Design Inspiration - More from the Past

I don't have a picture of the finished canvas for this one, but burst out laughing when I found it in the ancient file folder in the Jurassic layer in my filing cabinet.

Needlepoint is a great way to create a gift for someone we care about - (a great excuse for stitching), and something personal makes it even better. Much more caring is demonstrated than in just doing another carbon copy of what many others have done.

I remember while working on this, smiling to think how pleased and touched she would be. It was for the owner of a LNS now closed for several years - lots of fun we had there! Anyway, I found this picture in some kind of catalog, and immediately an idea came - as she was usually stating that she needed all the help she could get with both running the shop and her personal life. It just suited her personality.

This is the sort of thing you can do also, as now there are computers and copy machines and all kinds of devices to re-size and manipulate drawings. With this one, I re-arranged the lettering, (changed it also) and resized and redrew the little figure. It's a rough sketch that I smoothed out and traced onto the canvas when the whole thing was ready.

I dressed her in a typical dress she wore - it was dusty rose with a white knit shirt, and she wore a headband - I even reproduced the hair-do. Yes, ladies - if anyone from Austin sees it, it's Johnie Swenson about 12 years ago. A Good Point! in Tarrytown. It's just a little figure, but easily recognizable to those who know her. She loved frogs - so there had to be a frog along with it. I think I found this one on a greeting card - traced it, and reduced it waaaay down in size.

These pictures are all out of proportion to the way they were used on the finished canvas - but you get the idea! The whole thing was about 8" x 10" - she stitched it and had it made into a hanging plaque for the wall.

Hopefully this will give you some ideas you might start watching for in planning gifts to stitch. Something unique and personal is always well recieved!