Your name/where you're from:
Samantha Metell, Originally from Cape Cod and now located in NYC
Where can people find your designs?
Pennylinndesigns.com and your LNS!
Where can people follow you on social?
@GrantPointDesigns for all things needlepoint (and the occasional flower or nantucket basket post)
GENERAL NEEDLEPOINT
How did you learn to needlepoint? What was your first needlepoint project?
I grew up watching my mom needlepoint. She would make belts for my brother and I to show our horses in. She would always be stitching at the horse shows and the amount of belts she managed to finish was impressive. While in college, I asked my mom to teach me how. My first project naturally was a belt- one that has still not been finished to this day nearly 10 years later.
What is your favorite stitch? What stitch are you hoping to learn/do next?
I’m a classic stitcher and always love the look of a tent stitch so I tend to stick with basketweave and continental. However, I have really grown to love diagonal mosaic. I’m eager to learn criss cross Hungarian but am waiting for the right project.
What are your favorite threads to use?
My favorite specialty thread though is silk straw because it stitches so beautifully on my baskets.
ABOUT YOUR DESIGNS
What made you want to paint your own pieces?
I actually dabbled in making my own pieces back in college. I didn’t have a clue about painting canvases but I would sketch my design right onto the canvas with pencil and then go back with thread to color it in and tweak it as I went. In 2020 after I had my son and the world essentially shut down 3 weeks later I was going a bit stir crazy and picked up some canvas and thread and started a new project, an ornament for my son. Half way through stitching I had an idea for my french basket and started sketching and designing it out. Once I finalized the design I was hooked.
Describe your canvases in three words:
Classic, Personal and Easy
What inspires you most when creating new designs?
My own needs! Sometimes I have an idea for a design and think “I love the idea, but it’s not something I’d stitch for myself” so I never even start it. I only design what I want to stitch myself and what I cannot find from another fellow designer.
What has been your favorite canvas to paint?
I’ll always love painting my baskets, it was the first canvas I truly painted and I’ve learned it so well I can paint it from memory.
What has been your favorite canvas to stitch?
Honestly, probably my baskets! I’ve stitched probably 5 of them to date for gifts and myself. Each time I’ve done it a little differently, there are so many possibilities and I have several more baskets I want to stitch, each one different.
What is one piece of advice for painting your own canvas?
Count, count and count again! There’s nothing worse than being nearly finished and realizing you are just one off, it usually ruins the entire design.
ABOUT YOU
Where is your favorite place to stitch?
Wherever gives me the time! Waiting for an appointment, before bed to clear my head, while my kids nap on the weekend. I’m not picky, my time to stitch is usually very limited so I’ll take it wherever I can get it. If I really could have my pick it would be in front of a fireplace with a glass of red wine, but that doesn’t happen very often!
If you're not needlepointing you're...
Working, raising my kids, designing and probably juggling a handful of other commitments.
What three items do you always have in your project bag?
Threader, scissors and too many threads.
What shows are you currently watching?
The Great British Bakeshow (always)
What is your favorite podcast?
I haven’t listened to a podcast in years to be honest, I usually work in silence as my son is very chatty these days. I do love a good audio book though on a long drive, it’s usually a murder mystery.
Who is your favorite needlepoint or non-needlepoint follow on Instagram right now?
I started growing dahlias this past year and have become obsessed. Floret Farm and Fleur Flower Farm are probably my current two favorites to get my flower fix from (and growing advice!)
If time and money were no issue, what type of needlepoint project would you want to do?
A headboard, maybe even a full bed frame. It would be absolutely divine, but I’m not sure my time (or patience) will ever allow me to take on a project like that.
