My Son’s 2017 Ornament of the Year
Cowgirls love boots, y’all!
Needlepoint Keeps Me in Stitches
Y’all…the Curious Cowgirl has a hard time sitting still. Anybody else? When I have down time, I still putter around, finding projects, looking for this and that to keep myself busy. Even while watching TV, I almost always have something in my lap to work on.
My very wise Mom knows me well, and in my early 20’s, I was facing a situation where I would be sitting for a few days, not in my own home with easy access to things that would keep me busy….so in the interest of helping me avoid a quasi-International incident, she suggested I learn how to needlepoint. I could keep busy, but also continue to make polite conversation. And eye-contact. And not lose my mind. And….Hello my name is Mary, The Curious Cowgirl…I became addicted to needlepoint!
Needlework of any kind is interesting to me. Whether it’s needlepoint, cross-stitch, knitting, embroidery, or quilting, I admire fine needlework, knowing the hours and hours the creator spent on a particular piece. When Will and I attend antique shows, I am always drawn to needlework, whether its quilts, samplers, or even silk embroidered battle flags.
As an Antique & Vintage Dealer, I always have great needlework for sale, which you can see here.
My very first needlepoint project
Needlepointing: Hobby or Addiction?
Personally, I only needlepoint, and simply love the process. It’s fun for me to look at the various painted canvases, and then choose interesting threads I will use to complete the project. Over the years, I have collected many different canvases and fibers….to the point that I have a couple of large tubs to store all my supplies. See…..Hello my name is Mary…..addicted!
In addition to my Mom who got me started, my next tutor was Diana Strauss, whose needlepoint is so unbelievably amazing, particularly at Christmas, I could spend hours looking at each and every piece, and never leave her home….but that would be super awkward, right?
My first real project was my son’s Christmas stocking, which was a pretty big undertaking for a novice needlepointer, but Diana was so encouraging, and she showed me several different stitches, which were not hard, but made me feel like a real needlepointing rock star. Also, precious Margaret, who is deceased now, but worked at a store in Dallas two days a week, was very instructive. I could bring in a project, and she would spend up to an hour with me discussing the various stitches I could use to make the final product really special, and which fibers would be best to select. She was such an angel, and I truly cried big ugly tears the day the shop called to tell me Margaret was gone.
Needlepoint Christmas Stockings and Ornaments
90% of my needlepoint is Christmas-related, but Halloween is always fun too! I also needlepointed a pillow for my parents many years back….thatwas a fun project, and it now lives at our family ranch in East Texas.
When I travel, I always try to find a needlepoint store to visit. In recent years, that’s become harder. I don’t know if the younger generation is not learning needlework anymore, or if retail space is so pricy, it’s hard to operate a successful needlework business. And while I can find canvases on line, I feel strongly about supporting locally owned shops, that are preserving a hobby that I dearly love, and hope will never disappear.
Dallas Needlepoint Shops
In Dallas, Needlepoint This on Lovers Lane has a huge selection of canvases, and hundreds of different fibers. In the center of the store is a huge table, where customers can come and sit and work on pieces, enjoying the company of other needlepointers and exchanging ideas.
As I travel to New York City often, I love Annie and Company. Located on the Upper East Side at 2nd between 91st and 92nd, I found every single employee so kind and willing to help! They special-ordered a canvas for me, set me up with a punch card for freebies on down the road, and encouraged me to come back on Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:30 to join other needlepointers around their big table. LOVE!
Rita’s Needlepoint has fantastic NYC themed canvases, as does the newly opened West Village Knit and Needle.
The Curious Cowgirl has a confession to make. After I completed my son’s needlepoint stocking (he was about two), of course I had to do one for my daughter. And y’all….you can’t hang only one child’s stocking up each Christmas if there’s more than one child…so years went by, and no stockings were hung by the chimney with care.
Years. Years to the point that I had to ask dear friend Mary Kay Whaley to help me finish my daughter’s stocking. That’s not the shameful part. The shameful part is…my daughter was like eleven or twelve before I waved the white yarn of surrender. So, my children literally have no idea that stockings are a THING at Christmas.
Yes, they both have one now. Yes, I hang their stockings by the chimney with care every Christmas. But there’s nothing ever inside on Christmas morning….because they don’t know there’s supposed to be.
P.P.S. I now have two step-sons. Do I need to needlepoint stockings for them? Sigh….hopefully I’ll get those done before they reach their early forties.
The State Fair of Texas Creative Arts Contests
So, how do I “level up” you might wonder….well, as far as I am concerned, the Battle of the Alamo of Needlepoint is the State Fair of Texas Creative Arts competition. I enter every year, and have won some respectable ribbons…but not the elusive 1st Place blue….and believe me….when the Fair opens up, I am front and center in the Creative Arts Building Building, carefully studying all the prize winners for technique tips, fancy stitch ideas, and general inspiration. Obsessive? Maybe a teensy bit, but hey….I’m competitive y’all!
So, needlepointers out there….please tell me where your favorite shops are around the country! I will absolutely make sure to pay them a visit and drag home another canvas or two!!!! Let’s keep each other in stitches!!!!
If you love needlepoint, you will love this post about Needlepoint Teacher Patricia Sone!
Tags: Dallas | Needlepoint | Needlepoint Canvas | State Fair of Texas
Mary – My girls have needlepointe stockings (THAT I BOUGHT) hung by the chimney with care each year, and now I have added one for my son-in-law. HOWEVER, none of the stockings have their names embroidered on them!!!!! It is one of my regrets in life. LOL!!! Every year I hang the stockings with the intent to have the names put on after Christmas. Every year the stockings get packed back up after Christmas and it NEVER gets done. UGH!!!!!
Sally….I just LOVE you! I always say….perfection is HIGHLY overrated!!!! Thank you for making me feel better about our stocking situation!!!!!
OMG Mary! I LOVE to Needlepoint! Dow’s Mother taught me several years ago and I always keep a project going – I LOVE Needle Point this! They are so great about giving pointers, matching yarns if you made the wild mistake of using a color in the wrong place etc.
I also really like Ehram Tapestry for amazing pillow kits, tapestries wall hangings etc! http://www.ehrmantapestry.com/ Beautiful kits!
On the stockings Dow’s Mom Did one for each of us – then 8 grands over the last 15 years and even our babies the “Gran Cats” have a stocking!!!! So get to work on your Bonus Kids Stockings Girl!
THIS is one of the many reasons I LOVE you!!! Wouldn’t it be fun to stitch together????? Hard part is….I need so much special lighting these days, I’m not really very mobile!!!! And thank you for the resource of Ehram Tapestry! I will def check them out!!! xoxo
Had no idea we had this hobby in common. AND Brinkley has the same stocking as EA!! I just took it back up this Christmas after a 5 year break. The whole loosing the close up vision thing threw me off and needle pointing was not fun. Now I’m happily equipped with bifocal glasses and contacts and really enjoying it. Just bought a hand size light to try for areas without great lighting.
Oh my gosh Suzanne! I had no idea either!!!!! SO glad to know this about you!!! I’d LOVE to see a pic of Brinkley’s stocking!!!!! Our mutual friend Lucinda B. also referenced her stocking!!!! xoxo
I really enjoyed this post.
I totally relate to being fully committed to my hobbies.
My favorite hobby!! Can’t wait to check out the NYC store!! So glad to know we have this in common, and I recognized Brinkley Brown’s stocking with a different name 😉 Watched that one get worked on for awhile! I’m still working on mine – did Barry, and both kids, but mine is not nearly as much fun to finish…
LUCINDA!!!! I LOVE knowing that you are a stitcher too!!!! I have a fantasy of hosting a stitching group, but we all need so much “special” lighting now….not sure how those logistics would work out!!!!! lol!
I am honored to be a part of your stitching history!
We had a lot of fun back in the day!!!! xoxo
Mary, I’m so glad to hear we have stitching in common! (I’m your second cousin) I don’t do needlepoint, but do cross stitch, knit and quilt. I love to find yarn or Quilt shops wherever I travel too. I found a great needlepoint shop in FTW called French Knot Needlepoint. I was looking for thread to use on a wool Appliqué project and they had a great selection. I’m really enjoying your blog.
Annelle, you are so precious!!!! Stitching runs in our family, for sure!!!! And I’m so glad to know about French Knot Needlepoint!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!! xoxo
I could write an epic novel on this subject!! But to start…I needlepointed my husband’s and children’s stockings — which are the current huge size. They proudly hang by the fireplace at Christmas next to mine made by my grandmother when I was born…and let’s just say that the stocking is considerably smaller and I am grateful it isn’t filled with avocado green and harvest gold as was the trend at the time!! However, I won’t stitch myself one to replace it. I think everyone just gets one precious needlepointed stocking and I am beyond thrilled to hang the one my grandmother made me — and when I was 9, she was the one who taught me to needlepoint. I remember it clearly…sitting on a beautiful porch overlooking the ocean in Maine one summer. Precious memories all the way around!
and try Needlepoint Inc. in San Francisco. AMAZING collection of canvases. There is a store in Raleigh that I am dying to visit. One day…
More good tips!!! Thank you Katherine!!!
Teach me! Please
One of the best teachers I know is Patricia Sone! I profiled her on my Blog!