Needle Art Designs for handmade needlecraft creations to buy or make yourself, needlework tools, supplies and publications, special order needle art designs or projects, home and office decor

The Place We Call Home

Needle Art Designs is located in the beautiful Clearwater country in north central Idaho, an area refered to by folks here as the Heart of Idaho.  The  startling clarity and purity of the Clearwater River and its mountains with their blue/green shoulders that seem to go on forever will capture your heart once you come here.  Like  the Smokey Mountains of Tennesse in the bluegrass song, "Don't Let the Smokey Mountain Smoke Get In Your Eyes", once  the song of the Clearwater gets into your heart, you'll never want to leave and if you do, you'll always long to come back .  And even though to drive up to see us is a long, beautiful drive along a winding river to the tiny village of Lenore, Idaho,  thanks to the internet, we're now only a click away! 

Alice June Barnett, known now simply as AJ Barnett,  the creator of Needle Arts Design, was raised quite literally 100 miles from nowhere in the deep mountain wilds of Idaho where amenities that are now taken for granted in nearly every home across America, such as indoor plumbing and electricity, were non-existent .  Instead of bath tubs and washing machines the Barnett family had a big round galvinized wash tub and a wash board.  The water for bathing or laundry was hauled in a bucket by hand to a wash tub resting on coffee tins over an outdoor campfire where it was heated before using.  The childrens' mode of attire was barefeet (usually), homemade flannel shirts, and bib overalls.  AJ's love of arts, designing, and needlework began early in her childhood where, often by the light of a kerosene lamp or a gas lantern ,she would spend hours making and coloring designs, writing, drawing, and learning to embroider.  Her love of  and closeness to Nature, who is the Grand Master of intricate designs,  and all of its aspects also began there, as did her affinity for Native Americans and other natural peoples.   Over the years, she has developed an intimate understanding of the joys and rewards of time honored needle arts.

Needle Arts Design is the result of a life long dream.  As a child AJ dreamed of having a way to share her designs and ideas with others.  As an adult , economic necessities and a yen for adventure took AJ to California, Virginia and Washington, D.C., Michigan, and the Seattle area in northwestern Washington.   In these places  she learned a lot about life, people, and realities, but always her heart was here in these Idaho mountains where she finally returned to stay.  During all those years she was away on other adventures she continued to design, embroider, and pursue many different kinds of needle arts, and dream of coming back home.  She's never happier than when she is playing with designs and colors, or has some kind of needle in hand doing some kind of needle work,  writing stories and books,  pursuing her sculpture, or is sharing any of these activities with others.