Needlepoint can be very exciting instead of stiff and boring and "grandma". Google Kaffe Fassett! I love his work and kits. His kits are very detailed and can be tedious for beginners.

I would like to see some older needlepoint framed in new ways. Maybe larger mats. Older needlepoint is so beautiful it would be nice to up date it in some way.

My Great Aunt always had a project going. She inspired my mother to pick up needlepoint as well. I believe they both found it relaxing......until the sun set and the darkness made it harder to do as they got older, depending on the color of the yarn! My mother has made 12 needlepoint stockings for each grandchild, starting each hand painted canvas when the expectant mothers announced their news. Each cousin has a different design, different finishing touches, and of course their name on the top. We treasure these and carefully put them away after each Christmas holiday. Whether old fashioned or not, they are truly an item that will be handed down to each child as a reminder of their loving grandmother, Nana. I should carry on the tradition, as I look at the beautiful foot stool my great Aunt finished and I inherited!

@mintjulep12 Thanks for sharing! Kaffe Fassett has beautiful, vibrant work!!

My mother still does "samplers" my favorite was the one that hung on our wall all through childhood that said "we now interrupt this marriage to bring you the hockey season." my father was a hockey coach and it was so true. It still makes me chuckle.

I do reproduction samplers and have them all over my house. Here is the one over my fireplace. I like to see needlework in other houses as well.

Meredesigns...those are needlepoint!

my grandma taught me to embroider when i was very young - and i've been doing needlework ever since (i'm 62 now) i still love to keep my hands busy and have something to show for my time here…i particularly love petit point and needlepoint. and there are so many beautiful threads and yarns - silk, wool, cotton, gorgeous colors - to work with, it's a joy.

No one has so far mentioned furniture. Although this corner chair is totally not my taste, I love it none-the-less. The needlepoint was done by my mother-in-law many years ago. It belongs to my daughter, but her cats like it too well, so it is on permanent loan to hubby and me.

Thanks for posting that yvonnecmartin; I was looking for a piece like that for PirateFoxy.

...and guess what Barnhart Gallery purchased today -- the most darling pair of needlework pillow-portraits of a horse and cow.

Links:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/493988652847751546/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/178103360236821308/

Do furniture pieces wear reasonably well? I mean, I imagine cats are perhaps not the best thing for it, but if you had a piece like that as a seat at a dressing table or in a closet for sitting on while getting dressed, would it hold up to being sat on? (Or at a writing desk, that's another place where I could use a nice chair that won't get the same sort of abuse that dining room table chairs and my regular computer desk chair will get.)

I have seen very old needlepoint chairs that have held up beautifully despite years of use.

You are welcome Angie Hoyos!

My mother-in-law made me this before I was even married. That was over 30 years ago. Sat in my closet for years because it really did not go with my decor however when she passed six years ago I pulled it and hung it. No whenever I look at it the memories that flood back are priceless especially because I know how much love went into it! and now it hangs in the den. Every time I look at it I think of heart and what a wonderful person she was.

Don't know why above post got so messed up!

Wool needlepoint is one of the most durable textiles known. No need to fear using it in pillows. I have a 22-year-old pillow where the wool needlepoint is absolutely fresh and unworn as the day it was made...while its velvet backing is worn bare in spots. I have a needlepoint footstool with a covering I believe is nearly 100 years old. I've used it hard for 25 years myself. The silk inset wore out and I had to replace it, but again the wool is in great shape with only the slightest evidence of its age. Not many upholstered pieces can say that.

My great-grandmother had all her dining room chair seats in needlepoint....same story. Wears incredibly well. There are 300 and 400 year old needlepoint items still in existence and even in use in a few cases.

N.B. I'm talking literally wool needlepoint, preferably basketweave stitch. Not talking about counted cross stitch, cotton canvas embroideries etc.

Here are two pieces that are neither framed or made into pillows. One is a foot stool made by my mother-in-law's friend, given to us for a wedding present 38 years ago; the other is a clock done by me.

Yes, very old needlepoint is still extant.

I think anything made in needlepoint adds dimension, personality and warmth to any space!

All the pictures in my home are needlepoint. Here is one of my favorites.

I don't just like needlepoint, I LOVE it. I don't think it has to match, just use it where you wish. It has a richness , and what is wrong with "grandma." I have done hand painted canvass, and have several pieces I haven't started. Needlepoint adds an elegance to the home. I put the date and my initials on the project and it is fun to look at something and realize it was done years ago. I will attempt to send a picture.

I want to send a picture of a needlepoint pillow, but do not know how to attach it.,,help?

Martha Coan, in the box where you write your comment, you will see a section called "attach a photo." Click that and you can choose a photo from your photo library.

@Martha Coan - there is nothing wrong with "grandma" if it works in your space. My opinion is that many of the examples of needlepoint I've seen in the past have been things that wouldn't look right in the space I have to work with - that doesn't mean they didn't look perfectly nice where they were.

And I have some great ideas for ways to include needlepoint that will work with what I have, thanks to this thread. It's no different than what I do when I knit for my home or for gifts - I try to find an item and a design that suits where it will be going. One place might be perfect for a vibrant colorblock throw while another looks best with something more delicate and lacey in a neutral color.

Anyone who does not include some form of thread art( needlepoint, assisi, blackwork, counted threadwork, knitting, crocheting, quilts, etc., etc. is missing out on adding beauty to their homes and lives. I do it all and have given many pieces away as well as have several pieces in my home(from purses, rugs, wallhangings, ornaments, temari, doll house pieces, I could go on and on. Try it, it's great therapy!

I love to cross stitch & have many framed ones in my home. This one is the first sampler of the four seasons. This is my favorite one that I have stitched so far. I find it very relaxing, and I always have a project handy.

Needlepoint accessories give a cozy, homemade feel, look to Jonathan Adler for some cheeky, modern graphics to update the look of needlepoint.

I enjoy needlework. I have been working on this Shaker wall hanging for ten years (we have completely gutted our house and had two kids in the meantime). Our house is 150 years old and we live in New England, so I think it fits with our house. The thread is wool, which has a wonderful color and texture.

I was at a Goodwill last night and saw a stitched flower arrangement. I don't have any spare wall space that I don't have plans for, so I didn't buy it, but it was nicely done.

I enjoy needlework as well. Here are a couple of needlepoint pillows that I made for my Mom about 40 years ago. The fern design was a kit, but the chevron was just my choice of colors and a Bargello design book. The chair cushion just looks like crewel work but is upholstery fabric I bought at JoAnn's. I think Bargello done in current colors would be very modern right now!

Any tips from people who do needlepoint for what I should look for if I'm thinking of getting a kit? I'm thinking to get a throw-pillow sized kit but use it for the top of a small footstool. (I have a friend who is going to make the actual wood part of the footstool for me, so it can be sized to fit the finished needlepoint.) My plan would be to just have needlepoint on the top and then find a coordinating fabric if anything else was needed for finishing details.

Don't pull the threads too tight, that is what distorts the needlepoint. They often advise using the line form, but I prefer the basket weave. I find rotating between doing the background and the pattern worked better for me. I used to be bored by the background, but now I find it soothing.

It's a great way to express oneself with needlepoint. It shows personality. It can be used as accent accessories in many design style tastes.

Needle point found when we purchased the house. I covered this chair with it. I just love it in my hallway.

Well according to the dates here, it has been awhile since anyone posted but in the age of covid 19 2021, I have taken up needlepoint to keep my sanity. and although i have a few more to stitch.......this has been a God-send.

Same here... love doing needlepoint while listening to podcasts by the fireplace... here are a couple of cushions (both patterns from Ehrman Tapestry)

Those are BEAUTIFUL.........I will look up the artist. Here are some other photos of covid projects.....i did the neutral palette geometrics for my son whose style is very contemporary.

Joanne Daley those are beautiful!

Needlepoint is so healing and unlike other crafts I have done, it doesn't make a mess! Painting, sewing and jewelry making consume more space. My needlepoint gets tucked away in a basket.

I did this crewel one over 30 years ago. I still love it and it hangs in our bedroom.

Terri......that is gorgeous! Was it a printed piece?

Thanks! Yes, it was a kit.

Here's a pillow cover I bought at the thrift for $4. I covered the box that holds our kindling with it. I think it's sweet.

Great idea.........Thank God for hands and minds that work. Hope the crewel stays in your family for another 30 years

I have many friends (late 20s/early 30s) who've taken up needlework during the pandemic!

nice to hear.......sometimes the lines in the coat stores are very very long. All trying to keep our sanity

Wish I could say I made this little rug but it's also a thrift store find.

I picked up this pillow on a day trip to Nantucket. It was an end of summer sale souvenir and reminds me of the fun we had. I guess I like needlework more than I realized.

I love needlework of all kinds: embroidery, crewel, needlepoint, cross stitch, even crocheting and knitting. I only crochet and embroidery. I can cross stitch of course, but I find it a little too monotonous for me. I get distracted easily so the more varied the stiches are the better. They are all pieces of art. Quilting too.

Lovely pieces ladies!