Summertime gardening

Summertime snuck up on me! "What could be a happy summertime image for my needlepoint blog fans that I haven't already done?," I asked myself. Voilà! A simple, strong and beautiful graphic that not only opens my heart, but also should be fun for gardeners, whether for oneself, or as a gift....More......

This particular style is already so clear and simplified that all you have to do is open the image in a simple graphic program (I always use "Paint" for this, for example), select it all, copy it, open that marvie program StitchPainter, and paste it. If it turns out too small, or too big, for your needs, remember that, once you open StitchPainter, you can pre-select the area for the image prior to pressing "paste"...see previous messages about working with this wonderful program. Change the colors of the flowers and the gardener's skin, as you will.

When I saw how dark the colors were in the default version with the grid visible--nothing like the original bright and cheery ones--I decided that it also was a good moment to show you the difference between the onscreen StitchPainter image with the grid on and with it off, and how to do it.

In StitchPainter, with a file open, click on "Layout," and look for the menu entry "Show grid." You'll see it with a check next to it because the default of this toggle menu item is "on." To turn the grid off, just click on "Show grid," and the check will disappear (I did this to generate this image). When you're done checking the image, turn the grid back on simply by repeating the process, and the check will reappear.

Oh, want to share your beautiful designs with friends who don't have StitchPainter? It's easy, and works for the image whether with the grid on, or off.

With the StitchPainter file open (with the grid turned on, or off, as you choose), click on File then Export Document, then on the file form of your choice (I use .bmp). This will save a copy of your file in a format visible by others, but it is a good idea to put a quick notation for the file form at the end of the file name (example: "-bmp") using DASHES NEVER PERIODS (because periods are used to separate the indication of the program type from the file name). Why? Because when you look in your folder with "explore" or as a directory tree in the Microsoft systems (or however you do it with your Apple systems), the two files will be more easily distinguishable one from another.

Thanks, Microsoft, for this (MC900150103) free graphic, that I imported into StitchPainter, and turned into a needlepoint design for your personal, non-commercial stitching pleasure.

Enjoy!