Today is my favorite day of the year, the Summer Solstice. Why? It is the longest day of the year and I love all the daylight hours, a great time for stitching.
Today was also Diane Clements' birthday and today I would like to celebrate Diane's needlework.
I have posted a tribute to Diane on my website and if you travel there you will see so many photos of her wonderful needlework. Diane specialized in whitework and Reticella, and she was a master of the difficult technique.
To see Diane's work: www.GayAnnRogers.com.
The needlework world lost Diane in May this year and we will greatly miss her and her wonderful way with a needle.
So today I hope you and your needle will join me and my needle as we pay tribute to a wonderful stitcher.
Happy first day of summer.
Gay Ann
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Saturday, May 16, 2015
My Needlepoint Portrait of Catherine the Great: last two days of my sale
How did the time go so fast! It seems like my sale just started and here we are, today and tomorrow and the sale is over. It finishes tomorrow evening, May 17.
I will leave it open until Monday afternoon so that people have time to mail checks to me,
Catherine is part of a Stitchalong Class at Shining Needle Society and entrance to the class is included with the kit. You just have to write to Kate Gaunt (KateGaunt@aol.com).
Before she vanishes, I hope you will make a trip to Queendom Website to visit Catherine.
www.GayAnnRogers.com
Enjoy!
Gay Ann
I will leave it open until Monday afternoon so that people have time to mail checks to me,
Catherine is part of a Stitchalong Class at Shining Needle Society and entrance to the class is included with the kit. You just have to write to Kate Gaunt (KateGaunt@aol.com).
Before she vanishes, I hope you will make a trip to Queendom Website to visit Catherine.
www.GayAnnRogers.com
Enjoy!
Gay Ann
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
Diane Clements, Needlewoman Extraordinaire
Yesterday marked such a sad day in the needlework world, for we lost the enormously talented and charming Diane Clements.
Diane had to be one of the most exacting and wonderful stitchers I've known and how much our needlework world will miss her. It simply won't be the same without her.
Diane's birthday was on my favorite day of the year, the Summer Solstice and I would like to use that day this year to celebrate her life and the wonderful contributions she made to our world.
I will be back as the magic of the Summer Solstice grows closer, but for now I wanted to mark her loss. It is so sad, but as her friend Merle wrote today, she is in a better place now.
Gay Ann
Diane had to be one of the most exacting and wonderful stitchers I've known and how much our needlework world will miss her. It simply won't be the same without her.
Diane's birthday was on my favorite day of the year, the Summer Solstice and I would like to use that day this year to celebrate her life and the wonderful contributions she made to our world.
I will be back as the magic of the Summer Solstice grows closer, but for now I wanted to mark her loss. It is so sad, but as her friend Merle wrote today, she is in a better place now.
Gay Ann
Friday, May 01, 2015
The Witching Hour: My Needlepoint Portrait of Catherine the Great arrives tonight
Yes, as close to midnight as MacSoph and I can stay up, my portrait of Catherine the Great arrives on Queendom Website:
www.GayAnnRogers.com
While we wait for Catherine's arrival, we are having a party in my classrooms at Shining Needle Society. If you would like to come and eat e-blini and caviar and have an e-glass of champagne, bring your stitching and come!
If you don't belong to Shining Needle Society, contact Kate. Membership and entry to my classroom is free.
See you tonight, I hope.
Gay Ann
www.GayAnnRogers.com
While we wait for Catherine's arrival, we are having a party in my classrooms at Shining Needle Society. If you would like to come and eat e-blini and caviar and have an e-glass of champagne, bring your stitching and come!
If you don't belong to Shining Needle Society, contact Kate. Membership and entry to my classroom is free.
See you tonight, I hope.
Gay Ann
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Writing about My Needlepoint Portrait of Catherine the Great
For some time now on my website, I have been writing lessons for beginners, intermediates and advancing students of needlepoint. The beginners' lessons and the intermediates have been more or less predictable sorts of lessons, particularly for beginners.
Then I arrived at the lessons for advancing students. There's so much I could write but I chose to write about the decisions I've made for stitching my needlepoint portraits. In some ways these lessons are so basic in that they refer to very basic stitches. That's too true, but what I do with those basic stitches has taken a bit more thought and the lessons aren't quite so basic. It's been an interesting exercise.
Now I am almost to the end of the series for the time being. I have the penultimate lesson called, of all things, 'Advanced Continental Stitch. I posted it this morning, it will stay up for tomorrow and then I will post my last lesson for now, called 'Painterly Needlepoint'. It is for me my most interesting lesson because it explains how I arrived at the way I decided to do portraits.
If you would like to read the lessons, here's a quick reference:
www.GayAnnRogers.com
After 'Painterly Needlepoint' it will be time to close down lessons and start preparing Queendom Website for the arrival of my portrait of Catherine the Great. In doing so I've enlisted the help of my husband and he's been writing short articles on Catherine the Great. If you follow along you will find a new one every other morning once my lessons end.
In addition, I've been writing my own snippets called 'Factoids about My Catherine'. Essentially they tell some tales about my stitching Catherine, how large she is, how many pearls she has, and in a few days I will start posting photos and descriptions of the kit contents.
Catherine will arrive on Saturday morning, May 2. Actually she will arrive as close to midnight on May 1 as MacSoph and I can stay awake.
I hope you will join us for the festivities celebrating the arrival of this piece which has been my most industrious undertaking in the last 5 to 6 years.
Gay Ann
Then I arrived at the lessons for advancing students. There's so much I could write but I chose to write about the decisions I've made for stitching my needlepoint portraits. In some ways these lessons are so basic in that they refer to very basic stitches. That's too true, but what I do with those basic stitches has taken a bit more thought and the lessons aren't quite so basic. It's been an interesting exercise.
Now I am almost to the end of the series for the time being. I have the penultimate lesson called, of all things, 'Advanced Continental Stitch. I posted it this morning, it will stay up for tomorrow and then I will post my last lesson for now, called 'Painterly Needlepoint'. It is for me my most interesting lesson because it explains how I arrived at the way I decided to do portraits.
If you would like to read the lessons, here's a quick reference:
www.GayAnnRogers.com
After 'Painterly Needlepoint' it will be time to close down lessons and start preparing Queendom Website for the arrival of my portrait of Catherine the Great. In doing so I've enlisted the help of my husband and he's been writing short articles on Catherine the Great. If you follow along you will find a new one every other morning once my lessons end.
In addition, I've been writing my own snippets called 'Factoids about My Catherine'. Essentially they tell some tales about my stitching Catherine, how large she is, how many pearls she has, and in a few days I will start posting photos and descriptions of the kit contents.
Catherine will arrive on Saturday morning, May 2. Actually she will arrive as close to midnight on May 1 as MacSoph and I can stay awake.
I hope you will join us for the festivities celebrating the arrival of this piece which has been my most industrious undertaking in the last 5 to 6 years.
Gay Ann
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Gay Ann Rogers Needlepoint on Facebook
Well, I took the plunge and I joined Facebook.
I have both a profile page and a business page. My business page is all about my needlepoint and its inspirations and here's the URL:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gay-Ann-Rogers/860462527326471
I began it by posting my Elizabethan projects. I began with Echoes of Elizabeth and Echoes Sewing Case and this afternoon I posted my most popular ever heart, Heart of Elizabeth. I have some projects to post in the next few days that I've not shown often and some inspirations, trivia, and well, whatever strikes me as useful or amusing.
As the month goes on and the time becomes closer to the arrival of my portrait of Catherine the Great on Queendom Website, I will transition to the Romanovs and in particular some clothes and of course large jewels. What would the Romanovs be without very large jewels!
At first I couldn't see why I would keep up this blog plus my website, plus Facebook pages; it seemed at first that it would all be redundant. I had a few days to find my sea legs where it was all quiet and I could find out a bit about Facebook. I think it is different, it is certainly very different visually, and in some ways more casual.
Then this morning someone learned about my Facebook page and I had a flurry of visits and likes and offers to Friend.
Early on (I mean, how early is that considering my pages are about a week old), I decided to keep my profile page for tech stuff, so I haven't replied to the friend offers. There's no needlepoint on my profile page and I thought for now I would keep the two separate.
So far it is great fun -- and a very different experience from my website. We'll see how it goes, a new adventure.
I'm very new at all this but I will find my way, and if you have any suggestions for me, please let me know: GayAnnRogers@me.com.
Gay Ann
I have both a profile page and a business page. My business page is all about my needlepoint and its inspirations and here's the URL:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gay-Ann-Rogers/860462527326471
I began it by posting my Elizabethan projects. I began with Echoes of Elizabeth and Echoes Sewing Case and this afternoon I posted my most popular ever heart, Heart of Elizabeth. I have some projects to post in the next few days that I've not shown often and some inspirations, trivia, and well, whatever strikes me as useful or amusing.
As the month goes on and the time becomes closer to the arrival of my portrait of Catherine the Great on Queendom Website, I will transition to the Romanovs and in particular some clothes and of course large jewels. What would the Romanovs be without very large jewels!
At first I couldn't see why I would keep up this blog plus my website, plus Facebook pages; it seemed at first that it would all be redundant. I had a few days to find my sea legs where it was all quiet and I could find out a bit about Facebook. I think it is different, it is certainly very different visually, and in some ways more casual.
Then this morning someone learned about my Facebook page and I had a flurry of visits and likes and offers to Friend.
Early on (I mean, how early is that considering my pages are about a week old), I decided to keep my profile page for tech stuff, so I haven't replied to the friend offers. There's no needlepoint on my profile page and I thought for now I would keep the two separate.
So far it is great fun -- and a very different experience from my website. We'll see how it goes, a new adventure.
I'm very new at all this but I will find my way, and if you have any suggestions for me, please let me know: GayAnnRogers@me.com.
Gay Ann
Saturday, February 21, 2015
A Campaign of Support for Au Ver a Soie
Please please join us!
Let’s give support to Au Ver a Soie by ‘Liking’ them on their Facebook page.
And if you would like to leave a note of support, all the better!
Let’s tell them how much we value their silks!
Even though the site is in French, it is fine to leave a message in English.
Thanks, Kate, for getting this started.
Gay Ann
From Kate:
If you're a Facebook person, you could show support by "liking" A Ver a Soie's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Au-Ver-%C3%A0-Soie/229228770460019
They only have 1559 "likes" at the time of this message, so we clearly need to show some more appreciation. :-)
Just a thought!
Kate
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Au-Ver-%C3%A0-Soie/229228770460019
They only have 1559 "likes" at the time of this message, so we clearly need to show some more appreciation. :-)
Just a thought!
Kate
The Fire at Au Ver a Soie
Hello everyone - I thought I would jump in and add some information before panic runs amuck. Au Ver a Soie is wounded but not devastated. We talked to one of the owners this morning about the extent of the damage and we will learn much more early next week. She is a member of the Boucher family who run Au Ver a Soie.
One thing I would like to tell you is that Boucher family is devoted to the production of silk. In the past they have suffered much deeper losses and they have rebounded. In fact, the entire Au Ver a Soie factory was mistakenly bombed by the Americans in WWII and the Boucher family totally rebuilt it. Theirs is an ancient family business, they have always taken the long view of it and just like the factory bombing in WWII, they will bring the business back again from this fire .One of the things they learned from their WWII disaster was the importance of distributing the expertise, machinery and stock to ward off single disasters bringing down a company and they have planned wisely over the years. While the capability at this plant was severely damaged, the company has a network of machines, partners, etc around France and these partners will help the Boucher family weather this. Their stock was distributed in multiple places too - phew. So, being in the know a bit, I am confident that we are not in imminent danger of losing Au Ver a Soie, a relief to us all.
The fire will certainly delay some of the new threads for a while and I am sure that some colors may be scarce for a few weeks, but these conditions will only be temporary. I am not overly concerned about the machinery losses, an example being a new skeining machine that was destroyed, as the skeining operation for threads sold in the U.S. is done at Access Commodities (we prefer a different size/packaging in this market). So some capability losses won't impact us as they are already shifted to machinery here. What I am concerned about is time. In any small business, there isn't an excess of labor and things like this delay new initiatives in favor of getting basic operations back running. I know that the time I spend shoveling snow represents hours not spent shipping or working on new things. It will be the same for Au Ver a Soie, with some things delayed a bit.
I am sure you will hear about the fire but don't fear - it isn't about a total loss of capabilities, it is more about a diversion of valuable time until they make adjustments. The adjustments may take a few weeks or months, but Au Ver a Soie will indeed be up and running again.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Whew! My Needlepoint Hearts Sale is Over, so What's Next?
My Hearts Sale finished and I'm mailing packages, a division of my little business I call 'Mail Jail'.
After the first day of the sale I ran out of my Imperial Emeralds Heart kits and had to make more. I'm stalled now in Mail Jail, waiting for Kreinik braid. It will arrive soon enough and I will be able to finish Mail Jail as soon as it does.
So what comes after my Hearts Sale?
Two things:
First, Freedom to spend large chunks of time stitching. I can't wait! My head is full of ideas just waiting to make their way onto canvas.
Second, my portrait of Catherine the Great will arrive on my website on May 2.
This means I have to get busy making kits. I have just a little over 2 months to count beads and label threads, cut canvas and assemble everything.
I know it is still winter, but I am looking forward to spring this year and my two activities ahead.
Yay! I'm through most of the grind and looking forward to the fun parts.
Gay Ann
After the first day of the sale I ran out of my Imperial Emeralds Heart kits and had to make more. I'm stalled now in Mail Jail, waiting for Kreinik braid. It will arrive soon enough and I will be able to finish Mail Jail as soon as it does.
So what comes after my Hearts Sale?
Two things:
First, Freedom to spend large chunks of time stitching. I can't wait! My head is full of ideas just waiting to make their way onto canvas.
Second, my portrait of Catherine the Great will arrive on my website on May 2.
This means I have to get busy making kits. I have just a little over 2 months to count beads and label threads, cut canvas and assemble everything.
I know it is still winter, but I am looking forward to spring this year and my two activities ahead.
Yay! I'm through most of the grind and looking forward to the fun parts.
Gay Ann
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Among My Hearts this February is Imperial Emeralds Heart
It's almost time for my hearts to arrive; they will be here bright and early on Thursday morning, February 12.
Featured in my sale will be the first heart of a series of six called 'Imperial Jeweled Hearts'.
The first one is the most decorated and glittery heart I've ever stitched; it is Imperial Emeralds Heart and I made it to commemorate the over-the-top jewels of the Romanovs.
I can't imagine emeralds the size that Catherine the Great wore!
My emeralds aren't real but they do sparkle! My diamonds aren't real either, but like the emeralds they do sparkle too! My pearls are real in in all sorts of sizes and together with my emeralds and diamonds they are very glittery.
I particularly enjoyed my series of Imperial Jeweled Hearts. Usually my work is more restrained, but restraint was not the order of the day, making a statement was. I hope you will stop by Queendom Website on Thursday morning and see my 'statement jeweled heart'. Perhaps I should have named it Statement Heart.
What about the other five jeweled hearts?
They will arrive sprinkled as surprise treats throughout 2015 in celebration of the arrival of Catherine the Great on Queendom Website. She arrives on her birthday, May 2.
When I started posting about my needlepoint portrait of Catherine the Great, it was months and months away! When I posted on New Year's Day it was 5 months away. Now I am writing again and it is only 2 1/2 months away. I had better get busy because Catherine will be arriving before I know it.
How does time pass so fast!
Gay Ann
Featured in my sale will be the first heart of a series of six called 'Imperial Jeweled Hearts'.
The first one is the most decorated and glittery heart I've ever stitched; it is Imperial Emeralds Heart and I made it to commemorate the over-the-top jewels of the Romanovs.
I can't imagine emeralds the size that Catherine the Great wore!
My emeralds aren't real but they do sparkle! My diamonds aren't real either, but like the emeralds they do sparkle too! My pearls are real in in all sorts of sizes and together with my emeralds and diamonds they are very glittery.
I particularly enjoyed my series of Imperial Jeweled Hearts. Usually my work is more restrained, but restraint was not the order of the day, making a statement was. I hope you will stop by Queendom Website on Thursday morning and see my 'statement jeweled heart'. Perhaps I should have named it Statement Heart.
What about the other five jeweled hearts?
They will arrive sprinkled as surprise treats throughout 2015 in celebration of the arrival of Catherine the Great on Queendom Website. She arrives on her birthday, May 2.
When I started posting about my needlepoint portrait of Catherine the Great, it was months and months away! When I posted on New Year's Day it was 5 months away. Now I am writing again and it is only 2 1/2 months away. I had better get busy because Catherine will be arriving before I know it.
How does time pass so fast!
Gay Ann
Monday, December 15, 2014
Ornaments just for Stitchers
This Christmas Queendom Website has a surprise: little Country-Style wood ornaments all made by hand for us stitchers.
They are made by artist Ilisha Helfman and they feature drawings and sayings just for needlework.
I've been posting a different one every morning and today I posted the fourth which may be my favorite. It says 'Merry Stitches' and has a red border of Cross Stitches and Running Stitches.
To follow along, here is a quick reference:
www.GayAnnRogers.com
Merry Christmas, and enjoy!
Gay Ann
They are made by artist Ilisha Helfman and they feature drawings and sayings just for needlework.
I've been posting a different one every morning and today I posted the fourth which may be my favorite. It says 'Merry Stitches' and has a red border of Cross Stitches and Running Stitches.
To follow along, here is a quick reference:
www.GayAnnRogers.com
Merry Christmas, and enjoy!
Gay Ann
Sunday, November 02, 2014
Saying Good Bye to E-Week 2014, My Once a Year Needlepoint Sale
E-Week my yearly sale came and now it is almost gone. Tonight it will vanish into history, and what will come next?
Usually MacSoph (my trusty little MacBookPro) and I have a finale to bid farewell to E-Week. One year we had sunsets, last year our eJet flew off into the sunset, and so forth.
This year is different: we have four finales.
The first: a couple of small things left from my Surprise Windows will be for sale tomorrow morning. Only two, to the first people who find and want them.
The second: sigh, I didn't want to start all over again, but I have. You will understand when you see it. Yes, starting all over again, just as we finished!
The third: all through Pre-Week, before E-Week started, we had visits from Mona Lisa in all sorts of garb. I loved all the Mona Lisas, but I saved my very favorite to say good bye to E-Week 2014.
The fourth: every year in the last Early Morning Surprise Window on Sunday of E-Week, I cast a glance to the future year. Two years ago, it was the year of Jane Austen, last year it was The Year of the Stitch and we all tried to work some of the projects languishing in our closets.
This year? The Year of the Romanovs, Opulence and Power. So our Fourth Finale is really the beginning of our year. Watch and see what surprises it brings in the form of a history lesson or two.
All this will unfold in the next few days on Queendom Website. I hope you will follow along:
For quick reference: www.GayAnnRogers.com.
www.QueendomWebsite works as well.
Thank you to all of you who came to E-Week this year. It was great fun!
Gay Ann
Usually MacSoph (my trusty little MacBookPro) and I have a finale to bid farewell to E-Week. One year we had sunsets, last year our eJet flew off into the sunset, and so forth.
This year is different: we have four finales.
The first: a couple of small things left from my Surprise Windows will be for sale tomorrow morning. Only two, to the first people who find and want them.
The second: sigh, I didn't want to start all over again, but I have. You will understand when you see it. Yes, starting all over again, just as we finished!
The third: all through Pre-Week, before E-Week started, we had visits from Mona Lisa in all sorts of garb. I loved all the Mona Lisas, but I saved my very favorite to say good bye to E-Week 2014.
The fourth: every year in the last Early Morning Surprise Window on Sunday of E-Week, I cast a glance to the future year. Two years ago, it was the year of Jane Austen, last year it was The Year of the Stitch and we all tried to work some of the projects languishing in our closets.
This year? The Year of the Romanovs, Opulence and Power. So our Fourth Finale is really the beginning of our year. Watch and see what surprises it brings in the form of a history lesson or two.
All this will unfold in the next few days on Queendom Website. I hope you will follow along:
For quick reference: www.GayAnnRogers.com.
www.QueendomWebsite works as well.
Thank you to all of you who came to E-Week this year. It was great fun!
Gay Ann
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
E-Week Eve: my biggest needlepoint sale of the year starts tomorrow morning
It is E-Week Eve. E-Week is the name of my biggest needlepoint sale of the year, and it starts tomorrow morning.
MacSoph and I are beginning to make Queendom Website's transition to E-Week.
Mona Lisa in a taxi cab has been on Queendom Website's home page all day long, but now she has started to fade, and behind her showing ever so faintly is the outline of my 'trophy piece' for this year's sale.
I stitched the trophy piece a while ago, but never taught it, in fact I just wrote the instructions for it last spring. I am proud of it, I must say, and of its unconventional use of a favorite technique.
MacSoph and I are burning the midnight oil tonight and it won't be long now till E-Week emerges.
Gay Ann Rogers
www.QueendomWebsite.com
MacSoph and I are beginning to make Queendom Website's transition to E-Week.
Mona Lisa in a taxi cab has been on Queendom Website's home page all day long, but now she has started to fade, and behind her showing ever so faintly is the outline of my 'trophy piece' for this year's sale.
I stitched the trophy piece a while ago, but never taught it, in fact I just wrote the instructions for it last spring. I am proud of it, I must say, and of its unconventional use of a favorite technique.
MacSoph and I are burning the midnight oil tonight and it won't be long now till E-Week emerges.
Gay Ann Rogers
www.QueendomWebsite.com
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Needlepoint Designs from My Past are on My Website This Morning
I can't believe how time has gotten away from me: I checked my blog this morning expecting it had been two weeks since I'd last posted. I discovered not two weeks but two months!
I am winding up to my once-a-year sale, this year starting on October 8. I've been asking my followers at Shining Needle Society to help choose designs from my past that I will bring back this year.
The sale seems to have evolved into two parts: the General Sale in which I post designs that are mostly new, or new to the internet. They are the designs I've stitched in the past year or so.
In the Early Morning Surprise Windows of Saturday October 11 and Sunday October 12, I will bring back designs from my past, and in the last couple of weeks I've been working on assembling them.
So far people have chosen two designs from last year's sale and two hearts. This morning I posted designs that people have requested throughout the past year or two and you will find on Queendom Website photos of eleven.
For quick reference: www.GayAnnRogers.com
I've been preparing this page for a couple of days now and it has been a trot down memory lane, that is for sure. The photos cover years, in some cases decades, of my life in needlework and there is at least one from each of the categories I design: samplers, figures, geometrics and a sewing case. Some of them I've brought back multiple times, others not so frequently.
I am looking forward to seeing what people choose. It was interesting to see which hearts were the most popular among my followers. Interesting, but not too surprising, as I review the choices. The choices from my last year's sale surprised me more. Now I'm on my way to look again at the choices on my home page this morning and see if I can guess which ones I will bring back.
It is such a busy time of year for me. Fun but too much to do! I have my fingers crossed that I get it all together by October 8.
Gay Ann
I am winding up to my once-a-year sale, this year starting on October 8. I've been asking my followers at Shining Needle Society to help choose designs from my past that I will bring back this year.
The sale seems to have evolved into two parts: the General Sale in which I post designs that are mostly new, or new to the internet. They are the designs I've stitched in the past year or so.
In the Early Morning Surprise Windows of Saturday October 11 and Sunday October 12, I will bring back designs from my past, and in the last couple of weeks I've been working on assembling them.
So far people have chosen two designs from last year's sale and two hearts. This morning I posted designs that people have requested throughout the past year or two and you will find on Queendom Website photos of eleven.
For quick reference: www.GayAnnRogers.com
I've been preparing this page for a couple of days now and it has been a trot down memory lane, that is for sure. The photos cover years, in some cases decades, of my life in needlework and there is at least one from each of the categories I design: samplers, figures, geometrics and a sewing case. Some of them I've brought back multiple times, others not so frequently.
I am looking forward to seeing what people choose. It was interesting to see which hearts were the most popular among my followers. Interesting, but not too surprising, as I review the choices. The choices from my last year's sale surprised me more. Now I'm on my way to look again at the choices on my home page this morning and see if I can guess which ones I will bring back.
It is such a busy time of year for me. Fun but too much to do! I have my fingers crossed that I get it all together by October 8.
Gay Ann
Friday, July 18, 2014
Blog Stitching on Queendom Website
When exactly do the dog days of summer start? I think of them as August, but this year it seems like August has come early. These days are hot and muggy now, typical August weather.
A couple of days ago I cut up a square of gray 18-mesh canvas, mounted it on stretcher bars, chose a turquoise pearl cotton and started a new little geometric. I was just fiddling.
I like the turquoise start so I went in search of some more threads, organized some thoughts about the small geometric and decided to while away the dog days of summer on Queendom Website by 'blog stitching'.
To watch my progress, follow along by clicking on www.GayAnnRogers.com.
Or www.QueendomWebsite.com will work also.
I like the start, with the turquoise on gray. Now I'll see if I like how the other threads work as well.
Nice way to while away the days.
Gay Ann
A couple of days ago I cut up a square of gray 18-mesh canvas, mounted it on stretcher bars, chose a turquoise pearl cotton and started a new little geometric. I was just fiddling.
I like the turquoise start so I went in search of some more threads, organized some thoughts about the small geometric and decided to while away the dog days of summer on Queendom Website by 'blog stitching'.
To watch my progress, follow along by clicking on www.GayAnnRogers.com.
Or www.QueendomWebsite.com will work also.
I like the start, with the turquoise on gray. Now I'll see if I like how the other threads work as well.
Nice way to while away the days.
Gay Ann
Sunday, July 13, 2014
One last look at our beautiful CampStitch
A fantasy trip into the wilderness is over. We were at CampStitch for a little more than 2 months and I am hoping people used the trip wisely to accomplish Stash Reduction.
I did quite well! I worked on several new designs for E-Week, my biggest sale of the year, in mid-October.
Actually it will be a bit earlier this year. I just checked the calendar and marked the date: October 8, bright and early, my yearly E-Week sale will begin. This year I will have all new designs, except for one. The oldie will come back in a supporting role to show where two new ones came from, much the same way that I brought back my oldest geometric, Santa Fe Square, last year.
I'm going to have to buckle down and stitch some long hours to finish in time, but it seems to me like I will be able to do it. Only weeks left, so I hope to continue making the most of them.
Meanwhile, stop by Queendom Website to take one last look at our beautiful CampStitch.
For quick reference: www.GayAnnRogers.com.
Gay Ann
I did quite well! I worked on several new designs for E-Week, my biggest sale of the year, in mid-October.
Actually it will be a bit earlier this year. I just checked the calendar and marked the date: October 8, bright and early, my yearly E-Week sale will begin. This year I will have all new designs, except for one. The oldie will come back in a supporting role to show where two new ones came from, much the same way that I brought back my oldest geometric, Santa Fe Square, last year.
I'm going to have to buckle down and stitch some long hours to finish in time, but it seems to me like I will be able to do it. Only weeks left, so I hope to continue making the most of them.
Meanwhile, stop by Queendom Website to take one last look at our beautiful CampStitch.
For quick reference: www.GayAnnRogers.com.
Gay Ann
Sunday, June 29, 2014
CampStitch, Swatches of Colors and Shopping for Needlepoint Threads
For nearly two months now my website has been in the wilderness at CampStitch with the hope of stitching through some of our stash. I figured we would accomplish more if we were away from the pressures of home with little else to do but take nature walks, eat and stitch.
I don't like to camp. I know many people extoll its virtues and I have a sister-in-law who would rather sleep on the ground and hike in the wilderness than be anywhere else, but not me.
So our Campsite has had rooms unlike any I've ever seen at another campsite.
During our stay at CampStitch I tiled the colors of each of our extraordinary rooms and reduced the tiles of each room to five color swatches. I posted the five color swatches on my homepage and asked people from Shining Needle Society to vote for their favorite ones.
I thought the results were most interesting: there was a race between two of the swatches and the other four were left behind in the dust. Ultimately one prevailed but not by many votes.
People who liked the most popular choice wrote that they liked the soothing colors; people who liked the also ran thought the winner was boring. Soothing or boring? See what you think.
For quick reference: www.GayAnnRogers.com
After people at Shining Needle Society chose their favorite, I went to the needlepoint shop and chose some threads to echo the swatches. I plan to post a photo of my choices bright and early tomorrow morning on my home page. When I was choosing the threads yesterday, several people in the needlepoint shop said, ooo, what pretty colors! I thought they were pretty also.
Soothing or boring?
Up to you to tell me tomorrow morning.
Gay Ann
I don't like to camp. I know many people extoll its virtues and I have a sister-in-law who would rather sleep on the ground and hike in the wilderness than be anywhere else, but not me.
So our Campsite has had rooms unlike any I've ever seen at another campsite.
During our stay at CampStitch I tiled the colors of each of our extraordinary rooms and reduced the tiles of each room to five color swatches. I posted the five color swatches on my homepage and asked people from Shining Needle Society to vote for their favorite ones.
I thought the results were most interesting: there was a race between two of the swatches and the other four were left behind in the dust. Ultimately one prevailed but not by many votes.
People who liked the most popular choice wrote that they liked the soothing colors; people who liked the also ran thought the winner was boring. Soothing or boring? See what you think.
For quick reference: www.GayAnnRogers.com
After people at Shining Needle Society chose their favorite, I went to the needlepoint shop and chose some threads to echo the swatches. I plan to post a photo of my choices bright and early tomorrow morning on my home page. When I was choosing the threads yesterday, several people in the needlepoint shop said, ooo, what pretty colors! I thought they were pretty also.
Soothing or boring?
Up to you to tell me tomorrow morning.
Gay Ann
Monday, May 12, 2014
CampStitch in the Wilderness
We are e-traveling and have landed in the wilderness where we are camping. The purpose of our trip is to settle down and finish some of our projects without any distractions. My recommendation to my followers is to set aside a few minutes each day and 'travel' to CampStitch with needles in their hands.
I am anxious to hear whether people are accomplishing much in this The Year of the Stitch. I know I have. I've finished six projects since the first of the year and am embarking tonight or tomorrow on two more.
Two of mine are large projects, four are small, and now I plan to start two ornaments for my E-Week Sale in October. That's what I am doing in CampStitch: working on E-Week. Less than 6 months now and E-Week will be here and all that scrambling and hard work.
But for now it is kick back, enjoy life at CampStitch and keep company with my needle.
I hope you will join us and stitch away on whatever projects you wish.
Happy stitching and may you accomplish a lot.
Gay Ann
I am anxious to hear whether people are accomplishing much in this The Year of the Stitch. I know I have. I've finished six projects since the first of the year and am embarking tonight or tomorrow on two more.
Two of mine are large projects, four are small, and now I plan to start two ornaments for my E-Week Sale in October. That's what I am doing in CampStitch: working on E-Week. Less than 6 months now and E-Week will be here and all that scrambling and hard work.
But for now it is kick back, enjoy life at CampStitch and keep company with my needle.
I hope you will join us and stitch away on whatever projects you wish.
Happy stitching and may you accomplish a lot.
Gay Ann
Monday, April 28, 2014
Traveling toward our Needlepoint Destination
We have been on our e-Jet for 2 days now and we are headed to pick up more needlefriends, then we will head toward our destination. We will land on Wednesday morning bright and early.
It has been five years since MacSoph and I flew our e-Jet on a month-long trip. We embarked on that trip so that I could have forced daily practice doing PhotoShop. As I look back on that journey I realize how primitive and new my PhotoShop skills were then. I'm happy to say I've come a long way in five years, but what I know is just how far I still have to go. Does anybody ever know a lot about PhotoShop?
For several years I've been monkeying around with animation and this year I've done better. Always hindered by file size (way too large for what I've done in the past) I've finally learned a new animation program that has made everything easier and my file sizes smaller, so that the file size of my plane flying across so many images is very very small. Yay! Now I'm hoping our month-long trip will give me a chance to improve both PhotoShop and animation skills.
So what will we do on our trip?
That will unfold in the next few days as we arrive at our destination.
Back to work picking up our needlefriends as we continue our journey.
Gay Ann
It has been five years since MacSoph and I flew our e-Jet on a month-long trip. We embarked on that trip so that I could have forced daily practice doing PhotoShop. As I look back on that journey I realize how primitive and new my PhotoShop skills were then. I'm happy to say I've come a long way in five years, but what I know is just how far I still have to go. Does anybody ever know a lot about PhotoShop?
For several years I've been monkeying around with animation and this year I've done better. Always hindered by file size (way too large for what I've done in the past) I've finally learned a new animation program that has made everything easier and my file sizes smaller, so that the file size of my plane flying across so many images is very very small. Yay! Now I'm hoping our month-long trip will give me a chance to improve both PhotoShop and animation skills.
So what will we do on our trip?
That will unfold in the next few days as we arrive at our destination.
Back to work picking up our needlefriends as we continue our journey.
Gay Ann
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
e-Traveling Soon on a Needlework Trip
Five years ago we e-traveled on my website and a year later we took a short weekend e-trip to shop in London. We haven't traveled anywhere since then. Life on my computer became simply too hectic for anything other than changing web software and learning my new program.
But MacSoph (my trusty little laptop) and I are well settled in our new software now, and I must say, Adobe has done a great job of improving the program. I've followed it since it was in beta, and it is now quite wonderful!
The travel bug has bitten both MacSoph and me and we are ready to go. Soon our private e-Jet called 'Queen's Flight' (which is actually a flying needlepoint shop) will be ready for take off and we fly off into the sunset.
Where are we going? This trip is a long-held dream of mine, an idea I thought up almost five years ago, shortly after our trip in 2009 ended. I hope you will follow along as we begin packing projects and taking off, for this trip is all about stitching our stashed projects. It is the reason for The Year of the Stitch and hopefully we will return home again with a good number of projects completed.
So visit my website, www.GayAnnRogers.com, and choose your Birkin bag and let's start to pack.
Our adventure is almost set to begin.
Gay Ann
But MacSoph (my trusty little laptop) and I are well settled in our new software now, and I must say, Adobe has done a great job of improving the program. I've followed it since it was in beta, and it is now quite wonderful!
The travel bug has bitten both MacSoph and me and we are ready to go. Soon our private e-Jet called 'Queen's Flight' (which is actually a flying needlepoint shop) will be ready for take off and we fly off into the sunset.
Where are we going? This trip is a long-held dream of mine, an idea I thought up almost five years ago, shortly after our trip in 2009 ended. I hope you will follow along as we begin packing projects and taking off, for this trip is all about stitching our stashed projects. It is the reason for The Year of the Stitch and hopefully we will return home again with a good number of projects completed.
So visit my website, www.GayAnnRogers.com, and choose your Birkin bag and let's start to pack.
Our adventure is almost set to begin.
Gay Ann
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