Introducing Needlepoint Problems

I often find when I’m stitching that I run into problems that need to be solved. Perhaps the colors are too different. Perhaps the canvas is too small. Or a myriad of other things.

It’s frustrating because most of the time we’re left to our own devices for ideas to solve these problems.

That’s about to change.

I’m starting a long-term project on the blog that will result in a book, Needlepoint Problems & Solutions.

Here you’ll find posts about the problems I encounter and how I solve them. Every solution will be shown on an actual canvas so that you’ll be able to see as well as read about how to handle this problem.

You can help too. I have a ton of canvases, but I don’t always know what you’re problems might be. If you have a needlepoint problem or a perplexing area on your canvas, please contact me and tell me about it. Questions that are chosen will win a prize.

As a bonus, I’ll be giving you design information about the canvases I use. When possible I’ll include designer information but I’ll also include historic information as well as information about my design choices.

Today we’ll have some background about the project you’ll see in tomorrow’s posy, Rogue Needlepoint’s Tudor Rose.

Stitching the Tudor Rose

This charming piece is a Tudor Rose and it has an interesting history.

If you know something of English history, you’ll know that during much of the High Middle Ages England was taken up with struggles over who would be king. Called the Wars of the Roses, two noble families, both with legitimate claims to the throne, fought over who would be king. Spanning the reigns of Richard II through Richard III, these colorful times also lead to many of Shakespeare’s plays.

They are called the Wars of the Roses because both families used a rose as an emblem. Lancaster’s symbol was a red rose, York’s was the white.

This period ended with Henry Tudor’s (later Henry VII) defeat of Richard III at Bosworth Field. He wasn’t of any house, but had a claim to the throne through his mother.

To symbolize this new beginning, he created the Tudor Rose, with both roses in it, the white rose on top of the red.

This rose then, in turn, became the symbol of all the Tudor monarchs.

You’ll see in my needlepoint problem posts tomorrow and next week how I stitched this delightful design.