Thursday, December 19, 2019

A New Patchwork Heart Pattern? UPDATED

I just stumbled across this unknown Loretta design on Pinterest. It appears to be a patchwork pattern made into a heart ornament.   The person who uploaded the photo says it is a Loretta design stitched as an Apple Blossom Chapter (of the American Needlepoint Guild) project.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/83035186857019305/

Thanks to the sharp eyes on Facebook's Needlepoint Nation group, I now know that this ornament is Loretta's "Victorian Heart," published in the January-February 1991 issue of Needlepoint Plus magazine.  Appreciate your help, Terry!  It's amazing how different it looks in different colors.  Or maybe it is just different cameras.
https://lorettaspears.blogspot.com/2012/01/victorian-heart.html

Saturday, June 1, 2019

July 1992 Square Ornament (Needle Adventures)




July 1992 Needle Adventures Ornament

A recent eBay auction appears to have a July 1992 Loretta Spears chart published under the Needle Adventures name among the items for sale.  The seller calls it hanging ornament.  This is one of a lot of charts and kits.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-21-sealed-embroidery-craft-kits-plus-4-tools/352670273871?hash=item521cc9514f:g:4k8AAOSwh0Rc5DSj:sc:USPSPriority!22611!US!-1

The ornament is a square made up to hang from one corner in dark blue and purples.  I've copied and enhanced the photos from the auction as best as I can.

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Materials List and Canvas, Threads


Materials List:

7x7 inch piece of  18 count Levantine Blue needlepoint canvas
four colors of (purple?) Anchor cotton floss
Fyre Werks
Lacquered Jewels (green?)




Courtesy of Fireside Stitchery


Sunday, April 14, 2019

Bargello Fantasy (Needlepoint Plus)





Bargello Fantasy (Needlepoint Plus)

Bargello Fantasy was original published  in the July August 1991 issue of Needlepoint Plus.   In 1994 Needle Adventures republished this design as a chart with a photo of the finished model on the back cover.  The chart version of Bargello Fantasy is discussed separately.

Needleartnut's Bargello Fantasy from NP Plus

The two designs are almost, but not quite, identical.  The "ribbon" across the top of the design is shorter in this version and the lower left bargello pattern is different as you can see in this photo of the finished magazine version, courtesy of Needleartnut.  The bottom triangles may also differ.  I can't be sure of that based on the images I've seen.  The scans of the Needlepoint Plus model and magazine cover are courtesy of Ann in Baton Rouge.

Needlepoint Plus July Aug 1991

Corrections to the magazine chart are posted in the Errata tab above.
https://lorettaspears.blogspot.com/p/errata.html



The delicate version stitched by Sue. H.

And this is Sue H.'s version on congress cloth.   It isn't framed yet.  Thanks, Sue!


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Materials List:




Sunday, September 2, 2018

Hearts and Trumpets

Hearts and Trumpets

This Loretta Spears Designs chart was published in May 1996.  It is worked on ash rose canvas with two types of Kreinik metallic in an open stitch.

This piece was stitched by the Diet Pepsi and Xanax blog. The blog notes the original canvas color was rose but the stitcher saved that to resell with the design on eBay later and went with green instead. 
http://diet-pepsi-and-xanax.blogspot.com/2011/12/army-is-coming.html

http://diet-pepsi-and-xanax.blogspot.com/2012/01/two-ornaments-finished.html






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Close Up of Hearts and Trumpets

The Needleart Nut provided this closeup of the photo.  The original lavender look of the photo shows better here.

Materials List:

6 x 6 inch Ash Rose #18 mono canvas
Kreinik braid size 16, #013
Kreinik 1/16 inch ribbon, #013

Note that Kreinik 013 is now Beige.  It is likely judging from the photograph that some shade of pink or fuchsia was the original color to match the ash rose canvas (a dusty pink color).

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Summer Rose (Loretta Spears Designs)



Summer Rose is a Loretta Spears Designs ornament published in (June?*) 1992.  The design is round with horizontal bands of pattern and an 8 step stitch that resembles a rose in the top band.  The overdyed floss is a pale blue and pink mix.



*The instructions page I have seen is dated C 1992.

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Materials List:

7 x 7 white size 24 Congress cloth
Needle Necessities overdye floss #185 (substitute ThreadworX #1143 Sea Flowers)
Lacquered Jewels #442 "Antique Silver"
Lacquered Jewels #425 "Pyrite"
Neon Rays N40 "Beige"
Neon Rays N91 "Silver"




The original kit Loretta sold came with a piece of Congress cloth with the circle already drawn on and the center of the circle marked. Note the "LS" logo in the corner.