I learned to needlepoint using Paternayan wool and Appleton crewel. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that Paternayan wool would become hard to find! But that is the case now. I've seen several announcements from shops in the last year that they are no longer going to stock Paternayan because it is impossible to get from the supplier. So they are switching to another brand of Persian wool. It's a sad day. Nothing makes more durable rugs or furniture upholstery than Paternayan. I hate to think that eBay and personal stashes are gong to be the only places to get Paternayan soon.
Several shops are trying to step into the breach and stockpile Paternayan, particularly for churches that started kneeler projects only to find that the background or other colors they need impossible to find. I know Needlewoman East and Hunt Country Yarns are two of those shops. If you know of more, or if your local shop seems to have a good stock of Paternayan, please tell us in the Comments. You can also email me at chilly hollow at hot mail dot com and I'll post a Comment for you. Here is contact information for Liz at NW East and Bob at Hunt Country.
http://www.theneedlewomaneast.com/Welcome.html
http://www.skeins.com/
This posting was prompted by a message on Janet Perry's website talking about the differences in Paternayan yarn over the years. Apparently now the three plies of a strand are now all the same size. Accepted knowledge when I taught myself needlepoint a very long time ago was that the strands were all slightly different in diameter. I can't say I could ever tell much difference myself, but perhaps I am not a noticing type of stitcher. Anyway, here is what Janet has to say. You may find it helpful if you are trying to use Paternayan from two sources and see a difference in the ply sizes.
http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com/paternayan-persian-wool-old-new
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
10 comments:
Jane, Three other shops that have Paternayan and swap among themselves are: Needle Nicely in Vero Beach, The First and Last Stitch in St. Louis and The Studio in Kansas City.
However, hope is in sight. The "word on the street" is that an announcement is eminent concerning the future of JCA. The announcement is to happen this next week just before the TNNA market. All fingers and toes are crossed that the supply problems will be a thing of the past.
Mary Agnes
Gosh, Mary Agnes, I hope you are right! Paternayan is a wonderful wool and one I would really hate to lose. Thanks also for adding to the list of shops that are keeping as much in stock as possible. Do let me know if you hear anything else, OK? I'll keep my ears out for word here but you are likely to hear before I do.
Jane, waving with crossed fingers from CH
When I owned a shop in the late 80's the Paternayan strands were definitely different sizes. There were a noticeable three sizes involved and we all stitched by pulling the middle size (Momma Bear) out and laying it aside to match with another middle piece. Poppa Bear and Baby Bear were matched with each other. Thus we created two-thread stitching needle fulls that were equal in diameter. Talk about remembrance of things past!
Just heard from The Needle Bug (www.theneedlebug.com) that they are discontinuing their Paternayan and it's on sale. Check this out if you are in the market--
http://theneedlebug.com/2012/01/persian-wool-paternayan/
So sorry to hear about Paternayan! I just had a baby and wanted to start the 4th generation of Christmas Stockings for our family (all using Paternayan 970, 699, and 261). I cannot find it anywhere! My Grandmother started the tradition 30 years ago. It really was the best yarn. I hope the Churches that are mid-projects are able to find enough for their stocks.
~ Ginger, New Orleans, LA
Ginger, I am sorry that you are going to have problems with your new stocking. Have you tried asking folks on the ANG email list? They might be able to help. Here's how to sign up. Sorry, you will have to copy/paste this address in a browser window. I can't make links in Comments clickable.
http://www.needlepoint.org/MailingList.php
We recently acquired a large number of 8 yard Patternayan skeins as a result of our purchase of the JCA dye facility in Pepperell/Townsend, MA. It appears to be the newer yarn with similar sized strands (3 plys of 2 ply yarn). We would be interesting in selling all the skeins as a single lot once we get them catalogued over the next 4-6 weeks (probably 2-3000 skeins). Price is negotiable. We currently own the rights to Patternayan and once the dye house is operating in Maine (hopefully, late this summer), we are considering reproducing the yarn as before. We are considering importing New Zealand wool (as with the original) for the new production. I am currently working with two commercial spinning mills to manufacture the yarn strands and do the plying. We would definitely be interested in your comments and perceived needs. My contact is:: ken@suripaco.com
Thank you for the update, Ken. Do you mind if I republish this in a new article on Blog so that folks can see it? I'll email you privately about this and see what you think.
I would be thrilled to see Paternayan being produced again and would definitely try to get the word out... what has become of this venture since today is January 17th 2013? Did operations begin again as Ken stated? thanks, an avid Paternayan user... Chris
Chris, as far as I know things are on track. The new version of Paternayan is supposed to be introduced to the shops at the big TNNA show in early February. (It's usually in January but not this year.) Until the shops see it and place and order and the orders start coming in, we won't know what it is like. Stay tuned!
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