Ally at From the Right Bank posted new photos of her lovely living room just the other day and a small detail popped out at me – her needlepoint dog pillow – a boxer, to be exact. (Correction: I don’t know what blogging drugs I was on, as it is not a boxer, but a French bulldog) It reminded me that I have been meaning to do a post on these so-out-they-are-in accessories for quite some time now and it seemed like a light-hearted anti-dote to the last few heavy posts.
The needlepoint dog promptly made me think of the one in Ruthie Sommer‘s living room, which was featured in Lonny as well as House Beautiful.
Ruthie is a big user of needlepoint pillows in the spaces she designs, using them to add a bit of quirky light-hearted fun.
Note the needlepoint iris pillow in the photo below…more on that later!
She even offered some in her One Kings Lane Tastemaker Sale.
Rachel over at The Lovely Lifestyle has a cute story about her purchase of that very same iris pillow from the OKL sale, now happily ensconced on her couch. Note yet another dog pillow!
Jonathan Adler is the other great user of needlepoint pillows and perhaps I should have mentioned him first as he really is responsible for resurrecting them, first in the bargello ones he made popular again and now cute and kitschy ones too. He was recently featured in the one year anniversary edition of online magazine Matchbook.
Zodiac anyone? Check out Adler’s website for more pillows and his portfolio.
Adler’s pillows are popular with other designer too, like this beach living room by Leslie Klotz.
The idea for this post has been percolating for almost a year as last spring during our evacu-vacation, I had the pleasure of visiting a dear friend in Hong Kong with the best kind of needlepoint pillows – inherited ones! I find those with personal connections and stories to be the most authentic. As always with me, we are back to grandmas.
…or in my case, get my mother-in-law to make it.
Image Credits: 1. via From the Right Bank, 2-3. Lonny July/August 2011, photo credit: Patrick Cline, 4-5. House Beautiful March 2011, photo credit: Victoria Pearson, 6-7. via One Kings Lane, 8. via The Lovely Lifestyle, 9-11. Matchbook February 2012, photo credit: Rima Campbell, 12. House Beautiful July 2008, photo credit: Laura Resen, 13-14 &16. me, 15. via Purl Bee.