New needlepoint store opens on Amelia Island

We opened our new needlepoint store on Amelia Island Florida (near Jacksonville) last weekend. It has a great selection of designs from Julia’s Needleworks, Lee’s Needle Arts, Marcy and Ronda Ahrens. Our own Gaelyn has painted some unique canvases based on images of the island that are also available on our website.

Our address is 15 N 4th Street and the phone is 904.729.4020 – hope to see you there!

Needlepoint pillow designs by Marcy

These wonderful pillow designs from Marcy are now in the Florida store. Most are 12×12 or larger on 13 mesh. You can view more Marcy designs on our website.

Needlepoint Brick Covers

With warmer weather (finally), it is time to open the doors and air out the house. Keeping the doors from slamming is easy with a brick door stop. We have these great designs in the Florida store from Julia’s Needleworks. If you can’t make it to Amelia Island, you can view them on our web site.

New Needlepoint Signs

It was so much fun to get my market order from Elizabeth Turner. You might know by now how much I love needlepoint signs (for example, “I live in my own world, but it’s okay, they know me here.”) The “Please come in” is done in such wonderful spring/summer colors it almost makes you want to invite someone over. “Hand over the chocolate and no one gets hurt”—stitch this in glistening shiny threads and it’s almost like having Leonidas Belgian chocolates on hand every day. “Our lady of perpetual mood swings” kind of says it all, doesn’t it? What a fun pillow this would be with lots of crazy fringe. And for my favorite—“Drink coffee do stupid things faster”.

These are all available on our website. Have fun stitching!

Vineyard Silk needlepoint threads

Vineyard Silk Classic has arrived at the Bristly Thistle—all 198 colors! I sampled this silky thread at market this January and fell in love with it. The colors are wonderful, it stitches smooth as silk and you use one strand as-is on 18 mesh canvas (no laying tool needed). I predict you will be hooked on this fabulous thread. It is available on our website

Kaffe Fassett needlework seminar at the Grand Hotel

This week we are at the Kaffe Fassett needlework seminar on Mackinac Island. Kaffe brought some amazing pieces with him like these needlepoint vests. He also has some beautiful quilts and tapestries on display too. These are available from Ehrman Tapestry.

Lollipop needlepoint from Melissa Shirley

Now matter what your holiday, these lollipops from Melissa Shirley are sure to be a hit. Our finisher can add pom-poms, bows, charms, whatever you need to glitz them up.

They are available on our website.

Charley Harper needlepoint at the Bristly Thistle

Charley Harper once said when he looked at a bird he counted the wings not the feathers. This philosophy led to some wonderful Minimalist designs that are now available in our store.

Raymond Crawford needlepoint at the Bristly Thistle

I found this funny reindeer in a one of the needlework trade magazines. He is too cute for words and will be fun to stitch. Think glitz and glitter and fun stitches and even a jingle bell to hang under one of the bells.

Seasons Greetings—this retro-style sign says it all. Add to your collection of signs for your entry way with this gem.

This pillow canvas just may have to end up in my house someday. I love canvases like these that keep you smiling while you stitch and later when you enjoy them during the holidays. These are available on our website.

Grand Hotel needlepoint project and class

Mackinac Island in Michigan is a magical place. Automobiles and the like are banned (even UPS and FedEx deliver by horse-drawn “trucks”), so everyone gets around on foot, by bicycle or by horse-drawn carriage. Summer brings sunshine and the brightly colored flowers that bloom at almost every house or building. The lilacs in bloom are cause for big celebration—the Lilac Festival in early June.

One of the most striking and well-known buildings on the island is the Grand Hotel. If you have stayed there, or seen it in a movie (“Somewhere in Time” is set in the hotel), you know the beauty of the grounds and the grand building itself. This new hinged box by Julia’s Needlework’s is designed exclusively for us. It captures the feel of the island with the Grand Hotel, the flowers and carriages and the lilac blooms on top.

Finished as a Limoges-style box, the inside of the lid and the inside bottom can be monogrammed with a special date or names. I’m stitching one of these myself in anticipation of the Kaffe Fassett seminar on the Island Mother’s Day weekend. It has me thinking of Spring, which I hear is just around the corner.

This new design is available on our website.