I was ten years old and hoped to avoid needlepoint lessons- by hiding under a table. I was tracked down, and for months, I worked a place mat in a cross stitch pattern in two green shades.
When I had finally finished the cloth, I showed it to my teacher. She gave me a great, big smile and turned the mat to look at the reverse side.
Her expression turned dramatically, her face was distorted and I was sure she had a heart attack. When she had recovered her composure, she told me : that I was supposed to weave in ends. Perhaps it was this shock that made me a dedicated knitter.
But in 1990 I actually worked a chair cover for my music stool - using cross stitch. I had worked several sweaters from a designer and weaver, Winnie Poulsen, who dyed her own yarn and I had a lot of leftovers.
I chose a knitting pattern by Kaffe Fassett.
It took me months to finish.
Fortunately a friend of mine is an upholsterer. He replaced he old stuffing, which was mostly horsehair and spiral springs.
The wood is dark, solid mahogany. The wool is rough haired Norwegian Spelsau sheep.
I am glad to hear you needlepointed that. When I first looked at the photo I thought you were doing some crazy tiny gauge knitting! It is a lovely stool. Isn't it funny how we remember such things as hiding under the tab!e? Oh, they will never find me here.
ReplyDeleteWow. That is a lot of cross stitching! Lovely colors and the upholsterer did an excellent job, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that all those crabby women didn't put us off, isn't it? I wonder if they'd be proud of us now. I do love the colours you use in your work.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking "really tiny crochet," myself. Wow! And a Kaffe Fassett pattern, too! I love how serene the colors look together.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm lucky I never had a crabby teacher. Just one Grandmother who taught me to knit, another to sew on a machine and use a pattern.
ReplyDeleteI always loved Kaffe's dots; I tried to knit a sweater from one of his books using that pattern but the intarsia was too much. I've done alot of intarsia, must've been at the end of the phase.
Your stool is lovely. I would love to see the original green piece! Needlepoint was a passing phase for me. I still have several unfinished canvases in my closet!