Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

...IN your needlework, that is! Recently we polled our Facebook friends to see which Kreinik thread they liked to use to replicate snow in their needlework. Hands-down Kreinik color 032 Pearl is the favorite, but some add a touch of blue to their snow with colors like Kreinik 194 Pale Blue, 9400 Baby Blue, 1432 Blue Ice, 094 Star Blue. How do you like to capture that cool crystalline coating in your needlework?

Snow is sparkly in real life, and the easiest way to make it sparkly in projects is with metallic threads. If you would like to try blending shades to create a snow scene, look for the Kreinik Metallic Gift Collection: Snowflake, available online at www.kreinikmall.com (in Kits & Collections), which has several different "snowy" shades in one boxed set. Want something really different and fun? We recommend Kreinik Ombre 3200 Pearl in the Satin Stitch for snow drifts.

Here are some responses from our Facebook poll.

• Blending filament in pearl (sometimes with white thread) makes a sparkly snow .... and for that morning sun hitting the snow look blending filament in Starburst (over white or alone) mixed in with some plain white stitches seems to do the trick! - Loretta O.
• 032 - in all sizes - sometimes with #4 or #8 when I really want shading in the painting to show through - sometimes #12 when I want full coverage - and #16 when I am using 13 mesh. It is the "best" snow !!! - Betsy H.
• Pearl Blending Filament (032) I love the twinkle it adds! - Maggie M.
• 032 blending filament looks most realistic. I'm looking forward to trying the new hologram threads. I think a scattered stitch of silver might be interesting. - Karen C.
• I use 032 and 100 on needlepoint canvas. I use a lot of your 1/8 and 1/16 ribbon for projects too. I use 4005 what a great metallic thread. It amazes me how this color can change depending on what color is next to it in a design. - Diana M.
• 032 bf looks the best for getting the sun glittering on the snow look - Margaret S.
• I like the 032 #4 braid. - Deborah K.
• Love the sparkle of 032! - Diane S.
• Have to agree, Pearl Blending Filament (032)! - Niina K.
• That's funny cos I have to agree with the others, blending filament 032. Just adds enough sparkle without hiding the white I use underneath. So pretty for a subtle sparkle. - Mandy F.
• My favourite for sparkly snowflakes on white fabric is 094 Blending Filament. But I'll use 032 on all colours. I love the shimmer and sparkle of Kreinik! - Doris D.
• When I was a kid, I always colored snowflakes/snow with a light blue crayon (as white never showed up on white paper!). I still like to add a hint of blue in my stitching. :) 094 is pretty and I like the look when added to white floss. - Diane Z.
• I use 032 Blending Filament when I'm doing a winter scene. I like the idea of trying 094 on white floss though, so maybe I'll try it on my next project. - Sharon T.
• An 032 fan - have in #4, #8, 16 braid - must try the blending filament! - Melita G.
  

No need to shovel embroidered snow. Just stitch and enjoy the pretty effects of metallic thread sparkle on your project.

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Unusual Gifts For Him

What do you get for the guy who has everything? Gift cards? Too impersonal! How about a football jersey? He's already got 10 of 'em (yes, I have 10!). Does he tie his own flies for fly fishing? Wait a minute...now we are talking. Kreinik's Metallic and Silk Threads are perfect items for the fly tyer on your list.

Yessiree, Kreinik threads are perfect for fly tying. There's just something about those metallic threads that fish just love. Maybe its because in nature, bugs, baitfish, etc have a metallic look. Ever take a close look at a Japanese beetle? Sometimes the metallic look just irritates the fish into biting.

For not-so-shiny stuff, Kreinik silk threads and dubbing also do the trick. It might interest you to know that silk threads have been used in fly tying for centuries. It's as old school as it gets. We are also the only manufacturer in the world to make silk dubbing, the ultimate dry fly dubbing that is almost like tying a life preserver onto a fly. The material floats all by itself. Click here to learn more about our Silk Dubbing.

Kreinik has a holiday specials page where you can find deals on some fly tying assortments they probably don't have. Click here to see these deals.

Looking for a cool project to make for that guy who has everything? Try this laptop sleeve man-gift idea. It uses Kreinik Hi-Speed Machine Sewing Threads. Just imaging making this cool gift in your guy's favorite team colors and using team printed fabrics. Click here to visit PrudentBaby.com to see how to make it.

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Wait, there's a fly in my shop...

Wait, there's a fly in my shop...

by Dena Lenham

You know that an independent needlework shop is a mecca for cross stitch and needlepoint, but do you know it is also a fly fishing Dream Scene? (The stitchers out there whose fishermen husbands periodically raid their thread stash are all nodding yes.) The eyes of fly tyers "bug out" when they see Kreinik metallic threads because of the realistic, naturalistic color range and durability of the material. The thread colors and textures that make Mirabilia angels and Strictly Christmas stockings also make woolly buggers, bass bugs, poppers, eels, wings, streamers, nymphs and midges. Super alluring to striped bass, crappie, trout, salmon, steelhead, pike and muskie, Kreinik Blending Filament catches as much action in the water as it does in cross stitch.

Did you know, for instance, that new Kreinik Blending Filament color 003L Robot Red also makes a fabulous Disco Midge? Pretty Kreinik 1/8" Ribbon in color 009 Emerald could easily be called Japanese Beetle. See your favorite Kreinik Christmas color 015 Chartreuse? It's a beautiful Caddis Larva in the eyes of another beholder. Here is a little story about one needlework shop that accidentally discovered fly fishing as a fun, creative, thread-collecting, loyal customer, just like needleworkers.

Stitch-A-Cross in San Diego is a thread haven to needleworkers in Southern California. Owner Elizabeth Braun carries all brands, including a large selection of Kreinik threads. Now 83 years young, Elizabeth started stitching back in the 1970s and early 80s. "My husband and I had a hardware store," Elizabeth recounts, "and we had the stitching section in the back of the store." When the hardware business closed, Elizabeth moved needlework to its own spot on Mission Gorge Road.

One day fly tyer Richard DeBusk walked into the store, looking for the Kreinik thread he heard about from the San Diego Fly Fishers club president. This club has 300+ members, offers free fly fishing and casting classes to the general public, and publishes a newsletter with "recipes" for tying specific flies. In Stitch-A-Cross, Richard found a source for products to tie flies for bass fishing in San Diego bay and lake fishing out in the mountains. He told some friends about the store, Elizabeth ordered some fly-specific items from Kreinik (like our pattern book, starter kit, and Flash-In-A-Tube), and a local fly tyers paradise was born.

Fly tying is an amazing, creative process for many, whether they actually use the flies or tie them for art's sake. One person in the San Diego Fly Fishers club has over 6000 flies ("He catches a lot of fish."). Tying his own flies was "interesting at first," Richard said. "Once I started catching fish, that made a big difference." Now he sees fly tying as a valuable tool for his hobby. "I've tied up some new ones and we are anxious to try them," he added.

Will Elizabeth pick up fly tying now that she has expanded her store stock to include books, Flash-in-A-Tube, and other Kreinik fly fishing supplies? Maybe it is too soon to tell, but we do know she has the stash ready for fly tyers out there making lures to catch a big one. Visit the store in San Diego or give them a call for more informaiton. The next time you shop your own local needlework store, bring a fly-fishing friend and share the thread love.

Visit Stitch-A-Cross or contact them for mail order:
7435A Mission Gorge Rd.
 San Diego, CA 92120

Phone: 619.287.4788
Web: www.stitchacross.com/
Email: 
stitchacross@att.net

Information about the San Diego Fly Fishers club:
http://www.sandiegoflyfishers.com/
Membership $35/year, Monthly meetings held first Monday of each month in Clairemont Mesa
Free casting lessons on Sundays, 9 a.m. at Lake Murray Casting Shelter

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From Houston, with Love by Doug Kreinik

Now that I have rested a bit after working the International Quilt Market in Houston, Texas week before last, and gotten acclimated to Daylight Savings Time, I need to say: I love Quilt Market. There is such a variety of creative options to see, from hand work to machine work. The art work is great and the imagination is overflowing. My favorite moment was the exhibition where there are more than a 1000 quilts to view. The quilts range from the very traditional to fantastic art quilts, plus clothing, dolls and this year a fantasy bra exhibit. The art quilts were big and used all sorts of medium. Landscape quilts played with experiences and scenes, making incredible eye candy. Being a bicycle rider, one of my favorite pieces was from Finland picturing a bicycle race. It showed depth, speed and perspective all at one time - very exciting. We are seeing more surface embellishing on quilts and, surprisingly, surface embellishing using the long-arm machines. We worked with several long arm companies at this show, using Kreinik metallic and silk threads for quilting and embellishing.

In our booth, we had a professional Janome educator, Carol McKinney, who used our product as I have never seen before. She also made a scarf from the Kreinik Bag O’Bits. It is so easy that even I could do it. She used a water-soluble material (preferably one sheet of the sticky type and one plain), added lots of metallic bits, a free-motion foot for the machine, Kreinik embroidery thread for the top stitches and a regular bobbin thread. Carol encased the bits by stitching around the outside, then creating an up and down grid, followed with lots of free motion embroidery. After about two hours, presto: a great-looking scarf. Our instructor made a sweater jacket with coordinating colors by creating fabric and cutting it out. The whole process blew my mind.

I really enjoy visiting with the doll makers. The dolls builders used Kreinik metallic and silk threads as embroidery and embellishments on clothing and also for the hair. They even used the Kreinik iron-ons in the clothing. This years theme for one doll challenge centered on Gypsies. The faces, clothing and fantasy adventures around the dolls described many stories. I will always be a fan of doll making.

Oh yeah, and the favorite eating places... I always eat at Whole Foods and Central Market in Houston. BBQ was at Goodes off of Kirby and 45, and my cousin took me to a terrific Dim Sum restaurant in the new Chinatown area near the Police Department at Bellaire and Ranchester. Also, I was treated to a 1-hour foot massage across the way. Very reasonable and relaxing.

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What are those things?

You may or may not have noticed these funny little codes showing up on posters and brochures recently. Well these codes are a cool way to quickly and easily send someone to a web page or video. Kreinik has recently begun including these "QR" codes on all marketing materials.

How does it work? You need a smart phone such like the IPhone or an Android based phone like the Droid, Samsung, LG Ally, etc. You will then need to download an app for your phone that will read the codes. Luckily there are free apps to do this. For the IPhone you can try the QR2D Code reader and for Android based phones try using the Barcode Scanner. Once you have downloaded and installed these apps on your phone, start the app. The scanner will use your phone's digital camera to scan the code. Simply hold your phone up in front of the code and the scanner will scan the code and instantly take you to the web page that code is programmed to link to. Try scanning the code in this post and see where it takes you. You should be able to scan it right off of your monitor.

Blackberry users we want to hear from you. Tell us about apps that work for you.

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Canada's crown jewel of needlepoint

She is quiet, petite, elegant — and one of the most talented designers you will ever meet. Canadian needlework artist Anna-Marie Winter creates stunning embroidery out beads, silk, metallic and real metal threads, makes greeting cards you want to preserve and frame, and shares her expertise with students all over the world. She is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet, one who makes you feel like an instant friend.

We want you to meet this talented designer, creator of the Tree Jewels line of charted needlepoint ornaments, available through Kreinik. These stunning designs look like a million dollars, but the kit is economical, they stitch up easily and finish even more easily, thanks to Anna-Marie's clever directions for molding the canvas on a Styrofoam ball. So we asked Anna-Marie...

Q: Where did you get the inspiration for the Tree Jewels design?
A: The idea for the Tree Jewels came from a guild workshop. My friend was working on a needlepoint ornament that had a narrow band of Blackwork along the center and pulled thread stitches on either side, all worked in perle cotton. I was fascinated by the way in which the halves seemed to mold so easily over the Styrofoam ball but less enthralled by the way in which the color from the perle cotton bled into the surrounding canvas when wet. The technique also reminded me of the stretchy smocked tops I saw in children’s clothes at the time so I started playing with various fibers and stitches to try to create a similar effect. When I combined the Kreinik metallics with a simple pulled Upright Cross stitch for the first time the effect was amazing and that experiment became the first of many Tree Jewels.

Q: You have taught the Tree Jewels in various places and in fact the instructions are written as if you were right there with the stitcher, teaching and guiding them. Can you share any classroom stories?
A: Most students love the project because it can be stitched and finished in the workshop. There is one story that stands out above the rest. During the first day of class the students all work at completing the two halves of the ornament, so that the next day they can complete the ornament by blocking the halves, beading and applying the trim. I usually announce that if a student had completed an ornament by the next day of class, I would finish it for them in class. One student lost her reel of red metallic thread on the way home with only three rows of stitches remaining to complete the ornament. She found a length of red wool that matched the metallic thread and used it to complete her remaining rows. She was very proud of her accomplishment, being first in class to have the work completed and commented that she would put the "wool side" facing the tree and display the good side "out". I used her ornament in class to demonstrate the finishing techniques and effectively hid the wool behind the trim.

Q: Your instructions say, “This is one of the few canvaswork designs where it is recommended that you have fun with your stitching while you break all the rules.” That sounds fun! But what do you mean?
A: When stitching a Tree Jewel, many of the rules in canvaswork are broken mainly to make the work more enjoyable and to allow the form to mold properly over the canvas. The canvas is worked in hand, not on rigid stretcher bars. Working on stretcher bars will not allow the canvas to mold properly. The knots and tails are not worked neatly on the reverse side of the canvas, but are left on the right side of the canvas as they are cut off during the finishing process. The canvas can be rolled and kept in a plastic bag in your purse or pocket, so the project is always on the go in a waiting room or taking the bus to work and where you would never submerse your traditional needlepoint in water, a Tree Jewel is "born" under a running faucet.

Q: Is there a frequently asked question about the Tree Jewels?
A: The most frequently asked question is whether the size of the ornament can be reduced or enlarged. It can be reduced to mold over a smaller Styrofoam ball or enlarged to make a much larger "kissing ball". The design is easily adaptable to variations in size.

Q: We love the portability of the project. It would be fun to know the various places where a Tree Jewel has been stitched.
A: I'm not sure where other people have stitched their Tree Jewels, but I've worked many at soccer games, in airport waiting rooms, on airplanes using plastic needles, at the doctor's office and on long car trips. I found that the zip lock bag was an invaluable tool in completing many projects.

Q: The finishing is fabulous - in part because it can be done at home, inexpensively. Any tips or suggestions on doing the finishing part?
A: One tip that I would like to pass on is to choose the finishing materials carefully. The stitcher has put a lot of time and effort into the stitching, but using the wrong ribbon or trim can take away from the elegance of the ornament. Using a high quality velvet ribbon for example, rather than a cheaper flocked craft ribbon, makes a huge difference in how the ornament will look when completed.

Q: Are you working on any new designs right now or currently teaching? Where can stitchers buy some of your other designs?
A: I am currently working on two projects, a small Christmas stocking that is a continuation of the Women of Government House project and a larger design called Summer's End, which is a design of a butterfly on grass that was created from a number of photo images and transferred onto canvas. I do teach a number of online classes through my website and www.BedeckedandBeadazzled.com. My teaching pieces and classes are listed on my website www.annamariewinter.com.

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Small, is the new big

Friday, October 8, 2010, I spent the day at West Virginia University’s School for Fashion and Merchandizing in Morgantown, WV. I am on an industrial advisory board that is designed to help the department in rewriting and orienting the curriculum so that students have a greater opportunity to get a job in their field. In one year, the school has made great strides. They recently acquired a computerized sizing device which takes hundreds of quantitative photos and measures the body for fitting. They now have professional sewing machines from Juki including a buttonhole machine, button attaching machine, overlock, serger and more. Also, the school recently set up a master and a doctorate program.

On Friday, we discussed the future of the students and what they need when they graduate. This advisory board is made up of manufacturers, retailers, educators and engineers. Our goal is to enable the school to create a niche in an ever-changing global economy and become more competitive. We feel that it is important to give them a corporate view and an entrepreneurial slant. In the US right now the apparel industry is sort of disappearing. Big companies are becoming rarer, so it is the small company that is becoming more important. A small business that is niche-based and flexible can be a big influence and survive. As noted by Kenneth King, the couture designer and one of the board members, “Small, is the new big.”

Doug Kreinik

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