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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Two Great Needlework Resources and An Excuse

If you're looking for something inspirational and different for needlework projects, here are a couple resources!

Tricia Wilson Nguyen of Thistle Threads (and of Plimoth Jacket reknown) has recently published a new Needlework Nibble that makes good use of Gilt Sylke Twist and some of the stitches used on the Plimoth Jacket. Tricia's Needlework Nibbles are tiny projects - usually only a couple inches in either direction, size-wise - that employ some interesting threads and techniques, so that you can get a taste of these without launching into a big time-consuming project. I love the idea!

Needlework Nibbles at Thistle Threads

Her latest Needlework Nibble is a bunch of grapes worked with Gilt Sylke Twist. She sells the little kit for a reasonable price - less than $20 - and offers the embroidery pattern and instructions for free on her website. Now, this is really generous! For those of us who might have some GST in our stash, this is a great little project to try with it, and we can do it without purchasing any supplies. But, if you don't have GST in your stash, her kit is a wonderful way to try many colors of this gorgeous thread, at a reasonable price (less than the cost of a spool of GST). Among the instructions for the project, you'll also find a Gilt Sylke Twist Primer (PDF), which details very clearly how to work with GST.

Another interesting tidbit from Tricia is a great little video on the sparkle of Gilt Sylke Twist. Yep, that alone should get you drooling over those threads!

And speaking of historical threads and so forth, recently, I've become quite avidly enchanted with the Needlprint blog and all the goings-on with the Mary Wigham samplers all around the globe. It really is fascinating to read the interesting stuff on that website! Recently, Jacqueline featured a beautiful border from a Scottish sampler, which is available for free to download, if you have the right design software for cross stitch. You can get the software through her website - look for the Infinity Beatrix Potter deal, where you get the software and all the Beatrix Potter design motifs for $20.

I think these Infinity charts that Jacqueline sells on her website are super-duper interesting, and would make a good resource especially for designers. They are counted thread designs, but I can't help thinking that many of them can be adapted to other forms of surface embroidery, too. I like the Quaker and antique-type sampler motifs that are featured on Needleprint. Have you seen them? What do you think? I did something with one of them the other day, and I'll share it with you soon. Hopefully. (I haven't actually finished it. In fact, I'm not finishing much lately. Argh.)

Now, on to the excuse... for those of you who were expecting the second-to-the-last Long and Short Stitch Lesson today, never fear - it's coming! It'll be up tomorrow! I got tied up yesterday and couldn't finish the lesson! Sorry about that!

Have a terrific Thursday!

Labels: embroidery resources, Gilt Sylke Twist, historical needlework, needlework websites

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Church Embroidery: Watch This Progress!

When Ruth O'Leary contacted me about her taking an embroidery commission on a banner for Durham Cathedral, I was really intrigued about her banner-making plans. Since then, she has undertaken the commission and begun the work. And best yet, she's blogging the whole process!

If you haven't had an opportunity to stop by Ruth O'Leary Textile Arts, now would be a good time to do so, while she's still in the relative beginning stages of the St. Cuthbert's Banner.

Ruth O'Leary Textile Art Embroidery and Inspiration

Of course, if you like goldwork, you should stop by just to take a look at her header on her blog. I love it.

Ruth has been commissioned to re-create the St. Cuthbert's Banner, a banner of which there is no surviving image, but which was described in detail some five hundred years ago in writing. From the written description, she is creating her version of the banner.

So far, on the St. Cuthbert's banner, you can see Ruth's fabric choices, the conceptual design, a mock-up, the appliqué process, and the first leg of the cross, which is worked in red velvet, with red satin pieces appliqued on to create the design. You can also see a very nice goldwork circle already finished. She also shows how she neatened the edge of the applique cross with couched gold Jap - all the steps being interesting and suspense-building components of the whole creative process behind this banner. I can't wait to see it finished!

This year, I agreed to make a banner for a church-related event that takes place at the end of October. Oh golly, October is coming up fast! While Ruth's banner is much more complex, much more artistic, and much more historically relevant to the church for which it is commissioned, mine is - at least in concept so far - relatively simple, and mostly appliquéd. The color scheme, though, is the same - red, white, and gold, which are typical (and glorious) liturgical colors. Though time seems to be somewhat scarce, I have to admit that watching Ruth's process inspires me to want to push through my banner project and make some headway on it!

You reckon I can manage it? Realistically speaking, I'm somewhat doubtful. And if I don't, that's ok, I suppose. I can still enjoy the whole banner-making process (and actually, I can enjoy it a whole lot more!) by watching Ruth's St. Cuthbert Banner unfold.

I hope you get a chance to check out her website and watch this historical re-creation come to life!

Enjoy!

Labels: ecclesiastical embroidery, embroidery resources, goldwork, historical needlework, needlework websites

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Saturday, September 12, 2009

Linen for Hand Embroidery

Linen is my all-time absolute Favorite Fabric for hand embroidery, and there are many good online sources for purchasing quality linen. At the request of some readers, here's some information about buying linen for hand embroidery.

The range of types and quality of linen for hand embroidery is pretty vast. It's Very Vast, actually. In sharing my experiences with linen, I'll only be talking about a limited selection of linens available for needlework. I'm always happy to hear about different types of needlework linen, where it's available, and what people like about it - so if you have any input on this subject, please do leave a comment below so that we get as broad a view as possible on different types of linens.

That being said, some linen made for needlework I just can't stand. Have you ever gone into the local craft store - Joann's, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Hancock Fabrics, etc. - and explored the fabrics in the needlework section? You'll sometimes find linen there - it comes folded in bags hanging on hooks or rolled in plastic tubes. I'm not sure of the brands off the top of my head, but I fear some of those packages are probably DMC. Now, I like DMC stranded cotton for an everyday embroidery floss, but golly. Those packages of linen just don't do it when you want a quality fabric. They're ok for learning on, I suppose, but when you're ready to kick things up a notch, it's time to look for better linen.

So, here's some linen talk that may help you decide on what kind of linen you want to use, and some sources for buying linen for needlework.

First of all, what is linen? It's a fabric made from the inner skin of the flax plant. It's been around as a fabric for thousands of years. Way back in history some four or five thousand years ago, the Jews of the Old Testament used it, the Egyptians used it (before they got into cotton, I suppose!), as did the Greeks and the Romans, and eventually, it moved north into Europe with the re-civilization of Europe after the fall of Rome. We can say that flax has been woven into fabric, then, across pretty much all the known ages of the written history of Western Civilization. It's Old Stuff.

Linen has always been somewhat expensive, and this is due to the way it must be harvested, processed, and woven. If you want to read about the making of linen - from harvest to weaving - from an historical perspective, with nice photos along the way, take a look at the article "Linen Weaving" on Maggie Blanck's website. It's really interesting! I stumbled across it a while ago when I was preparing a teaching unit on the book Silas Marner.

When considering linen for needlework, it's necessary to determine ahead of time what type of project you're planning to stitch, because the type of project will determine the type of fabric you want to use. For example, if you're stitching a counted cross stitch piece, you'll want "even weave" linen. If you're stitching a crewel work piece (or something similar to it), you might want to use linen twill. If you're stitching goldwork and you want a linen ground, you don't necessarily need something as heavy as twill, but you'll want a good, sturdy linen (probably with a closer weave, higher thread count - but not necessarily even weave). If you're working regular surface embroidery - say, a fine needlepainting project - you'll want a lighter weave of linen (but not too light that it's flimsy), with a higher count thread that's firm enough and closely woven enough to support all the stitches. Oh, so many things to consider!!

Then, of course, there's the question of quality. Are you stitching a project in which you are investing much time and money, to produce a work of art that you want to last for a long time? Then you probably want to use a good quality linen.

In considering quality of linen, you have to go back to its origins - the flax crop. Flax crops around the world vary in the quality of flax they produce. Flax is grown in many countries, and linen is woven in many countries - from Ireland, to Germany, to Egypt, to Italy, to China, to the US, and so on. It seems to be the common opinion, though, that flax grown in Belgium and other close-by areas of northern Europe is the "best" flax for making linen. Belgian linen is usually considered good linen. Though my experiences in fabric do not encompass every type of linen made in every region of the world, I have tried lots of different linens for stitching. I have to say that I have never used a Belgian linen I didn't like. Even the less-expensive Belgian linens I've tried have been pretty nice.

And that brings us to the question of expense. By less-expensive Belgian linen, I'm talking about $30 - $40 / yard. Many fine quality needlework linens are more expensive than this.

My all-time favorite linen is Legacy linen. It's a Belgian linen woven with nice plump threads, and though it is not all even-weave fabric, even the plain weave comes close to being even weave, as the warp and weft threads are generally pretty evenly sized. It has a GREAT hand. It's got body, but it isn't stiff, and it isn't prepared with sizing to give it body - even after washing, it still retains its nice drape along with linen crispness. It irons beautifully. I just love Legacy linen. But... it is ... whew. Expensive.

On the bright side, we don't normally use a whole yard of linen for a needlework project, do we? So retailers often make good linen available in popular-sized cuts.

If you're looking for good linen, here are the brands that I think range from Very Good to good, and readers are welcome to add their input for their favorite types of linen in the comments below, too:

1. Legacy linen - my all-time favorite. I think it's the best linen on the market, personally.

I buy different types of Legacy linen through various sources:

Hedgehog Handworks now carries a good range, especially if you're looking for linen suitable for historical needlework. Out of the linens listed there, I love the alabaster angel, alba maxima, and ecclesiastical.

Needle in a Haystack carries a decent line of Legacy linen, including even-weave.

Wyndham Needleworks (it takes them forever to fill an order - if you don't mind waiting two or three weeks, though, it's a decent source).

Lakeside Linens, by the way, offer some hand-dyed Legacy linens, so if you want the hand-dyed look with the quality of Legacy linens, see what Lakeside Linens has to offer in this line. I haven't tried any of the Lakeside Linens, because I don't normally work on colored fabric, but I've got a project brewing in my head that requires a nice light buttery yellow ground fabric - I may be contacting Lakeside Linens or one of their retailers to see what they have.

2. Weddigen linen - this is a new-to-me linen that I discuss in this article on Schwalm whitework. I've also given the source for it in the article. It's available in two even-weave thread counts, approximately 32 threads per inch and 50 threads per inch. It's a nice linen, and I intend to use it in the future for other projects besides Schwalm.

3. Church linen - I have ordered excellent linen from Church Linens and Vestments. Elizabeth Morgan stocks one kind of linen and it is perfect for church linens as well as any kind of surface embroidery that you want to work on white linen. It's a nice quality linen for surface embroidery and very reasonably priced at $27 / yard (54" wide). I like it a lot, and I'm pretty sure she's still selling it. I need to order more!!

4. Combinations of various types of even-weave linen, from Zweigart to Graziano (Italian linen) to Lakeside Linens can be purchased through various needlework shops online. I have not tried Graziano linen, but I would like to one of these days. Zweigart is ok for counted thread work, and Lakeside linens are actually other types of linen (like Legacy, Zweigart, Graziano, etc.) that are hand-dyed - I mentioned them above under Legacy linen.

Some sources for a variety of linens:

I like Shakespeare's Peddler - she has a good selection of fabrics and is very friendly and easy to order from (she can send a Paypal invoice, which is very convenient).

Nordic Needle carries a wide variety of popular even-weave linens. They don't seem to carry higher end linens (like Dower quality linens - Legacy, Strathaven, etc.) but they have a good selection of decent even-weaves.

Needle in a Haystack - already mentioned above - has all kinds of different types of needlework linens, including some of the higher-end linens like Legacy.

You've probably noticed that my sources overlap, but that's the way it is - I order from a fairly limited selection of shops, but they all carry good linen, have great service, and fair enough prices.

What about you? What type of linen do you use and where do you buy it? What's your favorite type, and why do you like it? Feel free to comment and help me broaden the topic a bit, so that readers can benefit from your input, too! Thanks heaps!

Enjoy the weekend!

Labels: embroidery resources, embroidery tips and tricks, fabric for embroidery, hand embroidery information, linen, needlework websites

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Three Types of Silk for Hand Embroidery

Kreinik is an embroidery thread company here in the US that's been around since the 1970's. It's a family run business that has become very well known in the embroidery world - I've never been in a needlework shop or the needlework section of a craft, sewing, or hobby store that didn't have some kind of Kreinik thread available for purchase. While they are probably best known for their different metallic cords and blending filaments (that's just a guess...), they also manufacture some beautiful threads. I want to show you three of their silks and tell you a little bit about them.

Silk Serica, Silk Bella, and Silk Mori by Kreinik are all 100% silk threads for hand embroidery. The first two threads - Silk Serica and Silk Bella - are filament silks, while Silk Mori is a spun silk.

The difference between filament and spun silk is found in the silk fibers that are used for manufacturing the thread, and how the threads are manufactured. Filament silk is spun straight off the cocoon in long lengths. It is a very high sheen thread and quite strong. Spun silk is made from the "left-overs" after the cocoon has been unraveled. The silk is spun much like wool or cotton, in small pieces that, through the spinning process, work into a long strand. Spun silk has a nice lustre to it - it is soft, and generally it is "stranded" - that is, it's put up in a certain number of strands per thread off the skein (like DMC or Anchor cotton, which are stranded cottons).

Kreinik Silk Embroidery Threads

Silk Serica is a 3-ply filament silk. It works well on 18-ct canvas, for good coverage with tent stitch. It's also a beautiful thread for techniques such as Hardanger, where it makes very nice Kloster blocks.

Kreinik Silk Embroidery Threads

It can be used in any application in which you would use a silk buttonhole twist, but, from what I can see, the Serica is a looser twisted thread. Because it is looser, you can actually separate the plies (carefully), to use in satin stitching and so forth. When separated, the three ply thread becomes even more "shiny," and any waves that are the result of being twisted can be smoothed out by slightly dampening the thread.

Silk Serica comes in 142 colors that match Silk Mori.

Kreinik Silk Embroidery Threads

Silk Bella (the second row of spools) is also a 3-ply filament silk, but it is much finer than Silk Serica. Unlike Silk Serica, it can't be separated into individual plies.

Kreinik Silk Embroidery Threads

This fine thread is perfect for any application where tiny detailing is desired. It works well on high count fabrics for stitching over one thread, in counted work. It's great for blackwork, and can be used well in needle lace and pulled thread techniques.

Silk Bella comes in 46 colors.

Kreinik Silk Embroidery Threads

This little picture is a sample given in the Kreinik brochure. The Kloster blocks (those are the heavier white stitching) are worked in Silk Serica. The woven bars and the tiny filler stitch in the center are worked in Silk Bella. The leaves on the outside are worked in Silk Mori.

Kreinik Silk Embroidery Threads

Silk Mori (the pull skeins in the last row) is a typical stranded silk, used in the same applications you'd use stranded cotton. It's a six-strand spun silk, and, because it is silk, it has a higher lustre than cotton, and that lustre will last indefinitely. (Mercerized cotton tends to lose its sheen over the years...) Silk Mori comes in 142 colors, like Silk Serica.

Kreinik Silk Embroidery Threads

Another little sample here from the Kreinik brochure helps demonstrate the differences in these three silks.

The color selection for these silks is really nice, and I'm eager to stitch with them. I've stitched with Silk Mori, but haven't personally done any embroidery with the Silk Serica or the Silk Bella. I hope to soon! You can find color charts for these silks available on Kreinik's website.

To help you get a better idea of the threads, I'll write up a comparison between them and other similar threads, so you can see these threads in relation to more familiar needlework threads. In the meantime, though, if you're looking for some beautiful silks to try out, you might want to give these a look! I love the feel of them, and I think they're going to be very nice for stitching.

Have you used any of these Kreinik silks? Any tips? Any information? Let us know!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework websites, pictures, silk, threads

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Society Silk Embroidery - A Beautiful Resource

Lately, you've seen a few mentions of Society Silk embroidery - also called Silk Art embroidery, needle painting, thread painting, silk shading, and ... on and on - here on Needle 'n Thread. The box of vintage needlework supplies (including silk threads and stamped linens from the early part of the 20th century) was, for me, a catalyst for further explorations into Society Silk. I also featured some of these historic needlework items in my give-away a couple weeks ago. Since then, it's been a case of Silk-Art-Embroidery-on-the-Brain.

Needless to say, then, I was super-duper delighted when a reader left a comment directing me to her Flickr page that is jam-packed full of 192 photos of Society Silk embroidery! Oh, wow! I was in Silk-Shaded Heaven.

Society Silk Embroidery Images on Flickr

Society Silk Embroidery Images on Flickr

This particular collection on Flickr includes color plates from books published by silk companies and now in the public domain. The collector has put her images together in one place, so that the rest of us can meander through some really gorgeous examples of silk shading and other embroidery in silk.

Society Silk Embroidery Images on Flickr

Even if nothing else in the collection thrills you to the tips of your toes (a scenario which is highly unlikely!), then this embroidered peacock surely will. It is... it's - amazing.

Society Silk Embroidery Images on Flickr

While you're meandering around Embroiderist's Flickr collection, make sure to click on Embroidery Collection, which will take you to a more general page that includes all her collections related to embroidery. Beware, though - you might spend hours browsing! There are heaps of vintage designs there!

Society Silk Embroidery Images on Flickr

I hope you enjoy browsing the Embroiderist's collections - and thank you, Embroiderist, for commenting on Needle 'n Thread and posting your link! I thought it was far too good a source of inspiration to leave it lost in the comments - hope you don't mind the write-up!

Labels: embroidery resources, long and short stitch, needlepainting, needlework pictures, needlework websites, pictures, silk

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Charting Text & Calculating Fabric Needs

Here are two terrific resources online for charting text for counted thread techniques (cross stitch, back stitch, blackwork, canvas work, etc.) and for calculating fabric needs when setting up a new project.

The first resource is Crosstitch.com's "Fontform," where you can chart your own text in 21 different fonts, and print the chart from the generated PDF.

Cross Stitch Text Generator

All you have to do is select your font, the width of the piece in stitches, and the color, then type in your text, check off whether you want it centered or not, and then preview and get the chart. It's that simple!

Cross Stitch Text Generator

Here's my test run. I'm thinking this tool would be Particularly Handy for card-making and embroidery on perforated paper!

There's also a handy stitch calculator available on the same page.

The second resource is similar: Stitchpoint offers another text-charting program, but the format is different.

Cross Stitch Text Generator

There are six fonts to choose from, four cross stitch and two backstitch. After selecting the font, you use the "keyboard" on the screen to select your text, then hit print. The image prints straight to your printer.

Cross Stitch Text Generator

What I really like about the Stitchpoint page is their little fabric calculator.

Cross Stitch Text Generator

Up in the right-hand corner of the page, you'll see three icons. The first one is a handy-dandy stitch calculator that tells you precisely what size to cut your fabric, taking into consideration the threads per inch (or centimeter - you can calculate it either way), the number of threads you are stitching over, the number of vertical and horizontal threads in the design, and the number of inches extra you want around the finished embroidery. Very handy, indeed!

So, if you're looking for a way to chart some simple text for your next project, check out both of these resources!

Thanks, Judith, for pointing these out!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery resources, needlework websites

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Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Fantastic News from Hedgehog Handworks!!

Hedgehog Handworks has recently been ... well, "updated," for lack of a better word. It's always been a wonderful online shop, and a great resource for needlework books, costuming supplies, goldwork supplies, and threads. But nooooow, they've gotten better! Let me tell you all about it!

Hedgehog Handworks is an online-only needlework shop; there's no brick-and-mortar Hedgehog. The online store is run by a super nice lady named Joady, and I love her taste in supplies!

Hedgehog Handworks Needlework Supplies

What will you find new on the website?

For starters, Joady is now carrying some fantastic linen - Legacy linen in different weights as well as some Strathaven linen that's similar in weave to 17th century linen.

You'll also find at Hedgehog the whole range of Hardwicke Manor hoops, which I recently discussed with you here on Needle 'n Thread.

And - jolly, jolly! Are you looking for slate frames? She's got plenty of sizes available!

Recently, I reviewed the book Letters and Monograms from the House of Malbranche, and you'll find it available at Hedgehog, too.

But here's the icing on the cake: During August, to celebrate their 22 years in business, Hedgehog Handworks is offering FREE SHIPPING to US customers.

(Murphy's Law: I placed an order last week!)

Hedgehog Handworks Needlework Supplies

Now would be a good time to indulge in a few trial supplies, like different goldwork threads (she also carries the range of Gilt Sylke Twist - and it's less expensive than anywhere else I've seen it!)

Goldwork Supplies from Hedgehog Handworks

Goldwork Supplies from Hedgehog Handworks

If you're looking for goldwork supplies, you'll find a whole range of real metal threads available. The last time I splurged on goldwork supplies, I bought them from Hedgehog. Maybe you just want to "try" a thread, but didn't want to pay shippingn on top of the cost? Now you can!

Another thing: You'll get fantastic customer service, I'm sure. It's sometimes difficult to say that about a shop absolutely , because everyone has their On Days and their Off Days. But I've never ordered anything from Hedgehog without having a pleasant experience - and quick delivery, too!

So, stop by Hedgehog during August, see what's new in the shop, and enjoy free shipping!

Labels: embroidery resources, goldwork, needlework websites

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Sunday, July 12, 2009

Needlework Website Hopping for the Weekend

If your Sunday mornings are a bit more relaxed than other days of the week, you might have time to do some needlework website hopping. Here some features and websites I've seen lately that I like, if you want to join me for a quick tour...

On Materialistic, Kelly is still featuring her Jacobean leaf series. She's up to leaf #7 of 8. Besides showing you her finished leaf, she includes a nice line pattern for free, in case you want to try out some Jacobean leaves, too.

BibliOdyssey has up some strange and funky and kinda fun-looking Indian Designs that would make interesting embroidery patterns. They caught my eye as especially suitable for embroidery because they are very clear line drawings for the most part. If you like stitching the unusual, you might check them out.

Completely unrelated to needlework, Lifehaker has a great little idea for adding outdoor "atmosphere" for your summer evenings in the form of jar candles. The only reason I point it out is because I think it's a great idea! Actually, it's something we've been doing for years - only we use the little half-pint, faceted mason jars and a larger candle (so they last longer). We set them on the porch railings, outdoor tables, up the steps, and so forth. They're great when you have a multi-table outdoor gathering in the evening. I never thought of hanging them in trees...

Wow, that was completely off topic, wasn't it?

Sibling Rivalry has a cute little free embroidery pattern page up - called Seafood Salad, which is a great name! It features fish of all sorts, including jellyfish and sea horses, with all kinds of expressions! As far as seafood salad goes, it looks rather scrumptuous.

You know how much I like keeping up with the Plimoth Plantation Jacket Project... well, here's a great way to support the project and come out with a little something really nice - they're selling notecards featuring different stitched motifs from the jacket. And they are really pretty! They would make an excellent gift for stitching and non-stitching friends alike. If I get them (still, uh, balancing the budget after vacation!), I'd use them as cards, but I'd probably also use them a bit as stitch guides!

Following up on the Temari post from the other day, Jeanne of Just String has posted some information about her beginning Temari adventures, which is very interesting to read! She points to some good sources, as well, and talks about the length of time involved in making a core for the first time. Now I'm Really Excited to give Temari a try. I've ordered a couple new books, which I'll review for you once they arrive - I think they'll be much better than the last one I purchased!

Over on CraftyPod, which is always bedecked with one creative idea after another, you'll find that Diane has produced an e-book called "Weaving Un-Loomed" featuring some great little weaving-without-the-loom projects. If you like weaving, or the look of woven things, but agree that looms are too complex, large, expensive, and so forth, you can satisfy your desire to be a weaver through these little projects that look like loads of fun. My mother has always wanted to be a weaver.....

Elizabeth over on Sew in Love has posted some beautiful finished embroidery projects that you'll enjoy seeing. My favorite is the strawberry wreath, stitched in silk, and I love what she did with the blue dragonfly project! Check those out!

Finally, this little stitched postcard over on Nini Makes is really cute - and she details instructions for making your own.

Well, that'll do for this morning, won't it? Hope you're having a lovely weekend!

PS. I cleaned up the studio yesterday, and for the first time in weeks, picked up a needle and did some stitching (at 10:30 last night, finally!). Oh, it isn't a very exciting project - just very simple and relaxing. But I did organize and make lists, plans, and so forth for upcoming events. Yes, the long and short stitch is still in the works. Just bear with me as I catch up!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework websites

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Monday, July 06, 2009

Threadneedle Street in Issaquah, Washington

After stopping in North Dakota at Nordic Needle for some needlework shopping - yes, I admit it, I bought embroidery supplies at each of these shops! - we struck out west towards the Seattle area of Washington, via Glacier National Park and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. On the way in to Seattle, very conveniently located off Interstate-90 in the town of Issaquah, is Threadneedle Street, a small needlework shop specializing predominantly in needlepoint and counted thread work.

On the way in to Washington, the scenery changes somewhat drastically after the mountains of Idaho and western Montana. The eastern part of Washington is rather desert-like and scrubby.

Washington Scenery

The Columbia River is an impressive site. There are a couple dams along the river in the middle part of the state, and one is in the vicinity of the highway, making for a nice scenic stopping point. So we stopped. And it was scenic.

Then we headed into the Seattle area, stopping at Issaquah. Really, when I say it's an easy stop, I mean it. If you're on I-90, you simply take the exit, drive into the town on the main street, and pull over to park. It's about that easy.

Threadneedle Street Needlework Shop, Issaquah, Washington

Threadneedle Street Needlework Shop, Issaquah, Washington

Of the four shops I visited, Threadneedle Street is certainly the smallest. In fact, if you weren't looking for it specifically, you might miss it altogether!

Threadneedle Street Needlework Shop, Issaquah, Washington

In case you're looking for the shop some day, though, the pink pig might help you find it. This gal sits at the end of the sidewalk on the same side of the street the shop is on... I didn't inspect her closely, so I'm not sure what she's all about. I suspect she's a grill...

Threadneedle Street Needlework Shop, Issaquah, Washington

Inside the shop, you'll find very closely arranged (as in, tight quarters!) merchandise - all kinds of threads, tools, accessories, beads, etc. - that are used in embroidery.

Threadneedle Street Needlework Shop, Issaquah, Washington

You'll find shelves of pre-cut fabric and racks of beads, buttons, and little items.

Threadneedle Street Needlework Shop, Issaquah, Washington

You'll find racks and baskets full of kits and charts and so forth. And tucked here and there, lines of neat books for sale. (I bought a terrific book here that I'm looking forward to showing you!)

Threadneedle Street Needlework Shop, Issaquah, Washington

You'll also find some walls devoted to painted canvases, from elaborate Christmas stockings to geometric designs, etc. They're very pretty and colorful!

Threadneedle Street Needlework Shop, Issaquah, Washington

But to me, the greatest appeal of Threadneedle Street is this. It's the Needlework System 4 stand and all its accessories and parts - and she stocks the pieces in the shop, instead of special ordering each time a customer wants the stand. This means that chances are, if you stop in, you'll be able to pick up a part right then and there. Every other needlework shop I've dealt with regarding this stand keeps a demo model, and then has to special order the pieces you want (and you end up with a 10 - 14 day wait). But here, you can buy the pieces you want, in stock. AND - she has the best prices in the country! If you buy the stand and frame clamp from Threadneedle Street, you're spending almost $50 less here than anywhere else. And you're not having to wait. What a deal!

I bought the extension piece, by the way, for my Needlework System 4 stand. This allows the stand to easily work from the side, over the arm of a couch. (Feel free to read my review of the Needlework System 4 stand, if you aren't sure what I'm talking about!)

So, my review of Threadneedle Street in a nutshell:

Merchandise: There's a vast quantity of merchandise in this little store! She carries all the popular threads for cross stitch and needlepoint, including wools and blends and so forth, as well as a few different hand-dyed threads that I had not seen before. Lots of little accessories are available, as well. There's a good collection of interesting needlework-related books that you won't find on the shelf of a typical bookstore, and a few that I had not seen before, one of which I bought. Seeing some Access Commodities merchandise there, I figure that the folks at Threadneedle Street can pretty much order anything that you want, if they don't have it in stock.

Shop Layout: As needlework shops go, I'd call this one "average" in size. Most needlework shops I've been to are relatively small in general. Threadneedle Street is no exception - the shop is small and seems somewhat crowded, but when you start to look around and see what's in there, you realize there's a pretty clever use of space going on. No space is wasted.

Prices: They actually seem a little bit less, overall, than in most places, though I can't be sure of that with everything there. Certainly, it's the case with the Needlework System 4 stand, but I also thought the threads were just slightly less expensive than in other shops. In any case, there wasn't anything that struck me as outlandish, price-wise, at all.

Service: This is the one shop I can say without reserve that I met with great service - that perfect balance between warm and friendly and open, capped with professional knowledge, and not overwhelming. Just a nice, friendly, open personality, ready to help and having no hang-ups about answering questions. It was, in short, very refreshing to go to a needlework shop and receive really genuine, sincere, niceness for a change. You just don't see that often in needlework shops, thought it's unfortunate to have to say so. Now, their online service may be a bit different - the website notes that they are often busy with customers in the store and therefore may have to call you back if you call to place an order. I have the impression the shop is worked by very few people (I only saw one!), so if you do call them to place an order, expect to be either put on hold or called back.

I liked Threadneedle Street. If I lived in the vicinity, I think it would be the kind of shop that I'd establish a good working relationship with. There's a real niceness and enthusiasm about needlework there that I haven't met at too many needlework shops.

I'd love to see the Threadneedle Street website updated into a regular shopping-cart type website. I think this would ease the ordering situation for out-of-town customers and it would probably make the job on the selling end easier, too.

After leaving Issaquah, we headed to the Seattle area. My folks used to live on Whidby Island, so we went there to see the old haunts and so forth.

Washington Scenery

Deception Pass is gorgeous! Well, ok - it's water! You'll find that I get overly enthusiastic about anything that looks like abundant water! We drove through Whidby Island, took a ferry to Seattle, stayed overnight, did some looking around the next day, and then headed to Oregon...

Crater Lake Scenery

...where we saw Crater Lake...

Crater Lake Scenery

...which is blue beyond belief, and still, and quiet, and cold. Snow still lined the roads up at the top of the mountain, with four-foot cuts of the white stuff in some places along the road. The mosquitoes up there, by the way, were huge and Really Hungry.

California Scenery

From Oregon, we headed into California, where we drove through the Napa Valley, stopping at a few wineries along the way. The contrast between green and lush and dry and sandy in the area is quite intriguing and really beautiful. I love the grape vines! They are something else - I'd love to see them when they are fully laden with grapes.

California Scenery

My favorite stop was at Peju Winery, which is a little boutique winery in the Napa Valley. I prefer boutique wineries to the Big-Wigs (like Berringer, etc.). They're more fun, more intimate, more interesting, and they do fun stuff with their wine. I bought, untasted, a bottle of zinfandel port (port-style wine, anyway) as a gift. They only make this every so many years, and they were down to six bottles left. It was a risk to pay the price without knowing for sure if it was good, but we weren't disappointed! Good Stuff Indeed!

This leg of the trip took us into the Bay Area, where I visited two extraordinary needlework shops... coming up!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework and travel, needlework websites, personal, pictures

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Sunday, July 05, 2009

Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota

The first needlework shop stop on my 6,200-mile-road trip was in Fargo, North Dakota, at Nordic Needle. Now, this is a shop I have always and forever wanted to go to! And since I was heading to Minnesota for a three days, I figured this would be a prime opportunity to visit Nordic Needle. This was the beginning of the Great Road Trip Plan that took me in a huge loop to the West Coast and back to Kansas. Really - I was just planning to add a couple hundred miles to the trip and jump up to Fargo! But Mom and Dad suddenly got the "bug" to travel, too, and so the three of us concocted this ever-changing journey that took us to some very interesting spots and some old haunts where my folks lived and raised their kids. So, without further ado, here's Nordic Needle and some other stuff...

We left Kansas on Thursday, June 18th and drove to Minnesota, where we stayed until Sunday morning, June 21st.

Some Minnesota Scenery

Minnesota is beautiful. The lakes that dot the state are especially enticing if you happen to be coming from the Kansas prairies, where water is not always abundant. One morning, we picnicked on the shore of a lake, in the company of a pair of ducks.

On Sunday, we headed north to Fargo, arriving in time to have dinner with some friends and put up for the evening. The next morning would be devoted to Nordic Needle. I didn't plan to spend a lot of time there - I didn't think it would be quite the thing to do to the Agéd P's - but a good hour, I thought, was reasonable.

Of course, it ended up being two hours.

Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota

The outside of the shop is rather mundane, but hey - it serves its purpose!

Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota

Inside Nordic Needle, you will find practically everything a stitcher's heart can desire, to some degree or another. This is a wall of beads and accessories and little things...

Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota

One section of the store is devoted to these rotating book stands that are filled with everything from charts for counted work, to a delightful variety of books (including many books self-published by different designers, that can't be had through Amazon, etc.), to kits of all sorts, including several of Tanja Berlin's embroidery kits (among others).

Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota

Being "Nordic" Needle, there is a goodly amount of stock devoted to Nordic embroidery techniques, including Hardanger, huck embroidery and so forth.

Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota

And then, there are threads. Oh, are there ever threads! All kinds of threads! This particular section in the photo above is their Brazilian embroidery section of threads, but behind it, on the wall, is the whole line of Treenway Silks pearl and ribbon -- among other threads.

You can imagine that in the midst of all these glorious goods, I was a bit unfocused at first. I just saw, but didn't really "attack" with any clear focus. My eyes went from one selection of goods to the next, without really honing in on my own particular interests.

Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota

I have seen huckwork in magazines and books, but have never tried it. Engrossed by the samples hanging on the walls, I took a look at some of their huckwork kits and decided they would be perfect for on-the-road needlework! So I bought a couple. I never touched them. I did not lift a needle (except when purchasing needles) once during the whole trip. *Sigh*

Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota

It's difficult to explain the quantity and variety of needlework goods available at Nordic Needle. The main floor of the shop is packed with aisles and shelves and displays filled with threads and tools and kits and designs, as well as display boxes, accessories, and anything you really could want, needlework-wise.

Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota

The threads are, of course, the most colorful things in the shop! Racks of them - everywhere! I would suppose that just about any type of thread you would want, you could get through Nordic Needle. Even if they don't regularly carry it, they can probably special order anything. While I saw a whole rack of Danish Flower Thread, for example, I didn't see any floche. But I bet, if you want floche, you could special order it from them. Of course, this doesn't mean they don't have floche - I may have just missed it.

Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota

They have a nice corner - much bigger than seen here - full of fabrics on bolts, and also cut fabrics. You can find linens, evenweaves of different types, and just about anything for regular embroidery in their fabric area. Anything they don't have, again, I am pretty sure they could special order!

Nordic Needle has a neat incentive for travelers, by the way. If you travel a distance to visit them, they take a certain percentage off your purchase. If you click the "How Far Will You Go" box on their home page, you can read about the incentive. The shop is less than 1,000 miles from me, so I received 10% off my purchase. BUT - I happened to be there on a Monday, and they have this "Monday Madness" thing they do, where you can draw for a discount on one item (or many - depending on what you draw). I lucked out - I was there on a Monday! - and got 50% off my most expensive item, which was one of Alison Cole's goldwork books.

All in all, by the time I left, I was a pretty happy camper!

Here's my review of the shop, in a nutshell:

Merchandise: Wow! They have a lot of great needlework merchandise. I would have loved to have seen more merchandise devoted to other surface embroidery techniques such as needle painting, crewel work, etc., or even cutwork and other forms of whitework (in addition to Hardanger). They had Trish Burr's books in stock, and some kits of Tanja Berlin's (though not her needlepainting kits - blackwork and shadow-work, basically). They also had a bunch of nice Brazilian supplies. And I'm sure that they could order just about any kind of needlework-anything you might want, so I'm not too taken a-back by the lack of other surface techniques. They have as well a terrific selection of accessories - the best I've seen anywhere - for the needleworker, from all the convenient tools and accessories a sticher needs, to many unique and beautiful stitching-related items, tools, notions, and so forth.

Shop Layout: As needlework shops go, I'd call Nordic Needle "really big." It's crowded and a bit confusing. When it comes to finding something specific, such as a design or a kit, if you aren't used to the layout, you'll probably need help. Still, good use is made of the space they have, and once you get the general feel of the shop, it's easy enough to find your way around or just to enjoy browsing. Never-ending browsing!

Prices: They seemed fair and equivalent to other shops I've been to, or to merchandise I've found online. Nothing seemed outlandish, as far as prices are concerned. Prices were pretty much what I expected them to be. I picked up a couple little bargain bits in their "discount" room, too, which was nice...

Service: Well, this is difficult. It depends on what you want in service. The people were polite enough, though not overly friendly, and they kept their distance. If I needed something, though, I had but to ask, and they directed me politely to it. There was no real "warmth" in any communications, but they weren't rude, either. It was just business. In a sense, this is a good thing. It allows the customer to browse a shop without being hassled or conversed with the whole time so that it's hard to concentrate. I would imagine that, in a shop this size, that's probably what most shoppers would desire. And when it came to my needing anything, I had prompt attention. So in that sense, the service was good - not warm and over-friendly, but there was no curtness or rudeness (which I have, believe it or not, experienced in other needlework shops, and it's one of my pet peeves!)

Nordic Needle is definitely an A+ shop, obviously built through the hard work of the owners into a thorough supply warehouse for needleworkers all over the world. If you get the opportunity to visit the shop, you won't be disappointed, I don't think! If you don't have the opportunity to visit in person, you can always visit their website.

I finished up at the shop before 11:00 am (so, actually less than two hours!) and we struck out west from there, across North Dakota, heading towards Glacier National Park in Montana.

North Dakota Scenery

There are some parts of North Dakota that are really beautiful! We stopped for coffee at a friend's house in Mandan, which is located on the Missouri River. Their back deck offered us this incredible view - and it was a perfectly beautiful day to enjoy it!

North Dakota Scenery

The majority of North Dakota looked pretty much like this, until we got to the very western edge of the state. The "Badlands" of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota are surprising, to say the least! At one moment, you're driving along through the rolling green hills typical of the photo above, and then you round a curve in the highway, and there you are in the midst of rocky canyons and scrubby landscapes.

We made it through North Dakota and on into Montana, where we turned north to take the "scenic" route to Glacier.

Montana Scenery

It was .... sort of scenic, I suppose. We spent Monday night in a small town along the way - Glasgow, Montana - and then Tuesday, we headed to Glacier National Park.

Montana Scenery

Glacier is incredibly beautiful! It is majestic and awesome - and difficult to describe! Unfortunately, we only got to see "part way in," as the road through the pass was still considered too precarious for car travel (avalanche warnings, and so forth). No, we didn't get out to hike it! Instead, we had lunch in beautiful surroundings, saw as much as the park as we could from the eastern and southern parts of it, via road, and then headed to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where we spent the rest of the afternoon and night before heading to Seattle, where I stopped in at Threadneedle Street.

But we'll save that for the next installment!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework and travel, needlework websites, personal, supplies

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Saturday, May 23, 2009

Another Great Needlework Tutorial!

Nope, the title isn't "blowing my own horn." It's not my tutorial - it's a really great little tutorial on crewel work on a Jacobean flower design.

Romilly, on Stitching with a Shimmy, has posted a very nice crewel work tutorial, which includes a design and stitching instructions. It's simple and perfect for getting your feet wet with crewel work. Whether you work it in wools or any other kind of thread, you can follow her perfect little tutorial to get the hang of the various ways stitches are used in crewel work. Also, the motif is small enough that you an work it up in a little time and have the satisfaction of a nice finished element that can be framed or used in other applications! It's great!

Hop on over to Stitching with a Shimmy and take a look at the Jacobean flower and tutorial for stitching it. You'll be glad you did!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework tutorials, needlework websites

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Thursday, May 21, 2009

Needlework Website Hopping

Not quite the same as needlework shop hopping, but sometimes just as fun, I've been needlework website hopping. Now, if you've time to hop along with me, I'll show you where I've been lately, and I'll highlight some resources and other things that have captured my interest...

First off, on my May Give-Away, I included one of those vinyl mesh zipper bags that are great for toting needlework projects around in. Since posting the give-away, my most frequently asked e-mail question this week has been where to find those bags.

What you'd be looking for are vinyl mesh zipper pouches sold for organization of art supplies and so forth. You can sometimes find them at local needlework shops. I've seen them, too, I think at some craft stores in the needlework section, but mostly, I've seen them at smaller needlework shops. I bought mine at The Sunflower Seed in Topeka, KS. They don't have a regular "retail" area of the website, so you might have to contact them to find out if they sell their accessories retail online.

You can find them online at other places, too. For example, they have them at Silver Needle, if you scroll down that page. Speaking of Silver Needle, it looks like a pretty neat needlework / cross-stitch shop. It's located in Tulsa, OK - only 4.5 hours away from me. Worth a day trip? Mmmm.... maybe a weekend trip! I'm not quite sure if Tulsa is the weekend get-away spot I've been dreaming about... but...?

Ok, off to other spots... I think everyone should take a look at this photo of the Plimoth Plantation Jacket! You'll get a wonderful sense of the color, the gold, the sparklies, and so forth on the project. If you haven't visited the Embroiderers' Story blog on Thistle Threads lately, OH DO!

On a blog called Tenar's Cave, you'll find a nice photo tutorial on casalguidi stitch. This is a dimensional embroidery technique that involves stem stitching over a thick cord or bunch of cords. It's pretty neat; the resulting embroidery looks rather wormish-ropish-snakish.

If you're an A-Z Book fan (Country Bumpking Publications), and if you're interested in learning to sew or brushing up your sewing skills, you'll be happy to know that the A-Z of Sewing is now available at Wooly Thread, as announced on their blog. I'm (admittedly) no great seamstress, though I can sew straight lines pretty well. There are a couple basic sewing things I want to learn how to do better, and I think this book - if it is anything like the other A-Z books - will be a gem for teaching me. So I've got it on my wish list!

Speaking of wish lists, there's a new book by Jane Nicholas coming out in August here in the States, called Stumpwork Medieval Flora, and it's definitely on my list! Check out the grasshopper on the middle stem!

Stumpwork Medieval Flora by Jane Nicholas

It is undoubtedly another beautiful and instructive book by Jane Nicholas, and I'm looking forward to it!

On the blog Meggiecat, meggiecat has posted some neat vintage embroidery patterns for the back of hoodies. I think they look kind of fun, don't you? They remind me of camping.

Over on Pintangle, Sharon has a nice photo tutorial on working the woven picot. This is a great little stitch for dimensional embroidery. It's perfect for leaves, for grass, for seaweed, for anything long and flat or short and flat that you might want to embroider, that can stand up from the fabric (or not - you can anchor it). It's a nice looking stitch! So check out her photo tutorial. If you like videos for stitches, I have a woven picot video tutorial, with pictures of it so you can see what it looks like. You'll also find a photo tutorial on how to stitch free-style woven bars over on Pintangle, so you might want to check that one out, too, while you're there!

Are you familiar with Kelly Fletcher's blog, Materialistic? On it, you'll find a nice selection of Jacobean leaves that she's developing. She's got five out of eight featured on her website so far. Check them out! They're a great introduction to Jacobean motifs.

Another blog featuring some intriguing needlework is Karen's blog, Contemporary Embroidery. She does some really pretty things with large eyelet-type motifs, touched with color. It's hard to explain - you really have to look at her blog to see what I'm talking about! While you're there, check out her post on embroidering trims! I love the colors and the little appliqued squares. Really neat stuff!

Allison Aller is always at it, with beautiful examples of crazy quilting popping up on her blog all the time. Check out her spring CQ post - it's really Springy! I love the colors, the flowers, the birds....

Megan of Emsley Rose sent me a link via e-mail of a magnificent example of Or Nué. This is something worth seeing! It's a coronet, embroidered entirely in gold Or Nué, and you can see it develop step-by-step. Amazing job by the stitcher!

Méri, over on Agulhas da Méri, as been stitching up a storm with monograms, drawn thread work, and all kinds of delightful things lately! I love the little pouch she made with lace scraps as an accent - it's so simple, beautiful, and very tastefully done! And - talk about cute - the little pouch with the sunshine, rainbow, and French knot sheep is really darling! While you're there, check out her drawn thread work and monogram on this towel - really exquisite!

It was really fun squizzing around visiting different needlework websites online - I haven't done that in a while. Work is keeping me pretty busy as the school year comes to a close! Summer is almost officially here! I've got heaps of plans for the summer - keep your fingers crossed for me that I can see at least some of them realized!

Have a terrific day!

Labels: embroidery books, embroidery resources, needlework websites

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Needlework Website with a New Look

If you've been around the online needlework scene for a while, you may have run across the Tristan Brooks Design website. It's been around for a while, but lately has undergone a facelift!

Tristan Brooks Design is the place where folks in the US can find Pearsall's Silks and Heathway Crewel Wools. You can also find some beautiful crewel kits there, with several that are suitable for beginners.

If you're not familiar with crewel work, all you have to do is visit Tristan Brooks, and you'll immediately see how beautiful it can be! The website is built around the look of crewel work, and the picture in the banner (as well as the photos of the various kits) are really sumptuous!

My favorite aspect of the overhauled website is the shopping feature, though. Although not all the shopping aspects are functional (the fabric page isn't up yet, for example!), the threads section is Terrific! You can see the colors of the threads you're buying, and there's an easy drop down box for color, then you just click into your cart, and you're done. You don't have to write down product numbers and submit an order form or anything like that. This is very nice!

You can also find slate frames at Tristan Brooks. I haven't tried them from there (yet), but they look nice, though a bit pricey. A 10" frame is a whopping $63, but a 20" is only $69. (The latter isn't so bad...)

So if you're out and about looking for some crewel projects or embroidery accessories, stop in at the Tristan Brooks Design website to see what they have. I'm looking forward to watching the site develop a bit further!

Labels: crewel work, embroidery resources, needlework websites

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Thursday, April 02, 2009

The French Needle - Embroidery Kits & Supplies, and a Special Discount!

I know I've been on an embroidery-kit-writing trend lately! I hope you don't find it a "turn-off," but I do like to see what's available in the needlework world, and I'm very interested in what designers are marketing these days.

I call it trend-mapping. The trend I'm currently mapping is interest in the traditional, or classic, surface embroidery kit. There aren't a lot of them available, you know. Classic surface embroidery kits are not the most popular of needlework-related kits. Compare the number of surface embroidery kits you see available on the market with the number of cross stitch kits, and you'll understand what I mean!

But I have noticed in the past few years an increase in interest in regular surface embroidery kits, and, answering that increase in interest, suppliers are beginning to include surface embroidery more frequently among their selections.

So, I like it when I find another place that offers what look to be nice surface embroidery kits!

Do you know about The French Needle? Mostly, they specialize in cross stitch kits and charts, but Lisa of The French Needle is "on a mission" to push surface hand embroidery, and is now offering some interesting hand embroidery kits.

If you go to her Boutique page, you'll see she has a page of surface embroidery kits that feature, predominantly, monograms - and they are really beautiful monograms! I'd love to work all of these 7x7 monograms - I love the A, the V, the W, and the Y, especially! These would make terrific gifts for weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays (already worked and framed, or as kits for your needle-working friends). Note that they don't come with thread - they come with the design stamped on linen, instructions, and suggested color lists for different thread manufacturers.

The French Needle Surface Embroidery Kits

The French Needle Surface Embroidery Kits

But besides the monograms, it's the Bayeaux Tapestry kit that caught my eye! Now, I think this would be fun! If you like historical embroidery, you might be especially interested in this kit, and if you don't like historical embroidery, I think it would be a neat framed piece for a home - a conversation piece! It'd also make a great gift, finished and framed, for a lover of history, art history, literature, and so forth.

The French Needle Surface Embroidery Kits

Besides the monograms and the Bayeux kit, you'll find a couple really nice floral pieces - a very bright one on a dark background, a pillow sham with flowers and bugs and garden creatures on it, and a couple more natural-looking flower pieces, like these Graminees. There are also a couple fun alphabet samplers, too, for surface embroidery, which is nice. Normally you see alphabet samplers in cross stitch, so it's fun to see a few in surface embroidery for a change! The ABC Fruits looks fun!

The French Needle Surface Embroidery Kits

Besides surface embroidery offerings, The French Needle has a long list of popular cross stitch designers' charts, such as Long Dog Samplers, Rouge du Rhin, and others - lots of Quaker-look samplers, many European designs, some sampler reconstructions, and other pretty offerings. I especially like the sampler kit, Dutch Beauty. If I were going to work a cross stitch sampler, that would interest me.

I like the Long Dog Samplers a lot, too. In fact, I'm getting ready to work Angel Pavement with my 13-year-old niece on 28 count linen (over 1). Sound strange? You bet! (I'm not a cross stitcher!) Well, she wants to learn on something "fun," so that's what she picked out! Charts at the French Needle are reasonably priced, too - at least $1 below other places, from what I can tell. And I paid $3 more elsewhere for Angel Pavement!

Discount for Needle 'n Thread Readers! (For April!)

Lisa is generously offering a discount to Needle 'n Thread readers! For the month of April, you can get a 10% discount on all kits and charts, by typing "Mary sent me" in the special instructions box at checkout. Lisa will adjust your order on her end at the time of processing, taking off 10% from your purchase! Isn't that great? The discount's only available for this month (April, 2009), though - so if you're in the market for a new project and any of her kits, charts, etc., appeal to you, now's a good time!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery resources, needlework websites

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Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Speaking of Embroidery Kits...

Well, I know we weren't just speaking of them, but the other day, I rambled a bit about embroidery kits...

... and here's another designer whose kits I would add to the list! Helen Stevens has embroidery kits on Fritillary now!

Helen M. Stevens Embroidery Kits available on Fritillary

Helen M. Stevens Embroidery Kits available on Fritillary

Check out these kits, featuring the four seasons. I like them! And they'd be a great way to familiarize yourself with Helen's beautiful techniques.

I like the Autumn and Spring best - I love the birds!

While you're there, check out the bunnies on the Fritillary homepage. If that were a kit, that's actually the one I'd go for!

Her greeting cards, by the way, look beautiful, too! They'd be great to have on hand for special birthdays, Mother's Day, and so forth.

Enjoy browsing Fritillary!

And thanks, Margaret, for the heads-up on the updates!

Labels: embroidery designers, embroidery kits, embroidery resources, needlework websites

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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Excellent Embroidery Resources - Free Designs & Instruction

Here's a nice resource for some free embroidery designs and some excellent embroidery instruction.

The last couple days, I've been mentioning Tricia Wilson-Nguyen's website, Thistle Threads, first in conjunction with the embroidered jacket at Plimoth Plantation, and second, when I was discussing needlework kits yesterday.

If you haven't perused her website deeply yet, you may have missed a couple real gems on there. The website, by the way, is newly over-hauled, so if you were familiar with her website, Thistle Threads, before but haven't been in a while, it's worth taking a look at it!

On the new Thistle Threads website, you'll find a section called Web Instructions, under which you will find two categories, projects and stitch diagrams.

Thistle Threads Embroidery Website - Free Designs and Stitch Instructions

Thistle Threads Embroidery Website - Free Designs and Stitch Instructions

Under projects, you'll find three little free projects, with thorough stitching instructions.

Thistle Threads Embroidery Website - Free Designs and Stitch Instructions

Under stitch diagrams, you'll find 8 PDFs for different stitches, and each one is detailed and easy to follow.

So, if you haven't visited Thistle Threads, you might want to take a look at these excellent offerings from Tricia!

Enjoy!

Labels: embroidery resources, free embroidery patterns, needlework websites

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Thursday, March 26, 2009

17th Century Embroidered Jacket Info

Well, I'm a little slow on the uptake, but for those of you who also didn't know, the Plimoth Plantation blog, The Embroiderers' Story, has changed locations! I didn't receive the last two post notifications in my feedreader for some reason, so I was oblivous. Thanks, Megan, for the heads-up!

The new Embroiderers' Story blog is being hosted by Tricia, and you can find it at Thistle Threads:

The Embroiderers' Story blog at Thistle Threads

Plimoth Plantation has suffered a bit from the present troubled financial climate, so they've had to make some changes in plans for the jacket, which will still be completed. They'll be announcing the plans for the jacket soon, as the exhibition at Plimoth has been cancelled.

Anyway, to catch up on all the news surrounding this masterpiece, visit the Embroiderers' Story at Thistle Threads, where you will see more progress on the jacket! Oh, and they've started the birds, and they are GORGEOUS! So don't miss it!

Labels: needlework news, needlework websites

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Access Commodities: They Import Needlework Stuff

This is a very short post for this morning - I've got a longer update of the whitework sampler in the works for this afternoon. In the meantime, I've just had one of those "hit yourself in the forehead" moments. It's like this:

Since long before I started Needle 'n Thread, I've been a fan of certain embroidery materials and accoutrements. If you've been following along with me for a while, you probably know that I like Legacy Linen, Au Ver a Soie silk, Hardwick Manor hoops, Gilt Sylke Twist, and real metal threads. In fact, I think that's a fair assessment of my Favorite Things.

Several years ago - in the days before Needle 'n Thread - I sought information on these favorites and found out that they are all imported by the same company: Access Commodities. I tried to find out stuff about the company, to contact them, to get information on where to buy, regular suppliers, etc. At the time, I was actually considering a small needlework shop... ha ha.

Anyway, I did happen on their website, which was just the bare bones of a website, and hard to find - it didn't come up with any ranking on the search engines. I had to dig. But I was only able to contact them by post, and I let the matter lag.

Oh, guess what? They're now visible online, and I'm so glad to see them! On top of it, they have... (wait for it!) ... they have.... a BLOG! Funny how things change....

So, check out the Access Commodities product list, if you want to see what they import. You'll find pictures of goldwork threads there!

If you want to read a bit of very useful information and see some interesting how-to's and so forth (with a promise of more information coming) do check out the Access Commodities Blog. There's a really neat article on there about using a silver melore, among other things.

I'd like to see more of an interactive blog, but I realize that they are probably pretty busy importing things and distributing them to all our favorite shops around the traps. I suppose I'll just be happy that I found them online. It's not as if I can order anything from them. But it's just nice to know they're there!

Labels: embroidery resources, linen, needlework websites, silk

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Saturday, March 07, 2009

Browsing Through Needlework Websites

It's been a while since I've done a lot of needlework website hopping! I try to keep up with all the neat things I see going on in the needlework world so that I can pass on a few links to you... so, here are the things I've noticed lately that you might enjoy checking out, too.

For those of you interested in drawn and pulled thread embroidery, you might enjoy looking at Broderibloggen, a website in Swedish that has some really nice embroidery on it! I like this post especially titled Hopdragssommar, which has a pretty little pulled thread sampler featured on it. There are quite a few other really nice projects on the site - scroll through! You're sure to find some inspiration there!

Yvette Stanton (of White Threads) posted a nice thanks to her textiles teacher from high school - something that every teacher does love to hear now and then!! Check out the photo of the Hardanger piece! It's really gorgeous!

On Craftstylish this week, there's a Dorset Button tutorial. I like Dorset Buttons. I made a couple to match a whitework pouch a while back, and the one I chose worked out really well. I reviewed my favorite tutorial for Dorset Buttons a while ago, which is where I originally learned how to make them. Dorset Buttons make great additions to sweaters and totes, by the way!

Sharon on Pintangle has been documenting the development of her band sampler, line by line. If you haven't seen any of these posts, do check them out! They're great for stitch variation inspiration! It's fun to see each line on the sampler upclose!

Speaking of Sharon, I mentioned earlier that one of my other online haunts is Stitchin' Fingers. There's been some pretty interesting conversations going on in the pulled thread group, and also in the goldwork group. I haven't had a lot of time to spend interacting in the past couple weeks, but I hope to catch up there soon! If nothing else, though, have a look at the photo gallery on Stitchin' Fingers! It's a collection of amazing needlework from talented stitchers around the world, and really fun just to browse through!

JoWynn of Parkview 616 posted some magnificent photos of goldwork bonnets used in traditional Austrian costumes. Very nice! I don't know if I'd ever be able to make, by hand, something like that, and to have it be fully functional! They're gorgeous! (And, oh - the kids are really cute!!)

Megan posted some neat Elizabethan embroidery links on her blog recently. I love the butterfly wing that stands up from the fabric! Nice!

Di van Niekerk has been adding a lot of stuff to her website lately - don't miss her little downloadable lessons on embroidery and silk ribbon embroidery. I think I may have mentioned these already, but they're worth mentioning again. I like the idea of these small, manageable projects that help stitchers learn techniques! And the projects are attractive and colorful, and very reasonably priced.

The Victoria & Albert museum have these nice designs for embroidery, available to print.

I was completely twitterpated (yes, that's a Thumper-ism) when I visited Robin's site, Beadlust, and saw these darling beaded rabbits. I can't help it. I think they are so adorable. I like bunnies, by the way. I'm not really a "cuddly pet person," but for some reason, I've always had a penchant for bunnies.

My visit to Robin's site corresponded with my seeking tiny beads to use in my miniature embroidery project. Susan Elliot (of Plays with Needles) very kindly responded to my comment about miniature beads, and directed me to Beadcats, where I was able to find vintage beads all the way down to (or up to, depending on how you look at it!) size 24/0. I ordered some little beads, TINY beads - and I'll share those with you a little later. Nice colors, and ... did I mention TINY?

Check out this little cross-stitch jousting knight on Maria del Valle's website! He makes me chuckle! Such a valiant little fellow!

In response to my miniature embroidery project, I got several recommendations for places to purchase silk gauze in high counts (up to 100! oh yes! I am!!). One of the shops recommended was Micro-Stitchery. I haven't ordered from them personally, but I couldn't help mentioning that I'm enamored by (with?) some of their projects - little tapestries and so forth for miniature embroidery. Check out their "kits" link and just take a look at some of those tiny things! I kind of want to do one of those wee medieval tapestries on 100 ct gauze. I don't know why. I don't know when. But some day...

Speaking of Medieval, have you seen this website called Reconstructing History? They have an embroidery section with patterns available for purchase. Though the patterns aren't free, they are certainly interesting and worth looking at! If you're into historical costuming, this is a neat resource! (No, I'm not making a coif. Could you see me in a coif? Me neither!) Thanks, Margaret, for sending the link!

I have been watching Allie's Cottage CQ develop since she started it, and I've really enjoyed the process of development - the piece has blossomed into something really amazing. Allie recently posted a photo with the center complete - so do take a look at it! I love the trees and the grasses and the look of the sky glinting in. She says she still has work to do on the water section --- ooooooooh. Fun! Can't wait to see it!

Ok, completely unrelated to embroidery, but one of the "cross over" areas of inspiration, I have to admit that I spent some time looking and looking and looking at these mosaics of the Galla Placidia Mausoleum. Embroidery inspiration can come from a lot of places, you know!

I've also spent far too much time trolling around Alison Cole's website. Have you looked at her goldwork kits? Have you ever worked one? I'm dying too! I especially like Alison's mini-goldwork kits (scroll down). If you click on those - the strawberry, frog, gecko, etc., you can see a larger version that will enchant you. The gecko - I want to work the gecko! I love the gecko. And I'm quite partial to the frog. I think part of the reason I find them so enticing is that I would have never thought of working a gecko or a frog in Or Nué! They are whimsical and darling. I've got them on my "list." I have a most expansive list.

Speaking of Most Expansive Lists, I think I am done for the day! I've run out of typing time, and you've probably run out of reading time!

Enjoy the links - I hope there's something in here somewhere that appeals to you, too!

Labels: embroidery links, embroidery resources, needlework websites

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Sunday, February 01, 2009

Needlelace Tutorial - Excellent Step-by-Step Instructions!

I came across a fabulous step-by-step tutorial for making needle lace when I was looking for (of all things) images of the plaited braid stitch. I was about 10 pages into google's images under "plaited braid stitch" - long past the point where plaited braid stitches were showing up! - when my attention was arrested by the image of a most intriguing piece of needle lace.

Needle lace - or "needlepoint lace" (as it is called on the website I was viewing) is lace that is really made by a series of embroidery stitches worked between couched thread outlines of shapes. There are a variety of different styles of needle lace, and a variety of ways of going about setting up the foundation to work the stitches that make the lace.

But one thing most needle laces have in common is the use - in some variety or another - of the buttonhole stitch.

For example, take this tiny sample of needle lace I worked up about a year ago, when I was fiddling with Italian cutwork. The fill stitches in the triangle parts of the center are all buttonhole stitch, as are all the stitches covering the lines and the outline. It's not the most well-executed piece of needle lace in the world, but I recall thinking it was really fun to do at the time!

Anyway, to get to the link!

So there I was, looking for images of plaited braid stitch, when I came across a picture, which led me to this website:

Needlepoint Lace Tutorial on Textile Dreams website

Needlepoint Lace Tutorial on Textile Dreams website

The fact that the photo I came across (featured there on the website image above) was needle lace was the first thing that arrested my attention. When I clicked on the photo and enlarged it, without knowing at all where it came from, I was furthered intrigued by it because it looked like....

What?

What does it look like to you?

Well, childhood memories came into play here. It looked to me like a pile of "helicopters." Did you call them "helicopters"? Those seed pod things with the wings, that circled around and around as they fell? We called them helicopters, and I said to myself when I saw the needlelace, "Oh. Helicopters."

Guess what? I went to the source of the photo, a website called Textile Dreams - Fibery Wake-up, and found an excellent tutorial on making needle lace, from beginning to end - making the pattern, setting up, laying the foundations threads (with hints and tips along the way), filling the sections with different lace stitches, finishing the edges, and removing the piece from the pattern. An excellent, thorough tutorial! And I was really excited! Someone went to a lot of trouble to put that together, and it's really well done!

The other thing that excited me - silly as it may sound - is that I was right!

Needlepoint Lace Tutorial on Textile Dreams website

They were helicopters!

If you you'd like to see a great tutorial on making needlepoint lace, do stop in and check out the nine steps posted on Textile Dreams! I think you'll enjoy the thorough tutorial! I know I did.

Don't forget, by the way, to sign up for my January stash give-away if you're interested in a chance to receive a really nice book and collection of new threads. To enter the drawing, read the original post, follow the directions, and leave a comment on the original post before Wednesday morning, February 4th.

Have a great Sunday!

Labels: embroidery links, embroidery resources, needlelace, needlework websites, whitework

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Monday, January 19, 2009

Brazilian Embroidery, Anyone?

No, I didn't jump from my decision to begin a whitework embroidery sampler yesterday, to delving into Brazilian Embroidery instead! But it isn't unlikely that I would take up a Brazilian embroidery project, under certain circumstances...

One circumstance would be that the project would be small and affordable. Have you seen the Threads in Bloom website? Sharon of Threads in Bloom is an experienced Brazilian embroiderer who has gone into designing her own Brazilian embroidery projects and selling them as reasonably priced instructional packages. When I happened upon her website, I noticed right away her Bird of Paradise design. I have a penchant for these flowers - but I've never seen one in dimensional embroidery. Pretty fascinating!

I haven't tried any of Sharon's kits, actually. But they apparently come with the design printed on the fabric, instructions for the project and the stitches in it, and wire and extra fabric for different dimensional parts of the project. You provide the thread...

The thing that I like about Brazilian embroidery - I've played with it a few times in the past (I bought my first Brazilian embroidery book about 16 years ago - it was one of my first embroidery books that I bought with my own money!) - is the dimensional aspect. It incorporates many of the same techniques as stumpwork, so it's a good way to get a taste of stumpwork. Overall, I find that supplies for Brazilian embroidery (especially kits, like the ones here, or instructional books) tend to be less expensive than those for stumpwork.

One notable difference between Brazilian embroidery and regular embroidery is that, with Brazilian embroidery, rayon threads are the threads of choice. They're z-twisted threads, so you'll probably notice in most stitch instructions that some of the stitches that depend on the twist of the thread are backwards, compared to other embroidery books. The bullion knot comes to mind - it's widely used in Brazilian embroidery, and with rayon threads, to get a nice looking knot, you wrap the thread the opposite way you normally would around the needle.

Anyway, for those of you interested in Brazilian embroidery - or if you're keen to try dimensional embroidery in general - take some time to check out Threads in Bloom. You might find a nice starter project to get you going!

Enjoy!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework websites, regional embroidery techniques

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Saturday, December 27, 2008

Learn a New Embroidery Technique - or Brush Up - or Just have Fun!

If you've been reading Needle 'n Thread for a while, you know I have a great love for long and short stitch and needle or thread painting techniques. The techniques of thread painting - and especially of long and short stitch - can often be intimidating to new stitchers, or even to old! It helps to delve into thread painting with a little project, and here is a perfect one to get you started.

You also know, if you've been hanging out with me for a while, that I have a great admiration for the work of Trish Burr - and this little thread painting project comes straight from her. You can find it on her website, Trish Burr Long and Short Stitch Embroidery. If you haven't seen her beautiful website - oh, do take the time! It's just a pleasure to spend time browsing there!

If the holiday crunch has let up for you, now might be the time to take up a wee little project, just for the fun of it, and perhaps to learn a new technique. Trish's free long and short stitch project is just the perfect size - it's a beautiful little pansy, and it comes with a pattern, all the supplies you'll need listed, as well as step-by-step photos as the piece is completed.

Free Long and Short Stitch Project from Trish Burr

Isn't it pretty?

Just for the sake of relaxation and something different, I thought this would be a fun weekend project - maybe something I could work on with my niece, who wants to learn the ins and outs of thread painting. But low and behold, a little needlework emergency came up on my end, and I have a "volunteer" project I must complete by this Monday night. I'll show you that, but not right now, as I've got to plan it, transfer a design and get stitching. I think the next three days will be spent embroidering - very simple line stitches of text - but I'll show it to you as I make progress on it and tell you what it's about.

Other than that, I've got another project on the books, due January 4th, that's been heaps of fun so far, but now I'm getting into the nitty gritty details, which would be fine without the Tuesday deadline hanging over my head - but that's ok. I think I work best under pressure! I'll be sharing this other project with you, too!

So that's what's going on in my life, now that the holiday crunch is over - it's just a different kind of crunch!

I hope you have a chance to enjoy the weekend and relax a bit with friends and family - Christmas isn't entirely OVER yet, you know! Now's the chance to enjoy it, really!

Have a great weekend!

Labels: embroidery resources, free embroidery patterns, needlepainting, needlework websites, Trish Burr

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Sunday, November 30, 2008

Time Sensitive: Building Your Needlework Stash?

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I broke down and bought some needlework supplies for upcoming projects, and I showed you some of the silk buttonhole twist that I purchased. Well, here's some good news for you! There's a sale on...

Evening Star Designs is the place I recently purchased a heap o' stash stuff - some fabric packs, some fun threads to play with, some hand-dyed silk ribbon, the silk buttonhole twist I wanted to try out, some ribbon samples, some bead packs, and on and on and on...

New Embroidery Stash Supplies: Fabric, Threads, Beads, Ribbons

New Embroidery Stash Supplies: Fabric, Threads, Beads, Ribbons

Evening Star Designs is a great place to pick up sample packs of different things - from fancy fabrics perfect for crazy quilting and other applications (I'm using a few pieces from my new stash to back embroidered Christmas ornaments) to bead mixes to trims - as well serious quantities of supplies for special projects. For example, if you're making a Christmas dress for a little one and you want some nice lace, you might find that the selection of laces (which can be purchased by the yard) is just right for your project. You can also find some fabrics by the yard, as well as a good selection of embroidery threads and silk ribbon.

New Embroidery Stash Supplies: Fabric, Threads, Beads, Ribbons

It's a great place to shop any day, BUT... for those of you reading this post today, Sunday, November 30th, if you're not on the mailing list for Evening Star Designs, you might not know about the sale going right now!

New Embroidery Stash Supplies: Fabric, Threads, Beads, Ribbons

Until midnight tonight (Sunday, November 30th), you can get 25% off most everything in her shop (it doesn't include already discounted merchandise).

This is a pretty good deal! But if you want to take advantage of it, you have to do so before midnight, Sunday, November 30th.

I found it a good opportunity for trying out some other threads.

New Embroidery Stash Supplies: Fabric, Threads, Beads, Ribbons

By the way, at Evening Star Designs, you'll find Needle Necessities threads (they've gone out of business, but she has a pretty good stock of them still on hand) deeply discounted. The Needle Necessities overdyed cotton floss, for example, is only $1.67 / 20-yd skein. That's a great price, and there are still some beautiful colors left. (Note: Because it's already so deeply discounted, the Needle Necessities thread is not included in the 25% off sale.)

New Embroidery Stash Supplies: Fabric, Threads, Beads, Ribbons

I hope you get a chance to check out the sale today at Evening Star Designs. Even if you miss it, though, you can still find some good deals on the website, and you will certainly enjoy browsing her stock of STUFF.

Enjoy!

Labels: crazy quilt, embroidery resources, fabric for embroidery, needlework websites, supplies, threads

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Sunday, November 23, 2008

Ordering Needlework Supplies This Week?

If you're looking to order needlework supplies in the next week, you might be happy to know that Nordic Needle is offering free shipping on orders of $75 or more, until November 20th. Nordic Needle's website has undergone a huge overhaul in the last year, making it really easy to navigate through their extensive online store.

If you're looking for Soie d'Alger or other Au Ver a Soie threads, you'll find they carry Soie d'Alger, Soie Perlee, and Soie 100/3 in most colors, and at more reasonable prices than many other online stores. They carry a nice line of embroidery fabrics, especially even weave fabrics, and a terrific section of books (though you can find most of the books they offer - though not all - through Amazon for less). For example, they've go the line of A-Z books from Country Bumpkin available.

To get free shipping, you have to place your order through now and November 30th, you have to spend $75 or more (not hard to do!), and you have to enter the code SHIPDISCOUNT in the coupon field when you check out.

If you want to take advantage of free shipping, now would be a good time to stock up on needed supplies or pick out some Christmas presents for your favorite stitchers!

PS - A little editing here ... Forgot to mention: unfortunately, the free shipping option is for US mail addresses only.

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework websites

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Saturday, November 22, 2008

The Art of the Embroiderer Museum Exhibit

Broadbent Gallery at the Kent State University Museum in Kent, Ohio, is currently running an exhibit called "The Art of the Embroiderer." Here's some information....

The exhibit features embroidered textiles from around the world, from different eras. The embroidery on some of these pieces is really exquisite - if you get a chance, you must see them!

Here's a description of the exhibit, according to the museum's press release:

Over 80 dazzling garments and textiles from across the world spanning over 200 years of creativity and innovation are featured in the Kent State University Museum's exhibition, The Art of the Embroiderer. From haute couture gowns to Japanese kimono and Saudi Arabian caftans, the exhibition captivates through colors, materials and sheer beauty.

All of the pieces are exquisite, but a few really caught my attention and caused me to linger a while.

This early 19th century Regency period evening dress in ivory silk with goldwork and a detachable train is stunning:

Art of the Embroiderer Exhibit at Kent State University Museum in Ohio

This evening dress, with silk shaded embroidery on ivory satin. The embroidery is not abundant, but I think it's pretty, and I like the beadwork on the back of the dress:

This blue cape, "made in China for western markets" in the late 19th century, which caught my eye because of the color combinations:

This is the first piece displayed in the online exhibit - it's stunning! The red is beautiful, and the embroidered apron is really exquisite. The apron is apparently from England, early 18th century, but the whole "outfit" comes from a combination of different origins - worth reading about!

If you are interested in historical embroidery or costuming and you have a chance this weekend to browse the Kent State Museum Exhibit, "The Art of the Embroiderer," do take some time to look at these gorgeous pieces of embroidered clothing. Make sure to enter the exibition to see the individual artifacts in the collection. If you click on them, you'll be able to see certain parts of each display up close.

Better yet, if you're passing through Ohio - or if you live close to Kent (northeast of Akron) - it might be worth stopping in to see the exhibit in person. It runs until August, 2009.

Labels: embroidered clothes, historical needlework, needlework websites

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Saturday, November 15, 2008

Goldwork and Ecclesiastical Embroidery Up Close

I've been somewhat short on TIME this weekend, but even if you are, too, you'll probably find the following (brief) online exhibit of a gorgeous piece of historical ecclesiastical needlework awe-inspiring...

This cope is one of the vestments of the Order of the Golden Fleece, housed in a museum in Vienna. This particular cope is called the Mantle of the Virgin, about which I wrote a wee little bit a while back.

This vestment is worked in Or Nue - silk over gold threads. The great thing about this online "exhibit" of the Mantle of the Virgin is that you can zoom in on the various sections of the cope.

Mantle of the Virgin: Goldwork and Silk Ecclesiastical Embroidery from the 15th century

Mantle of the Virgin: Goldwork and Silk Ecclesiastical Embroidery from the 15th century

Check out the folds in the sleeve - and the pearls on the pillar! It's really something else to be able to see these relatively upclose. Of course, I'd rather see the piece in person - but in the meantime, I suppose I'll settle for this way of viewing the vestment!

Thanks, MC, for the link!

Labels: ecclesiastical embroidery, goldwork, needlework websites, silk

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Sunday, November 09, 2008

A Link to Beautiful Embroidery - and News

I was squizzing about the other day, looking for some online goldwork inspiration, when I came across a terrific article with some stunning photos of needlework. The article's on the website of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Unfortunately, the media kit titled "Embellished Textiles - Absolutely Art!" announcing the exhibit of the same name, is rather out of date - the exhibit closed in October of 2006. Still, I'm glad that the article is still online!

It looks like the exhibit was accompanied by several textile classes, many of which sound terrific! Did anyone out there attend? If so, how was it?

The biggest attraction about the article is the collection of pictures at the end of it! Wow - some stunning works of art there!

Czech & Slovak Textile Exhibit: Embroidery, Lace, Goldwork, and Leather Goods

Czech & Slovak Textile Exhibit: Embroidery, Lace, Goldwork, and Leather Goods

Don't miss the high resolution images of this lace cuff accented with goldwork. It's really unusual to see goldwork applied like this to lace. They wrapped leather with the gold, then applied the design to the lace, removing the goldwork for laundering and then re-applying it!

You'll probably want to take a look at the colorful embroidered headscarf right below the goldwork, with its strangely obvious carried threads here and there throughout the piece.

Czech & Slovak Textile Exhibit: Embroidery, Lace, Goldwork, and Leather Goods

The whitework embroidered scarf is worth taking a close look at, too - it's only half done. The site surmises that the unfinished half was folded under the finished half, and since it wasn't seen anyway, why put the time into the embellishment? Sounds reasonable to me!!! To me, what's amazing on this piece is not just the beautiful bobbin lace around the edge, but the variety of techniques included in the whole thing - some filet lace, some cutwork, some eyelets, satin stitching and other whitework stitches, and the bobbin lace to boot! Nice!

So, if you have the time, do check out these exquisite works of textile art - they're worth looking at!

Upcoming Events on Needle'nThread

This week, the November stash contest will be posted, so keep an eye out for that! I'm planning on a book and supplies again. I'm debating between two books, though. I have a spiral bound huge volume of Sublime Stitching transfers that I will probably never get around to using. Or... should it be something more instructive like the Anchor embroidery book I gave away last summer?

Also, before the week is completely over, I hope to have the front of my goldwork and silk Christmas ornament finished. Here's hopin'! Keep your fingers crossed that I don't run out of thread!!! I'm also going to move on to working on a couple decorative towels and a tea cloth (small table cloth). I hope to get those all decently underway so I can show them to you.

And, finally, I'm hoping to get some filming time in on videos this week! Keep your fingers crossed on that one, too! I've got a list of 28 stitches I want to do. A little otpimistic, but optimism never hurt anyone!

Hope you've had a great weekend!

Labels: needlework websites, regional embroidery techniques

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Saturday, October 18, 2008

Flat Silk and Twisted Silk from Flat Silk...

You know by now that I've got this problem I call Fiber Infatuation. I'm a thread-a-holic, and I love anything that has to do with embroidery threads. It's rather a sickness, as I end up with a glut of threads that I rarely use. Sometimes, I just organize them and separate them for the fun of it. Weird, I know. I'm afraid I might be the Silas Marner of the Thread World...

You Can Twist Flat Silk and Embroider With It!

Yesterday, Carol-Anne of Threads Across the Web posted a magnificent article on using flat silk. She shows us what the Japanese flat silk looks like in its original state, and then doubled thicker. And then - oh, wonderful! - she shows us how the Japanese silk looks when you twist it with different numbers of strands.

She's got the silk all lined up there, so we can enlarge the photo and look at the different threads created from the original flat silk.

Then, she takes the whole post further, by showing us what the twisted threads look like when stitched.

As I commented on her post, I'm going to suffer from Thread Distraction until I can play with some Japanese silk and make up some of that glorious twisted thread to stitch with. I'm just twitterpated with the whole idea!

Types of Flat Silk and Where to Find It

I buy my Japanese flat silk from the Japanese Embroidery Center in Atlanta, Georgia. They have a nice website and online shop that you should visit if you're interested in these threads. You can also find handmade needles there, and different types of Japanese golds.

Besides Japanese flat silk, I've worked with Eterna, which is a Chinese flat silk with a little (barely noticeable) twist to it. I don't know if you could twist it like you do with the Japanese flat silk, but I'm keen to try. I've also worked with Helen Stevens's silk - which is the same as Piper's silk - and with Soie Ovale by Au Ver a Soie (the flat silk that I used on the wool on the Agnus Dei project). Additionally, I've used Kreinik's soie platte, which is very similar to the Au Ver a Soie flat silk. Overall, so far, I like the Soie Ovale best, because it seems to have more body.

But... with this new information from Carol-Anne, you can bet your little boots I'm going to play with the Japanese silk and try to come up with a nice twist to stitch with.

Strangely enough, when looking up close at some old ecclesiastical pieces, I've noticed that sometimes, there are threads that look just like a softly twisted flat silk. I can't help wondering if perhaps the same technique was used. I can't wait to play and find out!

I'll be sure to let you know how my efforts pan out.

Progress on Silk and Goldwork Christmas Ornament

Other news: I did, in fact, get the green shading done on my Christmas ornament. For those of you who expressed an opinion on the direction of the ornament, thank you! I'm taking it all into consideration!

But - WOE IS ME - you know what I did? I started couching on some pearl purl, and in snipping a piece of it, I cut straight into one of the satin stitched red diamonds. I just grazed about three threads with the very tippiest tip of my goldwork scissors. How forlorn was I, I cannot begin to say!! Tomorrow, I'll give you a few photos of the green shading with the beginning of the goldwork, along with a view of the snipping tragedy, and I'll tell you what the remedy is in a situation like that!

Enjoy your weekend!

Labels: embroidery resources, goldwork, hand embroidery information, needlework websites, silk

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Monday, September 29, 2008

Needlework Shop, Information Source, and Free Patterns

A favorite online shop for embroidery supplies is Nordic Needle, located in North Dakota. Yep, they're great for special ordering tools, supplies, and so forth, but did you know they also have general information about embroidery-related topics on their website?

I subscribe to the Nordic Needle newsletter - and lately, they've run some good information articles in there. For example, you'll find three thorough articles on the different types of threads in some of their past issues: Threads 1, Threads 2, Threads 3. You'll find all kinds of information about the various embroidery threads available on the market in those articles. Conveniently enough, you'll also find links to the same threads on their website, in case you're looking for any particular threads.

Under the Resources section of Nordic Needle, you'll find some interesting stuff in the column on the left, including conversion tools (I'd like to see this category expand a bit), stitching tips and tutorials, and a whole slew of free needlework patterns.

I like the new look of Nordic Needle's website. They recently revamped it, and I think, overall, it looks better and is easier to get around on, though I'm still "finding my way," after being used to the old site for a while.

If you haven't signed up for their newsletter, you might want to. It's often full of useful information for the needleworker. I think, one of these days, they'll probably change the purple background on the newsletter, too!

Anyway, when you have time to browse about, check out Nordic Needle - they've been around in the business for a long time, and they're a good resource for information and supplies.

I hope your weekend went well and you were able to accomplish all that you wanted to accomplish! I managed finishing my current goldwork project and embroidering half of one baby bootie (a quarter of the way through the pair). Pictures soon!

Enjoy your Monday!

Labels: embroidery resources, free embroidery patterns, needlework websites

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Thursday, September 25, 2008

Online Needlework Show is Live...

Just a quick post to remind you to stop in at the Online Needlework Show this weekend. It closes Monday, September 29th at midnight. I'll tell you a little bit about it here...

It's great fun to browse all the vendors to see what's being offered in the world of needlework out there. Many vendors focus on counted cross stitch and needlepoint, but there are thread vendors, accessory vendors, lots of "European" flavor designers, etc. And, part of the fun - many of the designers / vendors offer "door prizes" - you can see on their individual pages what the door prizes are. Generally, you have to send in an e-mail to the vendor, answering a question or what-have-you, to get included in the drawing. While it may seem like a lot of effort, there are some vendors that would most certainly be worth trying for!

For example, Dinky-Dyes is again giving away a whole line of their silk! Worth the effort of browsing, I'd say.

They ask a specific information question about their silk line, so make sure you go take a look at their silk line at their website for yourself (the link is available on the Needlework Show page).

Some other fun stuff to do while there, besides door prizes: try their treasure hunt. It's on The Fun Page.

The purpose of the show, by the way, is for retailers and customers to see what's available in the needlework line - and some retailers (check your local needlework shop) will carry many of these newly available items. Some may even allow you to submit a list of things you (the general viewing public - not a retailer) see on the site that you like, that they will order for you. If you're looking for an online retailer that will order items you see for you, check out the Happy Stitcher website. Mary Kathryn is usually happy to do that for customers - you may want to drop her an e-mail to see if she's still doing it (she doesn't usually answer her comments section on her blog, so that's not the route to go...)

So, enjoy the upcoming weekend - I know it's only Thursday... *sigh* (it feels like Monday)... and if you have time, stroll through the booths at the Online Needlework Show!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework websites, supplies

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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Great Tutorial for Smockers!

Just a quick note to let you know about this terrific tutorial for honeycomb smocking on Tumbling Blocks. It's an excellent picture tutorial for a really neat smocking technique. It makes it look really easy and fun! I hope you enjoy it!

Labels: embroidery links, embroidery resources, Hand embroidery stitches, needlework tutorials, needlework websites, smocking

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Monday, September 08, 2008

Needlework Inspiration - or Inspirational Gluttony?

Now and then, I like to see what the rest of the world is doing, needlework-wise. I don't always have time for leisurely browsing, though! I did yesterday, and I was delighted with everything I came across (very dangerous, I know). It was kind of a binge of sorts - meandering through different internet haunts to see what creative things are going on in the world - and taking my time doing it! So, in case you haven't discovered some of these online treats yet, I thought I'd share some goings-on that particularly caught my fancy.

These are in completely random disorder. About halfway through my glut on needlework sites, I started keeping a brief list of sorts, to see where things took me!

I always like to pop in at Jeanne's blog, Just String, and this week - oh boy oh boy - she's got some photos up of some gorgeous embroidery, including whitework, drawn thread, shading techniques, and even ecclesiastical embroidery. I was thrilled to see her post on Marion Scoular's Royal School of Needlework experience. If you haven't seen these photos yet, do stop in and look at them. You'll be impressed.

Last week, Maria del Valle posted a link to a website called Randa - Handmade Lace. Now, I like lace. I do - I admit it - and I love netting. Filet lace, filet guiperre - oh, they make me shiver. I'm not a "lacer" myself by a long shot, but I'd like to be. I particular like this white point lace (hand-made netting) with the filet flowers. I can't wait to see what it turns into. The flowers, if you look close, are worked in two different techniques of filet (which is more like weaving than embroidery). The middle is the simple over-under-over-under type of filling that doesn't cross back into itself, as "real" filet filling does. The two on the sides are the "original" filet filling technique. I need to show this to my mom! She's bent on taking up filet lace (the real stuff - not crocheted), but I keep trying to explain specifically these two different techniques to her. I prefer the flowers on the sides. She thinks all filet lace is worked as the flower in the middle!

While you're visiting Maria's blog, if you haven't seen it yet, you absolutely must take a look at this masterpiece - her Angel in blackwork. I never visit her website that I don't go look at that. I think it's an amazing piece of work, and ever-so-enchanting.

Allison Aller is possibly the busiest needleworking gardener (gardening needleworker?) I've ever seen. If you aren't familiar with her blog, Allie's in Stitches, you should be - it's a source of inspiration for the needleworker in every regard. Her focus is generally crazy quilting, but even if you aren't a crazy quilter, you will appreciate her use of color, stitch variety, tutorials, and all else. And then... there's her garden. I don't know about the rest of you, but to this Kansas corn-dweller, that garden looks like something akin to Paradise. If you haven't seen Allie's Spring CQ, you need to take a look at it - it's vibrant and colorful and really detailed. Squiz through her posts on that piece to see up close the various details. Um... I wasn't quite sure about the whole burner bag thing, but... ok. I'm kinda glad to see you spring back to the flowers, there, Allie!

Elmsley Rose has been plugging away at a sampler using historical embroidery techniques and elements. The whole sampler has a 16th / 17th century look to it, and she's using all kinds of exciting threads and such to work the piece. It will be fun to watch this develop! I loved the recent snail photo she posted, and the link to the tutorial, which comes from the Floss Box, via Paula Hewitt's website, The Beauty of Life. Paula has an excellent list of stumpwork tutorial links on her site - if you haven't seen all these resources, you should check them out! They're a grand source of inspiration and a great place to get started if you've ever wanted to give stumpwork or dimensional embroidery a try.

While you're at the Floss Box, if you have an inclination towards counted thread techniques and like biscornu, do check out Emily's biscornu pattern page - there are some neat ones on there, in PDF, for download.

I love following the goings-on at Plimoth Plantation! The jacket is really coming along, and if you haven't seen the post about Playing with Sparkle, you should! The combination of lace, gold, and color is mesmerizing. And it doesn't help when they post links about handy-dandy organizers and such. Via the Embroiderers' Story at Plimoth Plantation, I ended up looking at this Travis Case at Creative Imaginations - a really perfect-looking storage box for needlework supplies. While I was squizzing around looking at sources for this box, I came across a dressed-up version of the Travis case. This one is perhaps a bit too dressed up for my tastes, but it's nice to know the box can be embellished.

Though I'm a bit perturbed with Wooly Thread right now because I still haven't received my goldwork book (I know it isn't their fault! They actually have very good service and are an excellent shop!), I must mention that I was excited to see that they have some back issues of Inspirations on sale right now, particularly Inspirations # 33. This is a "rare" issue, selling through CB at $60 / copy. Wooly Thread's selling it for $8 + $2 shipping. This is the issue that has Jenny McWhinney's gorgeous camels in it. I want this issue. But I can't have it right now. It's really weird to think that I can't even spend $10 on embroidery goods right now. (Daunting medical bills... I mean, I gave them my gall bladder - you'd think they'd pay ME!) But you know, denial is actually a good thing sometimes! It builds character, I think. We can't always have what we want, and that is a-ok. But I hope someone else can buy it and enjoy it! And if you ever make the camels, I want photos!

Sharon Boggan at the In A Minute Ago blog has posted another list of links to other great textile-related blogs. These lists of blogs get me in trouble. I could spend lots of time meandering through them all! She's already done A through J, so if you're looking to spend some really long hours online, check out her blog lists. Better yet, though, check out her Diamond Block crazy quilt and her tips for finishing projects. Even better yet, though, I clicked under one of the diamond blocks and ended up at Sharon's picasa photo page, where... well... yes. I got a bit lost looking at detail after detail after detail of some really pretty stitching. This particular embellished block is really pretty - I've seen it often, but if you haven't seen it, you should! And finally, best yet, Sharon offers online classes. I've never taken one, but I've heard from people who have, and they say they learn so much, and they really love them. One of the classes she offers is called Sumptuous Surfaces, which is a perfect name. When I think of Sharon's embroidery, that is precisely what I think of. If you want to see what they do, Sharon provided a link to her students' needlework projects on Flickr.

Alicia in Hawaii is doing crewel work! Yippee!! She's got a stash of medici wools she's putting to good use, and I can't wait to see how her Tree of Life design develops. If you haven't seen her various wristlet projects, you might want to check those out - they're neat step-by-steps on creating this little wrist bag that is just so cute. I love the one made with the pinks and greens in the middle picture. *Sigh* I have got to learn to sew better.

Mary Grace McNamara at Hooked on Needles has been posting lots of video tutorials on knitting. I don't knit. I might try some day, though, and when I do, I know where to go for tutorials. The one that caught my eye this past week was on adding seed stitch to your knitting. I'm probably knot saying that right. (Yes, that was on purpose...) Anyway, I'm a huge fan of seed stitch in embroidery, and I think I rather like the look of it in knitting, too. Some day, I might learn to knit. Maybe I'll put that on the list, after learning to sew better. Anyway, MGM has a whole list of video tutorials developing - I like the ones on knitting and crocheting especially. Some day, I may take up those kinds of needles and threads...

JoWynn at Parkview 616 always has something pretty to look at on her website. Lately, she made a card for her friend Gina, and it's stunning! On Gina's card, JoWynn laid down a background of gold lattice, and then, in the monogram "G", she worked a colorful selection of embroidered flowers. Take a look! This is no "Hallmark" card - it's a real, true, sincere, meaningful, and beautiful greeting masterpiece!

I was sad to hear about Carol-Anne's recent mishap, and I hope she's stitching again soon. At Threads Across the Web, you will run into some of the most delightful goldwork and Japanese embroidery and other kinds of embroidery and neat needlework stuff and other interesting pictures and ... and... well. It's a favorite stopping point for me! I'm closely monitoring Carol-Anne's Karahana project. What could be more stunning than goldwork worked on a red background? It's so beautiful! If you're new to the needlework blogging scene and haven't seen Carol-Anne's Flutterbies, you might want to check them out. Even if Japanese embroidery isn't your particular fancy, these butterflies will impress you! I remember the first time I happened upon Threads Across the Web - Carol-Anne was working on the first blue butterfly. It's been a heap of fun watching her projects progress!

Another stop I made yesterday was Hooroo Christine's blog, Lady Jane's Journal. I know that's not really your name, Christine, but for some reason, that's how I think of you! Christine recently ventured into this piece of cutwork and needlelace, and I like it. I like it A LOT. I love the colors, the stitches, the design of the needlelace. My prob is that I see things like this and it makes me say, "Oh. Yes. I want to do some of that..." There isn't TIME to do everything I see that I like!

See what happens when you spend time squizzing around like this? Inspirational Gluttony can be rather hard on the system, you know.

But I'm not quite finished....

Where else did I go on my binge? Let's see...

I visited Deepa's blog, This and That, where I scrolled through her various tutorials on different techniques of Indian embroidery. I especially like this Pachis work, and the tutorial on kamal kadai. I think, in both techniques she demonstrates, it's the red that gets me. I love the flower in the kamal kadai tutorial!

And I jumped over to Wormspit, to finally look at those silk reeling videos. Neat stuff! It blows my mind how silk is spun and dyed and everything else, just so that I can enjoy stitching with my favorite fiber.

Finally, to top off my gluttonous overload, I ended up at Stitchin Fingers. I started off at my page on Stitchin Fingers (I have no idea what my page looks like when I'm not me looking at it)... then I moved on to everyone else's - and all the interesting discussions - and looking at everyone's photos. I ended up seeing too much. I had to shut down. It was like over-indulging on a super-rich dessert! To state the obvious: there are heaps of super-dee-duper talented people out there!

Creativity is a great gift! While I'm an advocate of the rule "moderation in all things," I think creativity is something worth indulging in! So, thanks, all you creative people out there, for the hours (H-O-U-R-S) of indulgence! 'Twas fun, and just what the doctor ordered. I'm heading back to work today. I finished Breath of Spring, by the way, so I suppose I may as well go back to work! I'm looking forward to getting back into a productive routine (of sorts)...

Enjoy the week!

Labels: embroidery links, needlework websites

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