Tapestry Needles

I don’t mean to sound like the voice of doom and gloom and I’m not anticipating a Zombie Apocalypse but if it happens, I’m probably ready. 🙂

Years ago, several times on the blog when I was canning, I would say that that the lids are the weak link to canning. We re-use the jars and the rings but the lids . . we would be unable to can without lids. I’ve always thought in those terms – what’s the one part to this process that would shut the whole thing down for me if that one thing became hard to get? Sure enough, several years ago lids were very hard to find and the prices went up.

I started cross stitching at the end of 2020 and EVERYTHING was hard to get. I think I kinda feel like someone who has lived without necessities for a long time (except my “necessities” were linen and floss) and . . well, there’s that narrow line between a collector and a hoarder. Let’s not try to make that distinction where my cross stitching supplies are concerned. So many floss colors were impossible to find; linen in certain counts was hard to find.

I think most of us have more charts, more floss and more linen than we’ll ever use in our lifetime. But . . what about needles? Do you have enough needles? Enough for you may be more than I think I need or maybe I feel like I need three times what you think is enough.

I am not a needle bender nor do I break them. I think in the 2 years of stitching, I’ve bent one needle and I may have broken one. I generally don’t lose them and if I do, Vince is great at finding them . . with his bare foot.

I love Tropical Stitches‘ linen. The other day I was watching Celeste Creates’ flosstube and she was saying that she would be happy using Tropical Stitches’ linen for everything she stitches. I feel the same way. I like lots of linens and there are a couple (XJu and Needle & Flax) that are tied for first place with Tropical Stitches’ linen but here’s what makes Tropical Stitches top for me. XJu is in Hungary. I’ve never had a problem getting her linen. I will continue to order her linen. I love her linen but as the world comes closer to whatever is going to happen, I am concerned that getting linen from other countries may be harder. So far, it is not. But it’s one of those things – it isn’t til it is. And, even though I’ve had no problems getting linen from XJu, it does take a while. There are shops who carry it but my preference is to buy from the dyer when I can. Needle & Flax is another one I love and could use her linen for everything but it’s so hard to get. I am very happy for Rachel, the dyer. She has done a great job of dying and marketing. Many designers are using her linens and that makes everyone want them but if a new chart comes out with Needle & Flax linen, it really is almost impossible to get that color for a very long time.

So far, I have had no trouble getting any color I wanted in any count I want from Tropical Stitches. But . . the other day I noticed she had needles! They are Pony Black Nickel-Free Needles. I ordered some and I love these needles! I had been a diehard Peacemakers Needles until I used these. There is one with a white eye which makes it easier to see to thread the needle. I’ve tried that one and yes, it is easier, but I can still thread the regular black needles, at least for now.

They are thin. They are somewhat flexible. I love them.

The photo above shows Mary Arden’s petite needle on top and the Pony needle on bottom. The Pony needle is a little longer but I believe it’s thinner. Mary Arden’s needles, to me, seem to have more of a chisel point where the Pony needles are a true rounded tapestry type point.

NOTE: If you have a tendency to bend needles, you may not like these. I do think they may be fairly fragile. All of the stitching I did on Winter Rose Manor was done with one of these needles. I wanted to use the same needle over and over to see how long it would last. Of course, that wasn’t THAT much stitching but I was a bit surprised it wasn’t bent at all so maybe they aren’t as fragile as they seem.

I read online that they are made of high quality steel with no nickel plating. I am not allergic to nickel so I don’t really care what my needles are made of – just so they feel good in my hand and the point isn’t too round and isn’t too sharp for working with the linen.

We all probably have our preference in needles but if you haven’t tried these, you might want to give them a try.

One last thing . .

Mary Arden and John James are made in England; Piecemakers are made in Japan and Pony are made in India. We never know when we aren’t going to be able to get what we want so . . I’ve stocked up on the needles I love.