Not everything in the past year has been bad. With the changes to in-person needlework markets and the difficulties in getting canvases, new products are coming to market in a steady stream instead of larger chunks. Today I’ll give you a round-up of many new items that will be appearing in your local shop.
Planet Earth has a new leather accessory; it’s a wallet made in leather that holds a 3″ square needlepoint. It comes in a bunch of colors, including red, black, navy, and dark green. Did you know that Weeks Dye Works makes hand-dyed wool as well as lovely threads? These wools are being used in a lovely tote by AK Creations. I saw a picture of a backpack from the company as well but could not find it.
Those lovely Colors of Praise floral letters that are so popular now have a companion piece for those who don’t want a letter. A similar design is now available as a 12×7 rectangle on 13-mesh canvas. Raymond Crawford has a new star series. There are a dozen 5″ stars with woodland animals, including an adorable fox, several squirrels, and a cute skunk. Alice Peterson has a trio of haunted houses on a new canvas, plus some charming winter scenes featuring red barns. Jenny Henry has new coaster sets out with either geometric or country print patterns. New from Anne Fisher is dice cups in either Bargello or Provencal patterns. Kristine Kingston has a pair of football field canvases that would make great tray insets.
New from Melissa Shirley is a charming set of dressed bunnies in a sweet storybook style. There is also a new gardening bookshelf with great titles such as “Busy Bees and Trowel and Hoe. Vicki Sawyer has lots of new birds and animals that are so cute I had difficulty picking out ones to feature. I particularly like the opossum wearing a watermelon slice hat, the little bird wearing a bright mushroom cap, and the woodpecker emerging from an artichoke. There are also new Vicki Sawyer mini-socks and ornaments. New for Halloween is a full-size stocking with four large Halloween hearts. There are also versions of the hearts stocking in traditional Christmas colors and white & gold.
J Child has a charming new glasses case with a blue jay on one side and apple blossoms on the other. She also has a charming mini-sock for boating with a delightful Christmas lights border. Sew Much Fun has added girl and boy baseball players to its collection of sitters. The neat thing about these is that they can be personalized to your favorite player and/or team. Kate Dickerson has come out with a new series of chessboards in striking color combinations. You can order chess pieces or checkers to go with them. She is also making new 13 mesh mini hearts. These hearts measure 4 3/8 x 3 1/4 inches.
Voila has new floral clutch bag canvases in several patterns, including two combining leopard print and flowers. The canvases are 10×7. Speaking of bags, Judi & Co has a lovely one-piece bag with colorful butterflies on 13 mesh. Kangaroo Paw has new dotted sorority rounds with the names of the sorority. I love this new canvas from Griffin Designs; splashed with blotches of paint, it says “Cleanliness is next to impossible!” Kelly Clark has a wonderful Provencal rooster as well as a beautiful Spring bouquet. Both an embellishment pack and a stitch guide are also available for both.
Mary Legallet has a new volume of Whimsical Stitches out. Sandra Arthur’s newest book on stars just got published. Watch for reviews of both these books here. Beau Verre Art makes stunning fused glass needle minders. When I first saw these, they took my breath away. They are just starting to appear in stores. Meredith has a new Big Buddy needle minder for lovers of books and cats. Pick a black or white cat sitting on two books — The Great Catsby and Harry Pawter.
CBK has welcomed a newly licensed artist, Kate Rhees. Her canvases include fabric-like designs of turtles or insects on white or jellyfish on black. These squares would make great pillows. Two new Pippin smalls are 3 pomegranates and a dove, each on an individual canvas and painted on 13 mesh. Pepperbeery has a sweet oval ornament of a jumping bunny dressed for Christmas with a wreath around his neck. They also have a pretty set of bells with songbirds in the snow, one on each in the four-canvas series. From JP for Christmas is a rectangular border sampler in a bright combination of red & green livened by lime and yellow.
New from & more is a set of coasters of ladies in hats by licensed artist SE Hagerman. A new “five” design from Pippin has five bears climbing fancifully-decorated tree trunks. Madeline Elizabeth has some beautiful, unusual sea creatures inspired by her life in Florida. You’ll love the darker colored canvas and subtle shading in these designs.
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
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