Wildflowers? ANG San Antonio 2011

I feel I've come full circle now, as a few weeks ago, after my article in NN appeared with the Talavera crosses, the manager of the Yarn Barn of San Antonio called me and asked if they might buy one of the crosses for a customer who asked for it. I told her of course, and then she asked if I could do the entire line of them in time for the Fiesta celebration (honoring San Jacinto and the defeat of Santa Anna).

The Yarn Barn has been under new ownership for the last two years, after a wonderful 35+ years with my friend Bobbi Ravicz running the show. I was amused, and told this lady that Bobbi and I started out this way.

When my newspaper article on the Imari needlepoint adaptation appeared for the first time in the San Antonio Express, a lady went to Bobbi, who was selling Persian yarn to weavers out of her garage - and asked if she could get one of the canvases for her - and to make a long story short, The Yarn Barn of San Antonio came to be.

Next, the present owner, right before they left for the Dallas market, contacted me and asked if I would do an exclusive for them for the ANG seminar next year, as The Yarn Barn will host it. I'm not too fond of this idea, as I no longer like to paint a lot, and I wasn't crazy about her idea for a design. However, I remembered this angel from the collection I did for the Governor's Mansion tree about 9 years ago, and thought it might be a good one for the visitors to San Antonio.

I would, of course, re-do it for a small ornament, and leave the wildflowers where they are. My favorites are showing here - the bluebonnets (which are gorgeous this year due to plenty of rain and no high heat yet), the Gaillardia, Coreopsis, Evening Primrose, and Huisache Daisy. Another consideration is that a model would have to be stitched, and it's really not what I enjoy most - this kind of design. (I have a very talented friend, designer, and co-conspirator who has now offered to do it).

This brings up another subject - stitch guides. I am seeing so many people now doing it as a business, but I do wish people would use their own taste and imagination and have enough confidence in their own originality to stitch to suit themselves and stop being so reliant on the mass produced/carbon copy commercial product. Some who produce the stitch guides actually know very little about stitching and are rather prone to overdo it.

Too many times the guides are not really up to standard, with entirely too many threads used, and too many complicated textured stitches within a very small space. This makes an eye shattering mess instead of a pleasing finished product - and the expense of such a great number of threads is not good. Simplilcity works!!

There is also the thing that some who are fairly new to needlepoint will be totally put off by the difficulty and miss out on a wonderful and relaxing hobby.