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!

Spring is springing!

Today is the last day of winter, and Milan is going to have glorious weather for the next couple of days, yeah! About time!

To celebrate,...More... ...here's a simple flower basket to needlepoint, or cross-stitch.

I found the free image (n. MC900238146) on Microsoft's web site, captured it, opened StitchPainter, sized the document for a vertical piece big enough for an almost 10" wide and a 10"+ tall cushion (18-point), selected the whole document, used Paste Special, and...voila'!

To share your designs with friends who don't have StitchPainter, do as I did: export the document into a bmp file, it's easy! (just look in the "file" menu)

So, here's my snippet of Spring springing for your personal, non-commercial stitching pleasure.

Enjoy! P.S., what's up with Blogger? The text used to wrap along the entire side of the image, but now it starts only at the bottom, so it looked better to put it a few lines underneath.

A cushion for your naps

Hello! I think about you often, and keep trying to cut a snippet of time out of my hectic schedule to whip something up for you. This morning I succeeded!...More...... Here's a pattern for a cushion based on an architectural decoration I snapped in via Coni Zugna in Milan. It shouldn't be too complicated, but if you'd like it even more simple, print it out, take your Sharpie, and trace around the three (or four) basic areas of light, medium and dark.

To create this I imported my photo directly into Stitch Painter. If you have the program, you can print at this point, but to share it with you, I transformed it into a BMP, and uploaded it for your personal non-commercial stitching pleasure.

Enjoy!

P.S., We're coming up on the T-Day and Christmas season...if you didn't needlepoint my designs last year, search through this web site to find them easily (see the labels), and try them this year!

Milan Monday (44): an urban lakeside scene, complete with little temple and swan!

I know, I know...most of my designs are horribly complicated.

Or they LOOK horribly complicated.

Why's that?...More......

Because I'm frantically busy, like all of you, so can't stop to simplify the images simply imported into my StitchPainter program.

Use my designs to inspire you, to set out proportions, to give you a clue of colors.

Then simplify at will.

Here's another good example.

I'd go crazy if I needlepointed this just as it is: a gorgeous urban lakeside scene, complete with decorative temple and swan.

I took my photo, uploaded it into StitchPainter, and turned it into a diagram and then a BMP image to share with you for your personal, non-commercial stitching fun.

If you're interested in knowing more about what it is and where it is in Milan, go to my other blog, My Milan (Italy): http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/10/gorgeous-tempietto-on-urban-lakeside-in.html.

Enjoy!

Milan Monday (33): a strip of laurel

Laurel was used to honor a worthy recipient. If you have someone to congratulate for whatever grand accomplishment (a graduation, a promotion, the first book published, the first--or 100th!--hole-in-one, etc.), this strip of laurel can be adadpted for the border.

Enjoy this design that I created out of one of my own photographs imported into StitchPainter, then turned into a BMP, for your personal non-commercial use.

If you'd like to know more about the image and the photo, you can go to my blog about Milan, My Milan Italy: http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/06/laurel-for-successful-graduations-and.html#0.

Milan Monday (29): Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle, such a beautiful plant. Full, green, lush bush with small, delicate, trumpet-shaped, white flowers with a pale yellow throat and a heavenly perfume, so here's one of my photos taken around town, and imported into StitchPainter and transformed into a bmp image for your personal non-commercial use.

Remember, too, that the grid makes the colors look darker than they are.

If you'd like to know more about the plant and the picture, see my blog on Milan, My Milan (Italy): http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/05/honeysuckle.html.

Enjoy!

Milan Monday 27: a beautiful classicizing acanthus border

A beautiful classicizing 15th century acanthus border on the principal portal of Santa Maria delle Grazie (the church to which the refectory, where Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper is found, belongs) to brighten your Monday.

I transformed my photograph into a StitchPainter diagram, then saved it as a BMP image, in order to share it with you.

If you want to know more about the relief and the church, go to the blog post on my blog dedicated to Milan, "My Milan (Italy)": http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/04/delicate-and-exquisite-classicizing.html.

Milan Monday 26: acanthus

Monday, already! It seems to arrive faster and faster.

Here's a lovely classicizing acanthus pattern, which will work beautifully for borders, a table runner, or a bell pull.

I created the design out of one of my own photos using StitchPainter, then turned it into a BMP for your personal non-commercial use.

If you'd like to know more about the inspiring architectural decoration, see my blog on Milan, "My Milan (Italy)": http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/04/lovely-acanthus.html#0.

Milan Monday 25: a circular floral pattern good for a cushion

Went to a local open air market on Friday, and saw this circular floral motif on a building, which I thought would work up nicely as a cushion, so I snapped it, turned it into a StitchPainter diagram, then a BMP image to share with you for your non-commercial personal enjoyment.

If you want to know more about the design, see my blog "My Milan (Italy)": http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/03/lovely-bit-of-floral-architectural.html.

Have fun!

Milan Monday (24), again!...already!

Time whizzes by. It seems like almost yesterday that I posted the last "Milan Monday." Work, rushing around, being now tired, now frustrated, now satisfied with a day well spent. (Expected) appointments, surprises (which I hate), routine tasks to do in an unroutinely manner. Finally a long delightful walk on Sunday, and to bed too late, then, too soon, the alarm, Good Morning!

Here's a snippet of more lovely architectural decoration that can be used as a repeating border pattern. As usual, I turned the photo into a StitchPainter pattern, then saved it as a BMP file, to share with you.

To know more about the photo, go to my blog on Milan, My Milan (Italy): http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/03/via-piero-della-francesca-and-lovely.html.

Enjoy!

Lovely acanthus leaves and grill work (Milan Monday 22)

Yeah! Milan Monday! And life is getting enough back to normal to allow me to celebrate it with you!...More......

Here's a detail of the gorgeous fence in front of the Villa Romeo-Faccanoni, which I spent eons cleaning up before turning it into this StitchPainter design, then a BMP file for your personal, non-commercial fun!

If you want to know more about the original, you can see my blog on Milan, "My Milan (Italy)": http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/03/lovely-acanthus-leaves-and-grill-work.html

Enjoy!

Milan Monday (17): An Art Nouveau border

Break from Christmas stuff! It's Milan Monday, and since Milan's Xmas decorations are not terribly inspiring, here's something that is: a delightful Art Nouveau border on one of the many anonymous, but delightful late 19th century buildings scattered around town.

I snapped the shot on the 11th of December, at about 12:15, imported it into Stitch Painter, and turned it into a BMP for your personal, non-commercial uses.

If you want to see the original picture, or learn a bit more about the building, please go to my "My Milan (Italy)" blog: http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2010/12/break-from-christmas-delightful-art.html.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday (06)

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Milan Monday (14): Yet another piece of (lovely) grillwork

Another lovely snippet of Milanese wrought iron, this time just right for a cushion.

I snapped the photo, turned it into a slightly tweaked StitchPainter diagram, then turned it into a bmp image for you.

(To see more information about this grill, see “My Milan (Italy)” blog: http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2010/11/yet-another-beautiful-wrought-iron.html)

Pavian Tribute

Had to go to Pavia on Wednesday for some bittersweet moments, and so wanted to record the day...More......


with, what else?, photographs.

This large rosette on the door of the Duomo would make a marvelous pillow.

I've created the diagram large enough for an 18" pillow on 18-count canvas, if the whole image is used. That means the center part should be about right for a 16" pillow, if you use just the circular area and the rosette.

I've imported the image into my StitchPainter program, then turned it into a BMP image for you.

Library mouse (02) (again)

I feel much richer as a person for having learned more about William Morris (1834-1896). I knew of him as a...More......multi-talented artist and craftsman, but never realized that his aspirations to improve and uplift our daily lives by insisting on beauty in the making and using of everyday things also had extended into poetry, narrative and political activism. (For more on Morris, click on the title of this post, or go directly to http://www.morrissociety.org.)

Arthur Clutton-Brock’s William Morris (New York: Parkstone Press International, 2007) is largely concerned with exploring Morris’ interests and beliefs, with particular attention to Morris’ own writings. The book is not dedicated to translating his art into needlepoint, or cross stitch, designs, though the ample and beautiful illustrations will be an inspiration for your work.

The book spends less time than I had hoped on analyzing Morris’ approach to art, in order to be able to apply it to our own work. Even if the style of his art may not please you, after learning about his goals, you may find that you like his art better, even if you already adored it before learning more about him, as I did.

The text, despite its in-depth attention to Morris’ writings, is not for scholars, who will lament the rambling text without footnotes and the too short bibliography, but it is suited for interested fans wishing to better understand Morris’ works, and is a good source of some beautiful images full of inspiration for your needlepoints.

Better understanding his goals helps us to better translate his art into designs. Unexpectedly, but more importantly, it helps us, like Morris, to be uplifted by making beautiful things and to insist on living surrounded by beauty, even in all our everyday objects, not just because it gives aesthetic pleasure, but also because it refines our spirits.

(Originally posted July 25, 2010, this message was skipped during Google’s retroactive indexing phase, which means that not only was it not available in internet, but also that the page was not available for the in-site search feature, so the message is being reposted to remedy these two problems. Thank you for your understanding.)

Garland of roses (9 of 9) (again)

The last of the small "insets" for the "composite" image is this beautiful garland of roses. As smaller designs,...More......they also can be stitched on leftover pieces of canvas, and can function as insets, even in other projects. Two of the little designs worked side-by-side into a single work could become a case for glasses, or a cell phone. As usual for this "composite" image, I drew the design freehand on my StitchPainter program, and was inspired by the Victorian needlepoint book (see bibliography and link list).

As for all my designs, it was planned for 18-count canvas. If stitched on lower-count canvas it will be bigger, and so could be made into a little purse, for example.

(Originally posted July 15, 2010, this message was skipped during Google’s retroactive indexing phase, which means that not only was it not available in internet, but also that the page was not available for the in-site search feature, so the message is being reposted to remedy these two problems. Thank you for your understanding.)

Time flies

Why not take advantage of the idea of the passage of time to enliven and enrich your designs? I did in my “CARPE DIEM” in which ...More......the idea of the passage of time is a reminder—in the true Stoic sense of the phrase—to take advantage of every moment of the present to be a better person, individually and socially.

It also provides a thought-provoking artistic synchronization between the concept and its presentation.

The concept reminds us to be aware in the present of the fleeting passage of time, while the needlepoint displays the passage of time. Like a snapshot (in itself evoking the sense of the present), the—for the moment, new—needlepoint depicts a detail of an ancient cracked fallen architectural fragment, invaded and surrounded by wild plants, such as the acanthus on the left, the inspiration for the leaf design found in ancient classical art, thus forcing us to note the passage of time.

It is, for me, a personal reminder to try to be a better person every day, but also my own sad comment on how this unselfishness--like a fallen architectural fragment in a field of wild plants--is forgotten, in many ways big and small, in today’s society.

The comparison between the design and the worked needlepoint also is a good example of the difference between the colors in my designs--bright, for visibility during the working phase--and in my worked pieces.

Library mouse (02)

I feel much richer as a person for having learned more about William Morris (1834-1896). I knew of him as a...More......multi-talented artist and craftsman, but never realized that his aspirations to improve and uplift our daily lives by insisting on beauty in the making and using of everyday things also had extended into poetry, narrative and political activism. (For more on Morris, go directly to http://www.morrissociety.org.)

Arthur Clutton-Brock’s William Morris (New York: Parkstone Press International, 2007) is largely concerned with exploring Morris’ interests and beliefs, with particular attention to Morris’ own writings. The book is not dedicated to translating his art into needlepoint, or cross stitch, designs, though the ample and beautiful illustrations will be an inspiration for your work.

The book spends less time than I had hoped on analyzing Morris’ approach to art, in order to be able to apply it to our own work. Even if the style of his art may not please you, after learning about his goals, you may find that you like his art better, even if you already adored it before learning more about him, as I did.

The text, despite its in-depth attention to Morris’ writings, is not for scholars, who will lament the rambling text without footnotes and the too short bibliography, but it is suited for interested fans wishing to understand Morris’ works, better, and is a good source of some beautiful images full of inspiration for your needlepoints.

Better understanding his goals helps us to better translate his art into designs. Unexpectedly, but more importantly, it helps us, like Morris, to be uplifted by making beautiful things and to insist on living surrounded by beauty, even in all our everyday objects, not just because it gives aesthetic pleasure, but also because it refines our spirits.

Library mouse (01)

Do you love books? Me, too. Real ones...More......that you can hold and touch and annotate and in which you easily can hold your place flipping back and forth to coordinate information on the various pages (that’s why books were invented in the first place; scrolls were good for from-start-to-stop reading, but not for page-to-page-in-the-same-book consultation…I haven’t tried digital books, as I just can’t focus my thoughts reading on a computer, as I can when reading a book, yet). Then, like me, you’re what the Italians call a “library mouse”…so much nicer than “bookworm,” I think. I recently found some needlepoint books that I can hardly wait to share with you one-by-one, as they arrive. (When they’ve all arrived, I’ll put them in the bibliography.)

The first one to be shared is Barbara Hammet’s The Art of William Morris in Cross Stitch, n.p.: David & Charles, 1996. It’s 128 pages packed with great photos, some basic information about the fascinating fellow William Morris (who wanted to fill everyone’s everyday lives with soul-uplifting beauty, bless him), and with about 50 charted designs for imaginative projects, complete with sewing instructions and some basic information for cross-stitch starters (though the complexity of most of the designs makes them suitable only for those with cross-stitching, or needlepoint, experience, in my opinion).

With some practice at interpreting charts for doing needlepoint, I think that most of the designs (those that don’t rely heavily on outlining) can be adapted for needlepoint fairly easily. I particularly like the way that she envisions the background as an active part of the design (more on that when I talk about the book on the Beggarstaffs, which I am awaiting eagerly).

Her approach to cross-stitch and the final effect of her designs are so akin to the look of needlepoint that I’m tempted to try cross-stitching one of her designs. Because the cloth background and final product of cross-stitch projects are so much thinner and flexible than needlepointed ones, cross-stitch also can be used for lots of things that needlepoint can’t, and that makes for happy gift-planning, for example, a personalized book marker. That’s tempting, too.