Why do we love needlepoint? Why do we choose to express our creativity in this medium instead of another?  Is it simply because we love fondling the threads and delighting in the visual cornucopia of textures and colors?  Is it the designs, both representational and geometric, that fascinate us? Or is there something else that draws us to this grid-based art form? 

It is my belief that we are drawn to the stitch patterns, the endless combinations of stitch groupings that fill and form the designs we adore.  How we choose to utilize this framework, the grid, is what determines whether or not our finished design “works” - i.e., does it communicate an idea, evoke an emotional response, and maintain the viewer’s interest at a distance as well as inspire the viewer to look more closely at the intricate details we have embedded in the patterning.  The stitch patterns we use must be chosen with care, so they relate to the subject matter, fit the scale of the spaces they are filling, and vary in placement, orientation and color.  Without variations, our patterns, and therefore our designs, become static and uninspiring. Fortunately, our organization, The American Needlepoint Guild, encourages us to treat our passion as Textile Art by offering design and color classes, by hiring teachers with demonstrated skills in creating projects that effectively use design and color principles, and more topically, by supporting an annual exhibit to showcase our efforts. It is this annual exhibit that I have been asked to write about, and my chosen focus for the “2010 What is Needlepoint?” review is the effective use of patterning as executed by the ribbon winners from the Original category, thereby limiting my comments to entries where the exhibitors are solely responsible for the creative process from concept to completion. While I would love to review every ribbon winner from the 2010 exhibit, including the other categories would require untold hours of conferencing with each entrant to analyze which decisions were made by the original design artists and which were made by the stitching artists. Limiting my scope to the Original entry category avoids that hurdle and allows me the freedom to discuss those I have selected in more detail.

Category 1 - Original

Non-Professional

All three ribbon winners in this category created symmetric geometrics that converge in the center of the design, forming a central square motif. The challenge when designing these block shaped geometrics is to keep the viewer’s eye moving from area to area and to have a few “pleasant surprises” that are only discovered upon closer examination.

102NP 1^st Lee Ann Estep, “Sea Dreams”

“Sea Dreams” features several effective stitch patterns that draw the viewer from the border into the center as well as carry the eye around the perimeter. The muted blue-green color scheme communicates the feeling of water and the selected stitch patterns create wave-like movement.

1. Lines and patterns:

• Diamonds and Squares are the dominant patterns.
• Diagonal stripes are secondary patterns.

2. Pattern Repetition:

• Diagonal striped areas in the four corners point to the center.
• Diagonal orientation of the small stitches in the squares point to the center and create the impression of diagonal lines.
• Border pattern repeats both diagonals.
• Pearl placement creates a visual path to follow around the design and recreates both diamond and square frames.
• Horizontal and vertical rectangles repeat just inside the external border and around the primary internal square, repeating the impression of a frame three times when counted with the external border.
• Smooth diagonal stitch lines created by the diagonal blue stripes in the four corner quadrants repeat in the zigzag border.
• Areas of Visual Rest (muted diamond areas, light blue diamonds within the diagonal stripe areas) and areas of textural, stitch complexity (squares, rectangles) repeat and are balanced.
• Odd number of small squares with stitch patterns that create an “X”. There are a total of 9, counting the center square.

3. Variation for Interest:

• Overdyed threads on the border keep the eye moving to find repeats in the colors and break up the muted diamond shapes in the interior so they appear to undulate like water.
• Diagonal stripe patterns are oriented to bisect the outside corners where this area meets the border, but the stripes meet the internal squares along the horizontal or vertical sides of the squares. This keeps the internal squares from being visually anchored to the stripes but connects the border to the diagonal striped areas. As a result, the framed diamond motif seems to float above the diagonal lines but is still anchored to the design where it meets the external border.
• Diagonal stripe patterns appear to be four-way mirror images but they are not. This subtle rotation enhances the feeling of movement.
• The smooth diagonal stitch lines are all executed in overdyed threads, but the border features a more complex color scheme with one journey in blues and the other in greens while the internal diagonal lines are only worked in blues.
• Varied sizes and types of squares that feature pearl centers add interest and unity to the design.
• Four corner squares in the external border relate well to the four middle area squares and most importantly to the central square, but only the smaller squares have a “bull’s eye” pearl.
• Two sized of pearls fill the centers of all but the center square. The design would have become static had a pearl been placed in the very center of the design, thereby “trapping” the viewer in this vortex as well as creating only one place where pearls were that close together. Instead, the pearls enhance the overall design and further evoke the notion of “Sea Dreams”.

106NP 2^nd Emily Caneer, “Meeting Inspiration”

“Meeting Inspiration” features a variety of straight-edged patterns that are created primarily by thread colors and secondarily by stitches. The dynamic combination of the complementary color scheme of red-violet and yellow-green expanded by the cool colors of green, blue and violet create a celebratory feeling, and the composition takes the viewer on a rotating visual journey similar to watching a moving pinwheel.

1. Lines and patterns:

• Squares and stripes are the dominant patterns.
• Circles and diagonals are the secondary patterns.
• Triangles and squares cut in half on the diagonal are tertiary patterns.

2. Pattern Repetition:

• Bisected squares and multiple narrow frames contain the design and draw the eye toward the center.
• Blue and purple stripes of Mosaic, Cashmere and Tent Stitch connect the middle square to the outer borders.
• Monochrome stripes of Mosaic Stitches surround the primary internal square.
• Subtle green on green stripes in the four diagonal lime green and purple rectangles create pathways that rotate in position and point the viewer to the adjacent areas.
• Strong green stripes superimposed on the blue and white patterned background of the center square create a bold center and repeat the diagonal orientation of the lime green diagonal stitch areas in the other quadrants.
• Four small but strong blue diagonal lines bisecting the lime green triangle stripes in the center square repeat the larger four blue bars of chevron stitches that bisect the middle ground of the design.
• Blocks of nine circles anchor each corner and subtle smaller circles fill the very center of the Amadeus Stitches.
• Coiled metallic threads and Bullion Knots evoke circles in higher relief textures.
• Diagonal stripes created by over-dyed threads surround the blocks of circles.
• Diagonal stripes created by Ribbon Floss angle out from the center square in chevrons but are visually stopped by a final Cross Stitch.
• Thin diagonal arrowhead stitch lines of yellow green in the middle area connect the yellow green corners to the central square.

3. Variation for Interest:

• A variegated thread that provides the color palette for this design is used in three distinct places: around the outside border, as corners on two sides of the nine-circle blocks, and for the Rhodes Stitch frame of the central square.
• The orientation of the variegated thread stitches on the corners of the nine-circle blocks varies as the design rotates which leads the viewer around the design.
• Allowing the variegated thread to feature the thread colors as they appear instead of manipulating them to appear in regular patterns or positions continues the feeling of rotating movement.
• A second variegated thread is used to create the nine-circles in each corner. This thread is also allowed to present the varied colors as they appear from the skein further enhancing the design.
• The variety of patterns and colors creates excitement and movement while integrating all of the elements into an inspired mosaic.

101NP 3^rd Lee Ann Estep, “Tile: A Mosaic Sampler”

“Tile: A Mosaic Sampler” is a subdued and harmonious concert of patterns in blues and greens. Neither static nor bombastic, the design quietly lures the viewer to study the stitch patterns and enjoy the balance created by the repeated use of Golden Rectangles and their corresponding squares.

1. Lines and Patterns:

• Squares and Golden Rectangles are the dominant patterns
• Golden Spirals as represented by the reduction in stitch size and values within the squares of each Golden Rectangle are the secondary patterns

According to Wikipedia: “A golden rectangle is a rectangle on whose side lengths are in the ‘golden ratio’: approximately 1:1.618. A distinctive feature of this shape is that when a square section is removed, the remainder is another golden rectangle; that is, with the same proportions as the first. Square removal can be repeated infinitely, in which case corresponding corners of the squares form an infinite sequence of points on the golden spiral, the unique logarithmic spiral with this property.”

 Below is a line rendering of a Golden Rectangle and the resulting spiral leading to the focal square at smallest curve where lines BD and CE bisect.

Observe how “Tile: A Mosaic Sampler” imitates the Golden Spiral without actually introducing any curved lines or organic stitches by graduating the stitch sizes and color values from their largest size and darkest value beginning in quadrant ABEF and rotating toward the center of the spiral. Reducing the stitch sizes and lightening the color values creates the impression of a spiral.

2. Pattern Repetition:

• Mosaic Stitches in six variations create this sampler. Five of the stitch patterns are created in each of the four Golden Rectangles. The sixth stitch pattern is used in the four large squares. Backstitches are used in ditches where opposing stitch angles meet. These Backstitches also help to clearly define the perimeter of the squares where value changes between adjacent squares are subtle.
• Four overlapping squares in the center white square repeat four of the Mosaic Stitch variations used throughout the design as well as creating a fifth impression of a spiral. Placement of the darkest blue square “on top” of the other three and positioned at the “base” deftly creates a visual anchor, so there is a clear north-south-east-west orientation for the design.
• The strongest stitch pattern is in the four large corner squares and the small dark blue square in the center white square. These five distinct areas use the same Mosaic Stitch variation and relate to each other as a unit even though the colors in two of the larger square areas differ from the other three areas.
• Stark white areas are balanced, repeated and not only sharply frame the outside of the design but also draw the eye to the very center of the design.

3. Variation for Interest:

• Limiting the stitch patterns to a family of Mosaic Stitches effectively communicates the impression of ceramic tiles.
• The variation in the two chosen color schemes and their graduated values are subtle and make up about 80% of the design. These areas are contrasted and balanced by the three stark blue and white areas in the internal white square and around the borders.
• The variety of Mosaic Stitches and graduated color schemes of blue and green provide visual interest while the order and unity of the overall design entice the viewer to track the rotating positions of the stitch patterns and the color families.

Category 1 - Original

Professional

Two of the three winners in Original Professional category are representational images featuring landscapes while the third winner is a symmetric geometric. All three designs use patterned geometric stitches but in varying proportions and importance to the composition.

1013P 1^st Lois Kershner, “Naoshima Sunset”

For those of us fortunate enough to see this embroidery in person, we encountered a design deserving of the award “Best in Show”, and we were able to experience the design as a framed composition within a black mat and a glossy black frame. Frames surrounding embroidery can be used as part of the design, as a way of visually trapping the viewer in a snapshot moment or creating a window to look through. In this design, the black mat and frame served that purpose and kept the viewer moving around the picture perimeter and reengaging via the black stitched landscape on the horizon. The overall strength of the design is not dependent on the mat and frame, but it was greatly enhanced by their presence.

Below are two snapshots I took at the exhibit as reference material for this review. Although I am not a professional photographer, they do show how the frame and the mat influence the design appreciation. Also, it is impossible to judge the actual size of the embroidered area from a photograph without some known item for size comparison. As it is viewed in this format, the design area appears substantial, but in fact it is mere 5” x 7”.

1. Lines and Patterns:

• The organic shapes in this landscape are interpreted with horizontal lines and diamond shapes. The dominant stitch pattern is horizontal lines as seen in the water and the foreground. The bold and demanding colors of yellow and yellow-orange in the water as well as the length and light reflection these stitches provide insure that the stitches for the water are dominant even though there is more area within the design that is filled with diamond shaped patterning and the diagonal lines these stitches create.
• The exposed grid of the canvas creates a tertiary textural pattern that covers nearly a third of the design.
• The composition also creates horizontal lines with the focal point of the sunset within the Golden Mean.

Related to the Golden Rectangle as described previously in the review of 101NP, “Tile: A Mosaic Sampler”, is the Golden Mean. Observe how the Golden Spiral and Golden Rectangles delineate a horizontal band of three rectangles across the middle of the large rectangle. This area is known as the Golden Mean, and focal points placed within this area, especially when creating landscapes, are perceived as well balanced, restful and substantial. Note that the horizon in “Naoshima Sunset” where the distant mountains meet the lake is placed within the Golden Mean of this composition. In artistic compositions, the goal is to place the horizon or focal point nearer to one of the two horizontal lines defining the Golden Mean, not in the very middle of this area. In “Naoshima Sunset”, the horizon is nearest to the lower horizontal line of the Golden Mean which creates more room for the expansive sky.

2. Pattern Repetition and Variation for Interest:

For this organic composition, the subjects of Pattern Repetition and Variation for Interest are addressed together.

• Although random in execution, the horizontal stitches that create the water are a repeated pattern. The pattern is organic and designed to imitate water reflecting sunlight. The variety of stitch lengths and color values of blue-grey and yellow-orange, draw the viewer from the darkest areas of the water to the lightest.
• A nearly vertical band of yellow stitches extending from the horizon to the shore maintain the random feel of the stitches but have discernable edges that indicate the strongest light reflected by the sun.
• In keeping with the intentionally random pattern but also considering where the light reflection would be most focused, there are a half dozen or so yellow stitches in the water that are made with reflective threads. These are the only shiny textured threads in the design; and because of this exclusive and careful use of sheen, the shiny yellow threads lead the eye from the shore to the sunset and back again but never overwhelm the design.
• Small horizontal and bricked yellow stitches in the sky repeat the yellow thread colors and the stitch direction of the water.
• The photo transfer of the yellow-orange sunset in the sky is left unstitched, but the composition of the yellows in the color transfer repeats the horizontal lines used elsewhere as well as the yellow path reflected in the water.
• The texture of the unstitched canvas adds a grid pattern to the design that at times reads horizontally, vertically and/or diagonally, depending on the lighting, thereby repeating both the dominant and secondary patterns but on a very small scale.
• There are three textures used for the yellow-orange colors: the non-reflective yellow stitches in the water, the reflective yellow stitches in the water and the unstitched yellow-orange sky.
• An area of small blue-grey horizontal and bricked stitches in the sky expand and repeat the horizontal stitch theme already discussed in the water and the yellow sunset. These three combined areas create a triangulation of horizontal stitches.
• The horizontal orientation of the Gobelin Stitches used for the foreground dirt support and contain the foreground of the design. The oblique angle of these stitches creates visual movement from left to right, returning the viewer to the right side of the landscape after following the yellow path from sun to shore.
• Organic horizontal shapes as seen in the foreground dirt and grasses, the foreground rocks, the distant black landscape, and the cloud formations all echo the dominant horizontal theme.
• The secondary pattern of diamonds and their resultant diagonals are clearly visible in the foreground grasses, the foreground rocks, the peach patterned sky and the taupe clouds. The scale of the diamonds in the foreground grasses and the clouds are the same, but the density of the stitches, the hues and values of these colors and the percentage of overall composition coverage are different. The third area of diamond stitching, the peach sunset sky, has much smaller stitches than the other two areas but is nearly equivalent to the foreground grasses in shape and overall composition coverage.
• This last bullet item addresses Variation for Interest in terms of color instead of patterning. Much discussion is given to the use of “poison” colors in needlepoint today. A “poison” color adds zing to a design and usually introduces some tension between one or more dominant colors in the overall composition. Not all stitchers utilize this tool and some use it to excess. A “poison” color can make a design sing and provide that extra something that keeps the viewer coming back again and again to savor a complexity that our minds find intriguing as well as satisfying. Choosing an effective “poison” color can be a challenge, especially in a representational, i.e. realistic, landscape. “Naoshima Sunset” has what could be labeled a “poison” color because this color brings a needed and unifying dynamic to the design by providing balance to the visually demanding and nearly complementary color scheme of blue-grey and yellow-orange. Can you find it?

Enlarge your image of the full design to about 4”x6”; then place your left index finger over the peach colored diamond stitches. What do you observe? Hopefully, the color settings on your computer monitor are high enough to enable you to experience the colors shifting in importance. If they do, you will notice how much stronger the yellows become and how the relationship between the blue-greys in the sky and the unstitched orange sunset starts to demand your exclusive attention. That dynamic is the complements of blue and orange at work. They will not be denied, especially where the two are adjacent. The clear blue sky at the top of the design also becomes more important and holds your attention. Now take your finger away from the peach area. Suddenly, the light value of peach with its undertones of red “speak” to those same colors underneath the taupe colored clouds, and the pale reddish pinks “speak” to the greens in the foreground grasses, making the greens more important visually. Notice also that the shape of the peach stitched area mirrors the shape and orientation of the green grasses, both rising upward from left to right. The clear blue sky resumes a less important role, and the color balance of the design is restored. Did you notice the peach stitches before this exercise? Did they seem crucial? Probably not initially, but their inclusion is one more reason this design is such a superior example of needlepoint as textile art.

1008P 2^nd Catherine Jordan, “Streams and Paths”

“Streams and Paths” is a visual delight, a mosaic tiled paradise for strolling and exploring the meandering pathways of water and stone through forests, valleys and our own imagination. This treasure box incorporates highly dimensional surface embroidery, fabric painting, canvas padding and manipulation, as well as traditional needlepoint stitches, to create an organic design made of three separate compositions, each capable of standing on its own merits as a complete artistic statement and yet relating to the other two parts in unique and meaningful ways.

1. Lines and Patterns:

• The organic shapes in this three-part landscape are filled with shaded and randomly sized squares, rectangles, narrow lines, clusters of French Knots, individual Seed Stitches, textile molding paste and exposed painted canvas.
• Over all, the dominant stitch pattern is the collection of randomly sized squares and rectangles that create the look of mosaic tiles.
• Graceful curves and lozenge shapes that end in blunted points provide a design pattern that is repeated in each design.
• The exposed grid of the painted canvas creates a tertiary textural pattern that is broken up by the shading of green, brown, blue and yellow paints.

2. Pattern Repetition and Variation for Interest:

For this organic composition, the subjects of Pattern Repetition and Variation for Interest are addressed together, but at times the three designs will be reviewed separately as well as a group.

• The squares, rectangles and knots vary in importance, density and color from design to design, but the common features in each landscape are the waterways that divide the compositions into curved sections converging at one or more focal points.
• The groupings of French Knots represent plants and trees while at the same time visually directing the viewer around and/or retaining the viewer within the confines of the design perimeters.
• The mosaic patterning is most noticeable in the waterways and the sunset, but it infiltrates the forests, lines the riverbanks and creates rust-colored pathways.
• Although geometric shapes are present throughout the three panels, the only stitched impressions of rigid, straight lines are seen in the tree trunks, the lone bridge spanning the two central land masses on the lid, and the poetic invitation to “LIVE ON THE EDGE” spelled out in block capital letters inside the box.
• The combinations of intentionally random and selectively colored squares and rectangles worked on top of paint-shaded exposed canvas create a flowing and harmonious design. When squinting at the design, the geometric shapes melt into rivers of sparkling water, a vibrant sunset, rolling hills, winding trails and wooded forests.
• The color palette of the lid and the inside bottom of the box are nearly identical. Compare those two panels to the composition in the tray. The color palette used in the tray includes the color scheme used in the other two panels, but it also features yellows and oranges not seen in the other designs. The stone pathways in the tray are stitched in dark values of brick red which balance the intensity of the yellows. The position of the brick red stitches and the yellow stitches create a triangle in opposition to the loosely shaped inverse triangle created by the water.
• A multi-layered embroidered landscape that repeats a limited number of stitches and textures while enticing the viewer to revisit each pathway, to enjoy the lushness of the gardens and to uncover the secret meaning woven into the designs.

1002P 3^rd Michael Boren, “Frankie”

“Frankie” is an embroidered marriage of the artistic styles of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the late stitch designer and teacher Jean Hilton. This symmetric geometric design evokes Wright’s Prairie School style and provides a wealth of opportunities to showcase Hilton’s layered geometric stitches while still retaining the translucent feel of a stain glassed window.

Here too, as with “Naoshima Sunset”, the final design presentation was greatly enhanced by the mat and frame. Below right is a copy of a snapshot I took at the exhibit as reference material for this review. It shows how the frame and the mat influence the design, and especially, how important the black frame is as an echo of the black “lead” frames bisecting the stitched design.

1. Lines and Patterns:

• Rectangles and diamonds are the dominant shape patterns.
• Lines, both individual and multiples in parallel, provide a secondary pattern as well as structure for the design.
• The complementary color scheme of purple and yellow create color patterns.

2. Pattern Repetition:

• Eighteen large diamonds are subdivided into six stitch patterns.
• Sixteen small diamonds are divided into two color patterns and filled with the same stitch pattern.
• Eight small squares are divided equally into two color patterns and filled with the same stitch pattern.
• Eight small triangles are divided equally into 2 color patterns and filled with the same stitch pattern.
• Six small hexagons are filled with the same color and stitch pattern.
• Two background patterns are created by parallel lines in different colors and proportions.
• Two border patterns are created with different colors, stitches and proportions.
• Complementary color scheme of purple and yellow is strongest in the external border but also evident throughout the design.

3. Variation for Interest:

The stitch and color placement variations in “Frankie” provide essential visual deviations while the symmetric framework creates a structure that retains the viewer and encourages closer inspection of the intricate linear architectural stitches. Had the fill-in patterns been mirror images from one column to the next or identical in repeated compass positions, i.e. the four corners, the design would have been less engaging. As it stands, the design is a harmonious blend of a controlled geometric composition with pivoted and balanced stitch patterns and thread colors.

In order to best analyze the composition, we need to view all three large-diamond columns as a design unit. There is a single background pattern behind all 18 large diamonds, unifying the three columns and providing an area of visual rest.

• Begin with what could be termed as the four corners of these three columns. One stitch is used, Padded Diagonal Waffle Stitch. The color combination of purple and yellow is identical in each diamond, but the color patterns are not identical; instead they are presented as pairs. The upper right and lower left corners are one pair and the lower right and upper left corners are a second pair.
• Staying within the outer two large-diamond columns and continuing inward from the four corners, there are four Mini Double Fan Double Stitch diamonds. Here too the colors are the same but vary in orientation so that they are horizontal and vertical mirror images of each other.
• The final quartet of large diamonds in the outer two columns is a stitch variation of the adjacent large diamonds: Double Fan Double Stitch. The variation in this instance occurs in both the color combinations of purple/yellow and yellow-orange/green and the paired placement in opposing corners which repeats the pivoting of pairs of diamonds as seen in the external corners already discussed.
• The center column of six large diamonds repeats the pattern of paired diamonds but also creates a second subset of four eight-pointed patterns. Beginning at the top and bottom of this central column, there are two color and stitch mirror images of Chilly Hollow Stitch.
• Moving inward one diamond from the top and bottom, there are two identical stitch patterns, Walneto Stitch with Jessica Stitch fillings, but the positions of threads used for the Walneto Stitches are reversed. The purple Jessica Stitch that fills both diamond centers anchors the pattern and enables the two patterns to be seen as a pair.
• Eight Point Star Stitches fill the final pair of large diamonds in the center column. The stitch shape is similar to the adjacent large diamond stitch patterns but the Eight Point Star Stitch is less dense.

The horizontal and vertical bands creating the framework of the overall composition will also be viewed as a design unit. The variations within the framework are limited and primarily created by shifting color placements for similar stitches.

• Each vertical frame has the same stitch pattern of Square Jessica Stitches, Amadeus Stitch and Diagonal Bokhara Couching. The variation comes from the color patterns; the outer two vertical frames are one color pattern, and the inner two vertical frames are another.
• The horizontal frames above and below are identical and as a result provide stability to the design.
• The narrow external framework provides further design cohesion as well as a secondary area of visual rest. Notice how the upper and lower narrow bands extend to the edge of the stitched design area. For a design that is primarily a vertical composition, this increase in importance to a pair of horizontal frames, however small, keeps the design contained and visually “supports” the entire composition. They work like two hands holding the design in place.

This concludes my comments about the use of patterns as seen in the ribbon winning entries from the Original category in the 2010 ANG national exhibit. I hope you found my exhibit review interesting, but more importantly, I hope you will incorporate the preceding design and color principles in your needlepoint projects and then share your creations with us in future exhibits.  While it is certainly wonderful to win a ribbon at an exhibit, the greater value of a national exhibit is the opportunity it provides to share our passion with other like-minded individuals, not to mention the uninitiated visitors who may become new recruits to the fabulous world of needlepoint!  Like falling dominoes, the exhibit has the ability to send out shockwaves of interest and excitement in far reaching directions. The future of our art form depends on recruiting new needlepointers; and through your exhibit participation, you inspire us all - novice and professional alike.