The latest issue of Needlepoint Now is available in the store. It arrived this week and like always I looked forward to getting my hands on it. Unfortunately, like always, I was disappointed by what I found. I am going to go out on a limb here and say some stuff that some people may not like so keep in mind that this is just one person’s opinion. 
I don’t know how many of you read Needlepoint Now. I wouldn’t blame if you didn’t. Very often the covers are hideous and the projects that appear between the covers are tacky in the extreme. But it’s all we’ve got. This month’s cover (at left) was certainly an improvement from the previous edition (below). The magazine has recently changed hands so that may have had something to do with the new cover.
Once you open the cover though things are pretty much the same as they have always been. One ugly project after another. Articles written from the perspective of one middle aged white woman to another. Articles followed closely by advertisements where one can purchase the project that was just featured. It all reeks of a small insular world that is very content with itself and doesn’t have much to do with the reality of the craft of needlepoint as I see it.
Whatever happened to the substantive articles of Needlepoint News – an earlier needlepoint magazine that appeared during the seventies and eighties? That magazine featured informative articles on techniques and stitches and critical reviews of books. The whole feeling was different. More of a “Let’s explore this exciting craft together” attitude.
I don’t know how many of you read Needlepoint Now. I wouldn’t blame if you didn’t. Very often the covers are hideous and the projects that appear between the covers are tacky in the extreme. But it’s all we’ve got. This month’s cover (at left) was certainly an improvement from the previous edition (below). The magazine has recently changed hands so that may have had something to do with the new cover.
Once you open the cover though things are pretty much the same as they have always been. One ugly project after another. Articles written from the perspective of one middle aged white woman to another. Articles followed closely by advertisements where one can purchase the project that was just featured. It all reeks of a small insular world that is very content with itself and doesn’t have much to do with the reality of the craft of needlepoint as I see it.
Whatever happened to the substantive articles of Needlepoint News – an earlier needlepoint magazine that appeared during the seventies and eighties? That magazine featured informative articles on techniques and stitches and critical reviews of books. The whole feeling was different. More of a “Let’s explore this exciting craft together” attitude. Granted, Needlepoint News also suffered from some serious lapses in taste (I am thinking of a series of articles that were written featuring new ways to use needlepoint – example at left). Still it felt more approachable and less satisfied with itself. The focus was on being of service to needlepointers and not showing off what this designer or that designer has concocted this month.
I’d like to see somebody start a new needlepoint magazine (and I am not just saying that because they neglected to mention my blog on their list of needlepoint blogs!)
I’d like to see somebody start a new needlepoint magazine (and I am not just saying that because they neglected to mention my blog on their list of needlepoint blogs!)
