From the Editor

I don’t know about you, but I love needlepoint on all levels. I like to put a few stitches in the canvas regardless of how I feel. Sometimes it is so exciting to stretch the mind and spirit and to let the creative juices flow. Creativity is never easy. Trying new things can be frustrating, infuriating and sometimes even painful. But, how your spirit soars when it works and you know you have reached a new level. Sometimes I just don’t feel like stretching quite so hard, so I work on a project where everything is predictable. I know where to come up and go down with that threaded needle. There is no less joy in working in this manner because I am still producing something beautiful. And then there are those rock-bottom times. You know the ones I mean – when the day has been long and hard and your body and spirit are exhausted. On a day like this my energy is gone and all I have left is the desire to stitch. So, I go to the rag-bag which has been carefully hidden in the back of my closet. I pull out a piece of work that I have owned for forty years. It is the cover for a piano bench with a pre-worked design of a violin surrounded by a spray of flowers. I am only doing the background on this penelope canvas. I am working it in baketweave with tapestry wool in old gold. It is not on a frame. Horrors! I work with it crumbled up in my hand and hold it close to my heart. I don’t work for a very long time at the time and the project will probably never be done. Why should it? I gave my piano and organ to our children when we moved last year. However, I can’t express the comfort I get from working with this old friend. Now you know my deep, dark secret. Please don’t tell a soul.

Do you want to try to stretch your wings of creativity? We are offering you two projects in this issue where you can try something that may be new to you. I fell in love with Margaret’s Lighthouse the first moment I saw it. Of course, I happen to love lighthouses and once in a while slip away to The Outer Banks of North Carolina to feast on them. This country is indeed fortunate to have so many historic and beautiful light houses lining all of our vast coastlines. The very talented Margaret Azpeitia-Taylor has drawn and stitched this absolutely wonderful and highly creative version. If you are looking for a “1-2-3-come-up-at-a-and-down-at-b” set of instructions please skip this project for now. Enjoy the beauty of the picture and come back to it when you want to learn something new to expand your creativity. Please be advised that this project is worked differently from those you are accustomed to working. It is an “artistic rendering” rather than a “technical exercise” and is much like painting on canvas. It is advanced and will take you to a new level of stitching skill if you work with patience and enthusiasm. Mary Ellen Searcy’s Along Came a Spider is another wonderful project that is advanced and will peak your creativity. Though small, it is mighty with its expert use of tried-and-true art principles. I think that this beautiful project is the perfect place to “try your wings” and experiment because you know that your project does not have to look exactly like our model.

We have two bunnies in this issue that will help us celebrate the season. Adorable Freddie, by Gay Foster, smiles impishly on our back cover. Tricia Wilson Nguyen designed A Basket of Fun on perforated paper that is already cut into shapes. Both of these projects will be great fun to stitch.

Thank you for all of the letters, emails and notes scribbled on renewal forms. We love hearing from you and although time does not allow for an exchange of dialogue, we take your suggestions to heart. You have asked many times for articles on finishing techniques. We have heard you and are pleased to present Mounting Textiles for Framing by Carol Harrison. We know you will enjoy this informative presentation.

– Joyce Lukomski

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Last Updated March 14, 2007