Memories of the late 1970s in needlepoint

 First an update:  my forehead looks like I am wearing ashes from Ash Wednesday.  I've  had to tell people that I do wash my forehead regularly--that it is just a bruise.  I'm sure more psychedelic (as Ann mentioned) colors are in my future.  Still no pain, thanks to my hard head.

Among the gems unearthed in the closing of the storage unit are these original designs by Trubey on 8 aida cloth.  In the late 1970s, counted cross stitch was becoming all the rage in the Southern US.  In an attempt to get on the band wagon, Trubey ordered white aida fabric.  She knew nothing about the various sizes it came in; and it was only when the 8 count arrived, that she realized it was much too large for the cross stitch everyone was doing.  Fabric isn't light and the cost of mailing it back made it a push--eat the cost of the fabric or eat the cost of the shipping returning it.  So Trubey designed two sizes of pillows using needlepoint stitches on cross stitch fabric.  She wrote out the instructions, ordered DMC floss, and bought moire in pink, blue and yellow.  Then she produced kits which we sold for many years.  I discovered a Hayes House (the building Needle Nicely owned) shopping bag
filled with kits of both sizes and all three colors.  So, I've been stitching a pink one and I'm almost finished.  We'll have these kits for sale shortly.

One of my first memories of working at Needle Nicely was preparing these kits.  I still resent the strips of moire for the boxing and cording!