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ONLINE MAGAZINE FOR CROSS STITCHERS The Gift of Stitching ISSUE 1 FEBRUARY 2006 FIRST FeatureFeature PatternPattern ISSUE WomanWoman SewingSewing ByBy LamplightLamplight byby SolariaSolaria GalleryGallery MysteryMystery SamplerSampler startsstarts PapillonPapillon CreationsCreations WIN silk threads from Vikki Claytons Hand Dyed Fibers SubscribeSubscribe nownow andand ppayay lessless thanthan $10$10 forfor 1212 issues!issues! www.thegiftofstitching.com Editorial Contents Welcome to the first issue of The Gift of Feature Patterns Stitching. It has been both exciting and Page 4 Woman Sewing by Lamplight by challenging putting this magazine together. Solaria Gallery Thank you to the designers and writers who Page 12 Mystery Sampler by Papillon Creations have contributed. This months feature design is from Stoyanka Bonus Pattern Ivanova from Solaria Gallery. It is of a mother Page 15 What Now? by Adventures in Stitching sewing by candlelight, with her baby in the background asleep. Absolutely lovely. Columns We also have the first part of a five part Page 10 Investigate with Marie mystery sampler from Yvonne Horn of Papillon Creations. She has used silks from Articles Vicki Clayton and they are just gorgeous. We Page 3 On being a Model Stitcher have 2 packs to give away so make sure you enter the competition. Competitions I would like to introduce our first columnist Page 12 Silk threads from Hand-Dyed Threads Marie-Chantal Lord. Marie loves researching and designing all forms of counted thread All patterns in this issue have been printed with permission embroidery. Her column will investigate a from the designers. This magazine is under copyright. It style of stitching with a small pattern each cannot be republished or distributed in print or electronically, month. If you have a pattern or a question for in part or whole. Marie to investigate make sure you email her. Copyright The Gift of Stitching 2006 Lastly there is a bonus pattern from Carol Rice of Adventures in Stitching. A lovely little piece that uses a variety of stitches. Be sure to have a look at the companion piece on her website. I would love to hear from subscribers - where youre from and what you are currently stitching. Send your emails to [email protected] with the subject Letter to Editor, or go to the website www.thegiftofstitching.com and click on Contact the Editor. Have fun with the first issue, there are many more to come. Kind regards, Kirsten Edwards Next Issue Coming up in March... a Woodland Sampler from Barbara Peterson, Something In Common. www.aaneedleworks.altervista.org www.thegiftofstitching.com Issue 1 February 2006 Page 2 On being a Model Stitcher We all dream of one day combining stitch while some models require a quitting your day job straight away. our favourite hobby with earning an variety of stitches, i.e. hardanger or On average a model stitcher is paid 1 income. It would be heaven to cross pulled thread work. Theresa points penny a stitch. Some designers and stitch all day and get paid. Those that out that there are some commonalities shops will pay you more and some have this wonderful occupation are and that is a nice neat back, no tight can only pay with needlework supplies called model stitchers. They stitch stitches on the front that leave holes and store credit. Theresa recommends the beautiful pieces that we see in and nothing returned dirty. knowing exactly what youre magazines, shows, shops and on Sounds like your sort of work? expecting in payment for your work. pattern covers. Where do you start? Theresa advises Model stitchers work for themselves. Whats it really like for these model joining a group where model stitchers This means the stitcher is responsible stitchers? Do they love their job or congregate. There is one on Yahoo! for tracking their own income and does it turn their hobby into a chore? Groups called Modelstitcher and reporting it at the end of the tax year. In January I interviewed Theresa Designers (MaD). There you will be With all this said, Theresa loves her Dunlap from Pennsylvania, USA who able to observe how things work and job. Not many people can say that has been model stitching for 20 years. see postings from designers looking they are being paid to do what they She gave me an insight into the for model stitchers. If your application love, and she considers herself one of business and also some advice on to be a model stitcher is accepted by those lucky ones. what it takes to become a model a designer or shop then make sure stitcher yourself. you work out all the arrangements before you start stitching. Who will It was in 1986 that Theresa reluctantly pay for the postage and supplies? went along to her local needlework What count is the model to be stitched shop and applied for the job of model on? What is the deadline? And how stitcher. She didnt know what they much payment for the model? But were expecting so she bought along expect that every once and a while samples of her stitching in crewel things wont go as planned. You may embroidery, chicken scratch, cross not receive the payment you expected stitch and candlewicking. They liked or the designer or shop goes out of her work and she was hired on the business. Communicate well and the spot. contract should go well. Since that day Theresa has model Lastly, how much does a model stitched just about anything and stitcher make? Theresa advises not everything. Shes completed models for shops, pattern covers and trunk and trade shows. She has stitched models on pre-finished items, hand- dyed fabrics, linen, aida and completed test patterns for crochet and knitting. So how does she feel about model stitching 20 years on? Theresa still loves the challenge of meeting a deadline - some days opening an email where another stitcher has had to pull out just before a show. Theresa takes on the challenge of completing the piece with a very tight deadline. Not for the fainthearted and those of us who love our sleep! Theresa now has time to do some of her own stitching. Her experience has taught her to be more selective of what she stitches and who for. What level, experience and skill is needed to become a model stitcher? This definitely depends on who you are stitching for. Some clients want to see examples of your stitching, others will require a scan of stitching front and back. Some want basic cross www.mistydreamz.com www.thegiftofstitching.com Issue 1 February 2006 Page 3 Feature Pattern - Woman Sewing By Lamplight by Stoyanka Ivanova of Solaria Gallery human face very interesting for About the Designer drawing and designing. In the initial years designs were mainly old masters, lately she has created designs after her own drawings and paintings. Since June 2004 Stoyanka shares her time between her small daughter and designing. Her little girl is now an inspiration for many of her designs including "Angel Guardian" and the free series of teddy bears. Here are some tips from Stoyanka Stoyanka Ivanova is from Bulgaria for stitching her designs. one thread of the fabric and the - a small and beautiful country in My bigger and more rest are over two threads. The idea southeastern Europe. It has a complicated designs are divided is almost the same. wealthy historical and cultural into two parts - the main pattern When some designs don't include heritage. Bulgaria has a long (for the background) and the special details, you can stitch the tradition of stitching. For many pattern of details (usually for faces whole pattern normally with plain years popular designs came from and sometimes whole characters). cross stitch or petit-point. When a Wiehler Gobelin - a German I learned this technique from design includes special details you company that manufactured Wiehler Gobelin designs. It's a stitch the background first then fill gobelin kits. popular way to stitch in my country the empty spaces with the fine The french word gobelin means because it allows to reach at the details. After that you take the next embroidered painting. It is same time two goals - to make the step to stitch details in the empty derived from the name of an old most important parts of every places. dye works on the outskirts of Paris. design fine and precise and to save For more details about stitching Apart from stitching a few time for the background's stitching. with this technique, Stoyanka has gobelins in earlier years, Stoyanka This technique is something similar detailed instructions on her began to design her own patterns to the technique, used by Marilyn website. while working as a computer Leavitt-Imblum in her latest www.solaria-gallery.com/ programmer in the field of graphic designs. Her angels' faces are over design. She actually built her own cross stitch programme! It was a long process especially with matching thread colours to computer screen colours. After creating and stitching some initial designs, she discovered that no programme could do all the designing. It took a lot of hand work to create a design that was good enough. Stoyankas designs are based on actual paintings which cover a whole fabric area. She loves to design portraits, religious works including icons. Portraits are a favourite. Stoyanka finds the www.thegiftofstitching.com Issue 1 February 2006 Page 4 Feature Pattern - Woman Sewing By Lamplight by Stoyanka Ivanova of Solaria Gallery Design Information Woman Sewing by Lamplight after the artwork of Jean Francois Millet Number of colors: 44 Design size in stitches: 130W x 160H Stitching area 14 ct: 9 1/4" x 11 1/2" (23.5 x 30 cm) 18 ct: 7 1/4" x 9" (18.5 x 23 cm) 25 ct: 5 1/4 x 6 1/2 (13.5 cm x 16.5) Add 3 (8 cm) each side for framing allowance.