In September of 2018, my husband and I took a cruise to the South Pacific. One of the stops along the route was Easter Island (part of Chile) or more commonly known as Rapa Nui, among the indigenous people. This is one of the go-to places to have on your bucket list. It was on […]
Spring is in the air and with spring comes – spring cleaning. After an exhausting day of house beautifying it’s time to relax and beautify you. And what better way than by enjoying a long soak in a bubble-filled bath? When it’s time to soap up and scrub the day’s cares away, you’ll appreciate this […]
Sheep are the natural subject for hooked mats made with wool. This little design is more playful than realistic because the wooly part of the sheep is outlined in bright colours. The faces are hooked simply in solid black. The landscape is a mixture of soft medium to light greens highlighted with the same colours […]
Nancy has been a crafter since she could hold a pair of scissors. Sewing and needlework became a passion in elementary school. She is a journalist by profession and when as- signments take her from her home office, she also takes the time to cruise around thrift stores and find new treasures to re-purpose. She […]
My Hramavik – Thunder Spirit design is the result of three sources of inspiration: a Belarusan motif pattern, the Trianglepoint stitch technique and the colour palette proposed by A Needle Pulling Thread. A few years ago, I came across a book from our Toronto Guild of Stitchery Library entitled Trianglepoint by Sher- lee Lantz1 . […]
This design owes its inspiration to Carla, the publisher of A Needle Pulling Thread! She took this won- derful photograph of some flowers she had purchased at the Farmers Market, and asked me if I would use my talent to convert the picture into a design for the magazine. I accepted the challenge – and […]
You will have noticed that the last two International Santas have contained a good injection of humour, and this Canadian Santa continues the trend. During their design process I was going through some major personal challenges. Thankfully, designing cross stitch patterns is a good form of therapy for me. Humour lightens my heart and I […]
Lucy Garvin and Sherry Del Rizzo have both appeared in A Needle Pulling Thread magazine on their own, Festive 2008 and Summer 2010 respectively. They imagined it would be a fun and creative for our readers if they joined forces to create a special feature. When they met, Sherry and Lucy were both members of […]
I was approached in February 2010 to take part in Corsets: Fabulous Fashion Accessories*, a fashion show held at the Fall 2010 CreativFestival in Toronto, Ontario. Over the years as a Costume Builder, I have sewn many corsets. The corset fashion show gave me the ideal opportunity to try something different and knitting a corset […]
Imagine learning to make beautiful beaded gifts or accessories in three easy lessons! It’s possible with the help of passionate teacher Diane Mugford. This Hatzic Lake, British Columbia, designer considers herself a teacher first and a designer second because what she designs tends to be projects for her students. “I am often asked to teach […]