Designer Q&A
Deborah Fasano
Q: How did you learn to stitch?
I was taught the art of the needle initially through needlepoint by an elderly neighbor when I was 11 years old. Fanny Reardon was a prolific needlepoint stitcher who had very bad heart disease, and it was her way of coping with her heart condition and affirming her creative side.
Q: What was the first thing you stitched?
I began cross stitching at 12 years old. My maternal grandmother had a wonderful green thumb when it came to gardening. For her birthday, I ordered my first counted cross-stitch kit through McCall’s Magazine in the mid-1970s (way back when!) for $11.99; a design of flowers with the verse, “Who plants a seed, beneath the sod, and waits to see, believes in God,” and I was hooked.
Q: How do you begin a design?
I usually begin a design by sketching the concept out before charting on the computer, especially if I am creating a Christmas series. It allows me to see the overall big picture and gives me the ability to add or subtract the scope of the design.
Q: What is your favorite type of design to stitch?
My favorite designs to stitch are the historical samplers we reproduce. Each tells a story, and it is a great honor to reproduce them and carry the maker’s history into the 21st century to inspire new generations with their wonderful art.
Q: Who stitches your samplers?
I depend on a wonderful, prolific freelance stitcher named Linda Prout who retired from a successful business career two years ago. With Linda’s invaluable help, she provides me the freedom to design original pieces and is a great asset to Historic Handworkes. In addition, my best friend from Providence College, Liz Smith, has also lent her stitching talents with small sampler designs.
Q: Have you ever gotten a design idea and had no paper? What did you draw on?
I was walking my beagle, Stuart, several years ago at a local park and was inspired for a Christmas design. I didn’t have any paper on hand, but fortunately, I had a pen in my vest pocket. So, I wrote on Stuart’s light canvas harness (he was not amused). The next day his “mamma” (that’s me!) replaced it with a more “manly” harness he was proud to wear in public!
Q: What is your favorite snack while designing?
A good pot of Fortnum & Mason British tea.
Q: What full or part-time job do you have besides being a designer?
I’ve always been in the medical hospital field and recently became a certified EMT, hoping to help in the surrounding communities.
Q: What is your favorite type of design to create?
Besides the historical samplers, I love designing Christmas series and have recently had much fun designing Halloween pieces. Whereas the color palette on a historical piece is more structured, I enjoy the freedom of whimsy when it comes to Christmas and Halloween. And with Halloween, we all know anything goes with color, beads and unlimited threads!
Q: What do you want people to experience or feel when they stitch?
I want people to enjoy being CREATIVE apart from this high-tech world, and I want to help preserve the art of the needle in all its forms. The lure of counted cross stitch has always been starting with a blank canvas and watch- ing a design “come to life” when worked by the maker’s hands. It should be fun, and it’s magic watching a stitcher’s eyes light up with confidence with newly acquired skills or advanced design. I’ve had people over the years say “Oh, I’m not sure I could ever do that!” My answer is, “Jump in, join our foremothers’ art, and just DO IT.”
I assure them that, armed with some patience, they, too, can pick up the needle. A hidden creative side that has not had the opportunity to be expressed will come out and they will discover a creative side they never knew they had, as well as stitching their own story that can be shared and treasured for years to come.