I made this Talisman for my son who is an athlete. He takes this good luck charm to all cycling races, keeping it in his pocket. I taught him how to use it. Within the Talisman, there are three ancient magic symbols. The main one is the burdock plant. The burdock itself is a symbol […]
In this feature, I also provide several tips for those who have never worked on perforated paper before, and even those who have may discover something useful. By the way, if the stitching on one of the cards looks slightly different from the others, that’s because I changed one of the pink colours to provide […]
This design was inspired both by the celebration of our newest family member, Ember Anne, and from cross stitch samplers common to my province in the mid 1800s. Ember’s birth provided the perfect opportunity to pull motifs from antique samplers to create something entirely new. Antique samplers were often stitched by very young girls and […]
They were the driers of tears, refuge for the shy, and vessels for the freshest fruit and veggie in the neighbourhood. The humble, every-day apron was the mainstay of most kitchens. Often worn, often washed, and rarely regaled, the apron has been the protector of clothing for centuries. Aprons have been worn since ancient times. […]
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 […]
Spring is close at hand and it is time to celebrate the season with projects that remind us of flowers and warmer weather. These little wallets from collage designer Donna Funnell of Milton, Ontario, will come in handy as change purses or make perfect gifts for friends who need a business card case. These are […]
Welcome to Part 4 of this elegant Pulled Thread Pastries Series. This series explores pulled thread embroidery using the basic little cushion samples to give you a good idea of what is required to accomplish each varied stitch. It also explores making a sampler which is limitless in its creative possibilities. Make it larger for […]