45 Years of Needlepoint
45 years, I can hardly believe it myself but it all started
with a large stool which I worked in Florentine while my youngest daughter,
Tamara was in play group – she is now got 3 children of her own with Victoria
the eldest just 21!
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| 1st ever Design.. |
Right from the start I wanted people to learn different
stitches incorporated into a pleasing design that would fit in their home as well as being
fun to work. Our first design Annette
(we hoped to go though the alphabet and have done many times) but had difficulty
with some letters, X and Z – Zuleika, not easy even if you adore Max Beerbohn! Annette is still available and a popular
design, Interestingly the design I am
working on at present is also an A, Aleppo.
From our design lists you will notice that girl’s names are
widely used, frequently stitcher’s names many of whom are still enthusiastic
but also names of places and historical techniques.
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| Aleppo Newest Design. |
I simply love to
travel and indeed have been extremely lucky with trips either with a husband
who worked (leaving me to explore) or holidays.
So Tiles of St Mark’s, (Venice) Lucca
(Italy) Izmir and a smaller version Smyrna
which was the old name for the city, (Turkey),
Cathedral Tiles (South Island New
Zealand) and now Aleppo (Syria) all bring great memories back.
My other interest is adapting historical detail into designs
for to-day with gorgeous stiches and colours.
One recent design ‘Tudor’ uses a frame work of Elizabethan strap work
patterns often seen embroidered on clothing of the period; Celtic
Hearts was inspired by an antique silver brooch seen in an antique shop and a
number of designs were updated from an amazing 19th century panel,
the Mary Dowell Sampler. The project for
our trip to Tuscany this year is Arte della
Lana, the Coat of Arms of the Wool Traders of Florence.
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| Frederick Florentine from Marry Dowell Sampler |
Writing books on needlepoint has encouraged me to further
research and experiment with many of these more unusual trends. Some, I know are available on Amazon, my
favourites are ’Needlepoint Stitch by Stitch’ and ‘The Complete Needlepoint
Course’
Besides traveling for inspiration I have also visited some
interesting places to teach, American women are enthusiastic needlewomen and on
many visits I have given workshops or talks;
in Sydney I had a lively group raising money for charity, in Belgium and
Finland I have given talks and workshops – needlepoint is so visual it is
relatively easy to teach in English!
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| Project for Tuscan Trip 2016 |
The other aspect that has proved so popular is stitching
trips (I originally called them Stitching Retreats but rapidly changed the name
when someone told me they thought it meant silence for the duration!! I can assure you nothing is further from the truth. Originally we went to York, then for a
number of years to the Lake District, Miller Howe where John Tovey became a
good friend, then to Andalusia where we found an English sculptor who hosted
our group and for the last 9 years to Calabria in southern Italy.
In this celebration year we are returning in June (visiting
9 times I think proves how popular it is with the regulars) but in September there will be our first
visit to a beautiful place in Tuscany – proving popular with people wishing to combine
the trip with add-ons to Florence of Venice.
Both venues in Italy are full at this time but do let me know if you
might be interested in another year.
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