Hand-Painted Needlepoint Design Kits

These original, exclusive designs are made to order for the discerning stitcher. Each design is carefully hand painted so that every detail is clear. You will have no need to refer to charts. Stitching a hand-painted canvas allows you relax and enjoy the rythmn of your stitching and the stunning textures of the emerging work. We mix our paint shades for use with our yarns, so you can stitch with ease yet have no worries of any show through of canvas on the finished work. Our designs are painted on the best quality "antique" polished cotton, single (mono) canvas. The paints used are non-toxic, colourfast and waterproof. The painted image is bordered all round by a minimum 5cm (2in) of canvas to allow for stretching if required, and for finishing allowances. Each kit comes with all the required Alice Starmore Hebridean yarn, tapestry needle and guidelines for stitching and finishing the piece.

Our needlepoint kits are hand-painted to order, so please allow 30 days for delivery.

Callanish

This panel depicts our island’s most ancient and extraordinary monument : the Callanish Stones. They were erected around five-thousand years ago, when the island had a radically different terrain to that of the present day, before the deep peat blanketed the land. We can only speculate on the true purpose of the Callanish Stones. Given that about two hundred generations of islanders lived and worked the land around them even before Christianity arrived, there has been ample time for all manner of speculation. In the 17th Century they were known locally as Fir Bhreige, which means False Men in Gaelic. They were said to have been mortal men, turned into stone by an enchanter. The later myths sound a lot less interesting, and generally involve Druids and gruesome sacrifices. More recent studies have revealed that the Stones are a remarkably accurate astronomical observatory, although there is debate over whether their primary purpose is lunar or solar. Whatever the truth, it is unsurprising that these enigmatic megaliths exert a powerful force on our island consciousness.

Worked in basketweave using Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply doubled on 10 mesh single canvas. There are 20 shades used and these are sometimes mixed together to produces further subtle variations in tone.

Image size 40.5 x 47cm (16 x 18.5in). Painted on 10 mesh canvas.
Canvas size: 54.5 x 61cm (21.5 x 24in).
Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply
Kit Price: £425

Wild Boar & Blue Bird

Perhaps my lifelong proximity to the Callanish Stones has led me to a fascination with ancient iconic images. Though their exact meanings are long lost, I find that the images carved on Pictish and Celtic stones still retain a fundamental affirmation of life itself. This is felt at a deep inner level beyond rationality: rather like the way that we still light candles to mark an emotional event. Wild Boar and Blue Bird are my interpretations of Pictish symbols. I designed them originally as motifs in a fabric design, made in two-tone linen, which is used as background in the photographs. I decided to colour the creatures for the needlepoints, as it is thought the Picts often did. I created a backgrounds of subtle varying hues for the bird, and for the boar I used slightly bolder textures which echo the qualities of rocks and pebbles. The pieces shown have been backed with fabric for use as table mats, but they can equally be framed and hung, or used as beautiful and unusual panels on box lids. Both designs are stitched in basketweave and tent stitch in Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply on 14 mesh single canvas.

Wild Boar
Image size: 14 x 14cm (5.5 x 5.5in). Painted on 14 point canvas.
Canvas size: 24 x 24cm (9.5 x 9.5in).
Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply.
Kit Price £85

Blue Bird
Image size: 14 x 14cm (5.5 x 5.5in). Painted on 14 mesh canvas.
Canvas size: 24 x 24cm (9.5 x 9.5in).
Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply.
Kit Price £85.

Tree of Life

The idea of a tree as representing life has been in evidence for centuries in the art of many diverse cultures. I designed this Tree of Life in my familiar Celtic style. Feline and lupine beasts adorn its stylised curling branches. The rich reds, golds and touches of green, on a deep Mara blue background, add to the sense of magical opulence in the finished work. Using Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply the design is worked in basketweave and tent stitches on 14 mesh single canvas.

Image Size: 43 x 51cm (17 x 20in). Painted on 14 mesh canvas.
Canvas Size: 59 x 67cm (23 x 26in).
Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply.
Kit Price: £775

Sirius Rising

I am fortunate to live in place where I have an unimpeded view of the stars. The appearance of the Dog Star (in the constellation Canis Major) above the eastern horizon, as it flashes its ever-changing colours, is a sight which I consider adequate recompense for the advent of winter. I designed this piece as my Celtic-style homage to its compelling beauty. It is stitched in basketweave and tent stitches, using Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply on 14 mesh single canvas.

Image size: 63.5 x 63.5cm (25 x 25in). Painted on 14 mesh canvas.
Canvas Size: 79.5 x 7.5cm (31 x 31in).
Yarn : Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply.
Kit Price: £995.

Knot & Triskel Glasses Case

As well as creating works of art for pure decoration, needlepoint has an added dimension: you can also make little artworks that are functional and add pleasure to your daily life. Although I would trade a lot for a return to perfect eyesight, I can at least consider the inevitable need for reading glasses to be an opportunity to possess ever more artworks for daily use. This one features one of my Celtic knots on one side and a triskel bird shape on the other. I originally designed the knot for a silk damask fabric (the photograph shows my original doodle for the design). I have since translated it into a knitted design called Dunadd, and then a simplified version of it for Graceknot. Both these designs are featured in the knitting section of this website. The case is stitched in basketweave and tent stitches using Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply on 14 mesh single canvas. It is made in one long piece and then sewn together up each side. Lining fabric is not included in the kit.

Image Size: 43 x 9cm (17 x 3.5in). Painted on 14 mesh canvas.
Canvas Size: 53 x 19cm (21 x 7.5in).
Finished Case Dimensions: 20.5 x 9cm (8 x 3.5in).
Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply
Kit Price: £70

The Dal Riata

The consummate artistry of The Book of Kells has been a long-time source of inspiration to me, particularly in the medium of needlepoint, as well illustrated by my book Celtic Needlepoint. I stitched this little portrait based closely on a tiny depiction of a group of Dal Riata monks in one of the large, lavishly illuminated pages. My main deviation from the original painting is in the facial expressions. Whilst the original expressions are all serious, I decided to include a smiling rebel in the centre. At this scale the change was achieved by altering the position of just one stitch. The portrait is stitched in basketweave and tent stitches using Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply on 14 mesh single canvas. The frame is not included in the kit.

Image size: 9 x 15cm (3.5 x 6in). Painted on 14 mesh canvas.
Canvas size: 19 x 25cm (7.5 x 10in).
Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply
Kit Price: £85

Sulaire

Sulaire means literally sharp eye in my native Gaelic language, and is the name for the Solan Goose or Gannet. The Hebrides are home to many thousands of these magnificent seabirds. Watching them swoop and dive into the ocean is to see grace and power in action, and this needlepoint is an abstract depiction of that vibrant energy. It is stitched in basketweave on 10 mesh single canvas using Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply doubled in shades of blue.

Image size: 35.5 x 35.5cm (14 x 14in). Painted on 10 mesh canvas.
Canvas size: 49.5 x 49.5cm (19.5 x 19.5in.
Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply
Kit Price: £225

Swans

Whooper swans are seasonal visitors to the saltings near my home. On very rare occasions they glide down to where the river meets the open sea, and then it is possible to see one or two of them sailing like ethereal galleons in the waves just off the beach. I designed these motifs as highly stylised expressions of birds and waves. I have made the larger piece into a table mat and the smaller into a pin cushion, though it could just as easily be a coaster. Both would also make panels for box lids. They are stitched in basketweave and tent stitch on 14 mesh single canvas, using Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply. Backing fabric is not included in the kits.

Swans Pin Cushion
Image size: 11 x 11cm (4.3 x 4.3in). Painted on 14 mesh canvas.
canvas size: 21 x 21cm (8.3 x 8.3in).
Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply
Kit Price : £40

Swans Mat
Image Size: 18 x 18cm (7 x 7in). Painted on 14 mesh canvas.
Canvas Size: 28 x 28cm (11 x 11in).
Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 ply
Kit Price: £85

All designs © Alice and Jade Starmore
Background textiles are from a collection of fabrics and wallpapers, by and © Alice Starmore
All rights reserved