Mindy's Needlepoint Factory

Like many needleart "enthusiasts" whenever travelling I check online for new-to-me stash enhancement opportunities. This time was no exception and did I ever get lucky visiting Mindy's Needlepoint Factory. Have you ever been??? OMG I didn't want to leave... ever.  But not to worry, I took a large part of the shop contents home with me thanks to my enabling husband and daughter....like I needed any encouragement.

Located in Eugene, OR in a quaint double-decker "marketplace", it is a dream setting for any ultimate stash enhancement experience. There's food, interesting shopping, food, fountains, and beautiful spring flowers on display the likes known only to the Pacific NW (or maybe Holland or Utopia). Beauty abounding and stimulating the senses while compelling a girl to reach for her debit card, I thought, well if I'm going to lose the nest egg, I may as well have something to show for it. I'm goin' in!

Upon entering Mindy's magical, so this is what lies beyond the pearly gates, shop you're immediately struck by the unexpected. Clothing? Trim/braid/ribbon? Buttons galore? Not just any buttons or trim and braid but special, special examples of every unique design and color imaginable and in abundance. The array of color and volume alone were mesmerizing; Mindy is most definitely all about color and creativity.  Make no mistake you've not seen anything like this before, and then suddenly you realize this needlepoint shop is the creation of One Gifted Woman. Add in a measure of incredibly nice and service oriented and we have a winner. Road Trip!

Back to earth, I was there as my Mother's Day treat from my daughter. My mission was to choose a canvas representative of Mindy's known talent. I was familiar with her work, always admiring and drooling over her Asian themed designs expertly painted with precision. I'm happy to report that I found just the right masterpiece. Make that masterpieces, after all who among us could confine themselves to just one of her works of art. I love the colors, design and the Chinese coin and tassel on this one. Nice touches all. I'll be adding more about my Mother's Day spree in a later post, and wanted to make sure you knew that these few shots of Mindy's place is just the tip of the iceberg, there's another 2/3 of the store not in view!

Also, I couldn't omit letting you now what a delightful lady Mindy turns out to be. She is so gracious and was so very generous with her time in assisting us and other customers. Expertly pulling the threads for my canvases, it would have taken me hours. And the threads, I can't wait to tell you about the threads. Although you'd never guess it possible by looking at her, Mindy has done this for 30 years and it is second-nature to her.  A devoted mother first, this talented artist and shop owner has created one of the most innovative and original shops this blogging needlepointer has had the pleasure to visit. Although well worth the trip from anywhere, if you cannot go in person, visit her at her website, Mindy's Needlepoint Factory and enjoy!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!





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Thank you for stopping by so I can say hello on Mother's Day! Today I hope you find yourself enjoying an exceptionally loving day with your children and/or with with your own mother. You deserve it! I wanted to share my bouquet with you, it is filled with fragrance- roses, carnations and stock interspersed with lovely pink hydrangea. Thank you DD, you are beautiful!


I've been away for a while visiting Washington State and Oregon with my husband. The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful part of the country and I hope to visit often as there are so many amazing things to see and experience. I rented a car with plans to tool around antique malls and needlepoint shops while my husband was working but unfortunately the first 10 days I was under the weather with some bug I undoubtedly picked up on the airplane. Bummer. I wasn't able to get as much stitching done as I had hoped. Traveling by plane doesn't allow to bring a lot along, but I did get got some areas done on my White Santa Nutcracker and will post this soon. Actually I have nearly completed it and am beginning the tedious turkey work and then on to background.

Our daughter arrived for a visit last weekend as a special treat for my Mother's Day. We ended up exploring the countryside alongside the Columbia River while driving to Portland, OR. The backdrop of a snow covered Mt. Hood was gorgeous and unrivaled!  Pendleton, OR is nearby too and we must have seen literally hundreds of sheep, all ages, sizes, sheared, unsheared. Lovely creatures to see on the green hillsides.



We feasted on Dungeness crab and even had sturgeon fish and chips. There were numerous antique malls along the way and we tried to visit them all. However, the highlight of the trip was a few hours south of Portland in Eugene. I had always heard about Mindy's Needlepoint Factory but never dreamed I'd get there but my enabling family was bound and determined to treat me to a day at Mindy's....who am I to disappoint? OMG it was amazing. Read about it in my next post.