Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Texturally Stitching

As spring begins to turn into summer, do you ever notice how the landscape around us changes? Leaves are fully opened up on the trees and flower petals are opening up in a variety of shapes and colors. Let your surroundings inspire you to add some visual impact and drama to your project by working with textured stitches.


When knitting or crocheting, this can be as easy as working a ribbed stitch pattern or as complicated as intricate lace or cables. Consider the edges as a great place to experiment with texture. This Baby Wrap Sweater is adorable in squishy garter stitch and a delicate (but not difficult) ruffle, as shown in this shop sample. This same sweater made with an applied i-cord edging is perfect if you are looking for a more masculine item. The pattern calls for Koigu yarn, a wonderful fingering weight merino wool that is hand-painted in small batches. Baby items are great fun to work on in the warmer summer months as they are tiny and generally do not take a lot of time to complete!



Decorative needlepoint stitches can make your piece really pop! Just as when you first learned how to stitch, keep in mind that each starts and ends in a specific hole. Take care to think through your textured stitches as they may be worked over different numbers of canvas intersections, to see if they will work as full or partial stitches, and when you should work them. The end result is sure to give your piece dimension. Here we're sharing Esther's London Phone Booth ornament. Notice the stitches at the bottom, all those French Knots! Looks like a chilly night in London, doesn't it? If you need a quick refresher on how to work a French Knot, here is a great stepwise tutorial!

Until next time, happy stitching!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Summer News & Events

Can you believe that May is already here and half-way done? We hope all your projects have been tangle-free! It seems appropriate to take care of a little bit of spring cleaning here - we want to make sure you know that Serendipity Needleworks is now operating on summer hours. From now until August 31, the shop is open from 10:00am until 4:00pm, Tuesday through Saturday! Thanks to the Internet you can stay connected with us, even when you can't make it in to the shop. You can check out our website, stay up to date by liking our Facebook page, following our Twitter feed, share your projects in our Ravelry group and find inspiration on our Pinterest boards!

While your calendar is still open, we hope you will pencil us in for a chance to learn something new! We have several classes scheduled. Just as a vacation is a great way to experience another location, classes are a great opportunity to dabble in a new craft.  In June, we are so excited for a very special event! Melissa Shirley will be here Wednesday, June 26 for a "Meet and Greet" event! Join us in extending a warm Southern welcome to Melissa as we spend the afternoon sharing stories, tips, and creating new friendships!


KNITuscaloosa / CROCHETuscaloosa will still be taking place on the first Tuesday of each month during the summer, from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Our summer project is to knit / crochet blanket squares on behalf of Warm Up America! Blanket squares should be 7"x9" and should be made from machine washable yarn. The finished blankets will be presented to The Salvation Army for distribution to individuals in need.  

Here's to a great start to the summer!