Well Done!

It has been a week of "Well done!" for EyeCandy Needleart, with several great new finishes!  First of all, Ruth wrapped up the Garden Party Mystery Class in spectacular style, figuring out a way to do a Trapunto technique in needlepoint.  Look at how puffy she was able to make that center heart!  I don't know how on earth she manages to keep outdoing herself on each Mystery, but she always does.  We are all already looking forward to the next one.

My Floating Hearts purse insert canvas has been beautifully stitched by Alison Kenny Brennan.  I love the stitches she chose:

She also stitched up my Bubbles N' Boxes E-Book cover and this one I think is really spectacular, I want to stitch one like this for myself!

Hope you all love seeing these finishes as much as I do!  Until next time, Happy Stitching!

Bits and Pieces

I have a little bit of everything for you today, new fobs, a new finish and a trunk show reminder! 

In my previous blog post, I asked you all to send me your photos of your finished CandyLands.  Mary Susan Muirhead was happy to oblige me with this beauty:

Isn't this sweet?  I just love that shade of pink and the cording is pink too!  Mary and her friend Debbie Fink both took the class and had their pillows finished the same as well.  The finishing is by Pillows by Evelyn in Riverdale, NY.

I recently sent a big batch of scissor fobs off to Ruth Schmuff for the Baltimore TNNA show in September.  Here's a peek at what will be available; if your shop owner is planing to attend, you can ask them to pick something up for you! 

And finally, the Ruth Schmuff/EyeCandy Needleart trunk show is at the Stitching Post in Midland, Texas until September 3rd.  Be sure to stop by if you can!

A CandyLand Retrospective

I am so proud of all the stitchers who have completed and finished their CandyLand Christmas Tree Farm canvases!  I sure wish I was among them-- hopefully someday I will be.  My canvas from Ruth Schmuff's 2011 Christmas Mystery Class is still half-stitched in my WIP pile, but at least I get to enjoy other folk's finishes in the meantime!  I suppose that by the time I do get mine ready to go to the finisher, I will have plenty of ideas to choose from based on all the wonderful examples that I've seen so far.

This one, stitched by Pat Thompson and finished by Marlene's Custom Pillows is definitely one of my favorites-- I am in love with the orange and pink fabric and the loopy multi-color trim is to die for! 

But this one, stitched by Susan Alcorn and finished by West Coast Needlepoint Finishing is also great-- I love how the white fabric sets off the color and of course the red and white candy cane trim is absolutely inspired!

This is the one that Ruth stitched as the class model and it was also finished by West Coast-- love it as a bolster pillow, it looks like a big Christmas cracker!

I think I may do a box finish like this for mine, I have a lot of ornaments and ribbons in my stash that I can add for a bow topper.  This was stitched by Barbara's Needlepoint customer Angie with finishing by Emily Studemann for the box and Barbara herself for the bow.

And finally, another fabulous pillow from West Coast, also in that delicious blue fabric!  Check out that crystal trim!

If you would like to know more about this design, you can go back and see all the progress photos and stitchy chatter on Ruth's Mystery Blog page and on the Stitcherie discussion page too.  And if you have a finished CandyLand to share, please email a photo to me and I will be happy to post it.  And I will be most happy to post my own here, eventually!  Thanks for looking and Happy Stitching!

A Finish For Friday!

Just in time for the tail end of summer, Palma's Sammy from our May Stitcherie Challenge has returned home from the finisher!  Just wonderful,  I love a box finish, the opportunity it gives to add ribbon, trim, fabric and even more embellishments is right up my alley.  This really shows off Palma's fancy stitching style, she used the required threads and stitches to great effect.   I can't pick a favorite between the sand and the gorgeous multi-color beach blanket.  She used the new Sparkles braid from Sundance for the border and really raided her Susan Clarke and JABC button collection for further embellishing and general glitz.  I hope to see the other EyeCandy seasonal black cats sitting along side Sammy on Palma's counter someday soon too! 

Is It Halloween Yet?

Not such a funny question to be asking in August if you are a needlepointer!  Now is the time to be wrapping up any Halloween projects you happen to be stitching if you want to get them off to the finisher in time for this year, plus it's a great time to start a new Halloween project if you are starting to tire of summer and are anxious for the cooler fall weather to start.  I am definitely a summer gal, but I love Halloween and usually start my decorating in August.  That's when the stores start putting out the new decor and though it makes me sad that it's the first sign of the end of summer, I try to embrace it by buying anything new that catches my fancy, bringing it home and immediately putting it out on display.

I'm also getting started on this cool cat:

He is not exactly new, this is a canvas from my Vintage Halloween Candy Pail series that Cynthia Thomas did stitch guides for a couple years back.  I loved the stitches and the finishing so much that I have been working on stitching a set for myself to keep and display.  I've managed to make it to the halfway point now with the cat, here are the others that I have completed-- the Jack O Lantern:

The Owl:

The Spooky Skull:

The fantastic finishing on these is by West Coast Needlepoint Finishing.  I sent Sue ribbons and beads from my own collection (although I didn't need to, she has lots of terrific trims of her own!) and she added them to the cute wired pail handle.  These are just so much fun to stitch and I love them in my Halloween display.  I'm always a little tempted to carry them around as a handbag in October, since they are quite sturdy and have a lot of space inside!  

As long as we are talking Halloween, I have to show you my friend Judy G.'s newest Hoot Hoot owl finish.  I love seeing what Judy does with these because she is stitching from her stash and adding her own touches, each one is a little surprise for me.  I love how Spooky Owl has turned out, and I love the little spider charm too!

Hope you have enjoyed this spooky start to the week, until next time, Happy Stitching!