Updated October 2, 2018
One of the happiest things I know about traveling is visiting needlepoint stores. Today I want to salute a few stores that I visited for the wonderful things I found there.
— In Ann Arbor, on a business trip, I saw Watercolours for the first time. Amazingly enough I only bought one skein, got the free pattern and some canvas and stitched it on the way home.
— On another trip, I was working on a Jane Greenoff Sampler and was running out of silk. My mom bought it for me in England, so I had little hope of finding more. On a whim I went into Rose Cottage in El Segundo, CA (no longer in business) and found the thread (which they gave me), more Jane Greenoff charts, and great friends. Whenever I went to LA, I made time to visit them.
— In 2001, we were in New Hampshire on Sept 11, and were renting a truck to drive back to California. The folks at BF Goodstitch in Salem (a wonderful shop) fixed me up with canvas, thread, and comfort, to make a lovely pillow, Stars of Sorrow, which still sits on my day bed.
— Vicki, the wonderful owner of Needle Nook of La Jolla, came through with thread, when I got short shipped material for a class.
But there are so many more, so many wonderful shops. Explore yours!
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
I often buy fat quarters for my mom (a quilter) if I see interesting fabric shops on my trips.
Do you remember the name of the store in Ann Arbor? During my 19 years in this area, a fiber store and a quilting/fancy fabric/fiber store both closed. There are two independent yarn stores, one of which carries some floss and fibers, but otherwise it’s kind of a needlepoint wasteland here these days. :^(
When I travelled for work, the very first thing I did after my reservations were confirmed was to get out a local phone book (we had them for all the field offices we served); and look up Needlepoint shops. There weren’t many in those days but the one who impressed me the most was a beautiful little store in Atlanta called “The Snail’s Place.” I still have the canvas I purchased— it is almost too beautiful to stitch. The owner guided me from my hotel thru their subway system to the stop where his shop was and he picked me up in his gorgeous car and drove me to the shop and then back to my hotel. He offered me afternoon tea as well. What a wonderful delight of an experience.
What a wonderful story!
Keep stitching,
Janet
Is it possible to post a picture of your “Stars of Sorrow”?
No problem. Here’s a link to a picture of part of the center: https://nuts-about-needlepoint.com/half-star-needlepoint-border/scrap-bag-stars-2/
You can get this pattern and almost a dozen others in my book, Scrap Bag Needlepoint, available in my Etsy shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/553414873/scrap-bag-needlepoint?ref=shop_home_active_4
Keep stitching,
Janet