Needlepoint over the years

Saturday's here and it's a fine, bright morning. Decidedly chilly, but then it's January so I'd be daft to expect anything else. It's the sort of day when I think I ought to traipse down to the allotment and potter about, pull up some weeds, tidy up generally. But - but - the radiators are on, I've the remains of yesterday's quiche to scoff for lunch and frankly I don't feel like shifting my well padded backside. So, instead I've been looking through what's saved on an old SD card I found in the bureau, among the stacks of to-be-sorted paperwork, receipts, biros, greetings cards and other clutter. There are lots of photos on the SD card that I'd forgotten I'd taken, including ones from the Knitting & Stitching Show in Harrrogate that I went to a couple of years ago. (Will definitely book that for this year. Such a terrific show and always so much to see.) Anyway, I thought I'd show you some of the pictures I'd saved. Not of Harrogate - maybe those will be tomorrow - but of needlepoint I've done over the years.

I got into needlepoint ages ago, as a result of seeing Kaffe Fassett's work. I loved his vivid use of colour, the layering of patterns, his inventiveness with a craft that'd up to then had seemed very staid and boring to me. You didn't need a lot of specialist equipment, which was appealing. Canvas, a blunt large-eyed needle and a good selection of tapestry wool. I could happily spend hours stitching, trying out colour combination and coming up with my own patterns.

You can incorporate embroidery threads into your needlepoint, also metallic threads like the silver I used in this red stripy mini-cushion.

I came up with this fish pattern, and have reproduced it time and again in cushions, table mats and spectacle cases.

I worked this grid pattern out on graph paper before starting to sew it. I like the bold, modern look the design has.

Finally, my Klimt inspired design. Taking elements from his work and putting them together in this slightly mad cushion cover. I think the red background brings all the different elements together, so they're not just a scattering of random shapes and colours but part of a unified whole.

I hope you found something of interest there. I'll have another trawl through the SD card and see what else I can find. Bye, and I hope you enjoy your weekend, whatever you're up to.

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