Needlepointing a Church Kneeler

 The Ides of March, not so good for Julius Caesar and the Republic of Rome, but for me, I am utterly chuffed.  I was asked to sew a church kneeler for a Fort Worth Episcopal Church.  My Aunt Jinks was asked to stitch two pieces for the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. to be ready for when the church opened.  Mom and I feel that to be asked to stitch a piece for a church is truly an honor, one of the highest that can be achieved in the needlepointing world.  I am chuffed at the honor of doing this for the church.  It is a piece in memory of a long-time church member requested by her husband and will go in the God's Creations section of the church and has pink roses and white lilies in its center, as the member loved roses and flowers.  The kneeler is 5 feet wide and 14 1/4" high.  I have marked it so that I can accomplish 5 inches of canvas per month.  I'm working on a stitching progress plan so that I can finish the kneeler no later than a year.  The stitching is simple, two threads of Paternayan wool in Basketweave.  

English Rose Kneeler

 

ANG Creative Hands Ohio Chapter

A social media friendship led to an invite to join a live American Needlepoint Guild Chapter!  Though there are many chapters in Texas, the farthest northern chapter is located in Temple, so I have been a member of the CyberPointers Chapter.  I am a very independent learner, but I just do not thrive in the CP's format and have wanted something to expand my knowledge.  Being asked to join a live chapter thrilled me, even if I can only participate from afar.  This group of lovely and talented stitchers meets the second Tuesday of each month and holds Zoom stitch-alongs every Sunday afternoon.  I do have to compensate for one time zone difference, but what I have learned in three months is profound.  We are learning about stitches that mimic clothing and have been tasked to design a project to incorporate the stitches we are studying.  Mom likes pumpkins, so I decided to create a pumpkin sampler project.

March's lesson on tartans/plaids
6. Tweed, 7. Tartan

February's lessons
1. Houndstooth, 2. Herringbone, 3. Corduroy 4. Damask, and 5. Gingham

2022 Finishes

 2022 Finishes

From first trip to Nashville Needleworks

Big Tex
First Finish of 2022

2021 Needlepoint Finishes

 In no way did I complete 21 projects in '21, though I have the stash to do so.  With a broken arm trying to heal, I am pretty pleased with what I did accomplish.

Last finish for 2021

Mini-stocking for Fab #4

Brother's Mini Stocking

Dr. Atkinson saw me stitching this piece and
prescribed needlepoint as therapy!

Northern Lights for Momma

Nonna's Texas Heart for Hospice

A new wallet for me

Honeysuckle Eloise
First finish of 2021

Honeysuckle Eloise

FPP Paul Revere

I love the American Revolution and thought this night sky and deep navy fabric depicted Paul Revere's nighttime ride contextually well.  I had to remember H.W. Longfellow's "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," and used it in my middle school classroom to teach poem structure.  Though joined by William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, Paul Revere is the most oft-remembered Lexington and Concord Midnight Riders.

 

FPP Cape Cod NS

In 2017, we visited Arcadia NP and the lighthouse, as I wrote a 2015 research paper on the importance of lighthouses internationally and for America in its early stages of nation-building.  We did not see Cape Cod.

FPP Musket

 Cody and I visited the northeast in the spring of 2017.  One of our stops was the Springfield Armory.  Both Springfield and Chickamauga Armories possess an amazing firearm history.

FPP Bears

My Mom is the bear whisperer.  In her first visit to Yellowstone in 2009, she saw a black bear cub climbing a burnt pine.  In 2010, on her visit to the Smokey Mountains National Park, she sees a black bear grazing on the shoulder.  In a return trip to Yellowstone in 2016, Mom sees a bear.  I've really wanted to see a bear in Texas, and though I've been to Big Bend, I've yet to see one.  I guess I need to take Mom with me.

My grizzly from Katmai National Park & Preserve.  In 2002, I camped in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, and while travelling south along the John D. Rockefeller, Jr Memorial Highway, and Grizzly bolted across the highway.  That was the first time I observed just how fast bears are.  It had been rummaging through campsites on the north side of Grand Tetons.

2021 State Fair Winners

 All five entries won ribbons, including my first Blue Ribbon!

Ribbon winners

FPP Arches NP

In 2009 on our way home from working at Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS, we spent two days at Arches NP.  Cody was able to get some amazing daytime and nighttime photos of the more popular arches.  Cody revisited the park on an astrophotography workshop in 2015.  Those time exposure shots are amazing.  This was the first really difficult pattern I completed.

2021 State Fair of Texas

 2021 State Fair of Texas Entries

I entered five pieces in the State Fair this year.  None were particularly large pieces, as my broken arm needed exercise, not complexity.  The pillow was a 16" x 16" canvas, but as a stitch covered four or two threads, my arm did not impede stitching the larger size canvas.

Holiday Corner:

Halloween

Christmas Ornament

Picture 109-648 sq. inches

Bargello

FPP Big Dipper

Cody's astrophotography demonstrates a view of the nighttime sky unseen by the naked eye.  My Grandaddy once told me how Indians tested their eyesight by looking at the Big Dipper and describing the dim and bright stars.  In the handle, their is a dim star next to the bright star in the handle.  In Indian lore, it was known as the boy with a dog.  Though ever-increasing night pollution has dim the views, there are parks being dedicated to Dark Skies, so opportunities still avail themselves.

FPP Washington Monument

In 1995, my Mom took me on a trip to Washington, D. C..  The National Mall was the second NPS trip for me.  We stayed with my Great Aunts, who lived in Bethesda, MD.  Theirs was the third house ever built on Bradley Blvd.  When we saw the Washington Monument, it was a very stormy day and windy late spring day.  Fortunately, the rains held off, so we could continue you our sight-seeing. .

FPP Ranger Hat

I loved wearing my ranger hat, though the NPS copied it from the US Forest Service, i.e. Smokey the Bear.  I used my clothes to match and get the proper green and brown colors and chose an animal print for the hat.

FPP Pearl Harbor

There are just no words for Pearl Harbor.  We visited in June 2015 and were lucky enough to get to go onsite, after a boat collision had damaged the ramp over the Arizona.  The entire complex is worth a day's visit. 

FPP NPS Sign

True iconic Americana are the NPS signs.  I stitched mine in NPS brown and green, and tried mimicking the stone anchors.  I will embroider National Park Service, and this block will be the center of the quilt.

Bargello Needlepoint

I absolutely love to stitch Bargello needlepoint, but I will say, those patterns grounded in some kind of history really attract my attention.

Building a good needlepoint library with easy to decipher pattern instructions enables stitchers an ability to create beautiful canvases.  Color schemes are not paramount in these books, because a stitcher can adapt their preferred color palette.  One of my favorite books contains some rather garish 1970s color schemes, but the patterns, all based on international, historical artifacts, maintain their relevancy in spite of the published stitch palette. 

A mid-1990s Joyce Petschek design

A Nikki Scheuer pattern adapted from a 19th century Siberian embroidered bridal coat finished Fall '20 

FPP Big Bend NP

I love Big Bend NP.  I first visited Big Bend in March 2008, and the hikes were amazing.  Sitting in the historic hot springs while dangling my hand in the Rio Grande was surreal.  I tried to go canoeing on the Rio Grande in the park during the late 1980s, but river runners were being shot from the Mexican side, so I delayed my trip.  Though I tried to get out there sooner, I didn't make it to the area any sooner.  I hope to taking a rafting trip through the Santa Elena Canyon soon.

FPP Eagle

Bald Eagles are quite majestic birds, but they do create a difficult situation for ranchers, as a Bald Eagle can carry a calf, deer, lamb off to their nest and whose end is rather violent.  Still, they are majestic and watching them "fish" is amazing.  I saw my first Bald Eagles in 2003 in Alaska while riding the train from Anchorage to Seward.

FPP Glacier NP

On my driving trip to Alaska, Glacier National Park was my first stop of the trip.  I enjoyed the Going to the Sun Road, the buses, hiking, and dining at the park lodge.  It and Banff are gorgeous places.

My first Fiona Sandwich pattern