New stuff from all over the  web:

• Needlepoint is going glamorous: appearing on fashion runways.
• Flickr: a pretty oriental crewel needlepoint work.
• Memories of my great-grandmother: starring her needlepoint pieces.
• More work by Mary Smull (we wrote about her here last week).
• Gay Ann Rogers writes how sometimes needlepoint saves her.
• Tisha writes a story about Needlepoint Inc. in San Francisco.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Just in time for Passover, our Regal Matzo Cover and Afikoman Bag canvas set was written up in the March/April issue of Needlepoint Now. These were finished expertly and photographed for the article, which presents various stitching techniques for completing the project.

These pieces require a greater investment of time but are very worthwhile; the resulting matching set will be a treasured feature of the annual Passover Seder – for generations.

By the way, this is the second time an Afikoman Bag of ours has been featured in Needlepoint Now magazine. The first time was way back in the 2010 January/February Issue and represented our first appearance in print. The Afikoman bag of that issue continues to be a best seller.

This is a really pretty purse, straight out of a 1970 catalog. Easy instructions. (Matching dress and shoes not included).

Barbara Bergsten recently blogged about ideas for needlepoint apps. I linked (above) to an app available on the Apple App store, which offers stitch diagrams, indexed by shape, name and thread count.

I had a few ideas for a needlepoint app, and instead of stuffing it all into a bloated comment I decided to do a full blog post here. A needlepoint app which could do the following things would be awesome:

• Text Charter. This app would accept a string of text, such as “Happy Birthday Mom,” and would create a chart that shows how to stitch it. You would have a choice of fonts, text effects (like drop shadow or outline), spacing, and you would also specify the dimensions of the area in which it needs to fit. This would save a stitcher loads of time (anyone who ever needed to do this knows how time-consuming and error-prone it can be).
• Thread Matcher. You snap a picture of a canvas using your phone with the onboard camera. The software would instantly inventory the colors used (up to a limit of, say 40), and then make suggestions of thread you can use to stitch it. You can control choices by fiber type, budget, and it would keep track of your previous projects so it matches thread from your stash. This app could make money by offering to purchase an entire thread ensemble on the spot.
• Stitch Charter. Building on the previous item, you would use this app to select areas of the canvas, and designate which stitch you will use. You would choose from a little window of stitch choices, and drag the right one over to the canvas photo. Then the app would create a chart based on your selections, and it would also estimate how long it would take, based on your stitching habits and history.

I have some other ideas, but let’s get an enterprising developer started on these. The stitching world is waiting!

Two articles in the Des Moines Register this week featured the same needlework artist, Joyce O’Brien. Apparently a very patient and gifted stitcher, she created a depiction of city hall, complete with shiny gold rooftops. Follow the link to see it and read more about it.

In a separate article, the writer describes how it took Joyce over 600 hours to create this needlepoint landscape of the Des Moines skyline:

“It’s a very tedious process,” she said of the 3-by-2-foot picture, made from fine wool yarn. “It takes a long time, but I love to see the picture develop.”

O’Brien is currently showing off her work in a show at the Ankeny Art Center. If you’re in the area, definitely stop in for a look.

The national president of the American Needlepoint Guild, Pat Rogers, is pitching in to help restore faded needlepoint chair upholstery at the Blair House, the president’s guest house.

Among the home’s extensive furnishings is a wingback chair with needlepoint upholstery that originally was made by Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter-in-law. In time, the threads faded and became worn by use, and house conservators approached the American Needlepoint Guild in August 2010 about recreating the upholstery.

Cake sculptures are getting more popular. Here is a sampling of delectable pastry creations perfect for a needlecrafter’s birthday or other cake-appropriate event:

Mommy's Cake by bobbykm

Sewing Kit by bunchofpants

Tailor Made by Artisan Cakes by e.t.

Sewing Kit Cake by Let There Be Cake

Sewing Cake by Simply Chocolate

Here are some links I picked up recently from Needlepoint News:

Michelle acquired a stitched floral needlepoint ready for finishing – but needs ideas as to what to use it for!

What does Raymond Crawford, needlepoint designer extraordinaire, do on the side?

Tucker Blair runs a blog. Who knew this and didn’t tell me?

I never heard of Zandra Rhodes before, but apparently she’s a famous fashion designer. And now I know she designs needlepoint too.

How to Clean Needlepoint. Also, Practice Reading while Weaving through Obtrusive Ads.

Lady Ann Tree, who died on August 9th, was a tireless advocate for incarcerated persons in Britain’s prison system. She is perhaps best remembered for innovating the very successful program “Fine Cell Work“, where prisoners create needlepoint works which are then sold to the public.

Lady Anne cited two reasons for focusing on needlepoint in her campaign. Her mother-in-law, Nancy Lancaster, owned the interior designers Colefax and Fowler, so “I had the possibility to sell good-quality needlework for good prices through shops.” She was also convinced that sewing was therapeutic: “It is meditative, a way of thinking, of taking stock.”

After a few years, Fine Cell Work was grossing £200,000 in sales. Today more than 60 volunteers train 400 prisoners, and prison systems in other countries have expressed interest in starting similar programs.