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!

Photoless Friday (26) and StitchPainter: a break from Owen Jones (whew!)

Maybe you'd like a bit of a break from all that wonderful design advice coming from Owen Jones' "Grammar of Ornament," so I thought I'd give you two hints about other sources for help and inspiration that are related to the StitchPainter program I use....More......

The company, which--for you sewers--also makes GarmentDesigner, is called "Cochenille Design Studio," and it has a web site, a blog and a discussion group.

Web site: http://www.cochenille.com/

Blog: http://cochenilledesignstudio.blogspot.com/ (Very kindly, they have included my "Ars acupicturae stellae" tweets in their tweet box.)

Discussion group (in Yahoo Groups): DesignerSchool. I'd particularly like to encourage all of you doing hand-done cross-stitch and needlepoint to buy their marvelous program, and join in the discussion because--remembering that I get no kick-backs of any kind for any mention of any products--I'm almost the only StitchPainter person in that group, and I'm lonely! Everyone talks about GarmentDesigner (and it makes me want to take up sewing, again), but I'd like a little needlepoint company!

Hope to be seeing you, soon, in the discussion group!

Peace be upon you, and so it was

My dear friend, Cristina Donghi of Donghi Comunicazione, organized a workshop in Milan, Italy, for learning to speak more freely in public. Nothing new, there, she's a communication expert (with a Facebook page for which this image is her "portrait," so you'll know which of the Cristina Donghi's in FB she is). What DID surprise me was that she also created this peace emanating watercolor for the background of her poster, and for which she kindly gave me the permission...More......


to reproduce as an image and as a needlepoint design in my blog, Thanks, Cristina!

As usual, I uploaded the image into my StitchPainter program, and it came out beautifully as a needlepoint, or cross-stitch, diagram, which I then turned into a BMP image just for you.



It also gives me the opportunity to call to your attention the fact that the colors in the needlepoint diagram look darker because they are surrounded by the black of the lines of the squares.

If you are doing needlepoint designs in StitchPainter, and want to check the "true" color, it's possible to toggle off the diagram to check the colors, then toggle it back on before printing for the actual stitching. Just one more handy dandy feature of this (marvelous) program, of which I plan to speak more at length...one of these days....

(Just a reminder, no, I get no payments, or kick-backs, of any kind from StitchPainter...just the satisfaction of sharing this marvelous program and my...hopefully marvelous!...designs and advice with you.)

StitchPainter

A recent comment on one of my posts expressed happy wonder at the existence of a program assisting the creation of needlepoint designs. Quite a few years ago,...More......I researched the then available programs, and chose StitchPainter because it sounded like the one most suited for what I wanted to do: draw, save, print and adapt my own designs, and import photographs.

As discussed in a previous post (July 16, 2010: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2010/07/designing-importing-digital-images-into.html), the last option turned out to be more complicated than it sounds, not because of the program, itself, but because of the "clean up" process I personally find necessary.

There are, of course, things that could be improved in the program, and the company asked its users to forward suggestions. On the other hand, the program lets me do lots of things that I had never dreamed of, before. Since I find the program so inspiring, one of my plans for this blog is to take us step-by-step through at least some of its basic features, as it will be of interest not only to those already with StitchPainter (or with similar programs), but also will show those without such a program how handy a new "pencil" it is. It also is suitable for use by cross-stitchers and knitters.

(Just to be clear: I get no kickbacks of any kind from StitchPainter. I'm talking about the program because I like it and use it, and want to share my enthusiasm for this aspect of my needlepointing with you.)

Designing: Importing digital images into StitchPainter

Now that you’ve started to get a good grip on composition and structure, you might want to try importing images into a needlepoint design program. Here’s...More......the same rose that figured in my recent message on outlining the principal shapes and tracing them directly onto the canvas.

“Ooooh, it looks great!,” you might (hopefully) be tempted to say. Yes, it does. It also turns out to be very complicated to stitch because there are at least ten separate colors just in the rose.

Matching those virtual colors with available yarn colors (something else to keep in mind while designing your needlepoint!) turns out to be less difficult than one might expect. At least with the “gold” version of StitchPainter2, an add-on feature allows you to identify the corresponding DMC yarn color (though, since the last program update was, I think, a few years ago, some of the colors in the module may no longer be available). That, for me, still poses a problem because I work in Paternayan yarns, and—though I asked years ago—they still haven’t come up with a Paternayan color module. Yes, I could look up a corresponding color on charts, but, personally, I really don’t want to have to deal with 10 separate colors for each and every part of my designs.

I prefer to try to work with three, sometimes four shades per color, going from light through medium to dark. That means that I have to do a lot of tweaking of images imported into the needlepoint program. In StitchPainter, some of the tweaking can be done across the board (switching one color for another, for example), while some tweaking has to be done square-by-square (for example, cleaning up edges). It is possible to force the program to use fewer colors, but, at least in my experience, the image doesn’t come out well, so there is a lot of square-by-square tidying that is so much like doing the needlepoint, itself, that I feel like I’ve done it, already, when I’ve only finished the design!