Who We Are

Welcome to Chandail Needlework, home of the most fabulous hand painted needlepoint canvases with a wide variety of threads and fibers, needlepoint tools and accessories, and needlepoint books. We specialize in creating wonderful stitch guides for series and individual needlepoint kits as well as designing highly creative and unique needlepoint finishing.

We are proud to participate with Lone Star American Needlepoint Guild and The National NeedleArts Association.

Store Owner:

Emily Dawson Pannier

Emily Pannier at Chandail Emily Dawson Pannier is the new owner of Chandail Needlework. In August 2004, she purchased this needlework shop after having worked there for three years prior. Emily has been a stitching “addict” for many years, and was originally taught by her mother, Alice Dawson, as a child.

Emily is a native Houstonian. She left to pursue her degree in Architecture from the University of Arizona and placed an emphasis on art. While in college she studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark as well as Italy and the Greek Isles. Emily has also lived in various parts of the country for short periods of time including Washington, DC where she was a US Senate Intern for Lloyd Bentsen of Texas. She finally decided to come home and set roots in Houston where she met her husband, Bob. Emily then worked for Arthur Andersen Business Consulting for several years until they had their first child. They now have two young girls, Rowan and Ellia.

Emily spends every free moment stitching and creating fun and creative projects for customers. Believe it or not her architecture background comes into play when creating stitch guides. Much thought and detail are incorporated into her stitch guides to create three dimensional effects while balancing textures and color at the same time. And most importantly she tries to make sure that her customers have fun stitching their pieces.

Weekday Employees

Emily has worked to develop a strong sense of community amongst the people who work at Chandail and with the wonderful customers who shop with us.

Lori Britton

Lori began at Chandail last fall. She is new to needlepoint, but an old hand at working in a shop after owning Britton Three Gifts and Toys for many years. Lori and her husband, Jimmy, have three daughters and a son ranging in age from 21 to 11, Lori manages our Series and loves helping customers. She enjoys her family, time spent with friends cooking and laughing, and needlepointing with her Black Lab, Nelly, curled up at her feet.

Ann Wheat

In July we welcomed Ann Wheat to our team. Ann is a widely known artist who began Ann Wheat Pace, Inc. in 1991 featuring her distinctive line of hand painted ceramics. In 2003 Ann added her beautiful hand painted needlepoint canvases to the line. Be sure to visit Chandailneedlework.com for a link to Ann’s website. Ann earned her MBA from Rice in 1990, followed by a Masters in Mythological Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2005. Ann has three grown children and enjoys spending time with eight beautiful grandchildren. She also enjoys needlepoint, watercolor, ceramics, knitting, gardening, and her three loving dogs Dot, Tennessee and Fitzhugh. Ann works full time and her creativity shines through all she does.

Laurie Walden

Laurie is the newest member of the Chandail family and began working here in August. Laurie began her needlework at a young age working with her grandmother on all sorts of projects. She has been a longtime teacher locally and her passion for stumpwork and ribbon embroidery is contagious. Laurie assists in the shop on Tuesdays writing creative stitch guides and helping customers. She teaches our Thursday morning and afternoon classes – be sure to call ahead to reserve your place. Laurie and her husband Pat have a 14 year old daughter named Hayley and two dogs. She enjoys agility training which seems to be a better workout for Laurie than her loving Lab.

Weekend Employees

Cheryl Moore

Cheryl grew up in Las Vegas, where she learned to needlepoint at the age of 19 from a neighbor. The first piece she stitched entirely on her own was hand-drawn and stitched completely backwards. She has progressed, fortunately, in needlepoint as well as knitting, some crochet and quilting. Cheryl moved to Houston 35 years ago to manage two stores in the Galleria. After 16 years in the retail clothing business, she moved to less stressful employment. Cheryl has worked on Saturday at Chandail for 3 years, as well as having full-time employment with a large family-owned plumbing company. When her daughter, Meghan, who worked at Chandail for several years left to attend Ole Miss, it was Mom’s opportunity to happily move into the Saturday spot. Cheryl is a member of several ANG and EGA chapters.

Kim Roberts

Kim is originally from the Lubbock area and has lived in Houston several times (due to her career with a major oil company). She has needlepointed for over 30 years and continues to enjoy the hobby. She is married to a very understanding husband who tolerates the stitching addiction admirably. Kim has also managed to lure her mother and sister in as regular patrons of the store. Prior to Emily’s purchasing Chandail, Kim was a regular stitcher on Saturday’s for her weekly “therapy”. When given the opportunity to work “on the other side”, she jumped at the chance.

Sherri Cooley

Sherri Cooley hails from Houston and is a long time stitcher. Sherri was exposed to different forms of needlework through her mother and grandmother growing up in Pasadena, Texas, including quilting, sewing, embroidery and needlepoint. She has been actively involved with the Embroidery Guild of America and the American Needlepoint Guild over the last decade, and has held various offices, including president, of several local chapters. Through her affiliation with the guilds, Sherri has studied extensively with both national and international needlework designers.