:: May 2001 
Feature
Needlepoint Nostalgia
Last May, I met a woman whose family had been the prior owners of my grandparents' house in Biscoe, NC. The woman showed me an unfinished needlepoint picture of the wonderful old house (circa 1902), explaining that her late mother had done the stitching on the piece.
The stitcher had made a photo of the house and then had a designer paint a canvas for her and choose the yarns that would be needed to complete the picture. The stitcher had used a very even Continental stitch throughout the design and had completed approximately three-quarters of the picture at the time of her death.
I had often thought about stitching my own picture of "the Biscoe House," and an opportunity to do that was presenting itself. I offered to finish stitching the piece for my new friend, thereby having a completed work which could be scanned and charted for my rendition of the beloved house.
While needlepointing the unfinished portion of the piece, I ran out of three colors of yarn. When I stopped by a needlepoint shop, I learned that the original yarn I needed, "Paragon" made in England, had been discontinued for over twenty years! Fortunately, three-ply 100% wool Paternayan Persian yarn provided a good substitute.
This May, I finished the piece. Now, the fun begins as I get to work designing and stitching my own version of the Biscoe House. I plan to add a pink crepe myrtle to the right of the house and some swings and chairs on the porch.
Once I am three-quarters of the way finished stitching my own piece, I plan to relax a little -- knowing that someone else at a future time could come across it and finish it in my stead