Needlepoint of View | Page 67 | The official blog of Pepita Needlepoint

What color shirt are you wearing today?

bluesky

When I’m outside on a beautiful summer day, and the sparkling blue sky is clear of clouds, I look up and say, “The sky is a perfect 813 today.” 813 is a DMC perle cotton number for a light blue. On a day that’s overcast, I dread the 415, that pale grey that doesn’t go away. (But on a needlepoint canvas, I love stitching with 415. It is one of my favorite colors.)

The DMC color reference chart has been going on in my head for the past couple of years, but recently I discovered just how far I’ve gone. I was ordering a polo shirt for my nineteen year old son online at OldNavy.com. He likes typical masculine colors and does not want to flash like a circus light. I was describing the color to him on the phone. “It’s really not purple; it’s more like 3041.” I just confused him even more. The shirt arrived this week, and it’s 3041 all right! The green one came too, and it’s more like 503 and not 989. I guess if you make a living matching DMC thread all day, the numbers become part of your life.

Blogging in Rhyme

Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket. ~Charles Simic Have you ever read a blog in rhyme?
I’d expect bloggers to try it sometime
But my search on google did produce
Nothing but some lame excuse.

Blogs thrive in the comfort of prose
A rhyme is confining like pantyhose
Blogs are personal diaries undraped
With no significance as to how they are shaped.

I crave to discover a poem that ignites
Passion in its readers as they delight
To cherish a blog once in a while
Written with rhythm in stanza style.

If Dickens, Twain and even Shakespeare
Read blogs today, they would despair
Only write something that’s worth reading
Why then, a blog is truly succeeding.

I invite you, dear readers, to reply
A poetry contest, give it a try
Those worth sharing will be posted
Those worth burning shall be toasted.

Stitching Modern Furniture

A really cool idea. This designer stitched up these modern mesh-backed chairs with classic needlepoint motifs, such as the floral pattern pictured above. Very original and interesting. See more images at his Office Products section.

Pepita Needlepoint is Going to the Israeli Shuk on the Main Line

We are exhibiting our designs and stitched samples at the Israeli Shuk at Adath Israel in Merion Station, PA, on June 1, 2014:

Bring the entire family to visit The Israeli Shuk: The Marketplace on The Main Line, where you’ll experience the sights, sounds, fragrances, and flavors of a Shuk in Old Jerusalem. Buy Israeli products and Judaica, taste popular Israeli foods, enjoy Israeli music and dancing, and connect with non-profit organizations. The children’s area will engage pre-schoolers through teens in Israeli-themed activities, games, story times, craft projects, and dancing. Free admission. Wheelchair and stroller access.

The Israeli Shuk is presented by Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El, Main Line Reform Temple, Har Zion Temple, Beth Am Israel, Beth David, and Adath Israel, and sponsored by Joseph Levine & Sons, Inc. It promises to be a wonderful experience.

Siddur Ceremony Season

It is Siddur Ceremony season. Some know it as Kabbalat Ha’Siddur. It is the culmination of a year’s work of learning and studying the Hebrew language. Youngsters start in first grade by learning how to read Hebrew letters and vowels, and by the end of the school year, they are ready to use a Siddur, a Jewish prayer book. Schools schedule this special day almost a year in advance for parents and grandparents to reserve the date and participate in the festivities. It is heartwarming to see the grandparents’ joy, particularly Holocaust survivors, as they watch a new generation upholding their traditions.

Many mothers and grandmothers needlepoint Siddur covers for this event. The school provides the exact dimensions of the siddur, which are used to size the design. Pepita Needlepoint add the Hebrew name to the design for free. We’ve done Siddur covers featuring rainbows, basketballs, planets, flowers, and other interesting design elements. The completed canvases can be mailed back to us to be professionally finished as book covers. It is a matter of pride and honor for us to have a prominent part in this tradition!

Save Time When Stitching a Challah Cover

Pepita Needlepoint Challah Cover — Challah Cover

I love stitching challah cover needlepoint kits. They are big canvases with plenty of room for creativity. But for some customers, stitching a project of this magnitude can be daunting.

Creating a large challah cover doesn’t need to take so long. Try stitching just the center of a challah cover and have the finisher do the rest. This reduces the cost of canvas, the amount of thread required, and most important, stitching time.

I designed the Challah Cover Chocolate Stained Glass backwards. I found faux crocodile leather in a chocolate bark color. I loved the sheen and texture. I loved the richness of the hues of browns ingrained in the “pleather.” The stained glass design is originally a tallit bag in royal blue and colorful glass, but I tweaked it to work as a challah cover. I matched thread to the material and started stitching.

You can see the results in the image at the top of this post. At the moment, it is in a window display on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.

I have another challah cover design at the finisher that uses a variation of this technique. It is a banner style finished with strips of suede on top and on bottom of the canvas. I stitched the banner strip in shades of dove blue/teal using DMC perle cotton # 926 and 927 and Kreinik #16 4012. As soon as it’s back, I’ll blog about it.

Personalized Needlepoint Pillows

Sammi is one lucky girl. Her aunt, Ronna M., stitched a magnificent custom made pillow with her name on it. Her name is the essence of the design. Ronna knew Sammi loves purple. She emailed us with the details, and we sent her a custom proof via email. Once it was perfect, Ronna placed the order. I pulled threads in bold shades of purple with subtle colors complementing the design. Well, the pillow is back from the finisher, and take a look at it! Sammi must be thrilled!

A couple of months ago, I designed a name needlepoint for a newborn baby boy. Baby Gabriel was just three weeks old when his mom, Karin T., contacted us to custom design his name on canvas. I can’t wait to see a photo of it when it’s completed. Good Luck to Karin! I applaud her efforts and am impressed that she is taking time out for herself to stitch while taking care of her newborn.

Passover Cleaning Sale

Hello, everyone! Passover is quickly approaching and we’re cleaning up. We are closed for the holiday, from April 14 through April 22nd. So we’re running a special five day sale this week only, starting today, on our entire inventory, across all of our websites: pepitaneedlepoint.com, judaicaneedlepoint.com, and pointseller.com. It’s 30% off everything – until midnight Thursday. April 10th. To get the discount, enter the code PASSOVER-2014 during checkout.

Thanks for reading, and a happy and kosher Passover to all!

Backgammon Board Needlepoint Kits

Backgammon Cherry Charcoal Needlepoint Kit

Pepita Needlepoint just added three new backgammon board canvases to their already wide selection of unique needlepoint designs.

The boards, when finished, will measure 15.5 inches by 12 inches. The triangles are just large enough to accommodate a full set of checkers, so these can be used for actual game play.

Three designs were added in the following colors: Cherry Charcoal, Red White, and Red Black Green. These are all classic color combinations for this board game, however you can request any color scheme, plus add any design elements you choose by filling out the customization form on the website.

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. She had her priorities straight. It’s no wonder needlepoint was her passion.

See this article in the Lakeland Ledger, February 12, 1974 by Erma Bombeck.