Sally and her Whimsy and Grace Bee

Sally's pillow came back last week.  She was so excited because she just loved the color of the piece.  Sally found her fringe and our finisher was able to find a beautiful fabric to go with it.

Sally used an open stitch on the background that really looks like a beehive!

Susan Roberts Brick Covers

This trunk show came with a great selection of brick covers.  Brick covers were traditionally used to keep a door shut or open.  But they also make great bookends and frame weights! There is a wide range of topics including an ambulance, bunnies, flowers etc.  They also come in #18 and #13 mesh.

The trunk show's last day is Saturday, April 16 since we have to pack it up on the 19th.  If you are interested in any of the canvases, please call us so we can help you.

Susan Roberts Quilt Designs

When I think of Susan Roberts, I automatically think of her wonderful needlepoint canvases based on quilt designs.  They come in a range of sizes from small 5" x 5" designs to 14" x14" designs.  Some of very sophisticated, almost modern designs while others have an almost country feel to them. 

If you have a thread stash (and who doesn't), you may find that these designs are perfect for utilizing up the threads in your stash.  The small quilt needlepoint patterns are particularly effective for stash reduction.

Baby Signs

In the store, we all loved this needlepoint canvas from Susan Roberts.. It may not be for the first time mother but it's a perfect gift for someone who has been through the experience. Of course, there are other needlepoint designs for the more sensitive.

More Judaic Designs from Susan Roberts

Susan Roberts has an incredible selection of Judaic canvases.  If you are looking at these pictures and questioning what they are, these needlepoint canvases are for dreidels.  They are finished with a plastic insert so they can actually spin,  We have had a few finished and they are quite attractive.  It shows that you can needlepoint almost anything.

Pat 's Frame

Pat's frame came back recently and it is beautiful.  She stitched it for her Florida home so she was excited to find something with the corals and turquoises.  I wonder whose picture she's going to put there.

A frame can also make a great wedding gift -- to hold either the couple's picture or their invitation!

More Judaic Designs

In addition to the Chagall inspired needlepoint canvases, Susan Roberts also has a challah cover and more traditionally themed tallis bags.  But she also carries a tallis bag for the boy (or man) who is a sports fanatic.
Of course, this needlepoint canvas would also make a great wall hanging or pillow for a boy's room.

Susan Roberts Tallis Bags

The Susan Roberts line has some wonderful tallis bags. I've selected three to show you. We have seen these finished. They are stunning whether they are stitched in a plain tent stitch or done with fancy stitches. One of our customers did the top one, the Creation for her grandson. It was beautiful and a very generous gift. Susan Roberts has a number of needlepoint tallis bags based on Chagall windows. The second one represents this group. The third one show the 12 tribes. Again, it has been a popular one.

Signs from Susan Roberts Trunk Show

An amazing number of needlepoint pillows and door hangers are stitched.  A door sign for a baby's room is a very popular and thoughtful baby gift.    Susan Roberts has a number of signs including baby signs, Welcome signs and miscellaneous.  The "there's no place like home" would be a great gift for a senior about to leave for college.  And you might want to give the Time to Unwine  sign to your book club friends.  Finally, the bunny napping is very sweet.  All of these needlepoint canvases are on #13 mesh so they will be quick to stitch.

Margaret and Her Needlepoint Rug

Margaret ordered this beautiful rug and then stitched it. We were thrilled to see it completely stitched and finished. It is quite stunning. And no, she isn't planning on letting anyone walk on it. She had a spot all picked out for it on her wall.

Kathy Schenkel's Team Santas

Recently, we heard about these delightful Team Santas from Kathy Schenkel Designs. Kathy can personalize her Sports Santas with your favorite team. Of course, with the beginning of baseball season, I had to order the Yankee and the Mets Santas! But I know that Santa can also be dressed in a NY Giants outfit! Let us know if you are interested.

Halloween House Needlepoint Canvas from Susan Roberts

For those of you who love to decorate for Halloween, this may be the canvas for you. This scary 3D house has it all -- bats in the belfry, Frankenstein, ghosts, cobwebs etc. Once again, it is a large canvas.  The size enables the various shapes  needed to make a 3D house.

OThe house itself is spooky. I like to use the spider web stitch to make spider webs using a light sparkly thread. For the wrought iron railings, you could use either DMC's memory thread or Kreinik's hotwire thread. Of course, this might be the perfect place to use the glow in the dark threads!

Once again, it would be fun to stitch. If you get it, you should probably also make sure you have Amy Bunger's Halloween chapter and June McKnight's new book, Spooky Stitches. (We have them both. In fact, one customer just raved about June's new book. It just arrived last week.)

We have one in stock during the Susan Roberts trunk show but can order more. (And if you order during the trunk show, you get the 10% off).  Our trunk show is at the store through Saturday, April 16. 

Stephanie's Geometric

We love this geometric from HP designs.  Stephanie grabbed it the day we put it out six weeks ago.  Yes, she has finished stitching this piece in six weeks!  And has done an absolutely beautiful job.  She used different threads to create dimension.  Stephanie doesn't love working with a laying tool but she used is to lay the threads on her border.  It really looks terrific.

Nancy's Carrots

Nancy fell in love with the carrots from Associated Talents. She was determined to stitch three and have them finished in time for Easter. And she succeeded by quite a large margin. We got her carrots back last week. We love the way these carrots are finished. Using green ribbon for the carrot leaves is just a terrific touch. I know that Nancy's Easter decor will be enhanced by her carrot collection.

Fabulous Christmas House by Susan Roberts

Everyone once in a while, there is an absolutely fabulous canvas. For many of us, this delightful Christmas house is it. Unfortunately, because the canvas is quite large, it's hard to really get an accurate photo of the piece. The top picture shows the entire canvas slightly distorted. I was unable to correct it due to its shape. Consequently, I have taken lots of pictures for you to look at. The next picture shows one end of the house plus bits of the front and back. It's so clever since you see a side view of Santa plus his front view depending on which window you are looking into. Each window has a little vignette with Santa, Pappa in his cap or other "Christmas" scenes. We've been discussing how we would stitch the canvas. One idea is to stitch the inside the windows with lighter coverage so you could then long stitch over them with a single strand of accentuate. I can see French knots on the wreath and petite peluche on Santa's fur trim. The final piece is the sleigh with eight "tiny reindeer." We have one in stock with the trunk show but could order more.

If you are interested, you can call us (201-612-7770) or email us.

Technical Issues

Goggle is having a problem with its blogging software so pictures are not posting.  I will repost today's earlier blog when the issue is fixed.  It has been an issue since April 1.

I apologize.  I'm frustrated since I still have great pictures of the Susan Roberts trunk show plus lots of finished canvases.  Oh well -- we love technology except when it doesn't work.  The problem is that we've gotten so used to its benefits!

Susan Roberts 3 D Houses

Needlepoint Store

Reindeer Barn 3 d ornament

Birdhouse 3 d ornament

Christmas Tree Lot

Santa's Workshop

We have some wonderful Susan Roberts 3 D Christmas ornaments.  All these ornaments are stitched and then folded into a 3 D shape.  I just love some of the themes.  There is the reindeer's barn, a Christmas Tree lot, a Birdhouse, Santa's workshop and many others. 

It's Baseball Time

Actually, the season opened a little earlier this year. The first games were on March 31!  The Yankees opened on Thurdsay, March 31 while the Mets opened last night.

For the baseball enthusiasts (or to give to your baseball enthusiasts), there are great team brick covers.these brick covers.l. Karen's Met brickcover came back this month, ready to display during the season. She did a great job with the baseball play in addition to the ball and the bat.

There are a number of these for different teams. We try to keep the Mets and Yankees in stock but are able to order other teams.

In addition, think about stitching a stadium. A customer swears that baseball and needlepoint go perfectly together. She stitches while they watch the games.

We also just got in a Yankee and a Mets Santa.  These stand-ups come with a large felt baseball.  Too cute!

Fabulous Easter Egg

We just received this delightfully finished Easter egg back from our new finisher. We just love the trim and ribbon that enhance this sweet Easter egg. When I got to the shop yesterday, Suzanne and Gretchen were oohing and aahing over it! IT makes me want to have an Easter tree! The I love it when the finishing truly enhances the design and doesn't over power it. It's like going to a good framer -- who helps your picture remain the focus! We are delighted with our new finisher. We can actually accept some ornaments a little later (important for those of us who procrastinate!)