Originally posted 2003-01-20 08:39:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
TNNA was so full of fantastic needlepoint canvases, threads, and finishing ideas that this entire issue is going to be devoted to an in-depth report on the show. In the next issue I’ll resume with all the regular features, but I wanted to devote as much space as
possible to let you know about the goodies I’ve found.
Because of scheduling and deadlines on my part I went through the show like a house afire, so I am sure that your local shops will have lots of new canvases I missed — there was just too much to see.
The article is divided up into four sections: New Canvases, New Threads, Finishing and Accessories, and Trends in Needlepoint. You’ll find information about new products you’ll love in every section. When possible I have included links to the companies in the article. Shopowners can find all these companies through TNNA. Consumers should talk to their LNS about getting these products.
NEW CANVASES
Catherine Coleman has come out with her first painted canvases, a lovely grouping of Arts and Crafts pottery in period colors. Done on cream canvas, these are wonderful pieces. Amy Bunger has created a very inventive Candle of the Month series. There are 13 canvases in the series. Sharon G has a drop-dead gorgeous series of ornate fishing flies. These would be so wonderful done in a variety of threads and stitches. JulieMar had some really wonderful orchids as well as other flowers which would be a treat to stitch. Barbara Elmore has taken her wonderful way of combining ribbon embroidery and needlepoint and combined them with softly painted and lettered canvases. You stitch the flower but leave the canvas unstitched. These are distributed by Sundance Designs.
Jean Smith has several wonderful series of small designs including fruits, flowers, teapots and teacups. Most of these designs are on 13 mesh canvas and some have larger pieces in the same series as well. Designing Women had a wonderful small series of great women
canvas which includes Scarlet O’Hara, Joan of Arc and Marie Antoinette. They have an Advent nativity which currently has 12 pieces and which will go up to 24 with a stitched background. There are new crosses, including some Frank Lloyd Wright crosses and some more great crowns from this popular designer.
A British designer, Julia Hickman, has some lovely kits being imported by Camus. These include screened, charted and trammed canvases in modern and traditional designs. Also in tramme, from Martin Winkler are some large, lovely reproductions of Klimt ladies.
Associated Talents has several pieces based on nursery rhymes, including one absolutely wonderful rug. There are surroundings which would work for birth samplers, picture frames and pillows in the series as well. Traditions has a great Noah’s Ark bellpull which would be wonderful in a child’s room. It is also available with animal buttons and a stitch guide.
There was also lots of 3-dimensional needlepoint. Rebecca Wood has made some more wonderful and complex 3-D houses. TS Designs has added to their line of keepers with Wizard of Oz characters, Raggedy Ann and Andy and an adorable Welsh terrier. The Studio has another wonderful idea for ornaments — Jack in the Boxes. These pieces have both the box and figure made from needlepoint. A Collection of designs has a number of options for gingerbread houses from a complete house to stitching only the front of a house and putting it on a wooden or cardboard house. dede’s needleworks is dressing up more stuffed animals even more adorably. She has a penguin and baby with fish in a backpack and a Christmas tree bear with presents for shoes. For the more traditional-minded stitcher she has porcelain dolls with needlepoint skirts. They are just too cute!
Coasters, coasters, coasters — there are lots of designers with absolutely delightful ideas to make needlepoint coasters, some available as sets, some as single designs. Kathy Schenkel (subject of our April designer profile) has a great series of coasters with
alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. Raymond Crawford has a great batch of citrus coasters in punchy colors. Susan Roberts has tons of four design sets covering everything from Celtic knots to a hatching chick.
As always there were lots of great ornaments. Custom House has a line of twelve men’s jackets and vests — one for every month. Without arms or heads, they are easy to finish. The Princess and Me has a new ornament of the month series (and all these designs come with stitch guides). Needle Graphics has a set of seasonal cornucopias while Danji has a great batch of hearts which come with stitch guides to show off many stitches and threads. Shelley has a new line of ornaments which are of clothing, including a poodle skirt and sweater. Kathy Schenkel not only has delightful pairs of mittens, she has tiny needlepoint scuffs you make in pairs as ornaments.
NEW THREADS
There is lots of exciting news for threadaholics! If you have loved the Needle Necessities overdyed metallics, or if you have been wishing they were available in other sizes — your wait is over. Overdyed metallics are now available in #4 and #12. There are also six new colors of overdyed floss.
JL Walsh silks (our designer profile for March) has new colors available. As does Designing Women in their Heathered Ribbon floss. The Caron Collection has 3 new colors of their popular Snow metallic. Amy Bunger’s wool crepe has 6 new solid colors and 5 new tweeds which should be available next month.
Rainbow Gallery has several new colors in their popular threads. There are 10 new colors of Splendor, 12 new colors of Petite Frosty Rays as well as a dozen new Neon Rays. Sparkle Rays (a great thread) has 31 new gloss colors, softer colors than the initial ones which will add a nice texture and a bit of sheen to more traditional designs. Fyrewerks has 9 new colors in a series called Soft Sheen. They are more muted colors and look like they will be easier to stitch. I’ll report on then in the next issue (look for it in New Products).
The Thread Gatherer has a new line of 20 colors of mohair called Sanibel. They have also added several new colors to Oriental Linen (a linen/silk blend) bringing the total there to 20.
Ty-Di Threads, a new company, has added two new threads to their collection. These threads are really interesting because the 35 colors are dyed to match across their different threads. The colors are bright and made for working on 18 mesh canvas. By using these threads the stitcher can get different textures without different colors. The threads are Cotton Plus, a cotton/rayon blend, Just Cotton, Silk, and Silk/Wool. I have some great samples and will have an article about them soon.
Another new company is & More who has two thread lines, Merino Silk, a wool/silk blend available in 24 colors, and Merino Wool an all-wool thread in 65 colors. They also make a wool tweed (6 colors).
Amy Bunger has heard the prayers of people like me who like the look of chenille but want to be able to stitch with it. Her new thread, Wool Chenille, is made from Merino Wool and can be used for needlepoint. It won’t shred when cut or stitched. There are 11 colors.
Although Kreinik didn’t bring out new colors, I went nuts over their Stash Builders — I want one of each. These collections of 20 (you read that right) 5 yard spools of thread in a single color family and a single size are absolutely perfect for the stitcher who wants to add more metallic but doesn’t want lots of thread around. The packages (coming in their own clear storage box) are available in four size (8, 12, 16, and 1/16″ ribbon) and seven colors. They are wonderful and really show off the range of colors available in metallic threads.
NEW FINISHING AND ACCESSORIES
Rainbow Gallery has an wonderful new gadget, the Needle Nabber, selling for around $15. This tool has a narrow plastic tube which you use to grab your needle and pull it out of tight spots.
Lacis has another great tool — the Nap Brush. These handled brushes come in three types (medium, hard and a two-side medium/soft) and are great for raising the nap of stitches.
The Cloak Room has several bags, similar to Sophia bags, but in chenille and denim so they can be used everyday. They are available in 10, 12, 13 and 14 mesh as well as Aida.
Sudberry has a new Nantucket basket with space for a band of needlework around the top as well as new boxes and a lovely firescreen.
For a needlepoint heirloom, look no further than Anne Brinkley. They have hand-cast and finished pewter boxes. These boxes come in several shapes, are embellished and are made as they would have been in the 19th Century. The high silver content of the pewter makes them expensive, but they are really lovely, even without stitching in them.
TRENDS IN NEEDLEPOINT
I was very excited by the show this time, I saw lots of exciting and innovative designs, they really made me itch to start stitching. In the face of economic problems many of us face, it was really inspiring to see how designers have responded to stitchers and their desires. Several designers I spoke with said this was their best show ever. It’s so gratifying to see. While knitting is all over the news (and there were lots of yarn companies at the show), it’s great to see needlepoint growing steadily.
Stitchers are asking for needlepoint which can be practical as well as decorative. The designers have responded with a wealth of fashion and decorative accessories. There were several companies (including Pease on Earth) making painted canvases to fit inside leather accessories. There were tons of needlepoint belts, including some great ones based on the geometric designs from Maggie Co., and lots of innovative ways to finish them. My favorite of these was from Designing Women and will let you finish a belt yourself. Both Julia’s Needleworks and Keep Your Pants On had leather purses which were made to be embellished with a needlepoint belt. There were new bamboo purse handles from Sudberry House which can turn almost any needlepoint into a chic bag. Alice Peterson has expanded the line of straw bags to include black and red and two sizes. There were shoes, slipper and slides, purses in a mind-boggling array of shapes and sizes and ever ornament which looked like clothing.
While there are still lots of really lovely large canvases which will make wonderful heirlooms, many companies are extending their lines by making smaller canvases which can be finished in a few hours. Raymond Crawford has 135 different 2×2 magnet designs. These fit perfectly into Romancing the Past’s small Treasure Boxes. Using threads in your stash and finishing it yourself (which is easy), you can have an outstanding gift for under $35.
Lots of other designers have small pieces too. Danji has a series of canvases which can be finished as book weights. Melissa Shirley has some very tiny ornaments. Tink Boord-Dill has her series of Tiny Treasures.
A final trend in design I saw all over the show was Oriental style canvases. While designs based on oriental art have been popular since the 70′s, there seemed to be lots more this year. The graphic impact of Chinese characters was seen in canvases from Raymond
Crawford, Danji, Lani, and Beau Geste. Needlepoint of Back Bay has several purses
based on Chinese take-out boxes. Decorations has canvases showing off Japanese family crests in great colors. Amy Bunger not only has her canvas of several chopsticks but has also come out with a series of individual chopsticks. HP Designs has some exquisite canvases to put into their lacquer boxes.
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