Nostalgia Stocking: A Needle Adventures Chart UPDATED

Nostalgia Chart with Threads, Courtesy of gail1156

An eBay seller has posted the Needle Adventures chart for a stocking called "Nostalgia" with various threads and a 16x24 piece of 18 count canvas.    The auction starting price is $30 with $5 for "standard shipping."  The seller gail1156 says the chart is dated 1992 and kindly allowed me to reuse her auction photos here.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390955587558?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true

UPDATE:  Sadly, this chart didn't find a home.  Hopefully the seller will relist the auction.

Closeup of the Nostalgia Stocking from the Needle Adventures Chart

"Nostalgia:  A Keepsake Stocking" was published in the November-December 1991 issue of Needlepoint Plus magazine.  It appears to be the same design, published in the magazine and then republished as a stand alone Needle Adventures chart the next year.  Here is the article about the magazine version.
http://lorettaspears.blogspot.com/2012/01/nostalgia-keepsake-stocking.html

Note Artists Collection Sticker

UPDATE:  Another eBay seller has this up for auction.  This chart is in a plastic bag with a "published by Artists Collection" sticker that includes Loretta's shop address.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Loretta-Spears-Needle-Adventures-Nostalgia-Christmas-Stocking-GUIDE-chart/233004154191?hash=item3640213d4f:g:6ToAAOSwfcNb6vUC:rk:5:pf:0

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The Tree (Christmas Heirlooms Series)

Christmas Heirlooms The Tree

I've been wondering about The Tree for several years now but an eBay seller has finally posted this design so we can see this small ornament.  The Tree is a Needle Adventures chart distributed by Artists Collection as one of her Christmas Heirlooms ornament series.  The eBay seller says that the instructions are dated 1991 on the back side and graciously allowed me to repost her auction photographs here.

Closeup of The Tree

Here is a link to the auction where I found the information--
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NIP-Loretta-Spears-Christmas-Heirloom-XStitch-Kit-The-Tree-/161443659183?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2596cabdaf

Not all the threads are included and I can't tell if the piece of green mono canvas has the LS logo or not.  Many thanks to the eBay seller susie-qpink for helping with information about this new Loretta ornament.


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Materials List:

7x7 inch square Santa Fe Green 18 count mono needlepoint canvas
Watercolours "Jade" #066 - one skein
Balger cord
Kreinik metallic ribbon (1/16 inch?)
Kreinik metallic (unknown braid size)

Christmas Heirlooms: Herringbone Stitch Ball NEW

Herringbone Stitch Ball, Courtesy of lrstitch-2008

A brand new Loretta design turned up on eBay this week.   The eBay seller kindly answered my questions about the name of the piece, the materials used and the copyright date on the chart.  She also allowed me to reuse the photographs from the auction here.  Thank you!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LORETTA-SPEARS-Herringbone-Stitch-Ball-Needlepoint-Chart-18-Mesh-Canvas-/321325600456?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ad07f8ec8

UPDATE:  This previously unknown ornament sold for the beginning price of $3.99 plus $3.37 in shipping.  Someone got a nice bargain!  If it was you, please email me the list of materials and any other information you think I should add to this article at LorettaSpearsDesigns at gmail dot com.  Thanks!

Loretta named this ornament Herringbone Stitch Ball and it appears to be a herringbone pattern in white DMC floss on white 18 count canvas with size 16 Kreinik braid in pale pink or peach or possibly gold.  It is from the Christmas Heirlooms series and is a chart published under the Needle Adventures name in 1991.   The chart has a price sticker of $7 (first time I've seen pricing labels on these charts) and also has a sticker reading:

"Distributed By
The Artists Collection
5963 W. Indore Place
Littleton Colorado 80123
(303) 979-6936"

I presume this was the address and phone number of Loretta's shop.  This sticker is the first of this type I have seen also.  This may have been purchased at her shop.  The auction has a starting price of $3.99 plus $3.37 for "standard shipping."  The auction ends soon so if you want this beauty, act now.

Closeup of Herringbone Stitch Ball from Chart Cover

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Materials List:
18 count white Zweigart mono canvas
DMC white cotton floss
Kreinik size 16 braid (color unknown, may be gold although it looks peach or pink in the photograph)

Christmas Heirlooms Medallion

Christmas Heirloom Medallion

In April of 1993 Loretta published one of the Bargello ornaments from the 1993 Needle Adventures/Artists Collection chart named Medallions as part of her Christmas Heirlooms collection.  She called it "Medallion"  - no S on the end.  I do not know whether the commercially published chart was published before the single ornaments were published individually or not.

Christmas Heirloom Medallion in Closeup

To see the Needle Adventures/Artists Collection Medallions leaflet that included this ornament, click here.
http://lorettaspears.blogspot.com/2012/02/christmas-heirlooms-victorian-gem.html

To see Victorian Gems, the other Christmas Heirlooms ornament that was republished like Medallion from the Medallions chart, click here.
http://lorettaspears.blogspot.com/2012/01/medallions.html

Many thanks to Ben's Grandma and Fireside Stitchery for helping with information about this design!

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Supplies

Materials List:

Three colors of Anchor floss, Supertwist #483 and another metallic which might be Supertwist?
lavender 18 count mono canvas?

Repeat eBay Sale? UPDATED

The same two charts ("Medallions" and "Today is Someday") are up on eBay again, sold by the same seller.  I don't know if the buyer of last week's sale didn't pay up or if the seller is a shop with multiple copies of the charts.  The current price is $2.84 with $2.39 extra for shipping costs.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-Needle-Adventures-Needlepoint-Booklets-LORETTA-SPEARS-Medallion-Today-/290929298797?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43bcbccd6d

UPDATE:  This sale ended with a final bid of $10.49 with $2.39 in shipping.  That's not bad for two of the Needle Adventures charts from The Artists Collection.

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Repeat eBay Sale? UPDATED

The same two charts ("Medallions" and "Today is Someday") are up on eBay again, sold by the same seller.  I don't know if the buyer of last week's sale didn't pay up or if the seller is a shop with multiple copies of the charts.  The current price is $2.84 with $2.39 extra for shipping costs.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-Needle-Adventures-Needlepoint-Booklets-LORETTA-SPEARS-Medallion-Today-/290929298797?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43bcbccd6d

UPDATE:  This sale ended with a final bid of $10.49 with $2.39 in shipping.  That's not bad for two of the Needle Adventures charts from The Artists Collection.

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Bargello Fantasy (Needle Adventures Artists Collection)

Bargello Fantasy, Courtesy of Tara K.

This Needle Adventures Artists Collection chart was published in 1994, based on a 1991 Loretta Spears design which was published originally in the July August 1991 issue of Needlepoint Plus.   The magazine version of Bargello Fantasy is discussed separately.  The two designs are almost, but not quite, identical.  The "ribbon" across the top of the design is longer in this version and the lower left bargello pattern is different.  The bottom triangles may also differ.  I can't be sure of that based on the images I've seen.

As you can see from this old eBay auction description, the design was intended to be done on a piece of 12X18 inch 24 count congress cloth.
http://www.hydroponicsonline.com/store/Bargello-Fantasy-counted-thread-chart-Needle-Adventures_230609280986.html


The supply list for this project is as follows:
Congress cloth, 24-count, French blue cut 12x18"
12x18" stretcher bars
DMC floss (with Anchor and Madeira conversions listed in the chart)
Blue Violet 324 — 3 skeins
Dk. Cornflower Blue 791 — 1 skein
Med. Cornflower Blue 793 — 3 skeins
Lt. Antique Blue 3752 — 4 skeins
Very Lt. Antique Blue 3753? — 2 skeins
Lt. Baby Blue 3752 and/or 3756?— 4 skeins
Blue Needle Necessities overdye floss — 110 — 1 skein
Danish Flower Thread 230 — 1 skein  (I have seen Guterman sewing thread substituted.)
Balger/Kreinik #8 Braid — Silver 001 and Sky Blue — 014, 1 spool each
Balger/Kreinik Cord — Silver 001, 1 spool
Mill Hill Beads #02009 — Ice Lilac

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Courtesy of Terry

You can see Terry's unframed and then framed versions at the two links below but she kindly allowed me to reproduce the unframed version above.

http://through-the-hoop.blogspot.com/2007/03/bargello-fantasy-needlepoint.html

http://through-the-hoop.blogspot.com/2008/06/bargello.html

There were three other Loretta charts published by The Artists Collection under the "Needle Adventures" name--Florentine Fantasy, Medallions, and Today is Someday.

UPDATE: Sorry that many of the photos here have vanished.  I can't add them back in as I no longer have the originals and Google seems to have removed them permanently from the backups for the blog. Sorry!  I will reload the ones I still have when I find them gone but these are no longer available.

Medallions (Needle Adventures, Artists Collection)

"Medallions" is a chart by Needle Adventures, Artists Collection, published in 1993.  It diagrams a spot sampler that uses bargello motifs.  Ornaments made from some of the designs are shown on the cover as well.  This chart is fairly easily available today.  This site has one for sale.

http://www.crossstitchers.com/shop/store.php?Florentine%2520Fantasy&view=AC75-155

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Close Up

Lara is stitching one of the ornaments from this leaflet which she says is called Christmas Heirloom Victorian Gem and was available as a separate kit as part of the Christmas ornaments club.  See the article entitled Victorian Gem June 1993 for more information.
http://diet-pepsi-and-xanax.blogspot.com/2012/02/next-project.html

A second Bargello ornament from this leaflet was published in April 1993 under the Needle Adventures name in the Christmas Heirloom series as Medallion.


There were three other Loretta charts published by The Artists Collection under the Needle Adventures name--Bargello Fantasy, Florentine Fantasy, and Today is Someday.

Instructions Page Courtesy of LakeAustin

Materials List:

Wichelt Imports' Vintage Linen 28 count, 10 x 18 inch piece

Lacquered Jewels 484 (may substitute Access Commodites' Bijoux) or Balger Cord 034

May use either DMC or Anchor cotton flosses:
light blue - Anchor 274 or DMC 928
medium light tan - Anchor 387 or DMC Ecru
medium tan - Anchor 388 or DMC 842
medium dark tan - Anchor 392 or DMC 642
medium blue - Anchor 849 or DMC 927
dark blue - Anchor 850 or DMC 926
dark tan - Anchor 903 or DMC 3032
light tan - Anchor 926 or DMC 712

Florentine Fantasy

Cover Photo Courtesy of Irina Gorin

"Florentine Fantasy" is a chart by The Artists Collection, Needle Adventures Series, published in 1993.  It diagrams two bargello pieces, one a small box top size and the other a longer rectangle.  This chart is fairly easily available today.  This site has three for sale.
http://www.crossstitchers.com/shop/store.php?Florentine%2520Fantasy&view=AC75-155

Close Up

The Artists Collection published three other Loretta charts under the Artists Colletions name--Medallions, Today is Someday, and Bargello Fantasy.

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Chart Models Courtesy of Irina Gorin

Several folks have stitched this piece and posted photographs on their blogs.  Here is The Committed Stitcher, who used red, white and blue for colors.  The final piece is shown below.
http://blog.fiberholic.net/2007/09/florentine-fantasy-framed.html

Florentine Fantasy Framed, Courtesy of Meg W.

Here is the Needleart Nut's version.

http://needleartnut.blogspot.com/2020/09/finished.html