fibers & fabrics. I heard about them last yearwhen I was approached by an ANG group who wanted to pursue a projectthat had been published in Needlepointers' magazine. The project called

for several skeins of Stef Francis product and I, of course, had to order justa "little extra" for myself. I was so impressed by the colors that I couldn't

wait to be able to offer it to our clientele. So in the new space we've maderoom for their products (the 12 strand silk and also their hand-dyed

embroidery floss). To my knowledge, we are the only needlepoint shop inthe US currently offering their product for sale though I could certainly be

wrong about that (we have no exclusive with them).


At any rate, the Stef Francis 12 Strand Silk is a "space-dyed" thread whichmeans the dye is applied along a length of thread at intervals. Normally two or

more colors are used and they are repeated. Overdyed threads typically can bedivided loosely into multi-color or monochromatic types. Stef Francis offers

some of both types. They have 52 different colorways and the colorways arethe same for both the cotton and silk product lines. The appearance however is

different owing to the different ways in which the fiber takes the dye and thedifferent characteristics of the fiber itself.


Generally, the color palette is vibrant and saturated so I would look to use thesethreads on a canvas in an area where I want to make a statement. Or I mightuse a colorway as a jumping off point for developing a color scheme. The cost

of the thread (currently $5.49 per 10 meter skein) is quite reasonableconsidering they've crossed the pond so this need not be a special occasion

only thread.

Stitching with Stef Francis silk is lovely. Like all stranded thread, one shouldseperate the plies by teasing out each ply and pulling and then re-combine

them prior to stitching. The use of a laying tool and a frame is advisable. Thethread is made of spun silk (as opposed to filament silk) which means that it is

affordable but that it has a bit of a "shaggy dog" quality especially if it isdragged across the canvas or manhandled in any way. Still, it has a lovely

sheen when laid properly and handled carefully. Eight plies works well on 14mesh for straight stitches, 6 for diagonal stitches and on 18 mesh 4 plies for

diagonal stitches and 6 plies for straight stitches is recommended.


The Stef Francis threads are currently residing in our "Novelty Threads Room"which you may know better as the "Front Room" or the "Checkout Room." Besure to ask to see them next time you are in store and the sales staff will be

happy to oblige.


The NEW Rittenhouse Needlepoint features two check-outs!


Stitch of the Month: Little Wavy

This month's stitch is the Little Wavy stitch which as you might imagine is aparticularly useful stitch for representing areas of water. The stitch consists oftwo rows of Slanted Gobelin stitch over two horizontal threads and one verticalthread. You might prefer to think of the Slanted Gobelin stitch as "up 2threads and over one". The direction of the slant varies however. To start, onegoes up and to the right. The next stitch begins two canvas threads to the left ofwhere you began the first stitch. Again, the stitch itself is quite simple -- up twothreads and over one. Once you have reached the end of the area that youwish to cover, drop down one thread and to the right one thread in order tobegin execution of the return row. The stitch will be the same. You may noticethat you are essentially doing a Brick stitch but with Slanted Gobelin stitchesinstead of upright Gobelin stitches.

It's not until the third row that things become interesting. Having completed thefirst two rows (out and back) of up and to the right stitches, it is now time tochange the direction of the slant of our Slanted Gobelin stitch. Now we will do


rows three and four but this time we will execute the Slanted Gobelin by goingup two canvas threads and to the left one canvas thread. Begin the first stitchimmediately beneath where you began the final stitch of the previous row. Goup two canvas threads and to the left one canvas thread and complete theSlanted Gobelin stitch. To begin the return row (or row number 4) you will againdrop down again one canvas thread and to the right one canvas thread to findthe starting place.

To start row number five can be a challenge. At this juncture and having gottenthe swing of the stitch, you might consider executing the stitch in a differentmanner -- by doing one "double" row at a time. That is, you could do both the"return" row (or the "lower" row) and the "out" row (or upper/first row) at thesame time. This would involve skipping from lower row to upper row and backdown but it would be simple enough because the stitches for both rows willalways be ending in the base of the stitches from the previous two rows ofstitches. So, once you've set your first two rows of stitches (and as long as youremember to change the direction of your slant every two rows) properexecution is guaranteed. I like that idea. Super simple. Of course, some folks(who shall remain nameless but you know who you are) would be aghast at theidea of changing the method of executing a stitch mid-stream but there youhave it.


Of course all this begs the question what constitutes a row? Does a row go injust one direction? Outward bound? Or can a row be both out and back? Must arow of stitches stay on the same row of the canvas or can a row of stitchesjump between two rows on the canvas? Ah the philosophical dilemmas weneedlepointers confront! And you thought needlepoint was going to relax you?Ha.

Anyhow, as I mentioned, the primary use for this stitch is to represent water.Generally, when used to represent water the stitch would be executedhorizontally and not vertically as is shown here. To execute this stitchhorizontally is however simple enough. Take your canvas and turn it 90degrees and then follow the instructions as I have written them. When you turnthe canvas right way round again, voila! Just the way you wanted it to look.(Don't even think about why this works it will just frustrate you!)

The Little Wavy stitch works well with a slightly metallic thread or with a threadthat has a decided sheen (such as Trebizond) as the change in the direction ofthe slant reflects light differently and gives an enhanced look to a finished


piece.

You could also use this stitch to represent bark or rain but in that case I imagineyou would most likely execute it vertically. It's a handy stitch to know (being sosmall) and one that I think is easier and more useful than the Water stitch(which is similar but is a three-over-one count) because it is more rhythmic in itsexecution and because it covers very nearly all the canvas so for individualsuncomfortable with "exposed" canvas (and I know you people are out there)you will find this stitch more to your liking than the Water stitch which isgenerally touted as "the" stitch for water.

Thoughts on Needlepoint

Last month I talked about how I was working on Russell's belt. Poor


Russell. The belt is still not finished and yet ... I've moved on. We arecoming out with a new line of canvases (mentioned previously) calledSpooky Bottles and we need to have samples stitched for display at Dallasin September. So "Snake Eyes" calls and the belt will have to wait.

I am always sort of intimidated by little canvases. They can be hard to do withdecorative stitches. You don't want to overwhelm the piece by making everylittle area a different stitch but at the same time you don't want to give up toomany of the painted details that you paid so dearly for. So what to do?

I knew in this case that I wanted to do something padded or dimensional for thesnake itself. I have learned that often a good place to start is that part of thecanvas which is talking most clearly to you (in this case, as I said, the snake).Before I got started I made a quick trip to the A.C. Moore store. I know Iprobably shouldn't admit to doing this to our customer base but I did it for acouple of reasons. One, because I had not been there and I was curious to seewhat they had in the way of needlework (not much) and two because I waslooking for bits and bobs from China that you need to buy by the crateful and


we simply haven't got the volume to carry mini pom poms and sparkley pipecleaners, fairy figurines or little balls on sticks that will be perfect covered withthread for a cherry on a customer's canvas. My original purpose was to getsome felt which I thought I would cut out in the shape of the dragon and stitchin place and stuff with pillow fill. As with all plans, things went south pretty muchfrom the get go but I had fun, spent way more than I should and left therefeeling energized and confident which wasn't what I was expecting to find at all.

So work on the snake began. I am pretty sure there was some padding laid inthe very beginning. But to be honest with you I have been at this snake for solong now I damn near have forgotten what lies beneath. But I think there waspadding. And I think there were layers of pearl cotton run from side to side andfrom top to bottom. These were then covered by Satin stitches with a terrificallycreepy green Soy Lustre thread that was then covered with ... drum roll please... sequins and beads. I used this great technique to attach the sequins: I rana size 26 tapestry needle (which I prefer to use to a beading needle) and asingle ply (doubled) of embroidery thread (run through bees wax) through thecenter of the sequin, then through the bead and back through the sequin again(but not the bead). What happens is that the bead ends up holding the sequinin place and you don't have any noticeable thread on the surface of the sequinto distract from its shininess. I highly recommend this technique.

Of course ... I might have gotten carried away with the sequins. So I decided totone things down a bit. With beads! Ha. I did both the highlighted and theshadowed areas in beads. Lots and lots of beads. I Iike the end result but even


I have to admit, it's alot.

The bottle itself was done in Alicia's Lace stitch using two different threads --one metallic, one not. I was trying to go for a faceted glass look. I ignored someof the shading, chosing instead to go for a simpler light, medium and darkscheme with the open stitch allowing any further shading to show through. Thediamond shaped areas on the bottle are simple Satin stitch as are the snake'seyes. I've tried several different attachments for embellishing the eyes but sofar I haven't found anything that works. The dark blue base is done in T Stitch.More beading and basketweave finish out the rest of the base.

It's been a fun stitch.I am anxious to see how it will finish up and also I will haveto inquire what's happening with the bottle stoppers because it was myunderstanding that the bottles were each going to have actual bottle stoppers.But I will have to get back to you on that one. Like I said, they are a work inprogress.

One thing I definitely learned from my experience stitching this Snake Eyes'


project is that once again I should have thought ahead and used a frame. Whenwill I learn? I was just so excited to get started that I couldn't be bothered withthe hassle. So, I went unfettered and the result is, I think, not as good as itcould have been had I taken the time to mount the piece on a frame in the firstplace. So let that be a lesson to all you ants-in-your-pants stitchers out there.Just cool your jets a little because (as the saying goes): "If you don't have timeto do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

Social Media

Be sure to sign up for our Facebookand Instagram feeds to stay abreastof our thoughts and insights. If you

don't sign up you might miss out andwith new threads, new canvases anda new dog (you definitely don't wantthat) so sign up today. We are also

planning on implementing a Pinterestblog so stay tuned for that!

Be sure to check out ourfinishing website!

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Our First Two Big-Time Classes - Needlepoint · Please consider adding Cross Stitch to your arsenal...

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Transcript of Our First Two Big-Time Classes - Needlepoint · Please consider adding Cross Stitch to your arsenal...