Crafts of times past....Needlepoint

Before I was a quilter...

Before I was a knitter...

I was a needleworker.

I used to do alot of needlepoint. It was my primary hobby. I even entered shows and won some nice ribbons. So..I thought you might like to see some of the needlepoint I worked in times past. So let's journey down Craft Memory Lane shall we?

This was my first needlepoint project ever.



I just love the look on this Camel's face. Of course if he was a real camel he would be about to spit on you and you would have about half a second to dive for cover. (Don't ask me how I know this.)

Luckily he is just a tapestry camel so we can look at him in safety. :)

About a year later I made a companion for the Crochety Camel. Maybe it's just me but I think you can see some improvement in my stitching. :)



The Giraffe is much sweeter than his fellow the Camel. You can tell this because the background is a nice rosy shade and because of the daisy in his mouth. Of course if this were a real Giraffe he would eat the daisy...

Anyhow, I liked these canvases because they are quite realistic looking but also a little whimsical. Not enough whimsy to be cutesy though which is crucial. There is way way too much cutesy in the needlepoint world.



Needlepoint is an expensive hobby. A pillow with a hand painted canvas will cost you about the same as a hand knitted sweater made out of good yarn. Even the mass printed canvases are quite expensive. Needlepoint is also time consuming and hard on the eye sight! But mostly it is not very portable. And teeny needles and teeny scissors are not very compatible with teeny children so when I had kids my needlepoint hobby gave way to knitting. :)

But lately I have been getting that needlepoint jones....so last week I grabbed a kit and now I'm halfway through another pillow. :)

I'm glad I'm multi crafty.