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The Needlework Nutshell??”February 1, 2006 Volume 2, Issue 2 February 1, 2006 <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> 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 3. What??™s New at Funk & Weber Designs 4. Make it Yours! (***NEW***) 5. Readers Ask 6. Contest 7. Contact/Subscribe/Unsubscribe *********************************************************** 1. NEEDLEWORK MUSINGS *********************************************************** It??™s Groundhog Day tomorrow! The day Punxsutawney Phil comes out of his hole to look for his shadow. If he sees it, we??™re doomed to six more weeks of winter. A lot of people are in a hurry for spring on February 2nd. In fact, it seems that a lot of people are in a hurry for everything: to get through that red light, to get food on the table, to get this needlework project finished. Rush needlework? What??™s up with that? Needlework is, by nature, slow work. If it??™s quick you??™re after, you??™re better off cutting paper snowflakes or stringing beads (both things I enjoy doing!). So why do some people choose needlework, then demand it be quick? In an effort to explain why needlepoint is superior to cross stitch, one web site claims that needlepoint is ???half the work.??? The tent/continental/basketweave stitch is half a cross stitch, and thus requires half the effort, and takes half as long to do. Furthermore, the site says, backstitch is rarely employed in needlepoint, hence, less work still! You know what??™s even less work and faster? Not stitching! I??™m not sure speed and less work are good goals for needleworkers. Yet, I can??™t tell you how many times I??™ve heard cross stitchers say they hate backstitching??”my sister feels that way. When I ask why, the answer is ???it takes too long.??? Huh? My experience is that backstitching goes faster than cross stitching. It??™s generally worked with one strand of floss, so there are no threads to align, and each stitch has just one leg, while a cross stitch has two. So backstitching isn??™t ???slow,??? per se. What backstitch-haters mean, I think, is that the needlework seems as though it should be finished when all the crosses (or whatever stitches) are complete. Backstitching often requires going over stitches that have already been worked. More precisely, what backstitch-haters mean (I think??”I??™m not one of them) is, ???I??™m in a hurry to move on to the next project.??? So, in reality, it??™s not the backstitch??™s fault. They get a bad rap because some stitchers are in a hurry. But backstitches can serve a useful purpose. They add detail which can make a project more intricate and interesting. As an outline, they make shapes stand out and can add depth. Stitch for stitch, I believe the humble backstitch can have more strength and impact than the more popular cross stitches. Consider a white beard on Santa. A slew of white crosses will convey the idea of a beard, but add a backstitched outline and some curls inside and suddenly the beard seems more lifelike, dimensional, sophisticated, and elegant. That??™s a huge gain from a few small stitches. Hooray for backstitches! Instead of choosing projects (or techniques) because of the time they will take to complete, I hope you will choose them because you enjoy the process of stitching, and like the way a particular piece looks. If backstitch is part of that look, I hope you will embrace those stitches the same way you embrace the others. Really, what??™s the rush? Value the time that it takes to stitch; it??™s time well spent. *********************************************************** 2. TIPS AND TRICKS *********************************************************** WHEN LITTLE STITCHES MEAN A LOT Before you read on, take a look at these 2 images of a cross stitched wolf from our PORTRAITS OF THE WILD LIFE pattern. Can you see a difference? Do 81202/116553_wolf.jpg br> http://www.funkandweber.com/nutshell/wolf.jpg I do. I like the wolf on the right. He looks brighter and more alive to me. The difference? Two itty-bitty white stitches on the pupils. That??™s it! Those are the ???sparkles??? in the wolf??™s eyes. When light shines on real eyes, they sparkle. We may not be consciously aware of it, but it makes a difference. Artists are taught to add similar marks to paintings and drawings, and they are just as effective in needlework. In THE LORD OF THE RINGS, one way Galadriel is set off from the other elves is by the light that reflects in her eyes. Designers built a special light, made of Christmas lights, rather than a single bulb, to use for her close-up shots. The effect is a bunch of shimmering sparkles in her eyes. She appears brighter, or lighter, than the other elves. Now, did I notice that the light in her eyes was different when I watched the movie? Nope! But I did get the impression that she was special, light, ethereal. It??™s a cinch to make two itty-bitty white stitches on a pupil, but getting them to look just right can be a trick. If there are two eyes (a straight on image rather than a profile), the sparkles need to coordinate??”to appear as though they come from a single light source. And more than that, they need to be the right size, and placed well. How do you do that? Stitch and rip until you get a look you like! Trust me, you??™ll know when you??™ve got something that works. So there you have it. Don??™t judge a stitch by its size and popularity. Sometimes small stitches have a big impact. *********************************************************** 3. WHAT??™S NEW AT FUNK & WEBER *********************************************************** CLUELESS IN ALASKA: KNOW MORE! BOOK PROMOTION Okay, this isn??™t needlework-related, but it??™s what??™s new here. Does that count? We??™re attending our first book promotion event! We??™ll be signing advance copies of the book at a wholesale gift trade show in Anchorage this weekend. Fun! It??™s not available yet, but Amazon already has it listed??¦and discounted! http://tinyurl.com/bmsmo ~~~~~~~~~~ TWO NEW *LET THERE BE NIGHT* STITCHLINGS TAKING SHAPE! They are both stitched and mounted. Next, I work on the pattern layouts. ~~~~~~~~~~ STITCH-N-SAFARI 2006, JUNE 24-JULY 1 Dates for the 2006 Stitch-N-Safari are set! If you??™ve ever dreamed of coming to Alaska, we hope you??™ll consider joining us for this trip. Mike and I both spent a number of years guiding for ALASKA WILDLAND ADVENTURES, and are now proud to offer this special adventure through them. We will visit protected wild places, enjoy spectacular scenery and (we hope) wildlife, then relax and stitch at comfortable wilderness lodges in the evening, while someone else prepares dinner! Visit our web site for further details, the itinerary, and costs, or contact ALASKA WILDLAND ADVENTURES http://www.alaska-wildland.com (1-800-334-8730) for their free brochure. Be sure to ask about the Funk & Weber Designs Stitch-N-Safari. We??™d love to show you our Alaska! *********************************************************** 4. MAKE IT YOURS! *********************************************************** This is a NEW column to share ideas for personalizing patterns. Did you substitute specialty fibers for a design element? Change colors? Did you isolate a few design elements to use in a unique way? Did you finish your piece in a different way? If you??™ve personalized one of our patterns, please drop me a line??”and a picture, if possible. Our January puzzle contest winner, Karen, allowed me to make the final decision as to which pattern to send for her prize. I chose THE GREAT OUTDOORS. In part, I chose it because she lives in MA??”a northern state that has many of the things in the sampler. But what finally tipped the scale was the potential to use the pattern in a unique way. Karen has a great last name, longish with lots of different letters. I think it would be fun to stitch her last name using the letters from that pattern. Maybe you have a name that would look nice spelled out in those letters. Maybe you can stitch some of the animal tracks around your name, or maybe part of the border??”the trees as they change color through the seasons! Or maybe, if your name isn??™t especially exciting, you can stitch ???Welcome??? from the letters. Try it! Make it yours! *********************************************************** 5. READERS ASK *********************************************************** Please e-mail me with questions for this section. mail@funkandweber.com Terri asks if I can put the winner of the monthly puzzle contests up earlier. Yes, Terri, I *can.* Now let??™s see if I *do!* I need to contact the winner before I post a name. I want to make sure I can reach the person, and I like to get permission to post the name on the site and here in the newsletter. That said, I usually make contact and get the prize in the mail within a few days after the contest is closed, so there??™s no reason I can??™t post it then. I??™ll work on it! *********************************************************** 6. PUZZLE CONTEST *********************************************************** Play with me! I??™m a puzzle fan, and have sold over 200 puzzles to children??™s magazines and web sites. My first children??™s book, due out in March 2006 from Sasquatch Books, is??¦you guessed it??”a puzzle book! Specifically, it is an Alaska natural history puzzle book, illustrated with Mike??™s photos. 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) February 7, 2006. The winner will be selected on February 8, 2006, 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 only in THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. The con 81202/116552_cubes.PDF ot the public at large, and all winners will be subscribers. To the puzzle! http://www.funkandweber.com/pdf/cubes.PDF ~~~~~~~~~~ JANUARY PUZZLE CONTEST WINNER: KAREN FROM MILTON, MA. Thanks to everyone who participated! Answer: Column 2, Row E: 4U (as in a puzzle 4U!) *********************************************************** 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 2006, Funk & Weber Designs |
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March01, 2006 - The Needlework Nutshell >> |
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