Stitching Maintains Sanity

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Lately I feel like for the past 8 months our lives have turned into a bad science fiction show. We have this strange virus that came from bats that is killing our species or at the least making us deathly sick. I’m pretty sure we will all have to start wearing hazmat suits soon. We already are rocking the mandatory masks. There is rioting and violence in our cities, out of control fires in our forested areas and hurricanes wreaking havoc to our coastal states. I’m sure there is enough material here for at least a season or two of a bad TV series.

Scene: Magazine publisher sitting at her computer for hours on end trying to produce an issue of Needlepoint Now but looking for any interesting distraction she can find because she has become quite bored with the computer. She taps away on the keyboard recording the day’s events. Captain’s log, 10.26.20. Nothing much to report. We are in month 8 of lockdown. Experiencing no symptoms of the virus but have high levels of exasperation due to lack of social time with friends and family. I am blaming the lack of social interaction as the cause of trouble focusing and staying on task. I am currently working on at least nine needlepoint projects at one time. I’m pretty sure I am breaking some needlepoint rule that pertains to the percent of finished projects versus started projects, but I don’t care. I’m looking for any little bit of excitement that I can scrounge up and starting a project seems to be the fastest/easiest way for me to maintain my sanity while practicing social distancing or, as I have come to call it, social isolation. I shouldn’t complain. I don’t live alone. At least I have a husband, three dogs, one cat, seven ducks and a pond full of koi to keep me company. I feel sorry for people who are going through this historical event alone.

On the upside, the November/December issue has gone to the printer and will be hitting the mail boxes the beginning of November. There is a large variety of projects featured, nine in total that should keep you entertained for a few weeks or more. If you enjoy stitching Christmas ornaments, we have two petite stockings, Blue Shimmer #1 and #2 by Pat Mazu and Red Bargello Bell by Timmy Schultz. I am gathering my materials to stitch all of them. They are smaller projects that should only take a few evenings to complete (perfect for my short attention span) plus I thought it might get me in the holiday spirit by working on something festive. Not to brag but I can even assemble the mini stockings myself!

Whimsical Believe by Pepperberry Designs appears on our front cover. Timmy Schultz wrote a fabulous guide for this design. This seems like the November/December issue is the Timmy Schultz issue. She wrote the guide for the cover piece. She designed the Red Bargello Ornament. Her new book has a write up by Gretchen Janesack and she has her regular column My Favorite Things with a yummy recipe for some of the best peanut butter cookies I have ever tasted.

The back cover features Guarding the Village by Maggie Co. This piece started out as a challenge that began at the March Getaway hosted by Needle Nook of La Jolla. Laura Taylor offered some wonderful stitch and thread suggestions that inspired me to fill in the areas that she hadn’t gotten to. This is a fun stitch! I hated to finish it. I felt like I had to say goodbye to a friend when I took it off the stretcher bars.

Love You More has a fabulous piece in this issue called Partridge in a Pear Tree. Emily Hennessy did a fantastic job with the guide. I am putting this design on my list of pieces I would like to stitch. Emily uses Gimp for the tree trunk in a way that isn’t only innovative, it is supper effective.

Finger Step Designs has a fun piece in this issue called Color Test Sampler that will give you a chance to paint on canvas and then see how thread colors react to different background colors. Cheryl Schaeffer and Annie Lee Designs have a few more canvas cookies for us and we will also be finishing up the Pippin Judaic Sampler in this issue.

I hope everyone finds something entertaining to work on in this issue. From what I understand, we may be at this for a while longer.

Magazine publisher, Out!

Elizabeth

Coming in November/December 2020

Whimsical Believe

Canvas by Pepperberry Designs, Stitch Guide by Timmy Schultz

Guarding the Village Art by Paula Newman, Canvas distributed by Maggie Co, Stitch Guide by Laura Taylor and Elizabeth Bozievich

Blue Shimmer 1 & 2 by Patricia Mazu

Partridge in a Pear Tree Design by Love You More, Stitch Guide by Emily Hennessy

Judaica Sampler Canvas by Pippin Studio Stitch Guide by Donna Brandeis LaGanga

Christmas Canvas Cookies

Color Test Sampler by Finger Step Designs

Elizabeth's Musings

Notes From a Stitching Life by Elizabeth Hurd

Making It Simple

by Anne Stradal

Stitching With Confidence by Ellen Johnson

My Favorite Things

by Timmy Schultz

Bookshelf

by Gretchen Janesack

What's New, What's Hot by Gretchen Janesack

Using Common Stitches in Uncommon Ways

by Ann Strite-Kurz

Down the Rabbit Hole

by Coni Rich

Red Bargello Bell

by Timmy Schultz

Laying Tools: The Important Features by Ann Strite-Kurz

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Don't miss a single issue of Needlepoint Now! Stuffed with needlepoint love, amazing painted canvases with stitch guides, intriguing charted projects, new stitches, tips & tricks, project reviews, professional insights and much more.

Hi Elizabeth,

I bought the canvas at Needlepoint Inc. in SF. Stitches and threads are mine. I added the heart. It is special because my husband managed the Transamerica Pyramid for 12 years.

Louise Rapoport

We always like to share your projects with our other readers, so please send photos of your needlepoint for our newsletter "Ta-Das" to [email protected]

Magazine Subscribers Enter to Win! In our October drawing, subscriber Bonnie Ingalls of Virginia won two rolls of our always useful frame tape. Congratulations, Bonnie!

The prize for our December drawing is a wonderful laying tool with beaded leash and beaded magnet from Merry L, which we review in our "What's New" column in November/December 2020!

Just email or call us with your subscriber I.D. number to enter the drawing.

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The drawing will take place on December 18, 2020.

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Plan ahead for 2021!

We've rescheduled our tours to 2021 and we hope you'll come with us as we tell A Tale of Two Cities in London and Paris, and explore Off The Beaten Path in England and Scotland. We'll be stitching, shopping, and sight-seeing our way across France, England and Scotland with some unusual destinations not usually included on public tours. You have your choice of adventures, each lasting two weeks, or choose both and come with us for three glorious weeks!

If you'd like to bring a loved one along, they are more than welcome! We'll have activities for non-stitchers as well as exclusive needlepoint projects and classes for you. Don't miss this unforgettable adventure!

Please visit our website for more information.

Back in August, I mentioned that I'd fallen into a funk with the stitching project I was working on (Toni Gerde's amazing Klimt-inspired Kimono) and asked for subscribers to our newsletter to share their tips for getting past creative block. Several readers generously took the time to share their thoughts:

I started working on a Melissa Shirley Christmas stocking for my daughter about 8 1/2 years ago. I would work on it and get bored or frustrated and put it down. I finished lots of other things in the 8 1/2 years - Christmas ornaments, pillows, framed pieces, etc. but the stocking was so daunting and I would end up obsessing over the right stitch or thread color for a 1 inch square. My daughter would fuss at me (she's almost 14) - "Mom, when are you going to finish my stocking?" It just overwhelmed me.

At the beginning of the pandemic I decided that if I was locked down, I was going to finish the stocking. Instead of my previous strategy of moving around from area to area, I decided to start at the top with any unfinished areas. Once everything in that section was complete, I rolled it to the next section. No excuses, no cheating. I finished at the end of May.

Picture of my daughter holding the finished stocking is attached. It feels so good to have that monkey off my back. I now can work on what I want, guilt free!

Vicky M.

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Honestly, Needlepoint Now always inspires.

I often alternate a large project with a small (ornament, coaster, jewelry, insert, sign, stand up, etc.). I also keep a couple yards of blank 18m on hand and brainstorm ideas. Your magazine gives me ideas, tips, and hints. I already have many issues, sorted by months for seasonal inspirations. I intend to never be without it!

Katherine E.

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When I’m trying very hard to get out of a funk... and let’s say I’m really in to a good book that I don’t want to put down... I do the rewards system. I can read a chapter only after stitching one whole thread! And then I find myself stitching more than just one!

Julie T.

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Everyone has a creative dry spell now and then. I’ve found my best solution is to keep a ‘mindless’ project in the works. This is usually a small detailed piece for which the best stitch is our basic tent stitch. No decisions to make, just another hole for my needle. Pretty soon, my mind is rested, I’ve accomplished something, and I’m ready to get back to more challenging pieces.

Rozelle H.

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Thanks to all who submitted tips for getting out of a creative block when it comes to needlepoint. Vicky was the winner of the random drawing and as a thank you, she'll be receiving a lined Klimt journal from Paperblanks, a beautiful way to record thoughts and inspirations for stitching projects.

Thank you all and Happy Stitching.

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