An old project and more new canvases

Over the past 30-odd years, I have taught many projects to students.  These have ranged from commercial charted designs to my own geometric designs to some of Trubey's smaller painted canvases.  Now the often painful truth--many of these canvases that I have started have never been finished.  I have stacked them up atop the back-up Paternayan yarn shelves in Needle Nicely's backroom.  In a carry-over of the clearing out enthusiasm from the storage unit, Macy and I attacked the class projects.  A few had the fibers necessary for completion attached.  Those were retained. Others without instructions or fibers were tossed (one designed by David McCaskill on blue 18mesh was coveted by an observing friend--I don't know what she will do with it without fibers or instructions, but enjoy!).  I had completed the outlines of a Carol Costello Christmas ribbon pillow.  There were no fibers, but the instruction book--I think no longer available--remained.  I actually sold that to a current student yesterday afternoon for a fabulous $15.  Glad it's gone!!  I also have a completed outline of Jean Hilton's Gleneagles.  I taught a class of 4 of the squares (almost finished, just a tiny portion remaining on one square which I plan to finish).  I'll be putting the outline, still on stretcher bars, out for sale this week, without the booklet.  I'll have a photo on Wednesday's blog.

I feel I should explain why so many of the projects are unfinished.  As we all know, we only have so many hours in which we can stitch.  If you're in a needlepoint shop, your stitching has to be split between stitching projected classes and shop models.  When a class project reaches the point where customers can tell what it is and whether they want to do it, it's time to move to the next project.  If a class is taught several times than that allows for more of it to be completed.

NOTE:  I personally love Jean Hilton's designs and stitches.  I get irked when other designers don't credit their use of her stitches.  Anyway, over the years I have stitched, and taught, a high percentage of Jean's designs.  Love them.  (I should do another blog showing those I have completed, Note to self).

This design was to be a bolster pillow by Catherine Coleman.  I  started it in a TNNA market class, which is laughable since you have to really concentrate in good light (I remember the classroom conditions were jammed and dim).  After resurrecting this, I can't decide whether to finish this as is as a pillow or folded as a purse.  I'm leaning toward the purse.  NOTE:  There was to be some velvet squares inside the diamonds.  Too bad!

Among the new canvases that have arrived this week are the following mini-stockings from Kathy Schenkel.

 These two canvas are Alice Peterson designs:

This brick cover designed by Gayla Elliott is distributed by Alice Peterson.  This fellow isn't what I think of a a chameleon, but I just checked and it is one.  He looks sort of prehistoric.This explanation refused to go above the canvas, of course!