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The Needlework Nutshell—April 1, 2007 Volume 3, Issue 4 April 1, 2007 <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL Needlework news, musings, tips, contests, and what’s happening now at FUNK & WEBER DESIGNS <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> Editor: Jen Funk Weber Mail to: mailto:mail@funkandweber.com Web site: http://www.funkandweber.com Your privacy is important to us. Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others. *********************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE *********************************************************** 1. Needlework Musings 2. Tips and Tricks and Brilliant Ideas 3. What’s New at Funk & Weber Designs 4. Make It Yours! 5. Readers Ask 6. Puzzle Contest 7. Contact/Subscribe/Unsubscribe *********************************************************** 1. NEEDLEWORK MUSINGS *********************************************************** As Needle & Th*READ* blog readers know, I had a solo mid-March Stitchathon. Friends who traveled to the Lower 48 for Spring Break needed a house- and cat-sitter, and I volunteered. It's fun to live in someone else's house. In this case, I was in the town where most of our Alaska friends live, so it was a week-long friend-fest, too. Most of my time, however, was spent stitching and doing pop-culture research via extensive television viewing. Watching tons of TV never sounded so important, eh? The only TV option where we live is satellite, and we currently have no plans to pursue that. Yet I'm told in both of my chosen fields, children's writing and needlework designing, that I have to stay on top of current trends, and one method of doing that is to watch popular TV. An editor at a writers' conference once said that no one could expect to write well for children without watching the shows on the WB (now the CW). We have to know how kids talk, what they're doing, and how they're doing it if we want our writing to sound and be authentic. Designers have to know what the popular colors and trends are for needlework. So I watched lots of kids shows and home decorating shows. We also need to know what interests people, so I watched Gilmore Girls, Super Sweet 16, and Real Housewives of Orange County, among many others. I hoped to make connections: connections between myself and readers and stitchers, connections between my work and popular trends. Here's what I learned: I'm totally, completely, 100% out of it! What is this obsession with super-wealthy, spoiled, immature, and mind-numbingly dull people? Why is rudeness considered cool? And am I really the only one who gets bored with non-stop sexual innuendo? I felt disconnected. Worse, if these shows are somehow to influence my writing and designing, then I'm really not interested. So I indulged in Leave It To Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, and the *only* reality TV show that didn't make me want to kill people: Grease, You're the One That I Want. Bring on the Broadway hopefuls! Exceptional singing and dancing, that's what I call entertainment. (Yeah, I know: my already-low "cool" rating just dove below the surface.) Then Mike came for a visit and I gave him the remote control. The Simpsons, The Colbert Report, sports. Interesting. The man is my husband and my best friend. We have heaps of fun together, and we never run out of things to talk about. He's smart, funny, thoughtful. We connect like Legos. But when given the choice, we watch entirely different things on TV. Revelation! TV is a thing unto itself. It may be a window into some world, but it's a small world (after all). My connection with Mike is indisputable in spite of our TV disconnection. Ergo, I can still connect with readers and stitchers who might happen to love Real Housewives of Orange County and hate Broadway musicals. It's okay that I'm out of TV loop, and any number of other loops that don't extend to rural Alaska. The connection we make through reading and stitching is enough. *********************************************************** 2. TIPS AND TRICKS AND BRILLIANT IDEAS *********************************************************** Finishing needlework. This is a topic that comes up over and over and over. Stitchers beg for new, interesting, and relatively inexpensive finishing options, but at the same time, claim to hate finishing. Okay, that needs to change. Right here. Right now. It's like mounting the fabric to the frame prior to stitching, and backstitching after the Xs are stitched--it's important, it's part of the process, and dag-nabbit it's FUN! At least it should be, but fun is like beauty: it's in the eye of the beholder. So what I'm saying is *I* think finishing is fun, and I'd like you to agree with me! As a dyed-in-the-wool, hardcore D-I-Y-er, I tend to shun the ready-made finishing options: the acrylic coasters, the hand towels with aida inserts, even professional picture framing. There are times and places for all of those, but I get most satisfaction from creative D-I-Y finishing. Last month I said I'd share my finishing technique for the embroidery free-for-all tree ornament, and it falls under the creative D-I-Y finishing umbrella. It's also easy, fun, and inexpensive. Are you ready for this? You might want to sit down. I GLUED IT, BABY! Hey, if there's a time and place for an acrylic coaster, then there's a time and place for glue. Try it and judge for yourself. The first question is what glue? The choices are many, and I have yet to pick a favorite. In my stash I have: *Needlework Finisher packaged by Yarn Tree Designs *Stitchless Washable Fabric Glue by Delta *Fabri-Tac by Beacon Adhesives *Gem-Tac by Beacon Adhesives But I did this tree ages ago and you know what I used? ELMERS GLUE ALL, BABY! No kidding. In this case, I want the glue to: *Dry clear *Have a permanent hold--it doesn't have to be particularly strong *Not penetrate the fabric I don't care if it's flexible or rigid, but that's a consideration for some projects. The next question is what to use for backing. I used wool felt for the tree, but just about any fabric will do; since we're gluing it, it shouldn't fray. Nonetheless, I wanted something that would disguise any lumps on the back, and that the glue wouldn't soak through. I now have some thin aluminum (I think it's aluminum--I can cut it with scissors) sheets that I plan to use for more rigid backing. As for the technique, take a deep breath and read carefully: 1 - Smear glue all over back side of stitching and fabric beyond stitching. (I take the lid off the glue bottle, pour the glue, then use my finger to spread it.) 2 - Press backing material onto stitching, making sure edges have a good bond. 3 - Allow to dry, then trim close to stitching or wherever you choose. Complicated, eh? You can always print these instructions for reference. The glue not only attaches the backing to the needlework, but it fixes the ground fabric so it doesn't fray, and it fixes the stitching should you accidentally cut a fiber as you cut out the design. Sharp scissors make the job easier and neater. From the side, I think my tree looks like a sandwich cookie. It's tidy, durable, interesting, I did it all myself, and it was fun! I added an image of the back side of the tree ornament here: http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/tree.html *********************************************************** 3. WHAT’S NEW AT FUNK & WEBER *********************************************************** The Spiderwick deadline was met (Did you doubt it?), and I'm thrilled with the manuscripts! There are several puzzle styles in these that are not in the Nancy Drew books; I like to shake things up and keep them fresh. That's it for this project until next winter, I imagine. http://spiderwick.com ~~~~~~~~~~ During my week-long Stitchathon I completed a new Stitchling for the LET THERE BE NIGHT series. Barring some disaster in the layout and printing, it should be available at The Needlework Show, online April 18-23, which leads me to... ~~~~~~~~~~ You’re invited to THE NEEDLEWORK SHOW, April 18-23, 2007. http://www.needleworkshow.com This is an online wholesale needlework show that can be visited by the public. It’s a great opportunity to check out new designs and designers, and to hang out with other stitchers. There are games and prizes to add to the fun. I won't be offering any classes during this show because... ~~~~~~~~~~ I'm hitting the road in April. If you're anywhere near Montoursville, PA, I'm doing an Alaska slide show at BushMountain Stitchery, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. I will *not* have models with me, but I will have charts, some AK natural history show-and-touch objects (hey, I think they're cool!), slides, and maybe even some answers to your burning questions about Funk & Weber Designs. http://www.bushmountain.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~ If you're in MD, PA, or VA, and would like to have me visit your group (Scouts, 4-H, homeschoolers...), I have a few free days left in May. Contact me for specifics. Ya never know--it just might work! ~~~~~~~~~~ During the Stitchathon, I also stitched the first Needle & Th*READ* bookmark. More on that...sometime in the future. I'm slow, but I'm working on the whole stitching-for-literacy campaign. ~~~~~~~~~~ We're blogging! I have a Team Blog with my online critique group. There are 6 of us, from CT to AK, who have been reading and critiquing each other's work for about 3 years. Pairs of us have met in person a few times, but never have we met face-to-face, all together. We hope to meet in Ohio in April 2007. Our focus, of course, is children's writing. http://6writers1story.blogspot.com/ I have *another* blog on my own. Think I can't possibly have that much to say? Remember, I live in rural Alaska and hate to travel in winter. I go for days and weeks without seeing anyone but Mike. I can pretty much talk anyone's ear off! The question is whether or not I have anything worthwhile to say, but I'm not touching that one. http://JenFunkWeber.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~ Due to exceptional busy-ness next summer, we have decided that the next Alaska Stitch-N-Safari will be scheduled for the summer of 2008. Information about these special stitching tours is available on our web site http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/tour.html *********************************************************** 4. MAKE IT YOURS! *********************************************************** Hello, hello, hellooooooo. Is is any- anyone -one there there there? Those are echoes. This space is hollow, empty, echo-y. Get it? ~~~~~~~~~~ Have you adapted a pattern to Make It Yours? Tell us about it! mail@funkandweber.com *********************************************************** 5. READERS ASK *********************************************************** Please e-mail me with questions for this section. mail@funkandweber.com I got an email recently from someone asking about a DMC color name on one of our charts. I didn't think of it as a potential Readers Ask question, so I didn't save the name. Sorry. Well, it's currently a topic of discussion amongst some designers so I thought I'd address it here. DMC assigns numbers to their colors, not names--with good reason, as it turns out. Over time, names have been assigned based on a "consensus." Good luck determining whose consensus, exactly--I certainly don't know. It's this consensus that came up with the delightful names such as "Ultra Very Dark Emerald Green" (3818), "Medium Very Dark Cornflower Blue" (158), and "Ultra Very Light Beige Brown" (543). Sing it with me: "Yo-ou, my ultra-very-light-beige-brown-eyed girl!" Or how about a story featuring that nasty ultra-very-dark-emerald-green-eyed monster called "jealousy." I'm with DMC on this: numbers are the way to go. However, when I'm searching for a color in my stash, which while being organized in numerical order is never actually in numerical order, I find it helpful to know if I'm looking for a yellow or a blue. That narrows my search significantly. So descriptive names become useful, and now I'm on the consensus side. Then it comes time to lay out a pattern for printing. A list of numbers doesn't take up much space, but to list a dozen (or 57) names like "Medium Very Dark Cornflower Blue" takes up an entire *expensive* page. So we write "Md Vy Dk Cornflower Blue" or "M V D Cornfl Blu" or . . . I've spent a good chunk of time trying to reduce color names to reasonable lengths, and even then they don't fit. So I'm back on the number-only side. Except typos happen. And people--even those without dyslexia--reverse numbers from time to time. Here again, it's helpful to describe the color at least generally to allow for quick double-checking. I'm exhausted jumping from one side to the other in this dilemma. Recently, I kinda sorta almost decided to bag the burdensome consensus names and try generic descriptions like "redish," "blueish," "brownish." What do you think? Would that fly? Or would Funk & Weber Designs be the next victim of message board bashing for incoherent, confusing, and altogether strange pattern instructions? We'll see, but maybe you should consider this your warning! Consensus names for DMC colors are listed here: http://tinyurl.com/3d75pf Some design software has these names pre-programmed, and one was recently updated with what are apparently DMC color names in the UK. That's right--DMC colors have different names in different countries. Different consensus, perhaps? That shouldn't be at all confusing. What does that do to designers who sell overseas? Redish, blueish, brownish are looking pretty good right now. *********************************************************** 6. PUZZLE CONTEST *********************************************************** Play with me! Solve this puzzle, and be entered to win a free Funk & Weber Designs pattern! Winners will be randomly selected from all correct entries. E-mail your answer, with “PUZZLE CONTEST” in the subject line. The deadline for this month’s puzzle is midnight (Alaska time, of course) April 7, 2007. The winner will be selected on April 8, 2007 (or shortly thereafter), notified by e-mail, and announced on our web site and in the next NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. To avoid sending e-mail attachments, contest puzzles will be uploaded to our web site. I will provide a link to the puzzle in THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. To the puzzle! http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/nutshell/block.pdf ~~~~~~~~~~ March PUZZLE CONTEST WINNER: Beverly, from Cottonwood, AZ. What do you get when you cross an elephant with a rhinoceros? Elephino. See, I like that joke, but it's not one I'd put out there for kids I don't know, no matter how much they might love to say the answer! *********************************************************** 7. CONTACT FUNK & WEBER DESIGNS *********************************************************** SUBSCRIBE: 57410-subscribe@zinester.com UNSUBSCRIBE: 57410-unsubscribe@zinester.com ARCHIVES: http://archives.zinester.com/57410 Jen Funk Weber mail@funkandweber.com http://www.funkandweber.com Copyright 2007, Funk & Weber Designs |
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