Canvasing

A good friend and her mother were at the house a couple of weeks ago and they mentioned this great cane needlepoint pattern by Louis J. Gartner, Jr.  (You can see a previous post on his books here.  Either cosmically or coincidentally, this is the exact palette of my dining room, though the emphasis is different.) 

It took me almost two years to retrieve my last completed needlepoint project.  I did take a little solace knowing that as it hung on the door to the lavatory it inspired a lot of projects.  Many of us, it seems, take our inspiration where we find it.

My white bamboo desk chair came with a very nice white cushion.  I had thought that I would chose a fabric to cover it, but after the cane conversation it seemed that I need to pick up the needle again.

I enjoyed clicking through the One King’s Lane estate sale of Albert Hadley’s things.  While there was nothing that I wanted that I could also afford, I treated myself to a copy of Parish Hadley: Sixty Years of American Design.

I had seen most of the images before, but was struck by the stitching.  That crazy green and black and white and red all over pillow that pops up in both the Connecticut sunroom and Hadley’s apartment  would make a fantastic seat cover. (And that chair – the white slip with the red ric-rack?  Simple but smart, she would be the most delightful party guest.  I’m sure she would listen to the travails of your tennis game with interest and later make the most subtle reference to Dostoevsky.  I just know that she would.)

But I am enchanted by the over-sized, quilt-inspired geometrics from Mr. and Mrs. William Paley’s Kiluna Farm.  Now I just need to decide where to begin.

Image, top, from Needlepoint Design by Louis J. Gartner, Jr., the third image is from Architectural Digest: American Interiors, photography William Steele, the remaining images are from Parish Hadley: Sixty Years of American Design, the image of the Greek key-ish cushion is by Dennis Krukowski; the others are also William Steele.

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8 thoughts on “Canvasing

  1. It's like trump l oeil painting with fibers…….like the faux caning on that seating……different and unique…
    L.

  2. I like the faux trump l oeil painting with fabric stitches…..really interesting and so unexpected!

    Nice!

    L.

  3. Patricia I knew you would be needle-pointing something special soon!

    Oh and how can rick rack trim can look so elegant..it does though indeed! The Parish Hadley book looks wonderfully inspiring.

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

  4. Hello Mrs Blandings,
    I have followed your needlepoint postings for years and aquired Gartners books which opened up a whole new world for me. I wanted to pass along my latest technique which is working well. I take a photo with my iphone of a design I want to replicate to needlepoint. I then change it to a line drawing using the sketch me app. With the photo in my iphoto file a adjust the size and print the design. I trace the design with a sharpie so it becomes a bold template. Transfer to canvas and select color scheme. I bought a needlepoint wool color chart (very resonable) so I could order my wool online . My latest project was copying the motif in my family room rug for pillows.
    You were my first blog read and have been a endless source of happiness. Thank you. Eve

  5. Eve – this is some of the best information that I've received in a good long time. Thanks so much for passing it along. P

  6. Can't wait to see your needlepoint – love Eve's idea, the chair with the rick rack and the glossy black walls in the third picture – Thanks for sharing!

  7. That needlepoint cane cushion is incredible. I have a goal of making a bargello piano cushion. This post was fortuitous as it reminded me that it won't be finished if it is never started!

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