Workbasket, The

Thank you both for taking the time to participate in our website’s Friday Feature! Could you start off by sharing your needlework background and how it morphed into The Workbasket?
Candy: I grew up with a mother who loved to knit and later needlepoint. I started both at a young age. Nothing further business-wise happened until my boys were young and I was not working. At that point, I started painting needle point canvasses--mainly reproduction samplers—which is something I had always wanted to do. Many were on small counts like 18 to 22. I painted on line and although enjoyable it was a difficult thing to do. I taught Mary how to do this and we both painted individually until we decided we might be able to mass produce our designs through publicizing charts. Hence, The Workbasket was born.

Mary: My grandmother and aunt were knowledgeable in handwork. My grandmother was actually a sewing teacher and principal before she was married. My aunt taught me numerous crafts over the years, starting with cross stitch. She used the beautiful Danish designs that were available in the 70’s. When I wanted to quilt, she encouraged me to read up on the subject, and gave me my great grandmother’s quilting frame, which I still have.