Hello!
First of all, you may be wondering why the newsletter is coming to you so late in the week. Our webmaster, Eric has been quite ill with pneumonia this past week and is finally feeling better this evening and so we are back!
When Yolande Marcotte, of Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada, sent me a photo of her Swedish Weaving afghan, I knew I wanted to feature her in my email newsletter. Isn’t it incredible? One of the wonderful features of Swedish Weaving on Monk’s cloth is that it takes relatively a short time to accomplish a project this large, in comparison to cross stitch or Hardanger and other fine embroideries.
 photo of Yolande with her Swedish Weaving Afghan
This design is one of several in the book, Monk’s Cloth Diamond Afghans, item 2408F.
learn more about this item!
Yolande is a French Canadian woman whom I recently talked to on the phone. She had emailed me previously and told me that she doesn’t often have occasion to write or talk English, but she did very well on the phone, and in her email correspondence. One of the nice things about needlework is that no matter what nationality you are and what languages you do or don’t speak, needlework crosses all language and ethnicity boundaries. We immediately have a common bond with fellow-stitchers around the world. Like so many other needleworkers, Yolande’s first experience with embroidery was when she was nine or ten years old and embroidered a dishtowel. Now, how many of us can relate to that?
Yolande has tried several different techniques over the years and needle tatting is one of them. This photo shows a current project which is a center piece for her table.
 photo of needle tatting doily
Yolande also enjoys embroidery, knitting socks, crocheting, quilting, paper piercing and weaving. When I asked Yolande if there was another technique she would like to try, she said she is always open to learning new things and if someone suggests a new project, she is willing to try. Yolande works on her projects every day. She wants to start on another Swedish weaving afghan this summer. When some of her friends saw her beautiful afghan, they convinced her to teach them so she held a class for some of her friends.
Yolande is a member of a women’s association in Canada, whose statement of purpose, as shown on their website is, “we are dedicated to the improvement of the living conditions of the woman and the family like to the transmission of the cultural and artisan inheritance.” Here is what Yolande has told me about this group:
Les Cercles de Fermières
If I translate the title : Les Cercles de Fermières, I could say : Ladies Farmers Association….but today in 2006 we cannot talk of Ladies Farmer in this association because only 2% of them are on a farm. The association group together is more than 38,000 ladies across the province of Quebec.
This association was founded in 1930, during the First World War, and with the economy, life wasn’t easy for many people. A group of women decided to join together and tried to find the way to save the family life, to dress them, to feed them, etc. As time passed, life became easier and those women enjoyed being together and helped each other learn how to knit, to crochet, to weave, to embroider and also to cook. Together they found how to do many techniques of handcraft and to teach those techniques to other women and little girls and this was the beginning of this great association.
Through these activities they realize that we have a “heritage” in handcraft in province of Quebec and it was important to transfer that to generation after generation.
In 2006, this association across province of Quebec is divided in 26 federations for more than 300 groups. For all, the most important part of our mission is to save and translate this heritage.
I am a part of this association and I have been the president of my group for 4 years. I pass many hours at the workshop; Weaving on the loom is one of my favorite activities. I weave a tablecloth, dishtowel, blanket, etc…..Sometime I give a class of needletatting or Swedish weaving…….
If you would like more information, their website is: http://www.cfq.qc.ca/
Previously, Yolande worked in her area of Quebec as a tour guide for fourteen years. These tours ranged from one-day to four-day events. She is also a member of a scrabble club and sings in two choirs. At one time she worked as a real estate agent. Throughout the years Yolande has kept up with her stitching and given many pieces away as gifts. These have all been happily received and cherished which Yolande said, “was flattering for me.”
Currently, Yolande is working on 40 count linen using half cross stitches to make a little bird design.
 photo of stitched bird
This is the first time she has worked on such fine count linen and uses a magnifier to help her see her stitches. I asked Yolande to share any bits of wisdom she would like and she said, “You should be attentive to everyone and you will learn a lot. You never know when someone may give you a little of their knowledge.”
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Yolande. Thank you for showing the importance of passing on our needlework skills and knowledge to future generations.
Those stitching suggestions keep coming in and I so appreciate hearing your creative ideas. The original plea for help came from Elaine when she wrote, “I like cross stitch very much but it takes forever to finish a project. Can you give me a few tips on how to work more effectively to save some time? I currently have projects on hand that should take maybe 150 years to complete.” If you would like to add your suggestions, please send them to me at: rozw@nordicneedle.com Thank you! I’m up to ninety-something now and will continue to share 10 per newsletter.
We have a new link for you to click that will give you the complete list of Stitching Tips that I have shared thus far. Each week the new Stitching Tips will be added to this master list as they are shared.
http://www.nordicneedle.com/tips/stitching_tips.shtml
Here are suggestions 41 – 50:
41. I have made many L&L (Lavender and Lace) angels-plus others! I scan and print the chart, then as I work, I mark the squares done with a red pen so I can always tell where I am!
Jerre in NC
42. I'm reading your hints. I could use one, or more, for my problem.
I can get the entire cross stitching done on a project, but it takes me forever to do the outlines. One I have almost finished is a long, but not too tall, scene of barns and trees in winter. I need to do all those bare limbs.
Just single stitches with one thread, but I have to carefully plan where the stitch starts and ends. Not at much fun as "building" the barns, and snow banks, and little sheep.
I also have a problem finishing up a project, because it's been so much fun watching it come to life, I don't want to let it go. I can frame the stitchery and put it on my wall, but I just never seem to get around to doing that. I have a whole banker's box of projects I've finished stitching, but haven't framed. I would rather start a new piece than take the time to frame a finished one. After all, there's only so much time in a day.
As for keeping several projects going at one time, I always have something going in a different medium -- cross stitch, rug hooking, knitting or crochet, sewing, scrap booking, card making, or whatever has just caught my eye and looks like it would be fun to try.
Sharon
Greenwood IN
43. When I have to stop to rethread my needle with the same color floss, I make my last stitch a half cross rather than a full cross stitch. Then it is easy to see where to resume when I get more floss in the needle.
Pepper
44. Dear Roz,
Elaine doesn't say what her usual method of cross stitching is, but if she usually stitches with a handheld hoop or other restraints, making her cross stitches one at a time, via the "stab stitch" method, there are several ways she could increase the rate per hour of her stitches:
1. Use the continental, a.k.a., Danish method, for areas where there are blocks or lines of a single solid color. Making the first leg of the crosses all at once, then doing the second leg on the return trip, I find to be about 10 percent faster than making the crosses one by one.
2. Get a floor stand for that hoop and learn to stitch two-handed, with the dominant hand held above the work, the second hand below. This takes some practice, but once mastered is at least 50 percent faster, since one no longer is taking the time to move a hand from above to below the work and back again.
[Nordic Needle offers several options. Click here and then scroll down on the left menu to the various types to click into – www.nordicneedle.com/go.mv?ID=E21-00-00]
3. Forget the hoop and stitch in hand using the sewing method, i.e., holding the needle more or less parallel with the cloth, moving the needle in and out in one motion, as one does in sewing a hem. This moves along at least twice as fast as the stab stitch method, as only two motions instead of four are necessary to complete a stitch. It is also very useful on big projects like afghans and tablecloths in that the need -- and time -- to take precautions to guard against hoop marks is eliminated.
4. For picture projects that call for covering virtually all the ground fabric in cross stitch, consider using half-cross instead, using twice as many threads in the needle as you would for full crosses in order to get equivalent coverage. The thing will be done in half the time. (Note: Mounting the fabric on stretcher bars or in a scroll frame is pretty much essential here, as half-cross when worked in hand distorts the ground fabric terribly, necessitating expensive blocking.)
Hope this helps,
Annie
45. My rule for getting stitching projects done is no watching TV unless I'm also stitching. With baseball season starting soon, that means a lot of stitching time! (If only I could be motivated to include exercise in this mandate...) As for unfinished projects, I've found you can't be afraid to say, "What was I thinking when I started this thing" and just get rid of it. If you don't like it anymore, your decor changed, the occasion has passed and isn't likely to come around again, throw it out, give it away, just don't let it sit there staring at you and making you feel guilty.
Another needlework hint - when I need to match a color for something but it's not possible to carry the item or a swatch with me, I find the closest floss colors and put it in my wallet. For example, I've been looking for accessories to match my new bath towels, which are just a shade lighter than DMC 3811. It's saved me from buying rugs that were too blue or too green. Another example - I needed matt board to match a cross stitch piece I had given my brother. He was returning it to me for mounting and finishing, but since I was going to the frame shop sooner, I took along the key floss colors instead and was able to find a very good match.
Kaye Simonson
46. Just a quick note to thank you for sharing tips from other needle artists! Like so many, I have multiple 'ufo's, so I've adopted two particular hints. On my cross-stitch, I have basted ten-thread grid to match the chart spacing, so I don't lose my place. In the afternoon, I brew a cup of tea, set my timer for an hour, settle into my sewing chair, and stitch my heart out! Wonderful therapy--
Love your newsletters, catalogs, and service! One year, I'll make it to a retreat, too. Or, at least, visit the store...
Karen
47. My stitching tip is to think of your stitching as something you do for yourself and allow yourself time to enjoy it, guilt-free! It is good therapy and healthy for your mind. Like walking is good for your physical fitness, stitching is good for your mental fitness. In a hundred years from now, what will others remember about you – that you kept a clean house, or that you left a memory and heritage of beautiful stitched pieces for future generations to enjoy and appreciate? This is where putting the year and your name or initials on your heirloom pieces are important.
Anne
48. Hello. My name is Marla Hunt. I was reading the newsletter concerning the creases in fabric that are difficult to remove. My mother was a grand seamstress. We wore many clothes handed up and down the line of cousins. Most of them needing altering in one way or another. Seams had been pressed and washed in dozens of times. She would adjust the seams and take a mixture of white vinegar and water and dab it on the crease...then put a damp dishcloth on it and lightly steam it dry until it disappeared. It worked beautifully.
49. In the newsletter one week there was a tip for removing creases from fabric.
I have another one - I got it from a quilting magazine. Downey Wrinkle Releaser is wonderful for taking creases out of fabric, especially the fabric fold. I even used it to remove wrinkles as I putting a covered photo album together this past weekend. Even though I had ironed the fabric, as I was adhering it to the photo album it would get big creases in it. I just sprayed it with the Downey Wrinkle Releaser and pulled it a little and the crease was gone. I think it also works on clothes we take from the closet that the little creases pop up but I haven't tried that yet.
Linda
Kingston, PA
50. I have been enjoying the hints supplied by your customers in the newsletter, and thought I'd contribute a couple of really basic ones.
The first is a help for needle threading. Most stitchers know that the needle's eye is wider on one side than the other, and that is the side the thread should go through. However, don't try to push the thread through the needle. Instead, push the needle onto the thread and you will find life is suddenly a whole lot easier.
The other tip helps to deal with those pesky loopy knots that appear frequently in your thread when you are sewing or embroidering. I have read lots of complicated advice on how to deal with them. Actually it is very simple. When one of those little devils pops up, put the tip of your needle into the loop, take hold of the thread where it comes up through the material and pull gently on the needle. The knot will slide up. Remove the needle, pull gently on the other end of the thread and the knot will disappear. (If it doesn't, I don't want to hear what you say.)
Jane
Wheeling, WV
My family recently enjoyed having visitors in our home for one week from Norway. I have shared that we are host parents for Anne-Lise from Stavanger and last year we had her sister, Solveig, living with us. For Easter, Solveig came back for a visit and her parents came as well. What a great time we had celebrating Easter and doing all kinds of things together during the week that followed. We visited our farm, did some four-wheeling, visited my parents and Harold’s mom, and toured the Hjemkomst Museum in Moorhead, that houses the authentic Viking ship built in a small town close to Moorhead and sailed to Bergen, Norway. The movie that shows the building of the ship and the story of Robert Asp who had this dream, always brings tears to my eyes. We shopped, visited friends, celebrated my birthday, visited the high school where our kids go, and just had a great time. Someday, before we get too old, Harold and I MUST go to Norway.
For Easter dessert, I made this wonderful recipe that I got from my old high school friend, Lis. She said I could share it with you. It was superb and we served about 30 people this dessert and Harold’s fresh pecan pies on Sunday afternoon.
Moon Cake Dessert
- 1 cup water
- One-half cup butter
Bring to a boil then remove and add one cup flour, stirring rapidly with a fork or spoon until it forms a ball. Cool for five minutes. Transfer to your mixer bowl.
Beat in four eggs, one at a time. Beat well.
Spread in ungreased jelly roll pan that is 12” x 16”
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Don’t prick. Surface will resemble the surface of the moon.
Prepare two large boxes of vanilla instant pudding according to directions on the package and beat in one 8 oz. package of cream cheese. Blend well in the mixer and spread on crust. Refrigerate for 30 minutes at least.
Beat one pint of whipping cream and add one-third cup or more of powdered sugar and vanilla to taste. You may use prepared whipped topping instead if desired. When you serve, drizzle each piece with chocolate syrup. Fresh fruit may be added as a garnish as well as nuts, such as cashews. Yummy!
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My May catalog is at the printers – yeah! It will go out in the mail later this week and early next week. Here are some new items you will see in the catalog. Order now and beat the rush! |
