When Susan Newnam and Sandia Mountain Chapter member Debbie Tennis opened Twisted Stitches Needlepoint (TSNP) in 2018 in Albuquerque, NM, they had several primary goals: to provide a high-quality, full-service retail needlepoint shop; to provide a wide range of supplies and classes for those who stitch needlepoint; and, perhaps most importantly, to create a community, a gathering place where stitchers could share their love of color, texture, threads, and stitching, and feel welcome and accepted. These goals have been achieved beyond expectations.
On any given day in TSNP, there are people stitching, shopping and planning, curious about needlepoint and contemplating their possible involvement, or maybe just stopping by to visit and absorb the friendly, creative, supportive atmosphere. Some of us consider TSNP our “second home”!
On most Thursdays, a group meets in the shop to stitch together, sometimes quietly but often not. We have stitchers of all ages, with or without service dogs, with different experience levels and divergent interests. We are from many different places and have vastly different life experiences. Most importantly, though, we are interested in one another, supportive through life’s challenges, and provide endless advice, asked for or otherwise.
A few years ago, we were intrigued by a lovely lady who joined us periodically, and rumors spread that she lived in Phoenix, AZ, or perhaps Santa Fe, and we were stunned to learn that she often joined us from Geneva, Switzerland! As it turned out, Kate Forbes did indeed live in both cities, and for many years was a volunteer member of the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC). In 2023, Kate was elected to be the president of the IFRC, and wherever in the world there is a disaster, she is likely to be there.
One summer, after Susan and her husband, Mike, visited Kate at her office in Geneva, Susan had the idea that it would be nice to stitch a needlepoint replica of the flag of each member nation of the IFRC that Kate had visited, and give them to Kate as a retirement gift. The “Thursday Stitchers” agreed that was a good idea, and since her term as president was two years, we figured that we had enough time to get it done. Well, her term turned into three years, and Kate kept visiting more countries, so we decided to make replicas of the flags of all the member nations; there are 191!
We did it, and kept the project a secret. At press time, Kate has still not retired, and instead agreed to be a candidate for another term as president of the IFRC. We decided to give her the ornaments anyway.
Thirty-six people stitched the needlepoint, and six finished the ornaments. Some stitched only one flag, many stitched several, and one of us stitched over 70!
TSNP provided the supplies, and one of us researched the list of member nations, provided color photos of their flags, and kept track of our progress. We agreed that the ornaments would be a standard 4″ (10.16cm) circle, and all finished alike; we would stitch with only solid-color threads made from natural fibers and use no glitter or metallics. Each volunteer was given a small needlepoint canvas with a circle drawn on it. We chose our own stitches and threads, and which flag to stitch.
We learned a lot! We had great fun comparing our experiences of which stitches and threads worked best, and which to avoid. We often took this opportunity to use stitches that we had not used before. Most of us were not familiar with many of the member nations in IFRC, and enjoyed learning about the people, places, and cultures that were represented by the flags we were replicating. We are indeed a community of needlepoint stitchers.
– By Sarah Atkeison
