Pat had been an avid cross-stitcher for 20 years, and was looking for a challenge. She had always liked small count material, working most of her cross stitch from a chart on 30-plus-count fabric over one thread. While visiting a needlework shop (120 miles away, which is the closest to her town) she saw a piece of 40-count silk gauze, and had found her challenge. Searching for a chart for 40-count is not easy, as there can be no half stitches, no backstitching, and the pattern must be LARGE - the poppies pattern suggested 11-gauge canvas for a finished 27" by 36" picture. When converted to the silk gauze, the picture would be 6"by 8". Pat soon realized that a full cross stitch with one ply of floss crowded the gauze, so she tried a half stitch, recognized this as needlepoint tent stitch - and became a needlepointer!

Poppies is her second such piece, and the third is in progress. Pat likes the photographic look of the finished picture. As she is a senior stitcher, she used a magnifying lamp for this work. "Poppies" took six months to complete, working 350 to 400 stitches per day. This piece was first exhibited at The Woodlawn Plantation in 1998, where it won first place in canvas work, the Pop-Leighy Award, and Popular Choice. In 1999 it earned The Favorite at the NAN Exhibit in West Virginia, and finally was awarded the Princess Grace Award in Atlanta.