This week I mentioned the Nordic Santa piece by As You Like It that set off a stampede of stitchers who wanted that design for their very own.
http://www.needlepoint.org/WhatIs/1998/Legler.php
There are other designs that were equally popular which also set off a shopping frenzy. I thought it would be fun to list the ones I remember and ask readers to post the ones they remember being wildly popular. I'm curious just what these pieces have in common, if anything.
The first "Best Seller" I remember learning about was Marnie Ritter's plate series. These designs were featured in the new defunct Needlepoint News/Needlepoint Plus magazine. You can find these on eBay still and Marnie continues to publish new charted designs in Needlepoint Now magazine. I love these designs and have the original Aurora Borealis kit in my stash. You can see it as well as one of the other plate designs here.
http://www.needleart.org/LAA/Ritter.php
Here's Marnie's website, by the way. Although the older plate designs aren't listed, I think you can probably still charm her into kitting some of them up for you.
http://www.mritter.com/
The other counted canvaswork designs that set up a buying frenzy every time a pattern shows up on eBay are the mystery designs by Loretta Spears. Here is a prize winner from the 2001 ANG Seminar Exhibit. I'm sorry, but I don't remember which mystery this was.
http://www.needlepoint.org/WhatIs/2001/fascination.php
Libby Sturdy's Wine Country Santa was also a big hit. Libby's pieces are line drawn canvases that come with instructions. You have to supply the threads. To see Wine Country Santa (Libby says it put both her kids through college), click on Products on the left, and then browse the list of titles. Click and there you go!
http://www.justlibbydesigns.com/
SharonG set off a storm when she introduced her Tuscan landscape series several years back. You can see them all by working your way through four pages of her Landscape and Abstract designs on her website.
http://www.sharong.com/catalog/landscape/index.html
The same thing happened when Melissa Shirley introduced her Wild Women designs. She continues to add to the series. There are even some Wild Men included now!
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/gallery/?cat=64
Recently, Leigh Designs' Floozies (aided by stitch guides and thread packets from ThreadworX) have been wildly popular.
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp489x.html
Ok, now your turn. What designs do you remember taking the Needlepoint World by storm?
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow
