Dr. Andes took up needlepointing upon his retirement. Read about his work but mostly, enjoy the photos that accompany the article.

Somehow, articles such as these only are written about men that needlepoint. As if this should be a female-only occupation. Now why would that be?

Encouragingly, the news is carrying stories that contain leading indicators of an upwards trend in needlepoint. Here is a story about Ten Home Trends for 2010 that says needlework is getting preppy again:

We’ve heard “This ain’t your grandma’s…” A new buzz phrase just might be “That’s so granny.”

Patricia Shackelford of Kansas City, author of the design blog Mrs. Blandings, thinks we’ll see more patchwork quilts, hooked rugs, needlepoint and chintz.

“On ‘Top Design,’ a contestant (Ondine Karady) was criticized for being too ‘grandma’ for using a crocheted throw,” Shackelford said. “Actually, she was on to the next trend.”

See more of Karady’s stuff at her website.

For another example, see the extraordinary Needlepoint Trophies (pictured above this post) featured on Fashion Week Daily’s blog.

Here is the first one, a flowery sort of bluey thing:

Oh, and with a Star of David right in the center.

Here’s another one, which I called “Burst“:

And indeed it is bursting with color.

The next one, “Spiral“, is designed with exactly that:

Don’t stare, you’ll get dizzy.

Finally, we have “Stripe“, “Starry“, and “Wild“:

I’m interested to see if there is any interest in Yarmulkas. I’ve never stitched or finished one myself. Perhaps I’ll give it a try. Express your interest by visiting the Yarmulka category at Pepita Needlepoint. And to buy one, go to Judaica Needlepoint’s Skullcaps category.

Do you have any original ideas for a Yarmulka design? I was once asked to design one with a beach theme. To match someone’s bathing suit, I suppose.

Pakistani women in Punjab province have learned to embrioder — and are selling their needlework in western Nevada County to support schools where they learn to read, write and figure.

Poor families in Pakistan are supporting education initiatives by creating needlepoint pieces and sending them over to the U.S.A. for sale.

“To make the schools self-supporting, the women also have been learning for the first time to create needlepoint and embroidered pieces that they could sell profitably in the United States, with its higher currency value.”

I should note that in addition to the fine goal of increasing education in that country, the initiative also advances the noble cause of spreading needlepoint joy throughout the world.

Screenshot of the Threadbands.com Home Page

I put together a website that is dedicated to the new product I discussed in a previous post about Needlepoint Headband Kits. It’s called Threadbands.com, appropriately enough, and it serves to introduce the product to the world, and to help with working on the project.

It will also direct you to the best place to buy threadbands, and where to send your questions.

The first of these is a tad on the traditional side, with all the flowery silvery flourishes and stuff:

Flourish Tefillin Bag

Lots of room for a name on that one. I chose to depict it with the name of the famous Chida, since he’s got four of  ’em.

Next is the tefillin bag with a familiar-looking tartan design:

Tefillin Bag Camel Tartan

I dare not call it what it is *cough* Burberry *cough* or those lawyers will be after me in no time flat. Finally, here is the Argyle Tefillin Bag:

Tefillin Bag Argyle

Now that’s what I call an original design. Remember that all of these canvases can be customized with the name of the bar-mitzva boy, in either English or Hebrew or both.

Click on any of the images to be escorted safely to the product page of each of these. To purchase them, saunter on over to Judaica Needlepoint’s Tefillin Bag Category page.

The "Vineyard" Threadband

We’ve developed a new product that is picking up some momentum. It’s a needlepoint headband kit, which we’re calling “Threadbands”, and it contains everything you need to stitch and finish a headband.

Check out these beauties right here: Needlepoint Headband Kits. To buy them, ask your local needlepoint shop, or you can get them from Pointseller.com, under the Wearables section.

Needlepointed Book Cover

Remember those Jane Austin novels with awesome needlepointed book covers I covered a while back? Well, now take a look at these babies, and then you will have seen needlepointed awesomeness.

An Old Printing Device

Here’s an email recently received by the folks at Pointseller.com:

I would like to know why you think your printed canvas is superior to handpainted.  It has been my experience that the printed canvas does not have the life of a handpainted  canvas. Tapestries from the 1400’s have lasted 600 years.  Will yours?  Doubtful.!!!

Here was my response:

To quote “from experience” that printed needlepoint canvas doesn’t last 600 years, is quite an interesting claim. To my knowledge, printed canvas is only around for a few years, so it isn’t possible to have conducted this type of experiment.

In fact, I had some of my designs handpainted by an offshore shop, and compared them to my printed versions. I couldn’t find any appreciable difference.

Indeed, my printed canvases have proven themselves durable and up to the task. The cost of a printed canvas compared to handpainted, inch per inch, is far more economical and much faster to produce. And in the end, it all gets covered up with stitching anyway, so really it is the quality of the design that counts.

One of these days I will need to post a longer article on the pros and cons of printed vs. handpainted needlepoint. But the email I quoted above does cover the main points.