Found: US source for Pony needles!
The folks at Pony told me that Kirstin at Muench Yarns carries their needles. I checked the Muench Yarns website, and was only able to find their KNITTING needles… but after a couple of emails, I got in touch with Kirstin herself, and she does indeed have them! She has the 9, 10, 11, and 12 sizes, all in the gold eye.
From her email:
I do have the Embroidery Crewels in sizes 9,10,11,12 in stock. They are with
a gold eye. Funny, I do not remember anymore why I have them, I believe it
was a special order, but I thought to order 500 each extra at the time.
I am a wholesale distributor, and do not sell directly to the public, so I
would need to have any inquires go directly to info@muenchyarns.com where I
would set up a customer service person to handle the needle inquiries.
The prices are as follows :
Size 9- 16 needles per package $1.50 each pkg of 16 needles
Size 10-16 needles per package $1.50 each pkg of 16 needles
Size 11-12 needles per package $1.50 each pkg of 12 needles
Size 12-12 needles per package $1.50 each pkg of 12 needles
So! Anybody who wants to get the Pony crewel needles, she’s got them, and they’re inexpensive, and they’re in the US!
Thank you! I will also pass this information on to Hedgehog Handworks — she does retail sales, and perhaps something can be worked out.
I really wish somebody in the US had the gold-plated ones… those are AWESOME. It seems that this kind of fine-thread work, like stitch painting, etc., is catching on more and more lately – maybe it’ll reach a point where it’s worth it for one of the needlework shops to stock these.
Joady at Hedgehog contacted the person mentioned here, and so she will be carrying the needles for retail sale. I figure that the thing to do is show her that there is a market, by encouraging people to buy them from her. Most of her business is mail-order, so it need not be just locals.
Excellent! I’ll post about it when I start the next embroidery project.