Stitch a Kente Pattern in bold, rich shades of Pearl Cotton.

Beautiful, highly graphic African Kente cloth from Ghana was the inspiration for this colorful needlepoint design.

Kente is a brightly-colored handmade cloth produced by the Akan people, along what is often referred to as the Gold Coast. Each color in the design has a specific meaning ranging from love and royalty to victory and wealth. Traditional Kente is worked in long strips on a hand loom, which are then stitched together to form a larger piece of fabric.

I've also added an African Kuba Cloth Pattern.

I hope you enjoy the needlepoint versions of these beautiful art forms.

Stitch a trio of Needlepoint Easter Eggs in pretty Spring colors for the Holiday. Stitched in Tent Stitch on 13-count Mono Canvas, these eggs are quick to stitch, with each egg requiring about a day from start to finish - including final finishing.

The Easter Bunny will be so pleased with the results, he just may leave an extra chocolate bunny for you!

New today is this pretty counted needlepoint pattern Spring Daffodils, worked in yellow and pale orange accented by shades of lilac.

Daffodils are a species of the genus Narcissusone, which also includes Jonquils and Narcissus. These pretty yellow, orange, white - or a combination of these colors - are one of the first signs of color in the garden after a long winter.

Even if these beauties are not yet appearing in your own garden, you can stitch a canvas full of flowers in full bloom using tent stitches by following the free pattern.

I've spent a lot of time this week going through past postings on the Needlepoint Forum, and noticed that several people have asked about transforming a photograph into a needlepoint canvas.

Software is available including PatternMaker by Hobbyware, PC Stitch and WinStitch 2010 that you can use with your home scanner to create your full-color graphed chart from your photograph. Many are marketed for Cross Stitch, but since the result is a charted design, they can also be used for Needlepoint.

Another alternative is to utilize an online service such as Needle Paint. With this handy site you simply upload a JPG, GIF, or PNG file. NeedlePaint can print from 4"x4" to 16"x16."

It's a bit expensive (not any more so than purchasing a painted canvas at a needlework shop), but if you don't want to purchase software and spend hours with the learning curve, it's a smart way to go.

The fun starts after uploading your image. From the Stitch Preview page you can select canvas mesh size (14 or 18 count), and enlarge or reduce the number of thread colors by using the sliding button to the right of the image. The fewer thread colors you select, the simpler the resulting design, and the more threads colors you select, the more detailed the resulting design. Select the Printed Canvas Preview to get a sneak peek of the finished canvas. After approving the design, you can opt to have the finished design produced as a kit, or just order the canvas. The finished material takes 5-10 days to produce, and is shipped to you.

TIP: The trick to making any method effective is to choose a photo that is not too complicated or busy - the simpler the subject, the better the finished design. I uploaded a simple photograph of my pooch, Buster, and loved the quality of resulting preview.