NEEDLEPOINT INC, NEXT FLOOR

Wall of Needlepoint, Inc Silk.  Bins to the right also contain hanks of the silk.    Fringe used in finishing.
If you haven't guessed, this is where the finishing is done.

Ribbons & fabric

My favorite, the wall of beads & spools of thread.  The area beyond the beads is devoted to Needlepoint, Inc Silk

Finished Pillow

Another finished pillow

Sewing area.  It was Saturday so there wasn't much work in progress.

More fabric

Rows of white plastic bins containing skiens of Needlepoint, Inc Silk

Canvas painter's desk

The weekend gave us a greater appriciation of the work involved in finishing.

Tisha

NEEDLEPOINT, INC TOUR IN PICTURES



Wall of Needlepoint Inc Silk

                                             

Stacks of canvases

Note finished purses on the right

More of everything

The elegant DianeNerheim, owner of  Needlepoint Inc.

Marilyn Hall of  http://www.redowlstash/  took these photos during our tour and shared them with me.

Tisha

NEEDLEPOINT, INC.

On the Saturday of Stitch & Play Getaway, Diane Nerheim, owner of Needlepoint, Inc., gave us a fabulous tour of her operation. She has three floors which overlook Union Square in downtown San Francisco. One of the floors is devoted to the store. There is a wall hung with Needlepoint Inc silk. There is a nitich devoted to things related to the alphabet - sayings, etc. There is an alcove devoted to Christmas. There are finished pieces & shacks of canvases through out. Diane has her own painters so has many designs unique to the store.
I didn't take any photos. Was either brain dead or overwhelmed!

The next floor was devoted to their finishing business & the distribution of the Needlepoint Inc Silk. My favorite part of the finishing area was a small wall hung floor to ceiling the metal spice racks with the glass jars. The jars were full of beads!

The remainder of the space contained rows of the white stacking bins stacked floor to ceiling. Each bin had a number on it and was full of skeins of the silk.

The last floor is a new business selling Chinese antiques many of which are suitable for needlework. We saw a chair cushion which was being finished for a set of black lacquer dining room chairs. See more at www.needlepointinc.com.

We were off to Britex Fabrics, lunch, shopping, stitching, and sharing the days purchases. All this before dinner & more stitching.

Tisha

MARLENE CUSTOM PILLOWS CON'T

Marlene( the red head)  demonstrating how fringe is made.  All the hand dyed cones in back are for fringe.  You can also see the fringe cones in the next photo.

Making cording for the Bell Pull on the table with the electric drill.  She used the green, blue & creme cones on the table.  The cording is stitched on by hand.  The white cones next to her head are thread that has not been dyed.

Making fringe for the lavender pillow which is a fairy.  Those are large needles stuck in the fringe board.  The fringe cones she is using are on the floor.  Surgical tape is laid down under the fringe in progress & placed on top when the fringe is complete.   The fringe is removed from the board & folded in half.

Sewing machine area.  I haven't shown the shelving stacked with fabric.  Marlene has lots of fabric books from which to choose fabric.  You can see more of her work at www.marlenecustompillows.com.   Marlene accepts finishing from stores & individuals.  Stores & individuals must pay for the finished work before it is returned.

MARLENE'S FINISHING

Pretend it is last Friday.  Climb the stairs to the second floor and this is what grabs your attention!  Marlene gave us a wonderful tour of her workroom.  Marlene , along with any customer input, designs the finishing.  She has 8 women that make her vision a reality.  All the threads you see, Marlene hand dies at home adding one tespoon of dye at a time.  Her husband winds the thread back onto the cones.  She starts with an area of various blocking boards and a steamer.  There was a table with a band saw to cut shapes from styraform.  There was a spot for spray & hand painting round wooden balls used as feet and heads.  There were finished pieces to admire and work in progress throughout.   Tomorrow,  I'll include more photos.

Tisha

THE END

I am sitting in the San Francisco airport awaiting my rain delayed flight. I checked my blog only to discover that my blogs have not posted. We had a very successful weekend!! I will update you with the details this coming week.

Tisha

STITCH AND PLAY GETAWAY

I arrived in San Francisco early Thursday morning. When the Creative Zone opened at 11:00AM, seven stitchers had arrived. We had a great afternoon and went to Scomas at Fisherman's Wharf for dinner. We returned to the Creative Zone for some late night stitching. Wr are loving the hotel Triton. It is so funky! I had my Tarot read. The Tarot didn't make sense but the price was right.
I am having trouble uploading pictures.

Tisha

ANOTHER PROJECT FROM PAMELA KINBALL

Pamela stitched this Japnese Doll by Red Thread Designs.  She met a woman who's husband did rod iron work.  Pamela designed and comissioned the stand.

We had a terrific evening tonight stitching with Marie-Therese Baker a former member of our Monday Night Stitchres who now facilitates Callaway.  Where did that 20 years go?  We don't look any older but the kids grew up!

Tisha

GETTING READY

Forgot to mention, when finishing the box top, we used the double sided Red Liner Tape.  It was super strong!  It stood up to a lot of pulling.  Pam had to cut the tape with a box cutter to reposition the canvas.

I leave Thursday for the Stitch & Play Getaway in San Francisco.  I am struggling with the delima of how many projects to take.  I know we always take too many but this is three days of stitching from my stash!  I may have to eliminate some clothing. 

Tisha

FINISHED 2010 SOTM

I wanted to finish my 2010 SOTM as a box top.  The completed design was too large for a box top.  I skipped November (& maybe October).  We tried various box colors but bronze looked the best.  Wonder Woman Pamela,  mounted the piece on the box while I supervised.
Tisha

SHARON G'S BOOK IS IN STOCK

Sharon G has published the first in her future series of books.  "Simply Essential Needlepoint Stitch Explanations is exactly what it says it is.  Sharon has taken 61 repeatedly used stithces and explained how and why we keep using them.  Wonderful book for the novice needlepointer & great refrence book for the rest of us.  It's sized right for the tote bag.  Each page has a stitch diagram and text.

Tisha

Pamela's Finished Bird & Worm

Pamela has finished Zecca's Bird & Worm.  The base is a block of wood.  Note that there are 3 Dragon Flies on the end of Memory Wire.