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Five States, Two Countries, Two Needlepoint

Stores In One Week

Like you, when traveling, I make a point of checkingout needlework shops along the way. Recently I hadthe opportunity to spend some time with a goodfriend, Donna LaGanga, who lives in Connecticut. The premise for this visit was to take a class fromCindy’s Needleart in Toronto, Canada. CindySaltzman, owner of Cindy’s Needleart, along with hersister Randi Gelman, mother Betty Gelman andcousin Sharon Bonder were in the booth next to meat my first needlepoint market. They were so kindand made me feel welcome even when I asked dumbquestions about the market, me being a newbie tothe industry. 

A visit to Cindy’s Needleart to visit with these lovelyladies has been on my bucket list for the past 10years. Donna suggested that we go and take a classfrom Cindy a while ago, so we had been waiting for aclass opportunity to show itself and when it did, wejumped on it. Not only was Cindy teaching a class,she was teaching one of her sister’s designs. RandiGelman is the talent behind Sew Much Fun. Many ofyou may know them for their 3D animals that are sopopular. I’ve had the pleasure of publishing a few ofthem in the magazine, most recently Randi’s Summer

Birdhouses that appeared in the May/June 2018issue. 

Cindy’s shop was beautifully decorated with manydisplays of finished pieces. Talk about being a kid in acandy store, there was so much to see, I neededmore than a day to take it all in. It was a wonderfulenvironment for shopping, taking a class or justvisiting. I got to meet several of the ladies fromCanada who were also taking the class and they wereextremely nice. I look forward to an opportunity to goback and see them again.

Another highlight of the trip was a car ride to NewJersey to visit Pam Miller at the Edwardian Needle inFairfield, New Jersey. Tony Minieri often raved aboutthis shop and I have been dying to visit for a long,long time. I was not disappointed. Pam is a lovelyperson who is quick to share her passion forneedlepoint. Her shop is busy all of the time and Ican see why. Pam makes you feel special. She isgenerous with her time and is there to cheer you onas you develop your own needlepoint skills. We werethere on a day the shop wasn’t opened but Pamcame, opened up for us and let us play in the shop fora few hours. I could have stayed all day because likeCindy’s, there was so much to see.

Both Cindy’s Needleart and The Edwardian Needleare amazing shops in their own right. The Edwardiancarries many, many thread lines while Cindy’s hasmore emphasis on painted canvases. Both offerregular classes geared to get more people to tryneedlepoint, and both are run by fabulous women. Ifelt very lucky to get to visit both on my andDonna's five states, two countries tour. The airportwas technically in Massachusetts, Donna’s house is inConnecticut, on our way to the Edwardian we drovethrough New York to get to New Jersey and ourlayover on the way to Toronto was in Detroit,Michigan. 

As all stitchers know, we speak our own language; andthrough the many miles we traveled—we stitched, weshared, ate good food, even took a “day off” to juststitch!  Yet, our mutual love of needlepoint continuedto be our focus and great love; and the shared threadbetween us.  What a wonderful world we live andexperiences we share … two countries, five states andcountless friendships. 

Elizabeth

 

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You may be familiar with our needlepoint tours: ourRolling Stitch Tours & Shop Crawls in the US, and ourtours of the UK. As we plan future adventures, we'dlike to know more about how you feel about ourtours, so we can make them even better. All entrants will be entered in a drawing to win threeskeins of this gorgeous Anahera 100% New Zealandwool from Heur de Paris. We promise we won't share

your information with anyone. Won't you take amoment to help us out?

Click here to take our travel survey.  

 

 

Coming in July/August 2019

Sunflower Canvas by Jane Tattersfield, Stitch Guide by Patricia Sone

No other flower can lift our spirits quite like sunflowers. Theyare bright and cheery, and as warm and inviting as the

summer sun. Their brilliant yellow petals, also known as“rays,” give sunflowers an unmistakable sun-like appearance.

The perfect summer stitching project!

 

Fourth of July Gazebo & Friends

Canvases by CH Designs,

Stitch Guide by Nancy Yeldell

The 4th of July, also known as Independence Day, is the day the 13

Colonies’ adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which declared

independence from the Great Britain and its king..

This Fourth of July Gazebo and Figures will be the perfect centerpiece for

your holiday table!

 

Crystal Waters Scissors Sheath & Fob

By Carolyn Mitchell Designs

Canadian designer and teacher Carolyn Mitchell has created more than 60

designs in counted needlepoint and owned a shop called Mrs.Twichett’s Eye.

Today she teaches for Guilds, Seminars and cyber classes including the

American Needlepoint Guild and the Embroiderers’ Association of Canada.

The Crystal Waters Scissor Sheath is part of a set that includes a scissor

fob, needle case, pincushion, magnet cover, box top and tekobari (Japanese

laying tool) holder, all on 18-count mono canvas.

 

Orange Butterfly

 by Cheryl Schaeffer

Several years ago Cheryl teamed up with friend and fellow artist Annie Lee

and the pair are known for their creative needlepoint jewelry, three

dimensional figures and now a series of butterflies and other insects.

 

"Well, I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become

acquainted with the butterflies. — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little

Prince"

 

Blue Star

By Timmy Schultz

Personal Perpetual Calendar

By Love You More

 

 

 

Torah

Canvas by Pepperberry Designs, Stitch Guide by Donna Brandeis

LaGanga

Elizabeth's Musings

From the Judge's Corner

By Connie Lynn Borserine

Making It Simple

By Anne Stradal

Simply Stitches

By Mary Legallet

Stitching with Confidence

By Ellen Johnson

What's New? What's Hot

By Elizabeth Bozievich

My Favorite Things

By Timmy Schultz

Dipsy stitch and Tortilla Soup.

Using Common Stitches In Uncommon Ways

By Ann Strite-Kurz

Down the Rabbit Hole

By Coni Rich

 

 

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Don't miss a single issue of Needlepoint Now!Stuffed with needlepoint love, amazing paintedcanvases with stitch guides, intriguing chartedprojects, new stitches, tips & tricks, project reviews,professional insights and much more.

 

  

Magazine Subscribers Enter to Win! 

Subscriber Lesley McCalister of West Virginia wona Lee's Leather Goods Tissue Box from ColonialNeedle! in our June drawing.

For our drawing in August, one lucky reader will win aKreinik Custom Corder. It's a hand-held tool thattwists together two or more strands of Kreinikmetallic or silk threads to create cording, piping andtrim, perfect for finishing and embellishingneedlepoint projects, making jewelry, and more! 

Just email or call us with your subscriber I.D. numberto enter the drawing.

The number is located above your name on themailing label of the magazine.

The drawing will take place on August 15, 2019.

email: contest@needlepointnow.com Phone: (541) 935-0238

 

Around the Needlepoint Now office, we've beentalking and thinking a lot lately about the importanceof local needlepoint shops. Elizabeth writes about herrecent experiences with local stores in her letter here,and in her letter in the upcoming July/August issue ofNeedlepoint Now, she goes into greater depth. Myproject this month wouldn't have come together sonicely if not for our local shops. I wouldn't haveknown how yummy Rainbow Gallery's "Alpaca 18" isif I hadn't been able to see and feel it in person. 

The first time I laid hands on the Alpaca 18, Ienvisioned fluffy sheep nibbling on the grass in a lushand sunny pasture...which is what inspired thismonth's project. This cute little patch could befinished as an ornament or a pin, or the design couldbe expanded to be a scissors pouch...the sky's thelimit! Finished size is about 2.5" square. I made mineinto a lavender sachet to maximize its summery feel. Click here for step-by-step finishing directions (PDF). 

If you decide to do this as an ornament or sachet orsimilar, I'd suggest adding a couple of rows of tentstitch around the border to make finishing easier. Ididn't and I wish I had! Stitch and learn, though, right?

I'm glad to be able to say that all the thread in myproject was purchased from Mindy's in Eugene, orfrom Exclamation Point in Lebanon, Oregon, both ofwhich are wonderful to have within an easy drivefrom home. Not only do they have a great selectionof needlepoint threads, they also cater to two of myfavorite other obsessions: Mindy's carries a wonderfulselection of artful clothing, and Exclamation Point hasa nice selection of luxury yarn for knitters/crocheters.Nothing like multitasking when it comes toshopping...

Instructions

While it's generally desirable to work light areasbefore dark, I started with the sheep's head and feet,worked in a diagonal satin stitch with RG Petit VeryVelvet. This helped me avoid pulling fuzzy bits ofwhite thread up as I stitched the dark areas. Next, stitch the body of the sheep in French knots,with the RG Alpaca 18. I chose off-white, but youcould also create a very cute little black sheep with adarker shade. 

 

Next, work the leaf stitches in the RG RainbowTweed. Stitch across the bottom of the canvas areawith a short vertical stitch, on every other thread. Thishelps to blend the darker shrubs with the lighterbackground.

 

Materials

14 Count Mono Canvas

DMC - Pearl #3 3348 Light Yellow Green

Caron Watercolours - 254 Porcelain Blue

Rainbow Gallery - Alpaca 18 AL52 Off-White - Petit Very Velvet V601 Black - Rainbow Tweed RT26 Sea Green

 

 

 

Then, stitch the grass with DMC Pearl #3 3348. 

Finally, work the sky in a random pattern of Frenchknots on stalks with the Caron Watercolours 254. 

  

Join us on tour in 2019!

Registration for our Rolling Stitch Tour & Shop Crawlof the South is closing soon. Don't miss out! And westill have a couple of openings on our Three NationsTour of the UK.  When you go on one of our tours,you leave all the details to us and concentrate onstitching, sight-seeing, making friends and havingfun. 

Please visit our website for more information.

 

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news, wonderful projects, blog posts and more. 

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