Brace yourself: needlepoint artist Patti Mann’s son is going to be on The Voice this Sunday, right after the Super Bowl. If you don’t know about this singing competition on NBC, go here. It is totally addictive! Patti’s website is here. Patti is FABULOUS and I am so excited for her and her (totally adorable) son. You MUST tune in this Sunday! The word is that Chris will be performing about one hour into the show.
Happy stitching…happy singing to Chris,
Susan
This is an amazing story…please read! Thank you to Point of It All customer Susanne Villemarette for sharing it with me.
The tapestry
Major Alexis Casdagli
Tony with his father’s embroidery
By MATT QUINTON, The Sun (January 11, 2012)
A PATRIOTIC British Prisoner of War played a trick on his German captors by giving them a piece of needlework with “God Save the King” and “F*** Hitler” embroidered into it.
But the Nazis never spotted the cunning soldier’s blast — because it was crafted in MORSE CODE.
And they were so pleased with the needlework that they put it on public display at the castle where the brave Brit was locked up.
Clever Major Alexis Casdagli was imprisoned by the Germans for four years during World War Two, and passed the long hours by sewing.
The main message on his gift to the Nazis reads: “This work was done by Major A. Casdagli. No 3311. While in captivity at Dossel-Warbung Germany December 1941″.
But outside the border of swastikas, Imperial Eagles and hammer and sickles, Casdagli hid a dig at the fascists with a patriotic message disguised as an innocent pattern of dots.
Resources were so scarce that the design had to be created using red and blue thread from a Cretan general’s sweater.
The embroidery was recently reunited with Casdagli’s son Tony after being displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Tony, 79, explained: “My father always said that the Red Cross packages he received kept him alive, but the sewing kept him sane.
“He was captured at the Battle of Crete and marched up Greece for six weeks before being flown to north Germany.
“Having run a textiles company before the war he knew a little about sewing, so when he was given a canvas by another prisoner he started stitching for something to do.”
Casdagli even sent Tony, then 11, a stitched letter through the post, saying: “It is 1,581 days since I saw you last but it will not be long now.
“Do you remember when I fell down the well? Look after Mummy till I get home again.”
And while Union Jack flags were forbidden in the camp, Casdagli simply sewed one with a flap over it to get around the German rules.
Retired Royal Navy officer Tony explained: “Each week the same officer would open the flap and say, ‘This is illegal,’ and Pa said, ‘You’re showing it, I’m not showing it.’”
After the war Casdagli joined a British mission to Greece during the civil war, and later started a perspex factory in London.
He kept up his sewing until his death in 1990, aged 90.
29 Dec
Posted in featured artist, fibers, hand-painted canvas, Susan Battle Needlepoint, Uncategorized on 29.12.11
A new canvas from the *inspired* Susan Battle Needlepoint line! I think these two dogs are absolutely charming…I love the folk art feel to the canvas. I actually finished stitching it recently and it should be back from the finisher soon. (No pressure, Debby!)
I used Appleton Tapestry wool for the background and Silk & Ivory for the dogs and the border. Once it’s back from the finisher, I’ll post a picture and let you know what stitches I used. (How bad is it that I can’t remember???)
The SIT canvas is available through The Point of It All (202 966 9898)…the cost is $104…it is on 13 mesh…and measures 12″x12.”
Happy new year; happy stitching!
Susan
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year from The Point of It All!
Thank you all so much for your support and loyalty this past year…YOU made 2011 a great year! All of the Point of It All ladies join me in saying thank you and we look forward to seeing you in 2012.
2012 promises to be a terrfic year filled with exciting new canvases (I go shopping at the end of January), creative finishing ideas (it’s ridiculous how many thoughts rush through my head!), maybe some new fibers, and fantastic trunk shows (Jean Smith, The Princess & Me , and Labors of Love, to name a few). What fun!
As in past years, we will have reduced hours around the holidays:
Saturday, 12/24: 10 am to 2 pm
Monday, 12/26: Closed
Tuesday, 12/27 through Saturday, 12/31: 10 am to 2 pm
Monday, 1/2: Closed
We are always closed on Sundays.
We return to our regular hours on Tuesday, 1/3 at 10 am.
I hope you find time to stitch during this busy holiday season. And remember, stitching is very Zen should you need a moment of escape from your family! (My husband, mother, and father read this blog and I assure each of you that I am NOT trying to zone out when I needlepoint around you!)
Happy holidays and happy stitching,
Susan
Are you in the mood for Christmas?! Well who cares if you are in the mood…it’s coming! I am listening to Christmas music as I type.
I love this canvas from Amanda Lawford and isn’t our finishing adorable? It stitched it in a flash…love that skip tent stitch! (All you do is stitch every other stitch…goes so fast!)
A note about dyelots…THEY ARE IMPORTANT! Check out the green area under the left reindeer…I very clearly used a different dyelot! I confess: I thought I had enough Silk + Ivory to finish the piece if I was really, really frugal but no. So do as I say not as I do…
Happy stitching,
Susan
14 Nov
Posted in beyond pillows, Christmas, fabulous finishing, featured artist, Uncategorized on 14.11.11
Check out my finished Blue Bird of Happiness! Actually it’s a Blue Jay but let’s not get technical. Labors of Love (check out their website) makes these wonderful three dimensional birds. Each bird comes with two canvases (front and back) and feathers and a clip. It didn’t take long to stitch. I used all basket weave and mostly metallics.
We will be doing a Labors of Love trunk show in May 2012.
Happy stitching,
Susan
All of us at The Point of It All are going bananas over this portable, battery-operated Ott lite! It’s so lightweight; it can travel anywhere! Think about setting it up on the fold down tray on an airplane or on the bedside table at a hotel. THIS IS AN AWESOME PRODUCT! If you haven’t used an Ott product before, get thee to The Point of It All to check one out. These lights simulate daylight and make an incredible difference when you are stitching. Ott makes a tabletop version and a floor model (both have to be plugged in).
We have them all in stock…portable one is $42.
Perfect stocking stuffer, too!
Happy stitching,
Susan
17 Oct
Posted in beyond pillows, fabulous finishing, featured artist, hand-painted canvas, stitches, Uncategorized on 17.10.11
I command you to Bee Happy! And I can do that, you know…I have a MAGIC WAND! Isn’t it adorable? The design is by Kathy Schenkel and she has other magic wand canvases.
I mostly used basketweave but I did do the Hesitation stitch for the yellow (stitched in Neon Rays) and the Nobuko stitch for the orange (also stitched in Neon Rays). See diagrams below.
Happy stitching…grant lots of wishes today!
Susan
Ahh, the satisfying snip, snip of perfect scissors! I didn’t know this before I was at The Point of It All but not all scissors are the same…the quality really varies. Now I treat myself to quality needlework scissors. There are the $22 Stork ones from Gingher. Almost everyone has these…they are great, basic scissors. Now consider the German-made ones with the elaborate scrollwork ($62). They are a delight to work with…such clean, sharp cuts. And if you’re really going for the Cadillac of scissors, try these French-made scissors in Mother-of-Pearl and Tortoiseshell style ($100). Pure heaven. OMG.
These scissors will soon be available in The Point of It All web store…stay tuned!
Consider putting a quality pair of scissors on your Christmas wish list. You will be thrilled every time you use your new pair!
Happy stitching,
Susan
… I call in an emergency stitcher! Yes, that is my sweet husband, Chris, putting two extra “sacrifice” rows around my napkin rings! It’s Sunday night and the October 1st deadline for Christmas finishing is just 6 days away. That’s approximately 144 hours away and I do have to sleep/work/attend to my family for some of those hours. The deadline is the same date every year…why do we stitchers put ourselves in the position of pulling “Needlepoint All Nighters”???
Thanks, honey, for helping out.
Why is Buster just lying there? Can’t he do a few extra rows on my Whimsy and Grace Napoleonic bee napkin rings??? Sheesh.
PS You have until October 31st for full-sized Christmas stockings and belts with traditional leather…
Happy (frantic) stitching,
Susan