Janet M. Perry
Janet Perry is passionate about needlepoint. In Nuts about Needlepoint, which grew out of this passion, you’ll learn about her current projects, and get great new ideas about needlepoint. It’s also a source for the information and products she discovers.
She is well-known as an expert on needlepoint and her books, Needlepoint Trade Secrets and Bargello Revisited are now available. She is also one of the leading providers of stitch guides for hand-painted canvases. Guides written by her are available from such popular designers as Melissa Shirley, Raymond Crawford, Needledeeva, Kelly Clark, Bongo, Denise DeRusha, and many others. She also writes custom stitch guides and is developing a revolutionary and comprehensive needlepoint site, All about Needlepoint. Here’s what she has to say for herself:
“I began stitching in 1970, just before I turned 14. It was as if needlepoint found me. I loved it immediately and have done so ever since. I was an adventurous needlepointer from the beginning, trying new stitches, designing my own patterns, adapting pictures to needlepoint, and stitching with any thread I could get my hands on. From 1997-2001 I was the Needlepoint Guide for About.com, building it up into a comprehensive and current site for needlepoint knowledge. This site is based on much of that work. Since 2001 I have worked as an independent designer, creating projects and stitch guides. My basic needlepoint philosophy is that needlepoint should be fun and easy. I have developed many techniques which allow even beginning stitches to do “difficult” techniques, and my knowledge of needlepoint allows me to draw on so many different ideas. There isn’t a needlepoint technique I haven’t tried at least twice and I’ve stitched with almost everything that can be threaded on a needle. I welcome designers, shops, and individuals as clients. In addition to this blog and my design work, I also teach and write. I have written articles and columns for many popular needlepoint and needlework magazines. I am also enrolled in the EGA Master Craftsman Programs in Color and Design and am a Life Patron of the American Needlepoint Guild. I live in Napa, California with my husband, cats, and kids. When not stitching, like many people in Napa, I’m an avid foodie (email me for recommendations if you’re coming this way) and I enjoy reading and decorating. From time to time I manage to step away from my needlepoint and my computer to read, shop and have lunch with friends.
You are truly an amazing lady!!!!
[...] enjoy reading Janet Perry’s blog. She has a vast array of experience and shares it in a way that makes me feel as if I’m sitting in the same room with her, one on [...]
How I agree with Janet Perry’s philosophy that “needlepoint should be fun and easy”.
I am a needlepoint designer in the UK and I always bear this in mind when planning new projects. Clear flat areas of colour that are easy to see make stitching so much more relaxing. In my blog on my own website, I have a philosophy to do with the way so many people worry or apologise for the back of their work:-
“NEEDLEPOINT IS FOR FUN, NOT FOR AN EXAM.
Have you noticed that so many people, when they admire a piece of needlepoint, turn it over and study the back.
Why do they do this? Would they check out your china for the mark on the back, or look for a hallmark on the silver? Well I suppose they might.
But I want to assure you, it really doesn’t matter. FAR more important is the ENJOYMENT that you have in your stitching. There is no need to worry about the back of the work when it will not be seen on the finished article.
If the work is looking good on the front, just enjoy that and leave the back to take care of itself. Before you know it, your backs will start to look neat and tidy of their own accord!”
Happy Stitching,
Wendy Hope-Falkner
One Off Needlework
I would like to get a copy of the StitchersWorld article: “Scrap Bag Needlepoint and Cross Stitch” by Janet Perry. My stash tread count is in the triple digits and they need to be on canvas!
Connie –
I think you can get back issues through them and can order them from their site (http://www.c-sn.com/). I’m not sure what issues it’s in but I think it was from the middle of 2005 from looking at my archives.
I also have lots of other scrap bag projects in my book Scrap Bag Needlepoint, you can email me (napaneedlepoint @ gmail.com – remove spaces) for places to get it.
Keep Stitching,
Janet