Updated September 17, 2021.
Although my Grandmother taught me the basic needlepoint stitch, I owe my passion for needlepoint to my Mom (pictured here).
My mom was an artist, and she would try just about anything. When I was really little she designed and painted a fire truck for my brother’s bedroom. I remember her doing mixed media collage at one point, in the 60’s I think. An oil of lovely apples hung in our living room. A hand-drawn bit of music or “parchment” she created herself hangs in my hall. Her watercolors are in so many places in our home.
When I was in Junior High she took up portraiture for awhile with me, in all my teenage anger, as the subject. Let’s just say that faces weren’t her strong suit.
Growing up we’d do crafts, Thanks to her I tried paper mache, copper enameling, and a host of other things. She taught me from childhood to love, appreciate, and understand art. The one thing we didn’t do was needlework. Occasionally she would ake a project, ut needlework of all kinds was left to my paternal grandmother.
She couldn’t teach me successfully was to draw. I’m just plain bad at it. So bad that she secretly worried that I’d never find an outlet for my creativity.
Probably because of my grandmother (who sewed, knitted, and crocheted) I had from an early age a love of thread. From my mom, I had a love of color. These things manifested themselves in odd ways: collecting every green in every brand of embroidery floss to do a grand all-green scene (never happened), trying a complex stitch to embroider a rainbow on my jeans in 1969.
But nothing ever stuck. Then in 1970 I saw a needlepoint kit in a magazine and convinced my parents to buy it for me. After learning the basic stitch I was off and running, needlepointing constantly.
Needlepoint has been my creative outlet, ever since (I was not even 14 when I started to stitch). It speaks to my artistic and fiber heritage. It gives me a way to be very artistic without having to draw. It fuels my creativity and feeds my soul.
Once my mom confessed she had worried about me and art. She said that when she saw me do needlepoint, she said “Janet has found her art.”
That’s the best compliment she ever gave me (and she wasn’t shy about praise).
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
Robin Hargett says
My Mom was a “needlepointer” and is responsible for getting me started in my life of stitching. In 1978 I was looking at a 6 week recovery from surgery and needed something to keep me busy. My first project was a kit of an orange butteryfly on a blue background. Very plain and simple but it was the beginning of my stitching obsession. Over the years I have dabbled in other crafts but needlepoint has been my true passion. I have made needlepoint pillows for loved ones, designing and painting many of the canvases. I have a love of dogs and as a result most of my stitching projects have been dogs, primarily Scotties. If my Mom had not been a stitcher I may have never decided to give needlepointing a try. Thank you Mom for giving me my love of stitching!!!!