My all time favorite needlepoint book is Sylvia Sidney's, lovingly described here with wonderful photos of her stitching and photographs of her in various acting roles. The writer didn't mention the pug needlepoints were studies for the pillow that she stitched for the Duchess of Windsor.
http://shewasabird.blogspot.com/2011/03/sylvia-sidneys-needlepoint-1968.html
You can see that pug pillow down at the bottom of the page, 4th photo from the bottom. See the date and the initials SS? That stands for Sylvia Sidney and the date the pillow was stitched, not the dog's birth and death dates. You can see a pencil drawing of this pillow in Sylvia's book but she was too discrete to show the actual pillow. I always wondered what that pillow fetched at Sotheby's when the Duke and Duchesss' things were sold at auction and now I know.
http://www.interiordesignhound.com/2011/08/02/royal-hounds-the-duke-duchess-of-windsor-pack-of-dogs-a-pug-story/
Mary Martin's book on needlepoint is also good but I prefer Sylvia's.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/43756235/mary-martins-needlepoint-vintage
Needlepoint books in the early 1970s were often more personality than charts and diagrams. Personality was what counted then, not how to do a complex stitch. How I wish we had a few books like these today! Not that I don't appreciate all the stitch dictionaries available to us but I miss glimpses of lives where needlepoint played a part.
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
9 comments:
I have both books and love to flip through them every so often. I also have Celebrity Needlepoint - interviews with celebrities who needlepoint (Betty White, Joan Fontain and many more). A '70's collection but so much fun to read. Loretta Switt wrote a book about needlepoint, too but I've never been able to find a copy.
Just had to comment on this. I totally agree with you that the books were more about personalities. A friend commented to me about gardening books. First we need all the "how to.". Once the skills are developed, we turn to information about the why - gets into the authors head about why a garden was developed a certain way or why a canvas was stitched a certain way.
I love the Mary Martin book. Many of her ideas I used: cotton thread on summer pillows (when wool was the only other choice). I also did a sampler type canvas similar to hers with scenes from plays. Mine was high school memories for a friend when we graduated. I could go on and on. Thanks for bringing back the memories Jane. Btw, another book of that time was one by Louis Gardner.
I actually bought both the Mary Martin and Sylvia Sidnay books in the 70's and still have them. I agree - Sylvia's book is my favorite. She was actually a pretty good artist, and did some innovative things (for the times) like combining gros point and petit point and using a few different stitches.
"I miss glimpses of lives where needlepoint played a part."
Amen to that
Mary Martin's book was charming. I loved her rug story and was amazed that she insisted on manicures so she could use silks. At that point I'd never even SEEN silk threads! Louis Gardner's two books (I think there were only two) are beautiful but somehow they seem more staged, perhaps because of his interest in interior design. I've seen the Loretta Switt book and it was ok, just not my style. It turns up on eBay occasionally.
My mom purchased a Sylvia Sidney needlepoint kit many decades ago (in the 1970's, I think...Monarch Butterfly. This link is to an August 1971 article introducing Ms. Sidney's kits...the butterfly is on the left in the photo accompanying the article: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19710801&id=andPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PgUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5741,4640291. My mom didn't "take" to needlepoint (she does other types of needlework), so I got it and I have so taken it for granted, as the finished pillow sits on a chest at the top of my stairs, I see it every day. I will definitely look at it in a new light now!
And I do have the Loretta Swit book. It isn't exactly my style either, but I'm a huge M*A*S*H TV show fan, so I like reading her stories of the show and cast members.
Thanks very very much, Wendy! What a great story. Hope you enjoy the history behind your butterfly kit.
I just found a Sylvia Sidney Needlepoint Book at a Thrift Store this morning. I am so taken with the picture on the jacket of a frog on a toadstool in the forest....and I am wondering if anyone knows if her patterns are for sale anywhere? Thank.
MM, as far as I know she never sold commercial patterns. You might be able to reproduce it from any drawings she did, however. I can't remember if she did outlines for this in her book. It's very charming and detailed, I do remember that!
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