What a deal!

I continue to look for ways to make the experience of receiving a package from us fun and inspiring. We have new packaging for our threads. "What does that have to do with needlepoint?", you ask. For me, everything. I want to present you with your kit, not just mail it to you. I want to put a smile on your face. I want you to feel that we've paid attention to all the details in honor of you and your needlepoint piece.

We are offering a few new items to enhance your experience without taking much away from your stitching budget. We call it our $3 bin.



Ultrasuede® packets of five delightful 4" x 3" pieces of color.

and beautiful scissor fobs, grosgrain ribbons attached with embroidered, sparkly buttons.

Visit our shop in the other things section.

I'm not a very religious person however tradition and continuity mean everything to me. Holidays always send me back to my childhood. On Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, Israel comes to a stand still. Nobody rides in cars, no public transportation, the street are full of families walking to synagogue or just meeting up with friends and family, all on foot (and bikes). It's such an amazing feeling, walking in the middle of a main street or highway along with other people dressed in their holiday best. While we don't have this experience anywhere else in the world, I still want to give my girls a sense of this day being different from other days. We will be together, walk to synagogue, explain the meaning of this day to little Nina, (I started talking about it this morning but when she heard that it was a day of fasting, she did NOT like that one bit!). We will build memories which will surface every time a holiday comes around. These memories will give my girls a sense of continuity and meaning.

May we all be written in the Book of Life.

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Inspired

For those of you who don't already know me, my name is Alexandra and I'm Orna's assistant here in her studio. Painting has always been a great love of mine and I earned my degree in it. One of my favorite painters is Matisse. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is is having a show right now titled "Henri Matisse and Modern Art on the French Riviera" and if you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it. His body of work was so large and covered so many styles, all of which were fantastic, but he always kept it very colorful. Color!, which we all know Orna loves.

Two important pieces for me are The Blue Window and Memory of Oceania. As a fun experiment I decided to pull colors from both paintings. The first is a loose interpretation where I play with the large but varying shades of blue, and the contrast in quantity against the red and orange.

The Blue Window

In the second I decided to keep it much more direct, recreating his Memory of Oceania piece with threads I pulled.

Memory of Oceania

Taking inspiration from beautiful works of art, I bet Matisse would be flattered!

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Happy New Year - Shana Tova

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I'm back!

Seminar is over and I'm home. We are all home.

This is what our bedroom looks like. Anyone want to come over and help unpack? Didn't think so.


Classes were wonderful, great students and very talented stitchers. I was impressed!
The ladies of the faculty committee were fabulous. They kept everything moving smoothly, kept everyone happy and made it look effortless. Joanne, Charly and Elizabeth, you rock!

Here are some of my wonderful students...






and then there is Syl (read all about him and his talented son).

The night before we returned home I woke up with an awful cold. The next morning we packed and all the while I was making these horrible cold sounds. Flying in this condition was not what the doctor prescribed, but we made it home, me with a 100.7 °.
It's Monday and I'm feeling better so no excuses. Today is unpack, laundry, cook, get school uniforms out, etc. etc. day.

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