The Salt Lake Needlepoint Guild received its charter in 1979. Its purpose was bolstered with a community project in 1979-80 with the restoration of the Governor's Mansion. Members of the guild did original designs and the needlework for 16 dining room chairs, 10 decorative pillows, four bench covers, a piano chair and a desk chair. The designs incorporated the sego lily, seagull and other historic elements.

Since then, the guild has been involved with other community projects, including chairs, kneelers and other pieces for the renovation of the Cathedral of the Madeleine; juried needlepoint shows; crafts demonstrations at arts festivals; and new pieces for the Governor's Mansion after the fire of 1993. In 1993, two guild members were commissioned to design and stitch a chair for the visit of Pope John Paul II to Denver.

But a strong focus of the guild is also education, says Smith. The guild meets monthly and often brings in teachers for special classes and workshops. "Our whole focus is to broaden the horizons of needlepoint."

The guild meets the third Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in room 4010 of the Salt Lake County complex, at 2100 South and State. They draw members from Brigham City to Provo, says Smith. "Anyone is welcome to come to our meetings."

Recent classes and workshops have dealt with everything from goldwork techniques used on coronation robes in England (taught by a woman who had studied at the Royal Guild in London), to Japanese embroidery techniques on silk canvas, to sampler done on a linen ground.

Guild meetings are energizing, Smith says. "It's fun to be with other stitchers, to see what they are working on, to learn new techniques." What she has found, "is that the more you do, the more you want to read and study, and the more you read and study, the more you want to do."

That's really what attracted her the second time around, says McCleary. "You can't learn everything. There's always something new."

There are three basic approaches to needlepoint, explains Smith. You can get a canvas with a design painted on, and then you fill it in, using suggested colors or your own ideas. Or, you can draw or paint your own design on the canvas. The third option is to count stitches, following a written pattern or your own design, somewhat like counted cross-stitch.

But, there's lots of room for freedom of expression. "It's as viable an art form as painting," says Smith.

The exciting thing, adds McCleary, is starting with an empty canvas and then watching it evolve and come to life."

It is often painstaking work. McCleary estimates that she spends anywhere between three to five months on an individual piece. "But its also very therapeutic. I work out a lot of things while I'm at it." Of course, she adds, she's usually working on two or three projects at a time, so if she gets tired of one, she can pick up another.

McCleary incorporates many of her pieces into the decor of her home. "It was funny," she says, "when we moved into this home, I lived for years with blank walls because I couldn't find the art I wanted." When she started doing needlepoint, she found the perfect art for her walls.

"But when my husband recently asked me what I was going to do, now that the walls were filled up, I laughed. I'm not doing it to fill the walls. It's the process that's enjoyable."

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E-mail: carma@desnews.com