Comments : 27

Good Friday morning……woo hoo, it’s the end of the week and this little elf is quite happy about that. Last night we saw Kevin James (huge fan of the show King of Queens) and he was one funny guy, a nice way to break up a week.

I am ready for some weekend fun and relaxation. How about you? Talk about ending the week with a bang. Today I am really excited to introduce to you a newer sponsor, Lycette Designs. You would have to be hiding under a ginger jar to not know of the explosion and popularity of needlepoint. Let’s just say-  this is most certainly  not your grannies hobby anymore:)

That said, to me, needlepoint has always had a place, whether it’s a pair of elegant needlepoint slippers by Stubbs and Wooton or a cheeky needlepoint pillow by so many top designers as of late….it has always had a place and  been an ode to timeless elegance and great style. So if you are looking for a new hobby that doesn’t involve expending unnecessary brain power and pushing buttons on a screen, you have come to the right place:)

Besides being hugely popular and undeniably beautiful, it is something just about anyone can learn and do. Needlepoint is totally trending  and Lycette shows you needlepoint in the most stylish way imaginable inspired by Palm Beach and timeless other elegant references like Staffordshire and Foo dogs.The designs are fun, whimsical, beautiful and classic all rolled into one beautiful package.

I am always inspired by creative types and of course a fellow woman who pursues a dream purely based on passion and instinct and finds success doing it,  is a story worth sharing and Jessica is indeed an example to follow. She is a  poster child for being able to make a career out of something your truly love doing.

I was fortunate enough to be able to have a short interview with Jessica who is the inspiring force behind Lycette . Hear what she has to say and enjoy the gorgeous pictures of her work along the way.  Take it away Jessica and welcome to the world of Lycette………

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into this business?

I grew up in South Florida in the school year, and Vermont during the summer. Weekends and summers were spent competitively show jumping. In fact, it was at a horseshow that I began needlepointing. My mother needlepointed throughout my childhood, so I was familiar with the hobby but it wasn’t until a horseshow in Atlanta that I decided to begin needlepointing.

Needlepoint provided the perfect way to destress before a showjumping class, and still allowed my type A personality to feel like I was accomplishing something.
Fast forward eight or nine years and I was in college working part-time at The Point of It All, a needlepoint shop in Washington, DC.

I adored the needlepoint community and the hobby so immensely that I decided to stay and manage the store during my first year out of college. Managing The Point of It All fully immersed me in the needlepoint industry. I learned about every aspect of needlepoint, including owning a small business. I knew I wanted to be involved in the needlepoint industry; however, I was not fond of grey DC winters.

I moved back to sunny Florida and decided to start, Lycette. I had originally planned to open a store in my hometown, but felt overwhelmed by being tied to a physical location. So, I decided to enter the needlepoint market in a different aspect- as a designer of wholesale needlepoint. I packed up my paints, and headed to my mother’s house in Vermont where I designed Lycette’s first collection. After six months I returned down south, set up Lycette in my house, The Pink Bungalow, and began selling to the trade. I am proud that in less than a year Lycette is carried in over 70 needlepoint stores nationwide and online!

What are your inspirations when creating a new design?

I design based on what I would like to see in the market. Luckily, my taste isn’t too esoteric, so needlepointers enjoy the designs. I am typically inspired by florals, bright colors, and staples of traditional interior design like Staffordshire Dogs and Foo Dogs. However, my favorite thing to design is cheeky needlepoint sayings. I am highly inspired by all things sassy and irreverent. Life is short, laugh!

 

Do you work with or create custom designs?

I can help create custom designs through one’s local needlepoint shop. However, due to a deluge of orders from trunk shows, it will be a few months before I can help a customer create their dream needlepoint canvas.

What do you think has ignited such a renewed interest in needlepoint? It seems to be all the rage!

I always find it funny when I hear that needlepoint is “trendy.” I grew up with needlepoint, and was always enamored with it. Even at my high school, St. Andrew’s, it was “cool” to needlepoint and wear needlepoint accessories. In fact, the most admired piece of my wardrobe was my needlepoint monogrammed sandals.

However, I do see a renewed interest in needlepoint on social media. I believe this is because needlepoint offers an escape from technology, needlepoint is meditative, and needlepoint allows the stitcher to create something custom, their own couture pillow or ornament or handbag. Plus, needlepoint is beautiful, elegant, and timeless! What’s not to love?

 

What is the average age of your customer?

A lady never reveals her customer’s age, kidding! My customers are of all ages, contrary to the “granny” stigma of needlepoint. However, most of them are mid 20s and older. The highest quality needlepoint canvases are hand painted, making them expensive. Thus it is hard to afford the hobby when you are starting out in your early 20s and do not have disposable income. When I was in my early 20s I counteracted this conundrum by working at a needlepoint shop, and securing a hefty discount. Where there is a will there is a way!

Here is stylish Jessica “doing her thing”….

Come on, spill the beans, how hard is it to learn?

Learning to needlepoint is not hard at all! When people approach me about learning to needlepoint I always compare needlepoint to paint by numbers, but with thread. In needlepoint you simply cover each color with the corresponding thread color. Believe me, if it was difficult I would not do it! I tend to partake in hobbies that you can do while watching tv or drinking a glass of wine. I have priorities!

If someone who has never done this before, wants to give it a go….what is the best way to go about this?

They should google their local needlepoint shop, and pop in! I know it can be intimidating to walk into a needlepoint shop, but the industry is always excited to welcome new stitchers.

At the needlepoint shop I would ask for a 13 mesh canvas (biggers holes), not too large, with two or three colors. I would purchase DMC cotton, it is around $1.50 a skein. Although a lot of shops encourage stitching on frames, I never work on one, and I think it can be intimidating and difficult to hold on your first piece. Remember to keep your first piece as simple as possible!

A M A Z I N G!!! I am enamored with the entire concept and Jessica makes it look so darn easy, fun and not at all intimidating! What a beautiful take she has on this time honored hobby. I completely agree with you Jessica as to one of the reasons for its resurgence is that it’s a wonderful escape from a sometimes maddening, frenetic paced world of technology and being plugged in 24/7. The older I get, the more I need and require an escape.

I think I may need to try my hand at this, (once I find out how to add more than 24 hours to my day) you have me intrigued and fascinated. Love Lycette’s take on needlepoint, elevating it to the most beautiful and stylish level. Thank you Jessica for also telling us “mere wanna needlepointers” what we should walk into a needlepoint shop asking for, this way we can walk in with a little swagger as though we know “the lingo”.

Click here to find out more and tell me what you think about needlepoint. Do you already do it? Curious to give it a try? Visiting Lycette is a great start! You can follow Jessica via her shop site, her blog and of course it’s great fun to see what she is up to via Instagram.

Thank you Jessica for sharing your beautiful world of needlepoint with us and to all who stopped by. Wishing everyone a wonderful day and end to your week.

Cheers to needlepoint and the weekend (not the singer) lol, but the relaxing two days we have ahead! But I hope “The Weekend” has  a great weekend too:)

PS Be sure you have thrown your name in the hat for the $250 Horchow giveaway, (will announce a winner on Sunday) Click here to enter.

 

 

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These are beautiful, Tina, and I can’t get over the attention to detail in each design…amazing! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I have needle pointed since I was a young girl. First ,after people admired mine, I needle pointed monogrammed canvases for straw purses for extra spending money. All through my early married years I made baby gifts for friends and my own children. I have put it down in the last couple of years but her beautiful designs are making me want to pick it up again! Her designs are lovely! I love her cute sassy sayings and the Florida vibe of her colors, where I grew up , warm my heart!

Absolutely beautiful designs, and brings back fond memories. My grandmother taught me how to needlepoint, and I’m blessed with treasures she created. I quilt now, instead of needlepoint, but have decorated my home with many needlepoint accents. Lycette’s designs would fit right in, and may act as an inspiration to start needlepoint again!

This has spurned a renewed interest….I need to pull out my needlepoint bag and finish some old canvases. It is very relaxing to have something in your lap. This kept me happily busy when I was a train commuter years ago.

I have needlepointed since I was a teenager, and I have always done designs like English horse scenes (we had Arabian show horses), Asian designs, etc. I am working on one right now with a cobalt blue background with a
horse jumping a fence, as well as one with a black background with an Asian woman in a kimono with blue and red flowers. As I have gotten older, it is harder to see to petit point the faces (it just takes longer). My BIG project in college was a bell pull that is 6 feet long. It resides in my home now (good thing I have 12 foot ceilings). My dog is entranced by the bell at the bottom and paws at it to hear it ring! My house is full of needlepoint pillows with gorgeous trim (some came from Enchanted Home).

I used to needlepoint, until I started knitting and that took over my extra time. I did enjoy the needle pointing and it was an easy thing to take along to kids sporting events, car trips, etc.

I have needlepointed since I was in my early twenties. I used to work at Deux Amis, which at the time was the Bentley of needlepoint. These new designs are delightful – fresh, beautiful and irreverent. No wonder Lynette is such a resounding success. Thank you for introducing us to her.

Thanks for sharing this wonderful source for out of the ordinary tasty needlepoint.
I started needlepointing in my early twenties but it intensified in my thirties when I lived in Hong Kong and I was inspired by Barbara Bush who made a needlepoint rug while living in Japan. I was also traveling a great deal for my fashion industry job and needlepoint made long flights pleasurable since we were then without the benefits of todays entertainment options on board planes.
My home is full of blue and white needlepoint including pillows, framed pieces and even a tufted stool. I am always looking for unusual design interpretations that can be stitched. My latest needlepoint focus is unusual shells.
Needlepoint is my safe haven and it keeps me sane. It has been a wonderful friend to me over the years.

Totally agree with Lucy! I’ve been needlepointing for over 40 years and I cannot stop because it too is my therapy. I do a little bit everyday and have ended up with making loads of pillows, stool covers, tree Ornaments, and framed pieces. I love the feeling of tranquility, as well as “making something” for a friend, especially in this age of disposables we live in. Thank you so much for introducing us to Lynette. I love Jessica’s work!

Hi, Tina! We have several needlepoint pillows in our “fox hunt” room, and they add a nice touch of texture. We also have a pair of nutcracker ones that I love putting out at Christmas. Wish I could say that I created them. For those of us that don’t have that talent, here is the name of a great source of many needlepoint pillows: Richard Rothstein Classic Interiors in Mt. Laurel, NJ.

Thanks for the flashback! My first introduction to needlepoint was thru a family I babysat for in Newport Beach. My first screen was bought at Jebba in Corona del Mar. I smile fondly every time I pass the store. Amazing designs!!!! Thank you for sparking my interest to bring out some unfinished projects (like my daughter’s Tallit bag from her Batmitzvah-she is now 30 :(( ). Perfect to take on our Hawaii trip next month!!! Surf & Screen.

Actually, today is not Good Friday. That’s next week, part of the Easter Triduum (the Great Three Days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Even).

The needlepoint pieces are lovely!

I worked for Hyla Hurley, the original owner of THE POINT OF IT ALL. It was a very special place to work … through working there I made several life long friends. The creativity of the artists that paint the canvases and the stitchers that turn them into treasures to be enjoyed and passed down made the job so much fun.
My next canvas is going to be a hand-painted design by Jessica.
Thank you for the inspiration.

My mother and her sisters could do everything well – sew, cook, knit needlepoint, and all were/are perfectionists, so their needlepoint pillows looked machine made.
Needlepoint is not difficult, you just have to relax and get the tension correct. It’s the perfect thing to do whether you’re travelling in a car or on a plane. I’d start with a fun eyeglass case canvas if this is your first project, or perhaps a zebra or leopard pattern for a pillow front where, as suggested above, only 2-3 colors are used. Breaks my heart when I see the gorgeous hand-done vintage pillows that are dropped off at our VNA Rummage sale, often when family are clearing out a house, but have (hopefully) given several a good home! My favorites, though, are two larger pillows I picked up online, velvet-backed with wonderful fringe, two different ‘Dogs at Poker’ pillows. Colors are muted, will be going in my hubby’s study.
So nice to see pretty designs being released, and continued success to Lycette!

I’ve been needlepointing for over 35 years, and love, love, love it!!! Over half of the pictures in my home are needlepoint scenes. I tend to favor florals and landscapes, but like to see all designs. I am thrilled to see you have this wonderful site as a sponsor; it will be another place to browse for ideas, thoughts and to see what she is doing at the moment. Thank you for highlighting this wonderful and beautiful pastime that I have so enjoyed. It truly is a wonderful hobby and easy to learn-even the different types of stitches. I hope you give it a try! It is timeless.

I am a needlepoint fanatic. Been that way since I began needlepointing as a young girl. I love Elizabeth Bradley’s designs and Ehrman kits, both from England. It CAN become an expensive hobby, especially if you get into the wonderful hand painted designs. I am teaching my new daughter in law, who has just moved here from Indonesia, to needlepoint. It’s a wonderful hobby to share. Thank you for this post!

I’ve been needlepointing since I was in high school, when my then-boyfriend’s mother taught it to me. I’ve enjoyed it ever since (and that has been for the last 35 years!). It’s very relaxing and, as you mentioned, a great way to unplug from the crazy world of technology and just channel your thoughts on something quiet. Thanks for sharing Jessica’s work with us!

I have been needlepointing for over fifty years. The best and cheapest way to get started is to purchase a blank
piece of canvas, choose a pattern from a cross stitch book, DMC cotton thread in the recommended colors using a needlepoint stitch instead of a cross stitch. I usually do the background in a solid color using different patterned stitches. This is a simple way to test the waters to see how much you enjoy the craft before investing in the beautiful hand painted canvases and wool yarns. So look forward to your blog each day.

I am constantly amazed Tina to the thought and generous design styles new and old that you bring to your readers.

Needlepoint brings back memories of the Mother Goose I needlepointed for my daughter over 30 years ago with her birthdate and name –

I am inspired to try my hand again at it again, thank you for your sharing your design knowledge and bringing such fabulous artist’s like Jessica, our way –
Jenny

Hi Tina, what beautiful things. I love her style and all the design motifs/sayings are so pretty and fun. I started to needlepoint when I was on bedrest being pregnant for my son about 15 years ago. A friend brought over an entire kit who was an avid fan and it was one of the nicest things someone did for me during those long months pretty much being confined to the house. It really did help me focus on something other than having to be confined to bed rest.
There is a wonderful store called A Stitch in Time here in San Marino, CA and I still go in there from time to time. I even took a class last year to brush up on my skills.
I am happy but not surprised to see it being so popular again. I do agree that it is very likely due to our overly “plugged in” culture and I think we all need a respite from it. Needlepointing is the perfect answer. Hope you have a nice weekend, thank you for sharing Lycette with us.

I have been doing needlepoint since the early 70’s in college. Going to definitely check out her site! Thank you!

I too began needlepointing in my twenties. My sister, mom and I created pillows, several framed pictures of “vintage” furniture, etc. Mom no longer can do needlepoint due to her vision, but I cherish the beautiful cosmetic bags she made for us. I didn’t realize that there was a renewed interest…maybe it’s time I revisit my unfinished projects and begin again. Thanks for the inspiration!

I too have been needlepointing since my teens and have created many beloved pieces, including a magical Christmas wreath featuring children from around the world. It’s the perfect break from our high tech, high stress world! Thanks for telling us about Lycette.

Thanks Tina for showing these beautiful designs. Needlepointing kept me sane and most importantly silent during long boring faculty meetings for the 30 yrs I taught public school. Many of my pieces and materials came from my trips to Scotland. Thanks for bringing us such beautiful things. JUDY

I’m here in Palm Beach and I am a needlepointer forever. Have lots of family in CA so I was a customer of Needlepoint Inc. in San Francisco and Old World Designs in Menlo Park. Just saw Lynda Mendenhall (Old World). She told me I must stop by your shop. Will do!!! Excited to have you here!!!

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