As a needlepoint designer, it’s impossible to pick my favorite canvas I’ve ever designed. I just couldn’t do it! I’ve always tried to bring a lot of heart to my designs. I thought it would be fun to take a little stroll down memory lane and give you all more of a peek behind the curtain as to what inspired different collections.
As a needlepoint designer, it’s impossible to pick my favorite canvas I’ve ever designed. I just couldn’t do it!
I’ve always tried to bring a lot of heart to my designs. It’s informed by different times in my life, different things that were going on. My childhood, favorite books, travels and many adventures. I thought it would be fun to take a little stroll down memory lane and give you all more of a peek behind the curtain as to what inspired different collections.
One of my favorite series in the Stitch Style line is the Christmas Forest Needlepoint Collection. I painted this collection after I found out we were expecting a baby! I wanted to design something for him, that was influenced by this new exciting chapter we were starting.
The design process all started with the mom and baby deer. That was the first piece to emerge in the series. They’re not really “reindeer” in the typical way they are depicted for Christmas- but are more deer you would find in a forest. They remind me of the deer we had in our yard in both Connecticut and Colorado. I didn’t know if we were having a little boy or girl at the time, so the baby deer felt like it worked for either gender, nestled up next to their mom.
After designing the first piece the others fell into place fairly quickly after that. I obviously needed to design a father deer to go with the group, and I knew I’d need a big backdrop to tie together the rest of the pieces, so the Christmas tree was next on the list.
A lot of the next decisions were heavily informed by practical matters. I’d need pieces of several different sizes to fit together. I added a second “couple”- the fox family. A peaceful owl, and two tiny additions- the squirrel and the baby bunny. Truth be told, this was an intensely lonely time in my life, and I was so grateful to have this project to pour my energy into.
After James was born, I had the opportunity to revisit the series. Several close friends and family asked me if he was going to get a Christmas stocking. Initially, I’d planned on stitching him something that was already on the market. (I probably would have picked something by my dear friend Joanna who owns The Plum Stitchery). But after a little “peer pressure”- which I’m honestly really glad I got- I decided to revisit the Christmas Forest collection for his stocking.
The animals felt whimsical enough they were perfect for a small child, but not so juvenile that he would outgrow his stocking as an adult. I reworked the designs slightly to scale them for 13 count canvas, knowing I did not want to stitch an 18 count Christmas stocking. But it was a relatively easy adjustment!
I just recently received the finished stocking back in the mail from my friends at KC Needlepoint. I asked them to add a tassel and bell, and this small tag that I charted. It’s finished as a hardback ornament with an extra long cording loop, so it can be removed or tucked inside if we choose. I love that it has a special extra signature and message from mom.
You can find a chart for that design here.
You can also find a chart for the script that I designed for the name.
I love the original series, but I love his Christmas stocking even more! I’m so delighted he has a special keepsake that was made just for him with lots and lots of love from his mom.
Should you want to stitch your own forest stand ups, you can find them for sale here. You can also find our Christmas Forest Stocking for sale online by clicking here.
As always, thank you for reading along, and for your support.
Xo- Jinny
