Practice these stitches with three ply Caron's Watercolours in your favorite color on ten mesh canvas. You will need a #18 tapestry needle, a needle threader and a pair of child safe scissors.

GOBELINS

Gobelin is a fancy name for a straight stitch. In needlepoint, straight stitches stand next to each other.

GOBELINS CAN BE SMALL.

 

GOBELINS CAN BE TALL.

 

Gobelins can walk next to each other like soldiers.

 

Gobelins can stack just like pancakes.

 

When you stitch gobelins, you must be very careful to stay in the same ditch of holes on the canvas.

Good for You ------ ---------- -------Whoops! -------

See if you can work several rows of small gobelins

Now try several gobelins that are tall.

 

PARISIAN

Sometimes you can stitch a tall gobelin next to a small gobelin. This is called a Parisian stitch.

Notice that the small gobelin fits right in the middle of the tall gobelin. This stitch looks a little bit like a railroad track. Maybe this railroad track will take us all the way to Paris!

Want to try a second row of the Parisian stitch?

The small gobelin in the second row holds hands with the tall gobelin in the first row.

Remember that the tall gobelins are over five holes in the canvas. The hole you come up in is hole number one. The hole you go down in is number five.

Did you notice that small gobelins are stitched over three holes?

Three holes and five holes are the magic

numbers for the Parisian stitch. 

HUNGARIAN

Now letís match two small gobelins with one tall gobelin.

This pattern is called a Hungarian. Work a small, tall, small gobelin pattern. Then skip a ditch of holes.

small, tall, small, skip, small, tall, small, skip, small, tall,

Look at you . . . you are dancing the Hungarian.

Are you ready for a challenge? 

The second row of the Hungarian is a little tricky. 

The Hungarian stitch looks like a diamond flower. What is your favorite flower color 

The tall gobelin in the second row will fit into the skip place from the first row. The small gobelins from each row hold hands.

Remember, once you get going, the pattern is still the same

small, tall, small, skip

This is a challenging stitch. If you are having difficulty with the second row, save it for later

Needlepoint stitching is so tiny it takes a long time. You might have to rest a little after working on this part of your sampler.

WHEN YOU GET TO THIS PAGE, YOU WILL BE A CHAMPION, FIRST CLASS, MARVELOUSLY WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC AND SIMPLY GREAT NEEDLEPOINTER!

I am so proud of you!

And now about June McKnight and her new kids book.

A tiny child sat cross-legged on the floor near her mother. Even though she was barely three years old, she was already being welcomed into the sorority of stitchers who were her mother's dearest friends. Weekly this group would gather and this little girl would try to make something as beautiful as the creations her mother and her friends made. Although this youngster was awkward at this mysterious ritual, she instinctively understood that she had to practice and concentrate. Perhaps with determination, this nearly impossible task might become as pleasurable for her as it seemed to be for the others around her.

This child was June McKnight. What she believed so long ago about determination has proven to be true. Today, five decades later, the needlework industry has lovingly dubbed June "the stitch goddess" because of her teaching abilities and her literary endeavors in creating technical stitchery books. Needles, thread, family and friends have woven the tapestry of her life.

After ten years as a secondary school teacher of English and Drama, June shifted gears and opened a tiny needlework shop. It was a perfect second career for her and "Black Sheep Needlework" was a wonderful creative haven for one and a half years. After her husband accepted a job in California and they settled in, June began to miss the challenge of the store. A similar opportunity presented itself and she again became a proprietress. This time, there were other needlework shops in the area, so she strove to make her's unique. She also began to design and teach. Within eight years, her reputation as a teacher exceeded that of her as a shopkeeper. June went on the road, preaching the needlework gospel like the missionaries of old.

To help her students, she wrote a manual of stitches. Because of her involvement with Erico of California, a needlework company, orders began to be placed for this self-published booklet. Another friend with a graphic design business, Jacki McDowell, transformed this manual into a slick book which was printed by a Silicon Valley firm. Within months orders were flowing in like magic. Since Erico could not keep up with the volume of orders, it was suggested that June begin her own wholesale book business. June had just completed her second and third stitch books, so it was the ideal time to become a publisher. To date, she has completed nine needlework books including one for children called Needlepoint For Kids. The children's project that appears below is a sample from this new book.

June admits to being a workaholic and constantly strives to find a balance between work and play. Her philosophy is: "All we can do in life is do the best we can with what we are given. And along the way, hopefully, we have taken enough time to laugh, to hug, and in my case, to write and stitch...If an awkward young embroiderer can become a 'stitch goddess' than, indeed, all things are possible."

For a list of June McKnight's needlepoint books and how to order them please e-mail her at JuneMck@aol.com or write to her at 612 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove, CA. 93950

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: No part of these instructions/project nor the included diagrams/illustrations can be reproduced or distributed in any form (including electronic) or used as a teaching tool without the prior written permission of the CARON Collection Ltd. One time reproduction privileges provided to our web site visitors for and limited to personal use only.