Tag: silk

Needle Point Breeze

Needle Point Breeze
6734 Reynolds Street
Point Breeze neighborhood
Pittsburgh PA

Last Thursday, I unearthed a needlepoint* project I started in 1981. In fact, I knew which bag in which closet to dig for it. More than halfway completed, I needed some wool fiber to finish it. A good friend recommended Needle Point Breeze. My project is my own design. Can’t spoil the surprise. Stay tuned….suddenly I was inspired to finish it. After all these years.

I came to the right place. Everyone was welcoming and helpful. I received good tips on how to prepare my project for professional finishing, too.

Now you know I do a lot of knitting these days. I’ve been through periods of counted cross stitch, English smocking, quilting, sewing, crewel embroidery, and needlepoint. But not for decades. I’ve enjoyed a multitude of fiber based handcrafts.

*nee·dle·point

ˈnēd(ə)lˌpoint

1. embroidery worked over canvas, typically in a diagonal stitch covering the entire surface of the fabric.

Store Hours
Tuesday and Thursday
10 AM–5 PM
Saturday
10 AM–4 PM

The store represents many canvas designers,
listed on the website
Welcome to Needle Point Breeze
you can order online
if you’re not able to come to the store

Fiber, Canvases, Accessories, Purses, Boxes, Bags, Kits,
Custom Designs and
Finishing Services available
Walls of rainbows.
Fibers varieties wooly, metallic, fuzzy, fluffy, frosty, sparkly, velvety, shiny,
I perused the fiber possibilities
What a light filled, colorful space.
Wool, silk, cotton, alpaca, angora to name a few and combination blends
Christmas ornaments.
Yes, you can needlepoint a partridge.
Embroidery Floss
Paternayan is the type of wool yarn I started my project and there was a basket full of so many colors like a woolly bouquet at Needle Point Breeze (even though the brand is now discontinued) Lucky Day

The top left is Perle cotton and wool
Needlepoint projects I stitched in the early 1980’s that I display in my home in 2023
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Late Night Window Shopping on Bleecker Street

Last night my sister and I were walking around the neighborhood and window shopping at Naadam Ultra Thin on Bleecker Street. Cashmere and silk store. “Responsibly Sourced Sustainable Mongolian Cashmere Clothing” – The sign says soft, soft, soft world.

Can you find the two of us with the goat’s reflection? And the goat is not a taxidermy specimen but a large replica, like a giant stuffed toy.

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Yarnphoria in Philadelphia

Knitters find yarn stores when they travel. It’s fun to buy souvenir yarn.  Add to the stash. I bought sock yarn dyed after a Monet painting. When I wear them I’ll remember our time in Philadelphia. Of course I have to knit them first.

I bought a size one needle (similar to a toothpick) that is an 8 inch circular and will learn to master making a sock on it after I watch the video a few more times.

You can become creatively inspired in new directions in a new yarn shop.

I was fortunate I had time to knit on this trip.

I walked to Yarnphoria 1016 Pine Street from our hotel. Several times!

IMG_2423

  The wooden swift and ball winder, used expertly by Yarnphoria owner, Dona.

Gertie, the rescue dog who helps mind the store, liked my lap.

In fact, I think she likes everyone’s lap.  There’s a sweet pic of her on the store’s FB page.

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Fingering, sock, lace weight, worsted, bulky, chunky are all yarn weights.

Colors arrange like an artist’s palette.

Planning a project out of the “American Wildflowers Collection” cotton yarn made in Philadelphia by Made in America Yarns

(Those are Dona’s cool shoes she got on Etsy)

  Rings Around the Collar Pattern. Now that’s a cowl!!!

Proprietor Donna, originally from New York, designs and knits the dresses with gorgeous yarns.

She has great energy to help calculate yardage, do all that knitting math- and I sat and swatched the yarn to get my correct gauge before I left the store. She wound all my yarn for a special project (SPOILER ALERT!)

Not just different weights but all types of fiber content from cotton, bamboo, mohair, silk, merino wool to super luxurious cashmere. You name it.
FB Yarnphoria page

Here’s a review I found online –

“Adorable shop! Fantastic yarn! The owner is amazing and will help you with anything you need. What yarn to use for what time of year, what yarn to use for babies, anything you need. If you’re a beginner or advanced, she is just amazing – and she knits/crochets? castles! And hats! And dresses! She can make anything and wants to help you make anything as well. A perfect location for a perfect shop. Of the 5 yarn stores I’ve been to in my life, this takes the cake by far.”

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