Originally posted 2006-12-15 07:36:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Earlier this week I was at Needlepoint, Inc in San Francisco (http://www.needlepointinc.com). They had their shop decorated for Christmas with a charming tree with nothing but needlepoint ornaments on it. My favorites were needlepoint flags. There are painted canvases of flags of many different countries. But what really struck me was the finishing. They were finished as rectangles about 1/2″ thick, with fabric for the sides and back, and cording around the sides. The weren’t stuffed, but probably finished over blocks of foam. The fabrics were glitzy, but didn’t overwhelm the graphic simplicity of the flags.
I was delighted.
I’ve tried to make needlepoint flags before, because they are so fun on a tree as ornaments, and I’ve always been very disappointed with the results. They were just too thin and insubstantial to look good. A fabric or paper flag on a little pole will drape, but being needlepoint, these didn’t. But they weren’t enough to show up and making them bigger didn’t really appeal to me.
This is a fantastic way to make flag ornaments. I can’t wait to make a bunch for next Christmas. I probably would have bought a bunch of canvases then and there if it weren’t for the fact that my DD was waiting down in the car and we wanted to beat the traffic.
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A customer from Atlanta was just in the shop and told us about reading your blog. Thank you, Janet, for the wonderful praise about our flag ornaments. You’re always very kind and talented in your observations.
We have some new ornaments you should see the next time you’re in town. They’re for using up leftovers and are very small but we finish them on a wooden ball and they look like a million dollars!
Have a wonderful summer!