A Jeweled Palm for the Day

I found this picture while going through a file on "jeweled" things - both flora and fauna. It's from another of my phases - or "binges" - that I periodically go through. This one was prompted by an ad in an Antiques Magazine for some very old and very beautiful jewelry of the tropical genre, including a parrot and this palm tree.

As I remember, the brooch was enameled, with peridots on the leaves and topaz on the trunk. I stitched a number of these things - fish, etc., but didn't do any of the shells. I think that's what I shall do next, and probably offer some outline drawing on Freebies Etc. for peope to design their own ornaments with shells and fish. Small, bright and beautiful, and the imagination can soar.

Anyway, what a perfectly appropriate day to be showing a palm tree!! It's Palm Sunday.

BEADS on a "Jeweled" Bracelet!!

I very much enjoy using the pretty threads and other materials for needlepoint that weren't available to us in the decade of the 70's - and also the imaginative things we can do with them. What I like doing most, however, is creating what I call "special effects with simple materials."

These napkin rings that could be lengthened and made into bracelets were shown a while back on my Freebies - (the pattern for them is there), and were inspired by my daughter's love of emeralds, and also the fact that her husband's birthday is in April - fortunate for her!! I thought jeweled napkin rings would be a festive touch for a birthday dinner.

Anyway, the first picture is showing the DMC cotton floss, worked in a tent stitch with 4 plies, on the WARP threads only, leaving the weft "dips" for inserting the beads. The tiny little diamond chain from which the emeralds are suspended, was placed on the canvas carefully, to make sure there would be only one warp stitch in the configuration of the little diamond shape - and of course the very very small one only has one stitch, which is weft to accomodate one bead. (a sparkling, hexagonal Sundance bead - crystal clear size 14 in the #250Hex)

The next picture shows the beads in place on some of the jewels. I used green beads that aren't "hex," as I didn't want the sparkle on the emeralds. While it's great on the diamonds, it's too much for the green stones.

This effect of nothing more than Petite Very Velvet, Kreinik #12 braid in 002V, and Sundance beads makes a stunning effect, yet is so simple - no fuzzy or glittery threads and no decorative stitches except the long-armed cross stitch I like to use at top and bottom, as it makes the edges fold over nicely - and is pretty in this braid.

I also put little single bead "jewels" suspended from the edges. I used the clear beads with green floss, but am not really happy with the look - so I tried a green bead farther down the row, and it's great! Out come the sharp scissors.



The diamond chain bracelet has a great effect with the two colors, I think. n this one, I'll use the clear hex beads at top and bottom, but will apply them with blue floss on the top, and green on the bottom. This makes sense. The detail of the diamond bracelet is showing where the weft threads were left bare for bead insertion.

When drawing this onto canvas, one would take care to make sure the square cut ones have five WEFT spaces, and four WARP spaces. The diamond shapes have 9 weft, and only 4 warp spaces. If attention is given to these small details, it makes the work easier. All it requires is a little experimenting on scrap canvas.

There's still time, as these are small, to even make jeweled bracelets for holiday parties - or sew them onto the cuffs of an evening jacket - lots of possibilities here. Do experiment - and with other motifs, too, than jewels.

ADDENDUM: I failed to mention that this technique for using beads (the simple way) is explained in detail in Chapter I of my book about using beads with needlepoint. I've divided it into two chapters for the downloadable e-patterns, or it's also offered as a coil bound "workbook." You can see it at Elegant Whimsies - my web store.

Diamonds and Sweet Peas for April

The diamonds are made with beads, and the flowers are silk ribbon. I made the fly stitch vine on the blue patch with Soy Luster - and am really pleased with the look of the matte thread on the shiny Smokey Blue ribbon floss. Looking at the photo I just made, I see where one more leaf needs to be added - but not tonight. This is FINISH. All done!

The Sweet Pea vine is just too busy and exuberant for the CQ design to have any more surface embellishment.

The detail is to show how nicely the different textures of the threads, along with the silk ribbon flowers and sparkly beads, blend for an interesing, but fairly simple design. The white patch (see above picture) is made with DMC pearl cotton, as I wanted it to resemble a wall for the pea vine to climb.

This piece will be on my web page after I get the instructions written up (the hard part - bummer) both as an e-pattern for people who want to draw their own, and as a package with the painted canvas ready to work.

Antique Jewelry and Bugs (in needlepoint, of course)

Artists and artisans, since the beginning of time, have looked to the wonders and beauty of nature for inspiration. This has been so true for me, as things other designers do - like Santas and witches, etc., just "aren't in my head."

A number of years ago, I found in one of my antiques magazines, several pages of gorgeous "critters" in jewelery form - antiques, of course. The earliest form of using bugs for jewelry was in ancient Egypt, where the Scarab was developed - the dung beetle - to help one across the "river" into the next life.

Then during the Art Nouveau period, there was quite an explosion of beautiful bugs in jewelry. These have really appealed to me as inspiration for design - so I've done beetles and butterflies and also fish. I don't remember where I found the first picture - I don't think it's an antique, so is copyrighted and will not be available commercially as a needlepoint design - but I wanted to show it, as it's a splendid and simple piece for demonstrating how this is done. I'll do a tutorial on it later when I have more time - not tonight!

The idea has grabbed me again, so of course I ordered a book, which I look forward to receiving!!

I think a lot of the appeal for me has also been the new sparkling threads, which appeared during the ten years or so I was doing other things. When I re-joined the needlepoint world - there they were! In this picture, I'm seeing one of my favorite combinations, the turquoise, malachite, and lapis lazuli, which would be gorgeous stitched with the DMC Satin Floss - high sheen but without sparkle.

I have just posted a pattern for a "jeweled" ladybug and an enameled beetle on the other blog, Freebies, etc. I thought it timely, as Jake discovered this evening that his ladybugs have not left the homestead, but are busily munching pests on his mama's geraniums and Gerbera daisies.

"Jewels" in Needlepoint (and progress on Nov.)

First the November "Crazy for Birthdays" - I have the seam treatments finished (didn't take long, of course) and a spray of leaves in silk ribbon across the bottom. Now for some creative avoidance, as I am still a little bit afraid of the chrysanthemums. In working with silk ribbon to create flowers on needlepoint, I learned from Judith Montano's books about ten years ago the stitches - but to create my own flowers, I work from either nature or from flowers in photographs. Images on the internet have really been helpful!

I saw a mistake after I took the photograph on the next to the last topaz close to the bottom. Oh dear. I'll just improvise and cover the boo-boo with a French knot or something clever.

I have been receiving the catalogs from the Art Museums lately, and it occurred to me that I could make much more imaginative arrangements of these jewels-of-the-month by making replicas of bracelets - so I got on a roll and started several more. The jewels need to be stitched first, as I can then see better what colors to use and where to put them. This is December with the turquoises! I have already chosen three of the colors I want to use, and of course keep in mind the narcissus and holly that are the "flowers" for this month. The dots are for bead placement. I want to stay away from making this heart look like Christmas - but will stay with what is right for the month. It will have holly and mistletoe, as those are at their best in December - and it will sparkle with beads! I did find some wonderful enameled "holly" jewelry in the catalog from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That was my inspiration for doing the holly here. (later in silk ribbon)

I had already started "June," so continued to choose the textures and place colors - pearls and roses are easy! I have decided to only use five patches on each of these, as the main focus is on the jewel and the flowers - much too busy to do lots of little patches.

The peridots I am pleased with (for August) - as is my daughter. I have enjoyed the attempt to make "bracelets" on the curved seam. It's quite a challenge, as Needlepoint canvas is square.

The diamonds for April are made with beads - the Sundance #250Hex, as they glitter beautifully. I couldn't find a thread that would produce the effect I needed - so this worked out well. I will probably leave this project along for a while, as far as new designs - but will continue to work on the ones I have - I think that makes seven of them!!

Beads and "Jeweled" Trims

This is another binge which began with my playing around with the laces and trims again, and trying out new effects with threads, metallics, and beads. These pieces are worked with a minimum of elements - just the Kreinik metallic, YLI ribbon floss, and Sundance beads - only the crystal clear #250 hexagonal. As the individual "bracelets" and chains are counted, I put them onto canvas first with a Pilot drawing pen - makes it much easier! I wanted a strong vertical element to offset the horizontals, so worked the ribbon floss up and over three threads. (Another happy accident: after the vertical lines were drawn, I realized the count was even (6), which made it possible to do this stitch.) It's absolutely amazing how different the ribbon floss looks. It is exactly the same thread from the same spool - on each the red and the white ornaments. Basketweave darkens and dulls the look, and the longer, flat stitches reflect the light in a way that lightens and brightens the area. I wanted the beads to be a subtle accent to add a bit of sparkle to the ornaments, so used them on the backgrounds as well as every other stitch on the vertical lines. The clear beads were applied on the red piece with red cotton floss. I am not pleased with the green "jewels" on the red ornament, as I think they add too much texture - but I'm short on patience for ripping out! I probably should have used the Renaissance Shimmer, as I did on the white one to make "turquoises." The effect of these threads, etc., is stunning - and brings to mind so many different things that could be done with them - rearranging, etc. on other shapes. I have now drawn a heart and an egg, as well as starting a set of napkin rings and a few more bracelets. The round one will probably go the "kissing ball" way. I have no idea what a kissing ball is, but the diaper pattern ornament was finished this way - over a styrofoam ball with shirring (moire) around it. The red one will, of course, have a beautiful tassel hanging from the bottom. On the diaper pattern ball, the red flowers are beaded, and you can see, again, the effect of the light on the YLI ribbon floss. Amazing! This little project will probably go on for a while before I get totally tired of it - as I can see also small things like scissors fobs and keyrings! Now - on to creating more patterns with "laces and trims."

Bangles and Beads!

Cuff bracelets, in about 1953, when I was in the 8th grade, were a necessary thing for accessorizing the well dressed young lady - so I had my share of them in assorted metals, including copper, silver, and some mysterious metal that gave me a rash and/or turned my arm green. I wanted an ankle bracet too, but my mother held those in the same low regard at the time as pierced ears. Until I discovered the wonderful beads and metallic ribbon and other shiny things in recent years, I would never have considered designing something of this sort in needlepoint - but these have been really entertaining to put onto canvas and stitch, as they do glitter and sparkle!! I remember that a few years later the fashion trend changed - I was in high school - to "bangle bracelets" and charm bracelets. These rattled and clanged and jingled and made lots of interesting noise, which drew attention from our peers in the classroom. Also from our teachers, as I had one with no taste and no sense of humor, who insisted that we leave them in our lockers before we came to her class. Imagine that. Anyway, the subject of this post is not fashion in past years and another life, but is to be a brief bead tutorial, as I have had questions about that - and also have seen some rather strange instructions regarding putting the beads over a hole in the canvas and not on the stitch. I use the beads exactly as I would a tent stitch, and this incorporates them into the body of the needlepoint fabric that is created. They can be placed as accents, or as a technique I discovered by accident, whereas the surface looks beaded solid, but isn't. You can see on this close-up that the background, worked in YLI ribbon floss, is stitched in basketweave, but only on the warp threads - leaving the weft (with the little "dips") bare. When the beads are placed on the weft stitches, the surface appears heavily beaded - and it really takes surprisingly little time! You can also see in this close-up the little burgundy beads I placed in the space in the gold "picot" edge. To do this, I use the old fashioned long, skinny beading needle and the little wire threader that I normally find at craft stores. Tapestry needles are too thick and too short for easy beading. I use cotton floss in the same color as the background or the bead - in this case, I used the Sundance seed beads - size 14, color 250, which is crystal clear. By using the same color floss as the background, the bead takes on the aqua color also- but with a nice, subtle "frosty" look. It's quite pretty, and more effective here than using an aqua bead. Cut a piece of floss about 16" long, and separate off two plies - then thread the needle one ply at a time. Come up under the stitch to be made, grab a bead with the tip of the needle, and go back down over the stitch as a tent stitch. Then come back up again and separate the floss to go around the bead, and go back down once again - and this anchors the bead nicely so it won't wobble. (in addition to its being placed into the "dip" of the weft) Except for the petals on the flowers (YLI Ribbon Floss in Black Orchid) and the background, this bracelet and earrings are worked totally with Sundance seed beads and Kreinik metallic ribbon!