Category Archives: Finito

May11

X marks the spot

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Voodoo Doll

Voodoo Doll

I saw this canvas on an auction website, and I guess it, uh, put a spell on me.  Just one of those, ‘I’ve got to have it’ needlepoint moments.

After all, what can possibly make a better pincushion than a voodoo doll?

Voodo Doll Finish (Back)

Voodo Doll Finish (Back)

It was originally purchased someplace in Louisiana.

I haven’t seen a canvas like this anywhere, which ought to tell you something, and I know all the gris gris places.

Stitching the thing, I didn’t use any of the Paternayan wool or even the rooster claw it was kitted with, but instead stitched it in bright neon metallics.

I love the backing of the my voodoo doll, with its shaded gris swirls.

Now, if you go to Wiki (where I downloaded the background pic), there is an interesting history about voodoo in New Orleans and the Queen of Voodoo, Marie Laveau.  Holy graveyard!

Elvis is probably real lonely tonight.

Erin McGrath and Needlepointland.com, 2012 – 2016.

Oct25

Happy Hauntings!!!

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It is a dark and stormy night here in south Florida, where meteorologists have dubbed this latest tropical storm, “Frankenstorm.” Anyway, Halloween has always been a favorite of mine and so in the spirit of this holiday season, here are some spooktacular needlepoints that I’ve stitched.

This is a little Halloween ornament with two ghosts, three Jack O’Lanterns and two black cats.  Pardon the cheesy backdrop, but, due to the freakish storm, outside photography was too harrowing to even contemplate. The cats were done in Petite Very Velvet. While it is fiendishly hard to see, most of the ornament is tricked up in metallic threads, which always makes things a little more fun.  The finisher put a little bat embellishment on the top, and a creepy spider is attached to the long hanger.

The backing material — I just love it when finishers go batty with my projects.

Sometimes I just let a finisher have carte blanche when putting together a needlepoint job.  All the decisions in finishing this ghoulish trick or treater were left solely in my finisher’s hands.  I really liked how Casper here was devilishly placed on a custom-crafted stand, with two little gold  balls to create a floating, ghostly effect.

Aren’t the backing and twist just perfect?

And finally… there’s this little witch in a big hat. Her smiling little face isn’t scary one bit, but that wand looks like it could be trouble!

That’s it!  I hope you enjoyed this little gallery of ghoulish delights.  Well…  off I go to do some more stitching.   Meanwhile, I’m keeping my needles crossed that the Evil Storm won’t ruin this Halloween.  As my grandmother used to tell me, on stormy nights like this one, life sometimes can seem to be nothing but one big cone of uncertainty.  Okay, bad joke.  Tooddle-do!

© Erin McGrath and Needlepointland.com, 2012 – 2016.

Mar16

Swimming with the Fishes

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Artist Unknown

I stitched this canvas on the island of Manhattan during a really cold winter, as I was waiting to vacation in Anguilla, or someplace on the islands.  It’s a cross-stitch design that makes a great gift idea for your favorite scuba or snorkeling fanatic.  It might even look funky on the wall in a dentist’s waiting room, instead of the usual bubbling tank with Japanese gold-fish.

© Erin McGrath and Needlepointland.com, 2012 – 2016.

Mar15

Et Dieu Se Reposa

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Carolyn Ambuter

I had this sampler Tableau du Moyen Âge drawn for me, back in the early 80s, from a design I saw in a Carolyn Ambuter needlepoint book.  As you can tell from the tilted basket, the framer’s skills left something to be desired in the blocking department, but it was still selected to be part of an exhibit in a local art show.

 

© Erin McGrath and Needlepointland.com, 2012 – 2016.

Mar9

Mary Antrim, Mary Antrim

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Stitched by Erin

So I was browsing through the Gothamist to keep up with recent news in the Big Apple and came upon this.

$1.07 million for a canvas by a schoolgirl.  Okay, so she stitched it as a sampler two centuries ago, but still.

A thousand large, as they say in Jersey.

Frankly, I was blown away.  Forget the canvas.  Just think of all those lovely zeroes.

And what impressed me, most of all, was that Nice Man dealer priming the pump with all this business about how it stands out as a unique folk art statement.

Absolutely.

It totally does.

Got me thinking, though.

Why, I’ve got a piece right here:   It’s charmingly folkoric, it’s old (I think it may be one of my pieces from the turn of the century), it’s watermarked, and it’s available!

But only for that special sap, I mean person, who feels he or she must grossly overpay for an embroidered canvas that almost anyone who reads this blog can stitch in under a week.

And the beauty of it all is that you can have it at the reduced price of only $100,000 + shipping.

Offer only good till Sunday.

Additional stitcher prep charges may apply…

And the best part is, if it’s gone by the time you call, don’t worry:  there’s tons more in my dusty attic where that came from.

Think I’ll call that dealer fellow now, pronto.

ps.  Demi Lune sold separately, if I can find one quick at the flea market, er, the local On Consignment outfit.

© Erin McGrath and Needlepointland.com, 2012 – 2016.

Mar5

New York, New York

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dede

Just received a very moody-looking canvas back from the framer.  It is a design called City Lights, by dede, which I did in a multi-stitch pattern for a class.

It so reminded me of NY, as I was stitching it.  I picture it as being dusk, and all the office lights are still on, as everyone is getting ready to go home, and the city that never sleeps unfolds into another beautiful evening.

I’m looking forward to being in Manhattan again next month, and of course will visit my wonderful needlepoint friends at Rita’s and Annie’s, here, and also here.

Look for pics during that visit!

© Erin McGrath and Needlepointland.com, 2012 – 2016.