What I'm Stitchin'

It was interesting to read the comments from my last post. Of course it is always easier to criticize than to do -- which is why I prefer to criticize!

Most of my beef with Needlepoint Now is purely a matter of taste as Mindy accurately surmised but I am also bothered by the tone of self satisfaction and the presumption of intimacy with readers. One of the great things about Needlepoint News magazine (could they have more similar titles?) was a regular feature where they asked readers for information about "things they wanted to know." Also they were not afraid to go out on a limb and say for instance that a particular needlepoint book was not worth buying. Now granted that was easier to do in the seventies when needlepoint books were being published left and right. However Needlepoint Now with its advertisements for featured projects doesn't exactly instill me with confidence regarding its objectivity. But hey again I criticise so I will stop but before I do one last note -- one reader did point out to me that the authors of articles in Needlepoint Now are not paid for their work and therefore sales of the featured projects are one way for them to get compensated for their hard work. Duly noted.

In other news, I have actually finished a project! Wahoo! It is a small project and one that most of you were not even aware that I was working on. It is the last in a series of four coasters painted by Julie Mar of orchids. It was a strictly old fashioned basketweave, scrunch-it-up-in-your-hand, Paternayan wool project and I think that it turned out nicely. The photo that I have to show you my work is terrible but given my rather erratic posting schedule lately I thought that it was more important for me to go forward with the lousy picture than wait until I have time to take a decent shot.

Julie Mar is an outstanding canvas painter. She is based in Asheville, NC and is currently represented by Patricia Dee of PLD Designs in Moorestown, NJ. I've done a couple of Julie Mar projects. They are challenging to do as they usually involve a fair amount of shading and her canvases are not stitch-painted (so lots of decision making to do). I've always been pleased with the results though.

We just received several Julie Mar canvases in the shop last week including a number that are on ten mesh (quick, quick, quick). When you stop by the shop ask to see them and I would be happy to show them to you. Or better yet do a search on the website for Julie Mar and/or PLD Designs. You might like them too.

I chose wool for this project because they are coasters and they need to be durable. The blue background seemed like a good idea at the time but as the coasters will now be used in the shop the blue doesn't go with anything. Ah the hazards of taking too long to finish a project!