Needlepoint stitches

There are lots of needlepoint stitches and varying definitions of needlepoint. I use one of the most common,...More......the tent, or continental, stitch (please see my diagram). It's easy, it doesn't vary in size, or orientation (right-handed in the diagram), and, although I do vary color, I do not vary yarn texture, nor do I use specialty threads. As found in Leon Battista Alberti's mid-15th century advice for painters, I prefer to try to achieve the affects with color, not using the substances (ex., gold, precious stones), themselves.

I sometimes use a frame, it does help keep the canvas straight, but find it cumbersome, especially if I want to take the needlepoint with me in a travel bag. Hence, afterwards, I have to straighten the dampened needlepoint on a gridded surface ("blocking").