It’s almost 2016. What are your new year resolutions? I hope to finish my needlepoint kitchen moldings (see previous posts). I have four panels left. When I’m finally done, perhaps I’ll have an open house. I hope to design many new needlepoint canvases. I see that many of my orders online come from the “New […]
Category Archives: Articles
The Stories Behind the Stitches
As an avid needlepointer, I take a great interest in the motivation of a stitcher. I know what motivates me; needlepoint relaxes me, and I feel creatively rehydrated from it. But what’s it like for others out there? I have been inspired by many of my customers, and here I share their stories. (Please note […]
Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
Another year has gone by. Mother’s Day is around the corner. Those of us fortunate enough to have a special mom, mother-in-law, wife, or grandmother in our lives need to come up with gift ideas. I am confident the special woman in your life owns enough mugs and perfume. I imagine she will not appreciate […]
Erma Bombeck
Did you know that Erma Bombeck, the famous comedy author and columnist, loved to needlepoint? I still think about her book, If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What am I Doing in the Pits? whenever I see cherry pits. She laughed, and we all laughed along with her. She knew what was important in life. […]
Why I Didn’t Stitch the Sesame Seeds
My customer Janet ordered Oval Challah Cover a few weeks ago with a stitch guide. I matched the threads to a fabric swatch of her dining room decor. She is an experienced needlepoint stitcher and wants to accentuate her Shabbat table. I stitched the challah cover oval a number of years ago. It was the […]
Boring Writing Assignment? Write About Needlepoint
Do all teachers start the school year with the same old writing assignment? “OK, class, everyone write one paragraph titled ‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation.’” I dreaded writing that initial paragraph in school. My summer vacations were typically uneventful, and I pitied the teacher who had to grade so many similar essays. As a […]
Needlepoint in the Catskills
Needlepoint is synonymous with the Catskill Mountains in the summer. While some associate the summer with barbecues and others think of swimming and hiking, needlepoint comes to my mind. As a youngster, I recall the fondest memories of spending summers in a run down rented bungalow in Fallsburg on Route 42. The best days were […]
Free Hebrew Alphabet Stitch Charts
Hebrew Alphabet Stitch Charts Judaica Needlepoint has made available a selection of my Hebrew Alphabet Stitch Charts at their website. There are twelve different typefaces to choose from, and each one comes in a range of sizes. Everyone should be able to find a font that works for their design. Best of all, these come […]
Presidential Needlepoint
Shirley Kerstetter has stitched dozens of portraits of American presidents. They are meticulous, 24-count, multihued masterpieces. She put them all together on a massive quilt, pictured in the article about her monumental work. Among other ideas, she mentions this: “I collected fabric for the presidential quilt for years,” Kerstetter said. “Every time I saw a […]
Using a Needlepoint Frame
In my article The Needlepoint Beginner – How Do I Start Stitching, I touched briefly on the subject of using needlepoint frames. I recently had the opportunity to read Brenda Stimpson’s article Should I Use a Needlepoint Frame? over at EZine Articles, so I thought I would expand a bit on the topic. A needlepoint […]