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Mary Corbet

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I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

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A Stitcher’s Christmas #4: Slate Frame & Needle Minder!

 

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We’re almost half-way through the Stitcher’s Christmas series here on Needle ‘n Thread! It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just barely over two weeks away, isn’t it?

So far, we’ve seen some pretty nice Christmas gifts in this series of give-aways, much thanks to the independent small businesses, designers and artisans who have made such lovely gifts possible!

We still have more exciting things to come – not least of which are the goodies in today’s give-away!

So, without further ado, here are the details for today’s give-away, and the winner from A Stitcher’s Christmas #3, the goldwork horde from Tanja Berlin!

Stitcher's Christmas #4: Slate Frame & Needle Minder

Goldwork Kits & Supplies Winner

First, let’s tackle the business of the randomly drawn winner from the third installment of A Stitcher’s Christmas. The prize goes to Helen West! Congratulations, Helen – I will drop you an email today to touch base, so that your treasures can be winging their way to you soon!

Thanks again to Tanja Berlin of Berlin Embroidery for putting together such a lovely prize!

Incidentally, if you’re a lover of modern blackwork and counted designs, Tanja is offering a beautiful variety of her blackwork and cross stitch charts for digital download during the month of December for only $5.00 (Canadian – which is about $3.90US). That’s a fantastic deal! Especially if you love cats, owls, bunnies, and other wildlife, you’re sure to love her designs! You can find her digital downloads on sale here.

Stitcher’s Christmas #4: Mythic Crafts!

Update, 2019: At this point in time, I’m cautioning folks about purchasing from Mythic Crafts. After a very successful crowd-funding campaign in January of 2018, many of the backers have still not received their goods from backing that campaign. I hope that Mythic Crafts is able to fulfill the orders made during the crowdfunding campaign, but until they do, I don’t recommend ordering from the company’s website.

Today’s give-away also hails from Canada, from the magical wood-working hands of Mark Harris at Mythic Crafts, who creates gorgeous wooden tools and accessories for needlework – from slate frames that are as beautiful as they are functional, to finished customized wooden boxes to mount your needlework masterpieces in, to lovely carved wooden needle minders, the ideal stocking stuffer for every stitcher!

Earlier this year, I reviewed one of Mark’s beautiful slate frames. They aren’t your typical slate frame – the roller bars are designed differently. The different design cuts the time to dress a slate frame in half!

Slate frame for Hand Embroidery

Mark can also add customized engraving on the slate frame, to make it really special, heirloom-quality tool for your needlework!

So, courtesy of Mark at Mythic Crafts, today I’m giving away a slate frame and, to keep things really seasonal, a little Christmas tree wooden needle minder to one lucky winner!

The slate frame is a 500mm frame (about 19″ wide, which gives you a work area of up to about 15″ wide, I think?). The side bars are adjustable from about 5.5″ – 15″ high, so the maximum workspace is about 15×15, give or take a little bit. It’s an excellent size for most projects.

Give-Away Guidelines

This give-away is now ended. Thanks to all who participated!

If you would like to participate in A Stitcher’s Christmas #4, please adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Leave a comment on this article on Needle ‘n Thread. You can follow this link directly to the comment form, if you’re unsure of where to go. Please do not leave your comment as a reply to someone else’s comment. Comments submitted via email or left on any other page or social media page are not eligible. The comment must be left on Needle ‘n Thread, at the end of this article.

2. Please fill out the comment form correctly. Here’s what you need to know about filling out the comment form:

Use a recognizable name in the “name” line (this can be first and last name, first name with last initial, a nickname, your first name and where you’re from, etc.); use a valid email address; leave the website line blank if you do not own and operate your own website; do not put any personal contact information in the comment area itself.

3. Answer the following in your comment:

What’s your all-time favorite needlework project that you ever stitched?

4. Leave your comment before 5:00 am Central Time (that’s Kansas, USA time), Wednesday, December 13th. The winners will be randomly drawn that morning and announced here on Needle ‘n Thread, when the next give-away in the series is posted.

5. Only one comment per person, please. The give-away is open to everyone.

And that is it!

So, if you’d like a chance to be the proud owner of a gorgeous slate frame and needle minder from Mythic Crafts, jump on in!

If your comment does not appear on the website immediately (it will read “awaiting moderation” or something to that effect), don’t panic and please don’t resubmit it. The comments are queued until I approve them. This prevents spam on my website. So don’t fret if your comment doesn’t appear immediately! It will show up eventually. Thanks!

 
 

(1,134) Comments

  1. Slate frames, although taking time to dress, are ideal for most projects and I would love to have one. My all time favorite project is Jenny Adin-Christies, Hampton Court Palace. It challenged me to stitch on satin, using a wide variety of fibers, and stitches. It was hard, but the outcome was brilliant.

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  2. Uhm… there’s none yet, because I just recently started embroidering. I did some little things, though, and I’m doing some actually: the little “sacks” (I switched to stockings) to pack up the little surprise gifts for my (adult) children, decorated with your Christmas trees from the e-book! I had a couple of severe problems with the fabric and the transfer as yet, but since I switched the fabric and enlarged the trees to 150% (and the sun was out for tracing today!), all is going smooth now and it’s real fun to stitch them. Yes, I think this is my favorite needlework project for the time being. Because it’s not for me, but will give pleasure to my beloved children.

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  3. My favorite embroidery project, was an Edmar alphabet/flower sampler. I would work on a flower/ letter every day. My daughter was 5 at the time and enjoyed watching me as much as I did working on it. We would look up info on the flower of the day. I got it framed for Christmas that year and it’s hanging up in my living room.

    5
  4. What is my all time favorite project? Probably the last one I finished! My current favorite is a goldwork piece that was the project for a Royal School of Needlework class I took in Williamsburg, VA. It was the Elizabethan Sweete Bag by Jennie Aiden-Christie. I finished the embroidery months ago, but only recently got up the nerve to finish it into the bag. It involved cutting and glue!!! I’m dangerous with glue. I’m really please with how it came out.

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  5. My most favorite needlework project is a toss up between my thread painted rose and an original 3-d needle woven forest.

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  6. My favourite (so far) has been Elizabeth Almond’s Sublime Stitches. I love the variety that the design has and it was easy to make it in a colour scheme that I wanted. it is also the first piece that has taken a year to complete – not because I was slow but it was released one section per month, making me slow down and enjoy the process.

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  7. What a beautiful embroidery tool to hold and have in your collection. I would simply LOVE to have one of these to frame up my piece of embroidery on one of these

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  8. My favourite project of all time was a picture of a hare done in goldwork. I have always wanted a slate frame but it is just too expensive but realise that to do things properly you really need one.

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  9. Hi Mary, What a fantastic giveaway! My absolute favourite was a canvasswork pillowtop done all in ecru crewel wool, with many different stitches radiating out from a centre star in bigger and bigger squares. I stayed up late working on it and woke up in the morning wishing I didn’t have to go to school so I could do just-one-more-stitch. I was a very young stitcher, before I became more careful about my stitching, and still recall the joy of discovery and just doing it.

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  10. My favorite needlework project was a cross stitch birth sampler that I did for each of my three daughters.

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  11. A slate frame is on my Christmas wishlist…has been for a while. I really want to start with a silk needle painting project that I have waiting…it has an almond branch and a bird…hope I win, can’t wait to get started.

    thanks,

    Jean

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  12. Hi, Mary! Thanks for the Christmas fun!
    My favorite needlework project is the “WELCOME” Brazilian Embroidery wall hanging by Rosalie Wakefield. I’ve stitched up several of them. They’re full of little critters peeking from the foliage. Very cute! I made some and gave to family as gifts, but the last one I made was for ME!

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  13. I think my all time favourite project might be a wool felt teddy bear with movable joints and wool embroidery on the paws, face and body.

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  14. What a beautiful frame! I have two projects I am working on a hoop which certainly is not ideal. This frame would be such an improvement! Thank you Mary for all you do to make our stitching lives so much richer.

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  15. My favorite project is a hard question to answer as I have liked everything I have done. But back in the 1970’s I had an epiphany and embroidered a basket of flowers in the air without a pattern and it was so much fun! It started with a basket to use a weaving stitch I ran across in a book or magazine. It had never occurred to me to do needlework with no pattern but I came up with a credible basket shape. Then using all sorts of thread I had including knitting yarns I added flowers, cattails, daisies, Queen Anne’s lace, etc. The embroidery is faulty, not perfect, but I really loved making it. Then my step-daughter had it framed for me, my first framed piece of needlework. What a thrill! I would really love those slate frames and would put them to such good use. Best, Charlotte

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  16. This frame and needle minder would be my dream gift. I have an extraordinary historical reproduction sampler project from The Scarlet-Letter that will need an extra special frame to work it.

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  17. My all time favorite piece was a Japanese Bunka Embroidery of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which I made for my granddaughter. There was a lot of details with 8 faces to do, each one different from the rest… but it was a lot of fun stitching it!

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  18. I absolute favorite so far was this pillow I made for my favorite Aunt last Christmas. She had been having a rough couple of years with my uncle passing away near Christmas the previous year due to cancer and some awful family drama and stresses that led to a few health issues of her own. So, I embroidered a some fabric that said PEACE with this pretty tulips mixed in with the letters and then sewed it into a pillow for her. I loved the colors and how it all came out. She has it sitting in one of her chairs in her living room, I know she loved it! 😀

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  19. My all-time favorite project I’ve done? Probably it’s a piece I designed to reflect my Utah heritage. It was a counted cross stitch project and featured a large beehive in the center (we are the beehive state), surrounded by a wreath of sego lilies (the state flower and a source of nutrition to Native Americans and early pioneers), with a wide border of 110 bees all around. The piece was purchased by the LDS Church Museum of History and Art back in 1991, so I don’t have it any more. I’ve been thinking about doing another one just for myself, but I hate repeating myself!

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  20. Thanks to Mary and Mark for making such a fantastic give away possible!!
    It is so hard to pick a favorite… I love embroidery, counted cross stitch, hardanger, chicken scratch, candlewicking. oh so many types of hand work. But for this I will say that it is a counted cross stitch alphabet that took about a year to do. Each letter had a beautiful flower with it and it won a blue ribbon at the fair.

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  21. My favorite cross stitch piece is “Amazon Rain Forest,” an afghan I finished in 1998. It took three years to stitch the 30 blocks, and I still use it whenever I need a light cover or a comforting hug.

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  22. When I was ten, back in 1975, I was given a printed design on linen, about the size of a tea towel, which was an outline of a map of England and Wales. All the counties were shown, with emblems for what they produced or were known for (lakes and mountains for Cumbria, a tiny coal mine for the Welsh valleys, apple trees for Kent, and lace for Nottinghamshire). In the sea, there were ships and sea monsters. I stitched it over a year or so, choosing my own colours and stitches (mainly back stitch, satin stitch and straight stitch). And I actually finished it. My mum framed it and we gave it to my granny. After she died, my mum gave it back to me, and it hangs on the wall of my daughter’s bedroom. It was my first big project.

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  23. My favorite piece to stitch was a piece resembling the American flag. Two of our sons were activated for the war in Iraq and stitching those pieces helped calm me. Fortunately the son with two small girls was able to stay in the States to help train mechanics to go over to Iraq. I finished the other son’s flag just before he came home and that was my goal to finish it and that would tell me he was soon coming home.

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  24. My favorite piece was a Victorian house done in Blackwork. It was my first try and with some help from my friends it is my favorite piece. Thank you, and Merry Christmas. Denise G.

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  25. My favorite project was Celtic Christmas from Lavender and Lace. I learned so much about colours and shading. I’m always proud to hang it up for the holiday season .

    31
  26. My current favorite is a cross-stitch sampler for Christmas. Every year when I decorate for Christmas, I wish that I could enjoy it longer. It took a short time to complete and yet epitomizes the season.

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  27. My favorite needlecraft that I have stitched are my pieces from Victorian Sampler the Christmas Gingerbread Houses. They are fun and turn out so cute.

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  28. My all time favorite project has been a series of snowmen, one for each month of the year. I plan to put them together in a quilted wall hanging.

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  29. What an AMAZING prize! Thanks SO much to you and Mark! I don’t think I’ve done enough yet to have a real favorite. I’m making something for my parents for xmas and I think that will end up being my favorite if I can do it well enough 🙂 Thanks for the chance to win!

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  30. My all-time favorite project is the fox and rabbit that I stitched from Millie Marota’s Animal Kingdom. I was inspired by the fox that you featured here that someone else stitched–I did the same fox from the coloring book as well as the rabbit (in shades of white on white) and they’re both hanging up in my son’s woodland-themed nursery. 🙂

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  31. I have 2 favorite pieces. Both from classes. One was called pulled threads — no other name. I hadn’t stitched in years, but a friend convinced me to take the class and while it was a challenge I still have that piece hanging and that was 40 years ago. The second piece is called fancy threads — same friend convinced me to take this class. It combined many stitches and many threads and I gave it to my Mom for her birthday. She loved it.

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  32. I’d have to go with my cross-stitched Napoleon Crossing the Saint-Bernard (pattern by Golden Kite). It took me almost fourteen years to complete!

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  33. There are so many pieces I have enjoyed stitching, but I think one of my favorites is a memorial piece I stitched for my mom. She loved gardening, and the piece represented her love of that. There is a poem included in the piece that represents the joy gardening brought to her life. It is a source of comfort for me, not only while I was stitching it, but even now when I look at it every day. Thank you for the opportunity regarding the slate frame! I could definitely use it since I stitch many larger pieces. A blessed holiday to all!

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  34. My all time favorite is a project I’m still working on with a number of other stitchers. We are creating a historically inspired embroidery tapestry for use in our medieval re-enactment group. It’s wonderful to get to work with so many stitchers!

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  35. Oh Mary,
    You have offered some lovely prizes but this frame takes the prize! I would dearly like to win it.
    First, blessed Christmas to you and your family. Secondly, I hope your health remains good and continues to improve.
    Choosing my favorite handmade project is a little like choosing a favorite child. So I shall go with the one of which I am most proud. Forty years ago I was doing a lot of needlepoint and decided to recreate on a large, 3′ by 2′ footstool, the same design that was on the upholstery of its accompanying chair. I tried mightily to sketch the design onto the canvas and just could not, so for the next year I held a piece of the fabric in one hand and needlepointed the footstool cover with the other. I’m amazed at my audacity and would never undertake something so difficult again, but it did turn out beautifully and though the chair and footstool are long gone, I still have the needlepointed cover and I smile each time I see it.

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  36. My all time favorite piece to stitch was back in the 90’s. It was called “A Series of Saints” by Susan Portra. My husband had to make a custom set of stretcher bars as I had decided to do the series all in one piece. The frame was about 48″ x 18″. It took me weeks to do this piece but I enjoyed every minute of it. It now hangs in one of our bedrooms and still dazzles every time I see it.

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  37. It may seem a waste to some, but the favorite thing I ever stitched was two tree ormaments for 2 very important people in my life.

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  38. This is a hard question to answer. My “Let It Snow” crazy quilt was probably my favorite. I love the idea of samplers, not the traditional reproduction or alphabet samplers, but samplers in which you can showcase a variety of stitches within a technique or combine techniques. I am in the planning stages of a multi technique project that will have some pulled thread, drawn thread, black work, Hardanger, cross stitch and others all together. A great slate frame would help make this plan a reality. The joy is in the stitching.

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  39. Hi! My all time favourite piece that I have worked on was a pattern that someone gave me without a picture of the final product. It was hard working that way, but I relished the challenge. It was Guardian Angel by Marilyn Leavitt Imblum.
    Techiya in Ontario Canada

    46
  40. My all-time favourite needlework project (so far) is a sampler by Stoney Creek – Proverbs 31:13 “She has sought wool and linen and works at whatever is the delight of her hands”. It includes hardanger, cross stitch, and ribbon embroidery – it took a long time to do and even longer to get it framed, but I loved every minute of it…even when it was making me nuts.

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  41. I would LOVE one of these beautiful slate frames! It would have been perfect for stitching the project which is my favourite and the one of which I am most proud: The Village of Hawk Run Hollow. Thank you for offering such a wonderful prize!

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  42. My favorite needlework project was a needle book that I made for a friend. Her initials are FF, so the monogram laid out beautifully. I did raised white lettering on light blue linen, so the letters showed well. I used floche, so there was a gentle gleam to the work. Simple, practical and beautiful and best of all, used regularily. The project was a joy from planning, through execution, to gifting.

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  43. My favorite thing that I have stitched is probably one of the least technical ones too! My mother stitched up a series of 8×10″ happy dancing animals when she had measles as a girl that she then used to make my sister and I quilts when we were born. I never had measles but I stitched a series of squares and made them into a quilt for my own munchkin to continue the tradition. They were large open vintage animal patterns that I worked in primary colors in cotton thread on a cotton field using stem stitch, cross stitch, french knots, and a tiny bit of satin stitching.

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  44. Wow. It is really hard to decide which is my favourite project ever. But I think it may be the book I made from Anne Stokes cards printed on fabric and made into crazy quilted blocks.

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  45. Having only being embroidering for a short time my favourite piece is always the next project.I have kept everything from when I first began this wonderful hobby, (fast becoming a way of life!) and I am now beginning to see for myself how my stitching has improved over the months. My next task will be trying to keep the back of my work tidy, or at least not such a knotted mess.

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  46. Oh my goodness!! How can one choose a favourite in a world of so many choices and new things waiting in the wings. I loved using French knots and Colonial knots to create a pin cushion which I filled with Emory and put into a small pottery bowl. (Made by a friend who passed). Every time I use it I think of her. It’s a lovely memory:)

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  47. My favorite was a mini-sampler that I designed, measuring a mere 5 x 7 inches. After reading the biography of New England poet Anne Bradstreet, who professed that she would rather hold a pen than a needle (almost blasphemous for her day!), I created her sampler for her. I designed the pattern after studying the motifs of the 1600s and also added some beautiful quotations from her poetry. An edifying and satisfying stitch piece for me!

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  48. I stitched a strawberry band sampler that contained different stitches and techniques featuring different types of red threads and red colors. I became obsessed on going to different stores (before the internet) for silks, wools, dmc shades, filament reds, etc. I loved every minute of the planning of the different strawberries, the colors, the stitches and placement of the bands. I still smile thinking of how driven I was and how much I loved finding and stitching my longest band sampler.

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  49. Oh my goodness would I love to have this one! 🙂 Ever since you reviewed it this slate frame has been on my wish list!

    My favorite project of all time is a quilt. I traced pictures from a childhood coloring book and then “colored” them with needle and thread. It was a project worked over about 10 years starting in college. While there are many memories of stitching on it what really makes it the most special is that my mom pieced it and my grandma quilted it. It was the very last thing she quilted before she passed 6 years ago. (It was still in the frame at her house actually and my aunts worked together to finish the very last row of quilting.) It became a family heirloom and I look forward to passing it to my children some day!

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  50. Thank you for all of the giveaways – I would be delighted if I were to win this frame. My favorite piece of needlework is a counted canvas piece designed by Toni Gerdes called Wright Kimono. I was pretty much a beginner at the time, so I had no idea what I had taken on, but I completed the project and am very proud of the results. (It is still not finished but the needlework is displayed on it’s frame while I make decisions about the final piece.

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  51. My all time favorite project is a Crewel one. It was a kit, I think designed by Dimensions. The design has baby animals scattered around the words “Oh little one, welcome to life”. I stitched it while pregnant with our son back in 1981. I stored it for years in a closet then had it reframed and gave it to my son and daughter in law when their first baby was born.

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  52. My all time favorite is a needle point picture of the McNeil Castle on the island of Barra, Scotland which I did from a photograph.

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  53. My favorite project (so far) is my first canvas work project. It was a very pretty picture of colorful bunting.

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  54. My favorite sampler of all time was done in Goldwork. It had various techniques and motifs but a cohesive whole. I think of all the surface work I do I really enjoy goldwork combined with other techniques the best and that sampler taught me quite a bit.

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  55. My all time favourite needlework project tonstitch is such a difficult question to answer. There have been several projects, some quilting, some stitching. One that stands out is a Stitchery I did with some friends in. Round Robin format. We all stitched a round and then handed the piece on, it was a lot of fun. Susan

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  56. The most favorite needlework project would have to be Lanarte Fall Bouquet’s Counted Cross-Stitch. It is very detailed, but the colors are beautiful and the project is very relaxing to stitch.

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  57. My favorite embroidery piece I did was of two parrots that I owned. One was a blue and gold macaw and the other a yellow-naped Amazon. Unfortunately, they both have passed but I have the piece I did to remember them by.

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  58. I would be so honored for one of these beautiful frames. I have always wanted one but not living near a shop I haven’t been able to “touch” one personally. My favorit stitch ever was “And They Sinned” that I completed about 11 years ago. I have may others I love but that is the only one I could do again despite it’s size. (I am about to strt spotted Cow and am equeally excited about that one) Each motif was a fun as the last one. I didn’t even mind the grass…..that is when I would escape and let my mind wander. I stitch on 36 ct so that helped the size but I do have it in a perfect place I get to look at it all the time. Thanks for the chance at this beautful tool, I know I would use it daily.

    Thansk again, Mary, for all of your newsletters and teachings. It makes me excited about the art of what i do. susan

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  59. The project that I stitched tha I love the most was a mandala from Chatelaine. She passed away few days ago. She was a real artist.

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  60. My all time favorite needlework project is the last one completed. I have been very fortunate in feeling fulfilled by each one I have done. Thank you and your suppliers for these lovely items and these opportunity to win them.

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  61. My favorite project so far has been an 1890’s reproduction redwork quilt. With so many different panels it’s been really fun!

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  62. My favorite needlework project is my husband and my names where each letter is worked in a different black work pattern! I used a little bit of metallic gold for accent and it came out very well. It is framed and still hangs in my bedroom.

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  63. My favorite piece is a Christmas crazy quilt wall hanging. It was the second piece I had ever done and still the best. I never tire of looking at it. There are so many fun things on it. It was the first thing I brought out this Holiday season.

    I love your web site. I have learned so much from it.

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  64. My all-time favorite stitching project so far has been Hand-embroidering denim shirts.
    I’ve done 3 so far, each one becoming more complex than the last. In fact, these were my first projects and allowed me to experiment with stitching flowers and birders.

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  65. My all time favourite piece that I’ve completed was a canvaswork wreath. I can’t remember the designer and the pattern is missing from my stash. But it was designed in Christmas colours. I swapped out all the green/red and selected a bunch of blue/purples and added a tassel that my mom had made. It won me a ribbon – so I’m proud of that. But the best part was the colour choosing and then seeing how my selections turned out as I stitched the various stitches. So, so much fun! In second place is my Crazy Quilt wall hanging I did in memory of my parents – it was based on Jennifer Clouston’s Foolproof Crazy Quilt hexagon book. That was terrific fun.

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  66. My mom and grandmothers taught me to embroider when I was about 5. But for the life of me, I could not do a proper French Knot. I bought a kit not realizing it was mostly French knots. I finally was able to conquer the knot! That was about 45 years ago, and it still is a favorite of mine. Thank You, Linda S Pewaukee WI

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  67. My all time favorite stitched piece is the first of my “master’s” pieces (stitched to celebrate daughter’s acquiring their master’s degree). Stitched on yellow Aida 100000 + stitches, it was a reproduction of George Seurate’s painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of the Grande Jatte. With the exception of the blank figure in the foreground, at was stitched in his pointillist painting style such that I had to step back to identify exactly what I was reproducing. I learned to take the time to grid the ground fabric before any stitch was placed. Easy to locate exactly where on the chart I was after stopping for the night.

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  68. I haven’t actually finished very many stitching projects, but my favorite of the ones I’ve worked on is Christmas stockings for my nieces and nephews. It’s embroidery on felt, and it’s what got me trying to learn how to do it in the first place.

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  69. My all time favorite project was a tablecloth my 3 sisters and I stitched for our mom. It seems like stitching has an extra layer of enjoyment when it’s done with others and for someone special.

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  70. My favorite was Japanese needlepunch work, like an embroidery. I learned this in my early childhood & have 2 that I’ve kept.

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  71. Christmas stockings for the family. Every year we pull them out and it brings such warmth and joy. Full of memories. Our children are now in the 30’s and still using them and now I am completing (or hoping to) the last of the grandchildren and spouses. Each one speaks to the personality of the loved one.

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  72. My newest favourite project is one I’m currently working on. It’s Carolyn Mitchell’s design ON THE EDGE that Carolyn taught at the 2017 Embroidery Association of Canada seminar. The background fabric is 18 c monocanvas and a variety of threads and stitches are included in the design of urban environment on nature.

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  73. As I thought back over the projects I have stitched it was hard to choose a favorite. I have enjoyed working all of them. That is why they are finished!! But I think my favorite is a surface embroidery floral design that I created myself, and worked over a span of several years, as I enrolled in a couple of different needlework classes. It is a sampler type piece, experimenting with different stitches and stitch combinations.

    Mary, I appreciated your question last week about what needlework technique I would like to focus on in the coming year. I instantly thought of Schwalm, and so am hoping to have the time and opportunity to learn more about it, and more importantly, spend time working several small pieces. Thank you!

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  74. I have done a myriad of projects in a wide range of disciplines, but I think Genny Morrow’s “Nova” is my all time favorite. I love it so much that, even as intricate and complicated as that simple design proved to be, if I could figure out how to calibrate the colors as well as she did, I would do the whole thing again in a different range of colors! It is hanging by my front door, so I get to see it everyday and often. If I am waiting for someone, to pass the time, I will stand in front of it and lose myself all over again in the patterns, stitch choices, and colors. What a joy it is.

    I think I would sell my soul for a slate frame!!

    Happy Holiday to everyone!

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  75. My favorite needlework piece is one that has been in progress for awhile and still a long way to go. It is a work with dimensional embroidery applied to fantasy flowers. I am especially looking forward to working on the crazy quilt border. This will be a story of how looooong the project took to complete. But the detail is exquisite and lovely to get lost in.

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  76. Martina Weber designed my favorite project – Desert Mandala. Her projects challenge even the most experienced stitcher and are an absolute thrill to complete. She uses silks, many specialty threads, beads, and Swarovski crystals with spectacular results.

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  77. I don’t think I can select my favorite — each project has appealed to me in different ways. I XS a gladiolas chart once in memory and honor of my grandmother. It was a special time to reflect on my memories of her. So projects that are connected somehow to people I know/knew and love/d (memory, gift, etc) are my favorites.

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  78. My favorite piece is a needlepoint I did. My granddaughter’s beloved corgi had died. II found a canvas with a beautiful corgi head design and I picked threads to make it resemble her pup.

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  79. My all-time favorite project is the one I’m working on now – it’s a design from Needle N Thread of tulips, carnations and a pomegranate. It’s a blank design so I’m able to do what I want. Since I love Trish Burr’s whitework with color designs, I’m somewhat going that direction. It’s helping me to perfect the satin stitch, and I will use her other techniques in the design also such as a lace-look button-hole on the tulips where it seems like a natural fit in the design. I’ll also be using techniques I’ve learned from Mary on the pomegranate such as the filling technique of criss-crossing strands of threads and anchoring them down with a tiny stitch at the intersections on center of the pomegranate, and a nice padded two-color button/blanket stitch on the pomegranate section that surrounds the center. It’s the same technique she did on the pomegranate in her Hazel Blomkamp Harvest project. I’m learning so much from you Mary!!

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  80. Favorite piece ever stitched? 2014, a 65 inch linen table runner signed and decorated by all who attended my granddaughter’s adoption ceremony. It took a year to complete but every stroke of marker is covered with embroidery, some stitches that I had never done before but learned from your extraordinary video tutorials! Thank you, Mary, for being a major contributor to my favorite stitching project ever!

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  81. Hi all. My favourite project has to be my “Peared” project that I stitched and won second prize at the WMA Arts and Crafts competition. It was a lot of fun as I drew each pear shape and then stitched it to look like a pencil sketch. It sure would have been lovely to have a slate frame on which to have worked it! 🙂

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  82. Would it be too trite to say that whatever needlework project I am working on is my favorite? After all, we addicts see a potential project and think how beautiful! Wouldn’t it be nice to make that. And even if it looks like something from that cake wreck website and totally NOT like what the designer intended, weren’t our fingers deliriously happy while stitching? Yes, whatever project I am working on is my favorite…..until next time…

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  83. I cross stitched a pattern by WTNT, Brenda Gervais, Three Tulips. When I finished and framed it I had such a sense if accomplishment. It has been my favorite piece ever since.

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  84. What a hard question! I think my favorite thing that I’ve ever stitched was the series of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh by The Victoria Sampler. When I bought them, I had NO idea what I was getting in to – they were way beyond my stitching level at the time, but I dove right in, not knowing any better, and I learned a HUGE amount.

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  85. My all-time favourite needlework project to date would be the Tiffany project that our guild did a few years back. Our finished picture was divided into 10 puzzle pieces and we each stitched all 10, then exchanged with each other. It was a ton of work and I learned so much, not the least of which were some new embroidery stitches and techniques. Now I have a gorgeous picture on my wall with wonderful memories of all of my fellow guild members!

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  86. Wow! My all-time favorite needlework project? I don’t have one. I’ve loved stitching as well as the finished product of everything I’ve stitched. I keep a folder of charts that I’ve stitched and some photos and I just couldn’t pick one. In the past I’ve given many/most pieces as gifts but I have some in my home. I guess I would have to say my favorite is all of them.

    95
  87. My favorite project? I’m a relative beginner, returning to embroidery after 40 years, but the answer will probably always be whichever I’m working currently!

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  88. Hello Mary,
    That’s a hard question. I tend to love the project I’m doing at the very moment. For example, right now, I’m stitching Tanja Berlin’s Habsburg Lace bookmarks and I really enjoy it. But one of my past projects delights me each time I look at it, and it’s a personal creation I’ve made just to try stitches and threads. It’s a kind of abstraction that thrilled me a lot.
    Diane from Montréal in Québec

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  89. My favorite piece to stitch was a pulled thread design called “Waterfall” by Gale Washington. Lovely design, learned a lot about the concept of value (color) in pulled thread embroidery.

    98
  90. Way back in the 80’s when I was much less inhibited I interpreted Matisse paintings in Needlepoint. The fun was in picking out lots of different stitches and colors and just going with the flow. Many years later I now look back at these canvases and am inspired to recapture those feelings of having fun with designs and just letting go.

    99
  91. My favorite needlework project is a group of four whimsical little girls done in counted cross stitch for my daughter. I call them “The Whimsy Girls”.

    100
  92. My all time favorite stitching project…hmmm…I once cross stitched a piece over one on 40 count linen. It is a beautiful piece although I can’t remember the designer. The challenge this piece provided me will always make it one of my favorites.

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  93. My favorite project was also a tear jerker. My cousin died in the early 1990s and during his funeral one of the readings was flying with ‘wings likes eagles’ Isiah 40:31. I had been in the local craft store the month before and picked up a cross stitch pamphlet with a gorgeous eagle flying over a purple mountain and that particular Bible verse. His funeral was in March and I busted a particular part of my anatomy to get it done, cleaned, and framed by his birthday in July. I missed it by a week. His mother hung it over her couch in her living room until two years ago when she gave it back to me. It’s hanging in my mother’s living room at present. And I still think of my cousin when I see it. It also reminds me what I can do when I buckle down and put my mind to a task.

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  94. Merry Christmas! My favorite project ever was a candle wicked pillow cover. Loved doing the stitches and it’s still my favorite pillow. I made smaller pictures and even smaller pillows with this stitch, but my first was my favorite!

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  95. My all time favorite needlework project is a prayer I designed and framed many years ago. It still hangs in my home and I still love it!

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  96. My favourite stitching project was a combined quilting and stitching work. I made a quilt as a wedding present for my daughter and son-in-law. My daughter loves trees. I adapted a smaller quilt pattern with 25 tree blocks (evergreen trees) to an oversized queen size. I ironed on the trees, which I cut out with a pattern and then did blanket stitching around each of the trees. The trees were all different patterns. I took 2 years to complete the whole project. I took tree blocks with me when I wasn’t working on it at home. I remember the first block that I completed on summer vacation one year. Another time, I took a block to a weekend ladies retreat. My husband was watching a series of videos about science and math while I stitched many of these in the evenings at home. A lot of memories were created doing this 🙂

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  97. Hi Mary! My all time favorite project has been a piece that I just finished with pumpkins, squash and indian corn with some assorted berries . It has taken me about 3 years and has been a journey of trial and error, but the results, I feel, have been worth the journey. It was done mostly in silks and the corn husks were stitched with silk ribbon.

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  98. This is a really tough one, Mary. I think my all-time favorite is one I designed myself. Called “Greetings from Long Island,” it is a postcard scene of what would happen if there was off-shore drilling off Long Island, NY (an idea proposed in the 1970s). On 18 mesh it has all sorts of sea and beach pollution, from a toilet bowl to an oil tanker broken in half, a bird with oil on its wings and a dog peeing on the beach. Oh, and an oblivious sun bather listening to a radio on a blanket.

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  99. I’ve always wanted and easy-to-use slate frame and Mark’s fits the bill (as well as being lovingly made). My upcoming “need” is for sides of a stumpwork casket through Tricia’s Cabinet of Curiosities class.

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  100. My all-time favorite project was done in counted cross stitch. The finished work was about 15″ X 11″. I completed it using 14-count white Aida. Professionally framed with a beautiful matte the finished piece is gorgeous. The different herbs and spices along with the names in script turns out to be a showcase item in my house.

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  101. My favourite project was a page from an embroidered alphabet book of pattern I made a couple of years ago. The letter “s” for Seigaiha. It was my first time couching and using gold thread and I loved the end result.

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  102. My all time favorite needlework project would be my first Mar Bek angel (I haven’t worked on the others yet). She came out beautifully.

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  103. A monogrammed hankerchief. Not because it was different than others I have done but because it made the person I gifted it to so happy she cried.

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  104. My favorite project – hard pressed to choose – a small silk gauze piece would be one I would keep forever.

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  105. My favorite is a monogrammed handkerchief I made for an adored aunt. It used techniques I had long wanted to master and it came out well, but that’s not why it’s my favorite. My aunt’s reaction is — she saw every bit of the love that went into it, and she carries it with her everywhere.

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  106. My favorite Project that I have worked on would be the Christmas Stocking that I made this year for my youngest daughter and her family. I love the joy that will have when they put them up each year. Happy Holidays. RMS

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  107. It was a tryptich in a cross-stitch magazine eons ago featuring an Amish farm scene with quilts. I did two of the panels for my grandmother, who hung them on each side of her back door – the one everyone used the most. The quilt portion of those two pieces was the most fun to stitch. And she loved them.

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  108. I have only been doing surface embroidery for just over two years. As a retirement present I treated myself to a retreat by the Crewelwork Company. It changed the direction my retirement was going but certainly no regrets. I don’t yet have a huge number of projects and I have so enjoyed doing all of them. I think though it is the 3d wren kit produced by Jenny Adin Christie. It stretched my skills but Jenny is such a patient teacher I thoroughly enjoyed the unusual project. Very pleased with the finished piece. Thanks for all your wisdom Mary. I often refer to your stitch help.

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  109. My all time favorite project is a counted cross stitch based on Leonardo da Vinci’s La Scapigliata. Also known as “the touseled or uncombed.” Maria Diaz based her chart on da Vinci’s masterpiece.

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  110. corbet mermaid is a beautiful cross stitch. I also do the angles. but I use a bigger cloth like like a 10 aidia because I cannot see the small stuff anymore. I also do a little bit of doll faces in counted cross they are 32 but I use a magnifying glass.

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  111. My favourite project so far are stitched story books I embroidered for my daughter’s,given to them in their wedding days. I enjoyed every stitch.

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  112. My favorite needlework project is a needlepoint pillow I made over 20 years ago. I fell in love with the design – French Lace Ribbons – and it was a challenge!

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  113. My favorite needlework project would have to be my crewel covered desk chair. The chair was a gift from a friend and it took me a year to complete all the embroidery. It has pride of place in my living room and of course, nobody is allowed to sit on it!

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  114. Very tough question to answer Mary as I love them all!
    I would have to say the one that gave me the most enjoyment was a dimensions crewel kit called fancy cat that I received as a gift one Christmas. The detail, the level of complexity and the overall effect was amazing. Took me a month to finish it and I did have it professionally framed.

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  115. I embroidered a quilt wall hanging. Each of the 12 squares was hand embroidered with a different flower design.

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  116. My all time favorite project was a mother and child I did in cross stitch that was worked over one thread for the hands and faces and over two threads for everything else. It created a level of detail that was beautiful.

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  117. The needlework piece that means the most to me is a counted cross stitch magnolia branch that used about 14 different shades of white, cream, pale yellow, and blush with about 8 shades of green. I did it on a piece of black Jobelan and gave it to my mother. When she passed, it came back to me. It hangs in my living room now as a constant reminder of my connection to her.

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  118. My favorite needlework project is an original hand appliqued quilted wall piece I made with lots of embroidered details…something I designed that came out better than imagined.

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  119. My most favourite needle work project is the last 9 square flower sampler I did that was designed by Lisa Dawson of Bugs Unlimited (Johannesburg, South Africa). Lisa has designed a number of these 9 square samplers: exotic flowers indigenous flowers, herbs and more. They use a wonderful range of colours and are a joy to work on.

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  120. My favorite stitching project ever was probably two “sister” projects. They were little drawings that a foreign exchange student had made that I enlarged and embellished (with her permission). I love their quirky nature and bright colors. I think of her (Sandi Yi) whenever I look at them.

    The frame looks beautiful. Thanks for the opportunity to win one.

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  121. I have wanted a slate frame for years. My friend, Linn Skinner, convinced me it would make a difference in the outcome of my stitching but I have never followed through.

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  122. I think my favorite project is anything I have actually finished. I have projects from many years ago and they are just sitting there. I’ve lost my interest in those projects and I don’t feel like finishing them.

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  123. G’day Mary
    The first I stitched with my granddaughter, then 5yrs. A very wonky running stitch and sort of cross stitches flower. The beginning of needlework in her life and a fuzzy warm feeling in mine.
    Thanks Mary and Mark
    Kath from Oz

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  124. My favourite ever needlework project is the silk ribbon and stumpwork flower lattice I stitched this year, so proud of it! The slate frame would have been great fr this.

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  125. What a beautiful gift for a prize. Thanks to Mark and to you Mary for doing this. My all time favorite piece was a shadowbox that came out many years ago in a kit……….not a lot of money to spend and this came in at under $20 and was large and filled with toys and many evenings of crewel work. I knew it would take a lot of time and it took around a year to complete. It was fun and relaxing and the price was a gift to me. It was something everyone noticed. It was beautiful. Merry Christmas to all.

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  126. I always fail at these “favorite” questions as I have a difficult time narrowing down the answer to just one piece. I always end up with a list of answers. What I really liked about one project might be the learning of new stitches. Or it might be using materials that I had just discovered. Or it might be the colors I am playing with. Suffice it to say that my favorite project is usually the one I am currently working.

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  127. My favorite piece was the first I finished and gave as a gift. It was a holly hobby little girl. It was a baby shower gift for my history teacher in high school.
    Thanks Mary

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  128. My favorite project that it did was a gold work pineapple that Meredith willette taught at in stitches in Atlanta , have a great holiday, pat smith

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  129. I embroidered a Crabapple Hill Studio floral design by Meg Hawkey on an extremely functional Bionic Gear Bag Pattern I sewed up- it holds a myriad of notions that I take everywhere with me-

    I am really enjoying your Christmas tree e-book! The little trees are so much fun to see up- thanks to you and vendors for Christmas Giveaway- a great way to learn about needlework resources- Ninon

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  130. Oh, I don’t think it is possible to pick just one! After all, I stitch because I love to! Since it is this time of year, maybe a Christmas one? I really love Victoria Sampler’s Heirloom Christmas Sampler. And Emie Bishop’s Warm Christmas Wishes. Or Santa’s List from Treasures in Needlework, where I replaced the names on the list with the names of all our family members. Or maybe one of the stockings I have made for our entire family, 19 in all.

    If not a Christmas one . . . well, I’d better stop now. You did say to pick one and I obviously can’t. But I would love to have that frame. I have learned about several wonderful products from your site, but have decided to be practical and not buy expensive items from which I may not get my money’s worth since I am getting older. But that wouldn’t be the case if I won the frame now, would it? Thank you for your contests and your column and Merry Christmas to you!

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  131. My favorite needlework project was a silk thread and fiber portrait
    of Emily Dickinson, commissioned by Bergdorf Goodman department
    store in New York. What an exciting opportunity and challenge that was!

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  132. What a lovely gift! I have wanted a slate frame forever, so here I am entering your drawing. Thank you for the opportunity.

    I never think of myself as an embroiderer. I always say I’m a knitter or quilter who also embroiders. But this question made me think. Is my favorite project my cross stitch world map hanging in the front room? My crewel bird picture for mom? My hardanger doiley that won sweepstakes at the county fair? My bargello seat cover for my daughter’s cedar chest? My set of four beaded wallhangings, one for each season? And there are many more. So it seems I am an embroiderer, even though I never really thought I was. Thank you for the illuminating question.

    And my favorite project? I would guess the cross stitch world map. It is not the most difficult or beautiful, but it always reminds me of my trip to Italy with my daughter, and how could anything beat that?

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  133. I don’t really have a favorite project that I have finished. There are some that are my current favorite color selection. Then there’s the project that I first started using a certain kind of bead in it. Then there are some projects that I really like because they finished up really quickly. It’s like choosing between my children!

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  134. I do not know any stitcher who does not LOVE tools so please count me in for the drawing.

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  135. I love every needlework project I’m working on, but I always remember a Madonna and Child I stitched for my mother quite a few years ago. I’m not a very religious person but she was and I know it meant so much to her and that always gives me a happy feeling.

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  136. My favorite all time favorite stitching project is the Carousel by Theresa Wentzler. It would have been nice to have had a good frame to work this on,

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  137. My favorite needlework project I ever stitched is a piece titled Grace designed by Terri Bay. It is an intermediate counted Ukrainian white work piece worked on an even-weave fabric square doily with trimmed edges. Of course my work needed to be exactly centered on the fabric or it would look awful. Because the project is worked with white thread on white fabric the light and shadows play well on it. The look of the piece changed as I worked on it (and only it) for 2 or 3 months here and there. I work full-time so don’t have lots of time to embroider. It was really fun to see if develop day by day.

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  138. I heard about slate frames years ago but never purchased one. These slate frames are not only beautiful but functional. I think it is time to give one a try.

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  139. Wow! That’s almost like asking who is your favorite child. It really made me think. So I’m going with the first thing that entered my head. It is a lovely English cottage surrounded by a summer garden by Pegasus. I am a true Anglophile and was blessed with a chance to go to England and visit a former student. I looked a dozens of charts until I found the perfect one. Every time I see the piece I remember my trip with joy. And thank you, Mark, for making the lovely prize available.

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  140. Owning a slate frame like this is one of my needlework dreams. As I replace my old, mostly cheap, equipment from years ago, I’m looking more and more at flexible pieces that I can use for many techniques and sizes of projects, and a frame like this has to be at the top of the list.

    My favourite piece ever is my son’s needlepoint Christmas stocking. It was a beautiful painted canvas and I loved stitching it.

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  141. My very favourite embroidered piece was a wedding gift for my grandson and his wife which I finished and presented to them last year. They were both thrilled. With some help from Mary, I chose black silk and stitched it in two shades of white silk. The motif was the two hummingbirds that Mary had done early that year.
    Now I’m about to embark on a similar project for my granddaughter this time a white peacock on black silk. Their wedding will be coming up next fall and I would love to have a slate frame on which to stitch their gift!
    Cheers
    Marjorie

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  142. I stitched a kit called Aesop’s Fables, with the lion & mouse, and Turtle & Hare & fox, done in crewel long and short (predominantly) stitch. the fur looked so neat, it has to be my all time favorite.

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  143. My all-time favorite needlework project was an original underwater scene that used silk ribbon, regular surface embroidery, stumpwork, dyed tatting, and lots of beads on a batik background. I was delighted that it won 5 ribbons at the Smocking Arts Guild of America Design Show including Best Embroidery and Best of Show!

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  144. That’s a hard question! But for sentimental reasons I’m going to go with a sampler that I learned on with the help of my late grandmother. It’s not the best stitching ever done but it’s one of the best memories I have of stitching. She taught me to sew doll dresses on a treadle sewing machine and how to embroider, amount many other things. Every Friday night I would spend at my Grandma’s house and this is one of the ways we filled our time. Similarly, I taught my son to embroider when he was young. He made the most precious piece ever. A cross stitch heart that says I love Mom inside. Teaching someone to embroider is a beautiful gift to give to another.

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  145. I love the whitework project that was done for my Master Craftsman in Plain and Fancy Needlework, several years ago… final piece was a handkerchief filled with Ayrshire and cutwork techniques.

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  146. I think my all time favorite thing to stitch was a ribbon embroidery project from Di Van Niekerk. Some simple embroidery plus some complicated. It turned out just lovely.

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  147. I don’t usually do cross stitch, but I have to admit the favorite stitching project that I have ever done was a picture of my two great-grandchildren as a gift for my daughters birthday this past July. It turned out so beautiful and she was so happy with it that it made all those little stitches worth it.

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  148. My favorite project was a beautiful wedding sampler I stitched for my baby sister about 30 years ago!

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  149. My favorite ever project is a monogram that I embroidered to learn satin stitch. It’s messy and I haven’t even framed it, but it was the first time I’d tried anything remotely complicated an I felt so accomplished!

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  150. I only started stitching about a year ago, so I’m mostly still learning, and my favorite needlework project is a small dragon that I stitched for a dice bag. It’s actually one of the reasons why I started learning embroidery: I wanted a dice bag with a cool dragon on it, but I couldn’t find any good ones anywhere, so I decided to make one myself. I discovered that I really like doing needlework, especially with a good audiobook to listen to.
    Needle ‘n Thread has helped me a lot in this first year of embroidery, with the very helpful videos and with all the great ideas and articles about what materials to use. Thank you, Mary!

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  151. My absolute all time favourite project to stitch was Alison Cole’s “Golden Jet”, a beautiful goldwork piece worked with silk and metal threads on silk. The colours were luscious–black and gold on cognac dupionni, the teaching and instructions were fabulous, and the supplies generous. The central floral motif featured several techniques of metalwork incorporating gold and black kid leather while the bud and leaf opposite sported chip work. Two metallic organza-winged dragonflies fluttered nearby. It was a joy to stitch and I learned so much. Having a frame like Mark’s of Mythic Crafts to work on such projects in the future would simply be fantastic! Thanks for the opportunity, Mary.

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  152. My all-time favorite is a snowman I embroidered for a pillow. I love this piece because it is the first time I ever embroidered something that I made up myself. I didn’t follow a pattern at all, I just found some funs thread and a cute design and picked up my needle and started stitching to see what would happen. It was so much fun!

    Pick me!

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  153. Gee Mary, how about a hard one!

    Since I have been embroidering I was 11 and that is well over 4 decades ago. My most memorable and I will be dating myself is 2 pair of jeans, bell bottoms that you walked the backs out of. Fashionable at that time. I would sit in the park with my sister and we would embroider our jeans while wearing them. They got pretty full and the next project was my “Tennesee” shirt that had an outline of the state and a mockingbird done in short and long stitch and an Iris done in satin and short and long stitch on the back.
    They are still my favs, not the best work but I so enjoyed learning to “paint with thread and this in different forms has become a life long obsession.

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  154. My favorite project was a beautiful wedding sampler I stitched for my baby sister about 30 years ago!

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  155. Hi Mary, what a nice give away today!

    My alltime favourite embroidery piece was my blackwork piece for the RSN certificate. I made a design from a picture of Martine Tobi, a lovely young woman just about to get engaged to her husband to be. It is also a very sad story because her fiance died before they actually married.

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  156. My favorite project was a Laurel Burch design, initially purchased as a cross stitch kit, that I interpreted instead in three dimensional needlepoint. I had never tried anything like that before, but when I saw the design, my brain just knew that it shouldn’t be a flat piece. I incorporated a bunch of specialty stitches and threads, and was pleased with how it turned out. I was even more pleased when it was awarded first place in a national EGA competition and was given a best in show at a Creative Arts and Textiles Show (CATS; anybody remember those?) event in Minneapolis. That was the piece that convinced me that it was OK to change things on someone else’s design and that I wasn’t horrible at doing it. I don’t do it on everything I stitch now, but I know that if the inspiration strikes me, I can tackle it.

    Thanks to you and your sponsors for all the great giveaways, Mary!

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  157. What beautiful craftsmanship! Tough choice, my favorite. At least both designed by same person, Jean Hilton. My pick today would be Gleneagle, a counted canvas piece.

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  158. It’s so hard to pick a favourite but if pushed, it would have to be the a needle turned applique quilt that I made.

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  159. What a beautiful, generous giveaway! I have lusted after one for a long time.
    My favorite needlework project is a group or iris, done in wool, for my mother in 1961. She displayed it proudly, and now that she is gone, is display it now. It looks pretty good for a 16 year old self taught embroiderer that I had to transfer.

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  160. We were living in Australia when our children were younger, and while there I embroidered my niece a Holly Hobby picture from a Simplicity Pattern for a Christmas gift. The apron was done in a variety of different and colourful stitches. Her bonnet was done in blue forget me nots. It was one of my first adventures into embroider, and I really loved that project, and I still have the pattern – it cost 80 cents. LOL Maybe I will find a somebody to do it for again.

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  161. My all time favorite piece that I have stitched (so far) is my Serengeti Mandala by Chatelaine Designs. It is the largest piece that I have completed, and I loved stitching every minute of it. There were so many different kinds of fibers (silks!), and different stitches, and every part added more detail. I took it to the Iowa State Fair, and it won first place in the cross stitch division, and the award for Best Needlework overall. This piece is now more special to me with the news of Martina’s passing.

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  162. My favorite project is generally the one I most recently finished. But my all time favorite continues to be Strawberry Sampler from Sampler Cove. Stitched with NPI silks in reds, greens, and gold, it is magnificent.

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  163. My favorite is a Cinderella Cross Stitch that I did for my newest granddaughter! It is so adorable for a little girls room!

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  164. My all time favorite is a crewel ornament I made for my daughter in 1981. It has a bluebird and the happiest little mouse sitting side-by-side on a Christmas ball. On the back of the 3-D ornament, you can see a little mouse arm and a bluebird wing hugging each other.

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  165. Andrea Olynick: I am new to embroidery. So far my favorite project was an Eiffle Tower with the word Paris. Thank you.

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  166. I completed a very small pin keep that was my first try at thread painting. I was so nervous that I would not be very good. I was settling in my mind that adequate would do. It was so challenging but I took a deep breath and plunged in. It turned out beautiful and beyond my expectation of what I could accomplish. It makes me smile every time I look at it.

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  167. My favorite piece of all time is the Danish cross stitch picture of Nyhavn….the harbor in Copenhagen, Denmark. My husband and I went there as newlyweds and spent a year learning and exploring and enjoying…..eating our way through as much Danish food as we could afford. Looking at the picture brings me right back ti 1963 when love was young and we were so dreadfully happy! (We still are!)

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  168. My all-time favorite (so far) is a picture I created based on the needlepoint motifs stitched by Mary Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick. It shows a rabbit on a green island with flowers, and surrounded by water. The caption reads “A Coney.” That makes it a picture of Coney Island.

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  169. My favorite stitched item was a crewel embroidery picture of the Lord’s Prayer for my Godmother. It’s been many years and it is still hanging in her living room.

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  170. Boy, that’s a hard choice. It’s like being asked to pick your favorite child!!!
    I think my favorite piece to stitch was a beginner Schwalm Embroidery piece titled Liesel” by Barbara Kershaw. I just loved stitching on this piece and have since ordered supplies and patterns from Luzine Happel for her basic Schwalm course – I have them on my “to do” list for 2018. Liesel was so relaxing for me. I just loved stitching it and was very happy with the result.

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  171. It’s hard to say what my favorite project was as so many come to mind. But if I have to narrow it down, I would have to say that it’s the new advent calendar I made which we’re now using. There’s a small motif on each pocket and on the top is a stitched image of our home and our family name above it.

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  172. I’d have to say my all-time favorite needlework project is a wizard on canvas that I did as part of a class at a seminar. It included painting the canvas as well as many types of stitches and fibers. It is a piece I am proud to have stitched and is hanging in my living room.

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  173. My favorite all time needlework I finally finished is a needlepoint canvas I started 30 years ago before kids while I lunched with other Medical Technologists at a hospital in PA, It started out all basketweave, thenI put it away only to return to it 30 years later to finish with all kinds of crewel stitches and creative stitches. Its a forest scene with deer and rivers and a wonderful open stitch bridge!

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  174. About 30 years ago I started stitching an old time Christmas scene. It had a village n a central outside skating ring, people walking, kids playing n Trees with snow. It was awesome. I’ve been looking for it for years n still can’t figure out where I stored it. I hope I find it eventually.

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  175. My favourite needlework project was a series of felted Christmas ornaments that I embroidered for my friends. Each was themed according to the personality and characteristics of that friend. Such great fun.

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  176. My favourite piece that I have ever stitched is a design by Susan Portra named Spirit Of The Southwest. I have it framed and have decorated my living room in colours compatible with this piece.
    I stitch many large pieces on linen and would truly love to win this slate frame. Thanks for the opportunity to win this wonderful frame.

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  177. My all time favorited design I ever stitched was a counted canvas-work piece by Linda Lachance of Northern Pines Designs called Iris Stained Glass Window. It used a counted technique with multiple specialty stitches and threads. There are actually four seasonal variations in this series. All are beautiful.

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  178. I have done so many that it is l really hard to answer this question! I guess my absolute favorite would be the peacock cross stitch that I did for my daughter in law. It had lots of gold and beadwork, and of course all those beautiful colors…..

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  179. I have done a lot of redwork embroidery and change out my wall hangings every season. It is a tough decision to pick my favorite as I enjoy them every time I look at them. I took a class with craftsy to improve my stitching and I really like that artwork a lot. It was out of my box and it hangs in my sewing room. I smile every time I look at it as it is bright and cheerful.

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  180. My favorite all time project to stitch is my almost finished casket pall. It’s been an about 5 year project. It’s made up of large diamonds in a crazy patch style and heavily embellished.

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  181. Merry Christmas
    My favorite needlework project has been “Over the river and through the woods.” It was just redwork but I enjoyed embroidering that piece so much that I found myself spiraled into other types of surface embroidery. It has been a fun journey that I am still on.

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  182. I designed a miniature knot garden to fit into an antique cigarette tin. It uses stitches like turkey stitch to simulate some of the hedges.

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  183. His frames are gorgeous. I would love one. After 25 years, I’ve taken up needlework again. I used to do cross stitch, hardanger and needlepoint as well as 1 project of cruel. There’s so many other variations! Goldwork, needlepainting, whitework. I love them all. I did have to purchase a magnifying lamp this time around. I’m working with hoops and finding them to be a challenge. Anyway, whomever gets this is going to be one lucky person.
    Ruth Olson

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  184. So far in my needlework career to date my all time favorite project has been the cross stitch sampler I made using a very out of date chart I found in a charity shop. I had to rework the treads list as the one on the chart was for a company that no longer existed. Trying to match colors on the computer screen to the chart was not easy. As my needlework skills continue to grow I am sure to have many more all time favorite projects.

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  185. My all-time favorite needlework is my Advent Calendar. It features the Nativity scene and each of the little squares that mark off the days are lambs, angels, a donkey, etc. Or course the baby Jesus is the 25th square. I hang it up every year and I think it gets more special as the years pass. The children are all grown up now but I still like to hang the little squares on it.

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  186. hmm. So hard to pick just one! I love the process of working through a design from start to finish. My favorite project is usually the one I am currently working on:) Which right now, happens to be a portion of the Fancy Floral Hand Emdroidery pattern that you posted for us, I am embroidering it on two pieces of Korean persimmon dyed cloth using floche, they will become the outside pockets on a small shoulder bag that I am making to take with me while I travel in China next year! That said, I am also eagerly anticipating my start on the first of your Little Trees! What a lovely Christmas project–Thank you so much!

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  187. What a super giveaway! Thanks for the chance to win a slate frame and needle minder, Mary! My favourite needle work piece that I’ve stitched has to be the Wedding Embroidery I designed and created for friends of ours. It was designed based on the location of their wedding at a winery, so I added beaded grape clusters under stumpwork grape leaves that cascaded down the sides of the embroidery. Also included were the roses that edged each row of grapes, and the huge moon that glowed on the wedding party and guests that evening. A wide assortment of surface embroidery and stumpwork stitches were used in the piece, done in white, ecru, and beige threads. I tatted a cascade of Josephine Knot flowers, formed them into a large heart, and embellished them with seed beads. Although the couple had to wait almost a year for their gift, I’m happy to say they were thrilled. My husband created a beautiful frame for the embroidery, too, so our gift to them came from both of our hands and our hearts!

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  188. I have stitched so many things over the years – most of them given away as gifts- that it would be difficult to select one. I think it would have to be a Christmas crewel project that I did when I was about 20. It was my first surface embroidery project and I was unsure of how it would turn out. The image was of a Christmas tree, all decorated for the holidays. There was striped tree skirt underneath with a fat cat dozing on it. The cat was done in turkey work. I was so pleased when I finished it. Had it framed and it still goes up on the wall every December!
    Merry Christmas to all!
    Toni

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  189. Long ago early 1980’s cross stitch Fruit Panel by Thea Gouverneur it is fruits, fruitblossom and 2 butterflies.

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  190. My all-time favorite project was a monogram that I put together for my cousin’s wedding, combining their two initials. I used their wedding colors as a base for the letters, and added a floral frame. That monogram was my first experience with stem stitch filling, and it turned out well. They loved it!

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  191. My first instinct to answer today’s question was to say my current project but as I have several current projects, that won’t work. Then I thought and realized the project that was most meaningful to me and one I’m most proud of is a cross stitched photo of my mom. I used a program to create the pattern from a photo and worked this project right after she passed away in 1997 from colon cancer. It was a tremendous aid in helping me grieve the loss I felt and I feel it is an honorable tribute to her memory and all that she gave me during my life.

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  192. My favourite project was a silk tapestry floral bouquet that I did and had framed for my mother about 45 years ago. After she passed it came back to me and I still love it.

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  193. I’ve been embroidering my whole life (almost, started at 6years old). My grandmother taught me while I was spending my summers with her. I’m left handed and after a few rough starts she just said “this is how you do it” and gave up trying to teach me left handed. It all worked out in the long run, I do some right and some left. After she passed away I was given some boxes of her craft stuff. I found a linen table cloth that was stamped with a daisy pattern in a circle. She had stitched 1 corner group. Lots of daisy stitches, stem stitches, satin and french knots.
    I finished it with multiple colors and gave it to my sister for a Christmas present. All those years of stitching and I have 1-2 pieces I’ve kept, everything else has been gifted.

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  194. I am new to embroidery, started when I retired. My first major project, and my favorite was the EGA’s Meadow Medley. I worked on it with guild members over the course of a year. I am still amazed at how well it turned out,especially when viewed at a distance.

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  195. In early 2000s I stitched a wedding gift with the entire Footprints in the Sand saying and a beachy-marshy scene. It came out gorgeous. It was for my sister-in-law, so I still get to see it when I visit:-)

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  196. I would love to be chosen at the winner of this giveaway. Thanks so much for all you do, all year, and for this wonderful opportunity!

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  197. My favorite needlework project was the Art Stitch Iris Window. It was relaxing for me to stitch and still hangs on my living room wall. It makes me smile everytime I look at it.

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  198. Oh oh. This is my second comment because I posted before I listed my favorite project (so please use this instead of the earlier one): my favorite project is a needlepoint image of Ganesh, with added beads, cording and other “bling.”
    He hangs in my front hallway, near the door, where I can see him many times a day.

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  199. I want one of these so badly! Unfortunatley my job status is on temporary hiatus so I can’t just go buy one like I should. Boo!

    My all time favorite piece so far is actually simple stitching, nothing fancy at all, but integral to the overall design.

    My friend writes comics so as a gift, I recreated his cover art in perfectly color-matched felt but I needed to outline it like the comic was in ink. After some practice goes, I settled on couching black yarn with black thread.

    In a more complex sense, my favorite thing was your W from the stitch sampler for a friend’s wedding gift.

    The cutest thing I think I’ve stitched is this tiny little mouse button, satin stitched:

    And in a more personal way, this hoop border means something special to me:

    Alas, I know it was only to be our all-time favorite, but how could I pick just one?! What would yours be? I am super curious to know!!

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  200. My favorite project was a bunch of Christmas ornaments that I made for all my co-workers. I customized each one to every person’s tastes. It was a fun project.

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  201. Ooooh, I have been studying your reviews of frames lately. I never thought I wanted one before, but I have developed arthritis in my hands and wrists and I think a frame would be very helpful and allow me to stitch longer with less pain. Thanks so much for your reviews and instructions, the instructions especially have saved me more than a few times.

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  202. Favorite all time stitching project seems to be every time I start a new one! Latest was Carole Lake’s “Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood”, as I got to view it in St. Petersburg when we traveled to Russia for our fiftieth anniversary.

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  203. I have two favorite all-time needlework pieces. One is my first crewel class project that I had framed in a very traditional way and is hanging in my hallway, and the second is a Hardanger piece I did for an EGA correspondence course which I had framed in a very unconventional way and is in my entryway.

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  204. Hi, Mary, my favorite project until today, is a landscape of my country, Costa Rica, called Cerro de la Muerte, the border with wool, in Guatemalan point, is my second project in that technique. Have a nice day, blessings.

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  205. Though cross stitch is not my first preference when it comes to stitching, Thea Gouverneur’s “Collage of New York” would have to be my favorite item because of the joy that it brought to my husband. I stitched it for him for his 75th birthday. It hangs over the fireplace in our home where he can see it everyday. It is also the largest piece that I have stitched.

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  206. My favorite was one of my first. A hardanger table topper..I had no idea what I was doing and nobody to ask but I finished it (3 years after I started). It sits on an old dry sink that has been handed down to me from my great Aunt Jean and has had many favorable comments! I have not been afraid to try new techniques since that adventure and have since joined an EGA guild and made many dear friends.

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    1. This one should not be here as I forgot to add my favorite stitching project. I put one in later but that meant there are two from me. Please disregard this one.
      Thanks,
      DeAnn

  207. My favorite needlework project is a Hardanger Christmas doily that I made in red fabric with red and white thread. It’s a festive decoration that I enjoy looking at each holiday season.

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  208. My favourite project… A hard one, I have a few favourite from the hundreds done over my 45 years or more of stitching. Perhaps the stumpwork bell with a cardinal, pinecones and a pineapple that I did in 2004 after a class with Marsha Papay Gomola. I made two, one for a friend and one for me and mine hangs on the tree each Christmas!

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  209. It is so hard to select only one, but here goes. We visited Chicago in December over 20 years ago and discovered a shop with needlepoint painted canvases. The one that caught my eye was of a black kitten with a bluebird sitting on it’s head and a necklace of holly with red berries around the neck. Dangling from the Meowy Christmas greeting done in gold thread in the middle of the cat is a small mouse. The background is soft white and I added an edge of long and short stitches on the sides. The whole project was finished as a pillow with a dark green velveteen backing and surround in the front. The stitching is some of the smallest I have done in needlepoint. At the time we had a black cat named Caboose (Boosie), and this reminds me of her every year at Christmas. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.

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  210. My favorite I finished so far is peacock band sampler by norther expressions needlework. Thank you Mary

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  211. My favorite thing I ever stitched was a quilt I designed myself. It is hand pieced and hand quilted. I also do cross stitch and crewel embroidery. It is hard to pick just one thing.

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  212. My favorite project was a crewel bellpull that I stitched for my mom. It hooked me on crewel embroidery. I enjoy other types of embroidery, too, but always come back to crewel.

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  213. This is a hard question to answer! Like many stitchers, I don’t willingly work on something I don’t like or doesn’t appeal to me. So I like everything I’ve done. That said, some of my favorite pieces are class or learning pieces either from EGA or classroom sessions. I think my favorite of all is the Tulip Wreath by Luzine Happel done in Schwalm embroidery, a technique I love and have had the good fortune to learn directly from a master in Germany

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  214. My favorite needlework project was my daughter’s wedding gown that I made for her. I did all of the pearl beading on the lace by hand. She was so happy and she looked absolutely lovely on her wedding day.

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  215. My favorite needlework project was/is the christening dress I made for my nieces, the front panel is Irish linen, and is done in cross-stitch and pulled thread work, it has the words made by (with my name), than underneath that is the name and birth date of each child who has worn it.

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  216. Hard question! It’s like picking my favourite child. But what comes first to mind is the Schwalm table cloth from Luzine Happel’s Basic Principles of Schwalm Whitework. I enjoyed the learning, the process, and the result.

    Thanks, Sarah.

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  217. What’s your all-time favorite needlework project that you ever stitched? My all time favorite was my first cross stitch project that I did for my first grandson…14 years ago.
    After that project, life happened and I did not have time for cross stitching. I have since picked up the needle and thread again and am marveled by all of the patterns that evolved during my absence…I shall need to be alive for at least a millineum in order to complete all the projects that I have seen, admired and now want to do myself.

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  218. Gee! It is going to be difficult to pick my favorite needlework, because i love doing all of them, some so much that like Penelope in mythical times, i slow down on purpose to make the project last longer. When it comes to different disciplines, i love doing whitework and needle painting the best. Thanks to
    Tanya for this awsome give away and for Mary to facilitate it. Merry Christmas to you and yours !!

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  219. My favorite all time Needle project? The first cross stitch piece i ever did. That is the one that got me started on the path to having a passion for embroidery.

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  220. My favorite piece of needlework….
    It was/is a Brenda Franklin Australian Shepherd cross stitch pattern that I did for my brother-in-law in rememberance of his Bruno. I recognized Brenda’s outstanding pattern, but truly it was my relative’s reaction to receiving. The look on his face and the tone of his voice when he said Bruno! He and his sons are artists…their compliments on specific aspects of the piece will always be remembered.

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  221. My piece de resistance is Floral Glove from Thistle Threads. I had never done a project like this and was still pretty new to embroidery. The supplies are lush, I learned a lot, Tricia (the proprietress) was helpful and the finished project sits in my China cabinet for all the world to see.

    Wendi G.

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  222. I have adapted Heart to Heart by Thea Dueck, Victoria Sampler and use it to make wedding samplers. They go to the children of friends, relatives and special people in my life. The last one that I made is my all time favorite piece of stitching and framing. The colors of the fabric and fibers matched the bride’s gown and colors perfectly. The stitching was free of errors and miscounts. It was pure joy to watch the stitching happen on the fabric in front of my eyes. I truly did not stitch this sampler. I channeled another source of energy. My framer found the perfect mats and frame to make it breathtakingly lovely — a favorite by anyone’s standards.

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  223. Hands down all time favorite – Di van Niekerk’s ribbon embroidery flower panel. At first I was pretty intimidated by this project but I learned so much by doing it.

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  224. My favourite stitching project is still the beautiful garden cross-stitch that I did many years ago for my Dad. Loved the colours and the sentiment in the text, and of course how much he appreciated it.

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  225. My favourite needlework project thst I’ve ever done was that of a ginger cat footstool in needlepoint that I stitched for my daughter.

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  226. My favorite stitch project was made in 1977. I did three Christmas stockings for my husband, myself and our soon to be first born, which arrived in October, which allowed plenty of time to get his name stitched on the stocking cuff. We still use those stockings, and many others have joined the mantle, two more children, 2 daughter in laws, 1 son in law, two grandchildren and others for our guests for the holidays. Precious memories.

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  227. Congrats to Helen! Such a great prize package to win!

    Of my own works, my most favorite is not the most complicated or the one that took the longest. I mean, I’m exceedingly proud of the embroidered embroidery box and the family crest that I stitched for Dad and the embroidered covers for handmade books, but my favorite project was done years and years ago: my daughter’s First Communion dress.

    It was a simple dress, in a cotton/linen blend, because she didn’t want anything too busy or frilly. But I did embroider the neckline, hem, and sash with more French knot flowers than I care to remember. The knots and stems were done in good ol’ DMC floss, all white.

    I don’t think I will love any project I ever do as much as that one.

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  228. My favorite project was from a kit (I can’t remember the name of it, but I remember I ordered it from Herrschners). It was an embroidered table runner for my sister-in-law that had the design and colors of her dishes.

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  229. When I first got married money was tight and I found a pair of pheasants in a book I loved how they turned out. When she passed that was one of the few things of she’s that I brought home and I proudly display in my front room I think of mom when I look at that picture.

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  230. Back when I was in college, I bought an ivory tux jacket at a second hand shop and embroidered one of Barbara Remington’s middle earth scenes (used on the cover of The Fellowship of the Ring) on the back. My intention was to add a velvet collar and cuffs and wear the jacket with jeans, but I gained weight and never finished the project. The jacket still hangs in my closet, though; I should probably cut out the embroidery and have it framed.

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  231. Two favs. I did a marriage sampler for my daughter which included a saying about love in French ( her husband being French Canadian) and also had a wondeful poem about everlasting love. The second would be the house I stitched on the Shenandoah Tapestry Project because it allowed me to be creative with the stitches I chose to interpret the house and trees from the poster.

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  232. The favorite thing I have stitched, so far, is an artwork made from pieces of rescued vintage embroidery, embellished with contemporary embroidery. I titled it “Pieces of Her Past” and it was displayed in an art gallery for eight weeks.

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  233. I was going to say my favorite project was a cross stitch figure I designed with a gradation of colour and cross stitch sizes, but … on a moments reflective pause I realized it was this. An alphabet baby book of appliqués and embroidery for my first son done on soft felt with figures from the book Babar. I loved the cover especially as I personalized it with my sons name and his favorite Babarthe elephant image. Such a great memory. Too bad the book has been lost or I would be giving it to my brand new first grandchild courtesy of that same son.

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  234. My all-time favorite is a little scene from Beatrix Potter’s illustration of Peter Rabbit, done in cross-stitch. That was favorite book from my childhood, and there are fond memories attached. I found it as a kit, and made one for myself and each of my brothers.

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  235. When I was twelve my grandmother and I embroidered an old saying that was framed and hung in her dining room. “Make new friends but keep the old. The first are silver, the latter gold.” Touches my heart as I remember it.

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  236. I guess my favorite project might just be a little panel I did on a purse. It’s not big or elaborate, but I used hand spun silk embroidery thread and sequins made from jewel beetle elytra (you steam them to soften and then use whatever size hole punch you’d like. Stick a needle through the center to make a hole, and presto! You have a sequin.)

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  237. My all-time favorite needlework project is Sue Spargo’s Folk Tales wall hanging I made as a block of the month two years ago. The African animals and plants she used in the design were fun to embroider and the whole design is delightful. It always make me smile both to see it and to remember how much fun it was to make.

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  238. My all time favourite project … hmmm … tricky! I enjoy all my needlework projects so much, but I think the one I’m proudest of is a pulled thread embroidery cushion that I worked from a Mary Hickmott’s New Stitches pattern. It took me well over a year to finish it and even longer to make it up (I always faff so much when it comes to that stage!). But I thoroughly enjoyed working the design and it sits very happily on my bedroom chair, giving me a great deal of pleasure every time I plump it up on a morning! 🙂

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  239. My favorite is my sampler – I have it hanging up, and, luckily, I put the date on it (1987) which now seems to long ago. I have it next to one my mom did in 1972.

    Diane

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  240. Thanks, Mary, for another great giveaway.
    My favourite piece of needlework would have to be the crewelwork dragonfly with flowers that was the project for my never-to-be-forgotten day class at the RSN. So much learning on one small piece of linen!
    On the other hand, thanks again to you Mary, who teaches us all so much every day.

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  241. My favourite needlework project is an adaptation of Tiffany’s “Magnolias and Irises” stained glass. It was done in long and short stitch and french knots with the black leading lines in stem stitch. This was also the most challenging project I have done but the result was well worth the effort.

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  242. My all-time favorite needlework project was my first goldwork project: three little red and gold crabs. I used different thicknesses of gilt pearl purl and red beads for the legs and claws, and for the bodies I used red wire check chipwork, red rough purl cutwork, and red metallic fabric. It was a piece in memory of my mother and very meaningful to me, as well as a quantum leap in my embroidery skills!

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  243. I would say that the first project that I ever had framed when 19 years old and is still there on the wall now I’m 64 is my all time favourite. It is a group of cross stitch wildflowers from Golden Hands magazine.

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  244. My favorite is a crazy quilted mermaid I did 2 years ago . I watercolored her then spent a month beading her tail. She had lots of beads and shells added to complete her.

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  245. I made a violet cross stitch for my 6th grade teacher and because it was one of my first large projects it still holds a special place in my heart.

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  246. I think my favourite project is a toss up between my first ever item I ever made at age 7 (and recently rediscovered) & a floral quote design I recently made. The small bunch of grapes I made at 7 because it ignited the stitching bug and my more recent one because it was the first project I fully designed and stitched on my own and it turned out so well that it has kept me drawing & designing!

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  247. A baby bunting and bonnet with shadow work baby animals and twisted ribbon. Baby’s initial in the middle.

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  248. I completed my all-time favourite project this summer. It is based on a drawing of my sister Charlyn, made by my daughter when she was in kindergarten. My sister died of cancer a few years later and the drawing became a treasured memento. Last Christmas my daughter (now 21) helped transfer the design and I spent a happy winter and spring stitching it in surface embroidery. I am pleased with the results and found the experience surprisingly healing.

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  249. Once again you have made it hard to choose just one. But I will say it was a kit. Two bunches of flowers. I love flowers, and love embroidering them. These two I worked off and on for, well, years. A long time, and it was about 25 years ago. And when I was done I was so happy with them, and then I found the most perfect oval frames for them, and I’ve had them up on my wall ever since. A rare embroidery project that I kept.

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  250. My favourite project I have done is a canvas work project called Evening Star. It was challenging and turned out beautifully.
    Thank you for the opportunity to win.

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  251. My favorite project has been completing Modern Crewel by Susan Porter. It was a special project that I had framed and gave to my Mom on Mothers Day. Thank you Mary for the special Christmas Give-aways. It is fun to answer the questions and see all the fun items that are being given.

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  252. My favorite needlework project I ever stitched is my French Alphabet Sampler, it includes the names and initials of all my close family members, my husband, daughter, mother, daddy, and (14 brothers and sisters).

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  253. I love the samplers I have done before I got myself into other stitchers projects. I love all kinds of stitcheries.

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  254. My all time favorite stitching project was a holiday tablecloth, of which my dear friend, also stitched. Every time I see/ use it I smile and gratefully remember my friend and all the goodness she inspired.

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    1. Oh, my! I was scrolling through all the replies to see what everyone’s favorite needlework piece has been when I saw your name. We are almost twinsies! My name is Kathleen Funk! (And of course, everyone has to call me Funky). What a surprise!

  255. My favorite project is the dragon I just finished….it was from the Rosework Design and I changed all the colors and stitches.

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  256. Nothing yet, because I’m just getting back into embroidery (I have some kiddie cross-stitch kits under my belt; that’s about it).

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  257. My favorite thing I ever stitched is a tie! It’s between a counted cross stitch of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” (the pattern was all in black and white symbols and harder for me than the color patterns I had used up to that point) and my own design, “Misbeehavin’” (the first thing I ever stitched that was my own design, and it inspired me to start my pattern company).

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  258. My all time favorite needlework project was 4 saints by Susan Portra that I made as the back of a jacket in the mid 90’s. I still wear the jacket but want to remove the saints, repair as needed and then frame them.

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  259. My favorite needlework project is the baby quilt I did for my first grandson. It’s just a great big stamped cross stitch piece, but it was stitched with all my love and that makes it so special. I smile every time I tuck him into bed.

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  260. My all time favorite needle work project was when I spent almost 2 years making a hand embroidered wool “Penny Rug” collection hanging on our living room wall.

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  261. My all-time favorite stitching project was a needlepoint pillow cover I designed and made for my mother.

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  262. What an interesting item. I’m very new to embroidery, that frame looks very intriguing.
    My favorite project so far is a sampler I did in pinks/reds. It’s a heart shape made up of straight lines of stitches. It’s on very good linen, so it’s very straight and clean.
    I’ve definitely learned that the wrong fabric can make a good project go bad.
    Invest in the best fabric you can afford.

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  263. My favorite piece is a goldwork project of a Greek ionic column offered at an EGA seminar in San Francisco a few years back. This year I will be stitching several new goldwork pieces including a Spanish goldwork initial! I will be taking a class from Cristina Badillo, whose work you have spoken about and shown on your site! Thank you Mary for the Christmas fun and give aways!

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  264. What’s your all-time favorite needlework project that you ever stitched? That’s a hard question to answer because I have a lot of favorites. My selection is Pere Noel (Ibelieve that’s the name). It’s a beautiful counted cross stitch design from Shepherd’s Bush — worked on 32 count linen.

    Judy

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  265. My all-tie favourite stitching project was a dragonfly with opalescent wings from a book by Helen Stephens. It was all worked in Piper’s silks. Joyous to look at and a pleasure to work.

    287
  266. Mary, your blog is a year round gift, and this is an extra special goodie!! (I’ve been wishing for one for ages).

    My all time favorite stitching project is ongoing, a stumpwork bouquet of Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial flowers for Canada’s sesquicentennial anniversary! I designed it from an old colouring book page offered by the Prime Ministers office. I’ve got 8/13 flowers compleated…it won’t be finished in 2017, but I’m loving every aspect of designing and creating my own *great big enormous stumpwork mania* embroidery project!

    Best holiday wishes to you and your family.

    288
  267. My favorite project to stitch were some flour sack towels that I had ironed on Aunt Martha’s patterns that my niece and I found in one of my mom’s linen trunks. It was a vintage pattern you can’t find anymore “Clever Pixie Motifs”. I even had to stitch them twice because the first set I sent to her in Oregon was stolen off of her front door step.
    The second set (which turned out better) I gave to her directly so they wouldn’t go missing. I always wondered what happened to that first set and I hope someone is enjoying those towels. Thanks for the wonderful give-a-ways!

    289
  268. The slate frame is beautiful and would love one. Thank you for the opportunity to win one.
    As for a favorite project, not sure I have just one, but I’ve enjoyed doing cross-stitch designs for Christmas tree trims.

    290
  269. My all time favorite was a crewel work reproduction of an 18th C. Ladies pocket. Done on linen with wools and silk.

    291
  270. My favorite needlework project was Scott Lee. I also love the Maryland Inspiration Sampler. Hope I win!!!

    292
  271. My favourite project was a seascape that used lots of distressed organza and fabrics that I’d dyed along with lots of interesting textured threads.

    293
  272. My favorite piece ever was a modern Swedish boat scene in embroidery that I made for my dad. I was in my mid teens at the time. I got it done in time to give him for Christmas and he took it and had if framed and it hung front and center in the living room

    295
  273. My favorite completed project was a gift for my grandson. It is his favorite character, well at the time anyway, Deadpool. The saying along with a full figure Deadpool is, “Always be yourself, unless you can be Deadpool.” I wasn’t sure if he, being only 11 at the time, would appreciate a cross-stitched gift. He not only loves it he also understands the time and effort put into it.

    296
  274. My favorite project ever stitched? I would have to say that my all time favorite project was a crewel piece that I worked 30 years ago of a basket full of pink roses. There were about 25 different shades of pink to contend with – I didn’t think I was ever going to get them sorted and in the right order!

    297
  275. My favorite piece is a reticello scissor case. I took a class with Diane Clements at an EGA regional seminar. Such a dignified calming talented teacher.

    301
  276. My mother’s health was failing, but she completed needlepoint Christmas stockings for her mother and stepfather. She then started on one for me. One night, she stopped midstutch and said, “Honey, I can’t do this anymore.” Her vision had gone just too far.
    She had completed less than a quarter, and I finished the rest. Ever since, the “crazy-quilt” design has hung on my bedroom door (not too Christmassy for that). “Our project” is one of the things I would save in an emergency.

    302
  277. I would say my wedding gown. I cross stitched the circular motif in 3 shades of blue, back in 1978.

    303
  278. Oh boy, would I LOVE to win this one!!
    Favorite project ever? That is really tough!! I am fond of my Williamsburg alphabet sampler that took me 20 years to complete!! It has a real history! I really enjoyed an 18th Century stomacher I did in 2004 (crewel and metal). And I like the Arts & Crafts tea cozy done in the Liberty style. I always enjoyed tackling two Chatelaine designs (though neither finished – YET). But I hope the Best one will be the Casket that I start in on next. Which is where this slate frame would come in handy!!

    304
  279. So far my favorite project has been the South African Bee eater sitting on a primrose branch. The pattern is by Trish Burr, I love her patterns and I love needle painting.

    305
  280. My all time favorite piece is a very simple “crewel” type flower done on canvas. To make it look like crewel I had to pierce the canvas threads. It was a bit of a challenge at the time, but has always been one of my favorite piece because of it being so simple and clean looking.

    Never used a slate frame, but would love to try this one as it is not only functional, but lovely to leave out when not working on it.

    Tanis

    306
  281. This is marvellous! I have an old tapestry frame which I adapted and jury-rigged as a slate-frame-alike, but an actual one would work so much better! I think my favourite piece I’ve done so far has been a sampler I did very fine vintage Victorian silk and (incongruously) Wessex stitching techniques that I adapted for the very delicate work. But really, whatever piece I’m currently captivated by it generally my favourite!

    307
  282. I love the cross-stitched Lord’s Prayer I did for one of my children. Adjusted to pattern to suit and enjoyed myself, learning more as I went.

    308
  283. Another wonderful Holiday give-away, Mary! My favorite stitching piece was a beautiful counted thread design with a seashell/seashore theme which I gave to my sister. I still remember the joy stitching this piece gave me. It was also the first time I was using a beautiful embroidery stand and frame to work with.

    309
  284. My favourite piece was a crewel embroidery designed by Peggy Kimble of Island Stitchery Guild in Nanimo BC. I’ll try to post a photo.
    I’ve always wanted to try a slate frame!

    312
  285. What a gorgeous frame, it’s a work of art! My favorite project is a Halloween quilt I made a few years ago. There are hand embroidered center squares of fun Halloween characters, framed with a log cabin pattern in adorable Halloween fabrics. I’m always so excited to put it out in October.

    313
  286. My favorite project was a needlepoint kneeler that I did in honor of a grand lady. The needlepoint was a dandelion. I remember Beekie dropping to her knees in the garth of the cathedral to pluck the dandelions. I was so delighted when this was one of my choices.

    314
  287. Probably my favorite project was a needlepoint rug with a dragon theme. It looks fairly Chinese. I’m fond of biggish projects in anything I undertake, needlework or not.

    315
  288. So far I have done a few smalls in the Halloween theme in cross stitch. Currently I am doing a canvaswork scissor holder and am enjoying it. Stitching takes a back door this month til the cards are out and the last remaining Christmas presents are made. Yesterday was lotion bars and today I will finish sewing the rice hot bags!

    316
  289. My favorite project is usually the one I am working on. I am often surprised that I can be creative. I don’t think of myself that way. However my most sentimental project was a quilt that I made with the imput of my son. He did not do any of the sewing, but he did help select the material and aid in the placement of the blocks. I called it “The Night Sky”. It makes me smile to think of the time we spent collaborating on this quilt.

    By the way, I am new to your newsletter, but have use your embroidery videos many times. They are great! Thanks.

    317
  290. Without a doubt it is the “Wren”by Jenni
    Adin Christie. It has shown me so many new skills and helped me broaden my needlework horizon. I went to my first ever out of state class for 4 days.! In pain due to injuries but would do it again as she has helped me look so much further. Good help for a relative novice, I will always treasure “Mrs Wren”.

    318
  291. Tough call!!!! The most well received was a sampler of Latvian motifs I did for my mother. The most fun to stitch was a complicated crewel piece I did for my sister. My favorite for me is whatever my current project is!!!

    319
  292. My favorite needle work project has to some embroidery that I did as a seven year old as it started my life long enjoyment of all things stitchy!

    320
  293. My favorite all time needlework project is a hand towel that I stitched in a class that I took in Funchal, Madeira. Our teachers could not speak English I could not speak Portuguese ,but words were not a barrier to the language of hand stitching. I worked all week on a hand towel that it took them 3 hours to stitch , and their work was perfection! I will always hold these women in high regard, for their tremendous skill and willingness to share their knowledge with us.

    321
  294. My all-time favorite needlework project was a chatelaine that I designed for myself in Brazilian embroidery. It has all the elements that I love: tiny bees and a beehive, swirly Elizabethan motifs, and lots of beads. I finished it my very own self, too, and it turned out well. Finishing is such a challenge: the sprint at the end of a marathon! Thanks for this opportunity.

    322
  295. Have been doing tambour and this frame would be fantastic to work with. Love how smooth and a good size to work with.

    323
  296. Thank you for your giveaways. This year I am buying a slate frame if I don’t win one. I have a balsa wood one that is useless, but at least I finally tried to set one up.

    It is hard to think of what my overall favorite ever embroidery project is, so I think I will go with 2. The first is a stumpwork Rose that I worked from Inspirations magazine last year and made into a broach for my mother. I liked it so much, I made a second for a church, and intend on making more and branching out into other types of flowers and threads.

    The second is a tiny 2×2″ embroidery that I did a long time ago. It is a copy of a little woodcut by Rockwell Kent of a tree growing out of a dead stump. I copied it myself and got to experiment with stitches and what worked and didn’t. It was one of the first things I ever designed myself and I still love how it turned out.

    324
  297. I have made many things that I love, but one of the most recent ones that I am really proud of, it is the ring pillow that I made for my niece’s wedding using Victoria Sampler pattern: Heirloom Wedding treasures, #8 in hte series, and of course I used her kit. It turmed out absolutely gorgeous.

    325
  298. My favourite needlework is a series of embroidered Canadian wildflowers done in cotton and silk flosses on wool coating fabric. Loosely base on drawings from a Peterson Field Guide.

    326
  299. My favourite project of all time (well, so far) is an Indigo Rose design: Brittany’s Quilt. I loved stitching it and now it hangs on my bedroom wall. It’s one of the first things I see each morning and it gives me such a lot of pleasure.

    327
  300. Its hard to remember all the projects I’ve stitched. I started stitching when I was 16. That’s 44 years I’ve been stitching. A couple years ago I embroidered a pair of birds for a gift. I really enjoyed stitching them because I was using my Mums old silk embroidery threads that I inherited from her. They turned out beautiful.

    328
  301. My all time favorite project is either my cross stitch Rose Window or the frame that has multiple small projects in it which includes brazillian, needle painting, stumpwork, petite point, hardanger and cross stitch.

    329
  302. My project that I enjoyed stitching the most has been a design by Di van Niekerk which is a sampler of silk ribbon stitches, embroidery stitches, and stump work. I did sneak in some Brazilian embroidery on the sampler also. It was a project that kept me interested in learning new aspects of embroidery while allowing me to use different techniques which I would not have tried otherwise. The slate frame would be perfect for my next project from South Africa.

    330
  303. Over the years, I’ve had many sentimental projects that I loved, but my favorite has been a counted stitch on linen of a law enforcement hat and belt, including handcuffs, baton, etc. – all the equipment they have on their waist. This was a surprise gift for my husband when he retired from the force and he loves it.

    331
  304. My favorite needlework project was a goldwork & silk shading carousal horse. It was a class through the RSN and my first exposure to gold work. It’s currently framed & sitting on my mantle.

    332
  305. I just had my favorite needlework piece framed. It is called “Berry Bramble”, designed by Celeste Chalasani. It is a stumpwork piece, with three-dimensional strawberry, raspberries, blueberries, and flowers on a trailing vine. It was fun to stitch, and is a beautiful piece!

    333
  306. My all time favorite needlework was a snarky quote from my favorite movie made up in fancy stitches and colors. Silly but still a favorite of mine.

    334
  307. My favorite project was a reproduction 18th C Ladies pocket. Done on linen with wools and silk. I still use it whenever I do 18 th C living history events. A slate frame would have been useful. I faked one with a picture frame.

    335
  308. I have done many projects that I absolutely love….that’s the reason, tight? However, an embroidered cross stitch piece that I did for my “adopted” parents ( a college friend’s real parents) when they retired and moved to AZ is probably #1. My sense of achievement was so huge and seeing it displayed in their new home gave me such satisfaction!

    336
  309. My 3 granddaughters, ages 7, 8 & 10 and I embroidered an advent calendar this year. We just finished ! We spent many happy hours together as they learned to embroider and sew on buttons. This was definitely my favorite stitching project ever as I felt so blessed to be able to pass down my love of stitching to 3 of those I love most.

    337
  310. You sure don’t ask easy questions.

    My all-time favorite needlework project that you ever stitched would be a victorian santa that I made for my FIL.

    338
  311. My all time favourites are the birthday cards I stitched for my mum each year. When she died I found them wrapped in tissue and tucked away in a drawer. They bring back lovely memories.

    339
  312. Long ago, I did a counted crosstitch picture for my husband’s office- it had the phrase, well known, “all creatures great and small- etc. with a series of wild and tame animals and birds all around, framing the full phrase. It was my first linen project. He is now a retired veterinarian and the picture hangs in our home. I loved doing it- the animals look so lifelike!

    340
  313. My very favorite piece I’ve done is a stumpwork piece called “Little Quail” designed by Lynn Paulette.

    341
  314. My all time favorite project was making Christmas stockings for my nieces. I made them when the girls were young, and they display them to this day.

    342
  315. Every project I do is my favorite, at the time. I haven’t made anything yet that stands out more then the other. I do several crafts so I don’t do a lot of any one. As I do more advanced projects I enjoy them more but my first ones also hold a special place because of what I learned with each one.

    343
  316. My favorite project was stitching and constructing “Home Sweet Home”. The project was so fun because there was so much variety on the stitching. Constructing the house was a challenge since I had never done boxes!!

    344
  317. My favorite piece was done years ago for my aunt. I don’t remember the name of the design nor the designer but it was a large piece that featured Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy by an old fashioned drum, in front of a window. My aunt never had a Raggedy Ann doll when she was young as money was tight. She loved this piece, done on linen, and even took it to the nursing home when she could no longer live on her own. Because this piece meant so much to her it meant a lot to me, too.

    345
  318. When I was in junior high my grandmother taught me to stitch I did a piece of two peacocks that I thought turned out very well my grandmother thought it was beautiful ! I am still stitching to this day

    346
  319. For me it was a canvas work piece for the RSN Certificate with tutor Tracy A Franklin. I used more than twenty diagonal, upright, tied and crossed stitches to build up texture and interpretation. It was hugely satisfying.

    347
  320. The needlework I most enjoyed was the Saint Marks Cross I did for my mother and stepfather. My mother had set up a missionary church in Missouri and when it opened my Stepfather did a stained glass to hang in the church. It was beautiful and I felt they needed something at home to remember it so I adapted it to embroidery. It hung in their den until they both passed away. Now I have a rememberace of them . If you would like a picture let me know.

    348
  321. I had a great time working on a piece of a cat sleeping on a quilt in a window surrounded by plants. It had surface embroidery, stump work, woven details and other techniques that I was trying for the first time. Had a ball and it was very satisfying.

    349
  322. My favorite needlework is alway the one I’m currently working on! I love embroidery. It’s a very zen experience for me. I love all the gorgeous threads ; all the colors and textures. It’s heaven!

    350
  323. My favorite embroidery projects come from your online projects, Mary. From turkeys to coloring book designs to Christmas trees, those have been my favorite. I’ve also enjoyed immensely Trish Burr’s book, Needle Painting Embroidery: Fresh Ideas for Beginners.

    351
  324. This is a touch question, actually. I get attached to all my projects! My fav right now is a counted cross stitch of a globe cactus with embroidered lettering that says “can’t touch this” though.

    352
  325. I have 2 favourite all-time embroidery projects…so far. They were so enjoyable to stitch that I didn’t want them to end!

    They are:

    ‘Wild Rabbit’ by Tanja Berlin
    ‘French Rose’ by Trish Burr

    By the way, Mark’s slate frames are lovely. I am using one right now on a project and it was a much faster set-up than a regular slate frame.

    354
  326. My favorite stitching project was a class project from Betsy Morgan. Her instructions are so clear and complete and it is a wonderful design of a children’s toy chest.

    355
  327. My favorite needlework project that I have stitched so far is The Nestlings by Bev Tully featured in Inspirations magazine. I loved using all the fibers to create the nest.

    356
  328. Needlepoint crayola box completed while rocking my little girl…..a long time ago. I have just started doing embroidery.

    358
  329. My all time favourite is a cross stitch called Santa’s Reunion. It is of 13 Santa’s grouped together, all shapes and sizes and differing costumes. It’s on my wall at all times. It’s such a happy piece.

    Karin

    359
  330. My favourite project has been The Queen’s Treasure Chest by the Cat’s Whiskers Design Studio. I really had to think about this…I enjoy stitching all of my projects. Of all the things I have done this one is sitting out for me to see and walk by everyday.

    360
  331. Growing up in England in the 50s, we learned needlework in elementary school as well at home. At the age of 8 the first item we learned to embroider was a pajama case. It had large cross-stitches on the sides to hold the sides together, but the best part was embroidering our first initial on the front flap. This was the very first thing I had with my own ‘S’ which meant it was my very own, and my two younger sisters couldn’t have it! They made their own cases later when they were old enough. I have embroidered many more complex pieces since then, but this pajama case was so special.
    Susan

    361
  332. My favourite project was made 30+ years ago. I was working as a US Navy corpsman and on night shift in the emergency room. I stitched a needlepoint of a sunroom corner filled with potted plants including 3D ferns. I added 4 small pieces that had plants shown in the large piece. It was a Christmas gift for my sister in her new home.

    362
  333. I’ve started so many things, and all are my favourites at the start. Lol. But I have only finished a fraction and out of those, I think my favourite was a counted blackwork unicorn by Dragon Dreams. It stitched up so quickly for a gift.

    363
  334. What a lovely frame! And a difficult question. I’d have to say it’s a needlepoint pillow I did about 20 years ago, a beautiful rooster that I did and still do love. And it’s one of the small handful of needlepoints that survived my now adult dog’s puppy years. Sigh. Thanks for the opportunity!

    364
  335. My all time favorite stitching project is, of course, whatever I’m working on at the moment. And at this moment, I am working on the blocks for a large Christmas crazy quilt. It has beads and fancy threads and whatever embroidery designs I can think of to do. I’m loving the work, and I hope to love the finished project some day.

    365
  336. Honestly, my favorite needlework project is usually the one I’m currently stitching. I just love the process so much, the meditative quality of needle slipping through fabric, the feel of the threads on my fingers, seeing the picture emerge from the 2-D of the chart to the 3-D on my frame, feeling the snip snap of a quality pair of scissors (I’m a scissor-holic) as I cut threads. Everything about needlework is fun and magical for me. Thank you and Mark for the generous give-away!

    366
  337. My all time favorite is as varied as the number of works in progress that I possess! From day to day the vote for ATF changes with the memories associated in the stitching and giving of finished projects. How could I choose only one?!

    367
  338. Although I have stitched some nice surface embroidery as gifts and some for personal use, my all time favorite is a small T-Rex for one of my grandsons. He requested I stitch it to his favorite blanket. It is not my best stitched piece but his delight in the final project is what has made it my personal favorite!

    368
  339. My favorite project I would have to say was a stump work Christmas ornament that was in the inspirations magazine . I love doing stump work.

    369
  340. Oh my gosh, a Mythic Crafts Frame is literally the #1 item on my embroidery wishlist. My all-time favorite needlework project is the first needle painting I ever did: one of Tanja Berlin’s pansies. I was (and am) SO PROUD of that piece.

    370
  341. I have 2 favorites I’ve ever stitched. My butterflies from high school, where I took a coloring book page and stitched each butterfly as a type of surface embroidery sampler on satin.
    The other was my Cavern embroidery: 3rd photo in. \\https://www.facebook.com/NeedleArtsMagazine/photos/a.918433241516048.1073741826.436393419720035/1142830585742978/?type=3&theater

    It was so much fun, mainly because I made it up as I went. It’s very small, but lots of stitches, beads and crystals. I had a simple line drawing, and just went for it. FUN!!!

    373
  342. My favorite needlework project was a large sampler from Williamsburg which still hangs proudly in my living room. I also dearly love a Santa portrait I did on tiny linen, using silk and gold thread.

    374
  343. What a wonderful giveaway! I think my favorite project I ever stitched was my first wedding gift that I made using your stitch combinations alphabet. I was so thrilled to see the project come together, and it was so much fun to customize it to the wedding colors and flowers of my friend.

    375
  344. My all-time favourite is a Hardanger bookmark shaped as an acorn. It took ages to finish, with virtually every sliver of original fabric covered or removed. I am very proud of it.

    376
  345. My very favorite project: Three pillows, size 15″ x 18″ of 3 cactus flowers, prickly pear, cholla and clarit cup for a bench in our bathroom. The designs were taken from pen & ink with watercolor drawing I did a few year earlier. They are very colorful and bring a smile every time I enter the room. I drew the outline on canvas and did an outline stitch around, then I used my needle brush ( I call this needle painting) to first bring out the shadows and then fill the petals. The background is in two shadow of light blue sky intermingled in Parisian stitch.

    377
  346. My favorite has been the ecclesiastical machine Embroidery that I have done for my Parish- amices and palls plus several lectern frontals

    378
  347. My favorite project I ever embroidered was a tablecloth that I completed when I was a
    young newly engaged girl. The tablecloth has been long ago worn out as we have been married nearly 60 years.

    379
  348. I have one of Mark’s s;ate frames and it is wonderful – thanks Mary! Who ever wins will be very lucky. I wanted to give my endorsement for Mark’s frame but don’t include me in the draw.

    380
  349. Is it possible for this project to be in the mythical future? So far I’ve only finished a couple samplers, so I could pick one as my all time favorite, but I prefer to believe there are better things on the horizon. 🙂

    381
  350. My all-time favourite porject is hands-down the cross stitch border I did on my Mom’s saree. The pattern was simple but beautiful, uninterrupted vines with leaves and flowers: 6 inch thick design in red, green, yellow and blue along both long edges of the 6 yard beige chiffon saree. This was my first ever foray into cross stitch. It was a long process and extremely fun, relaxing and fulfilling. It took me about a year to finish with 1 to 2 hours a day when I was in school.
    -Manasi

    382
  351. My favorite needlework project? I immediately think of the Proper Stitch Sampler from Darlene O’Steen. It was my first counted-thread embroidery project. I had dragged my feet when considering to stitch samplers because, in my ignorance, I thought they consisted of cross stitches only. I love band samplers because there really is no way to become bored.

    383
  352. My most favorite needlework project was weaving the fine linen for a wedding handkerchief. This was not to be any ordinary handkerchief–it was to be used by my son’s bride on November 18 of this year. After the linen was woven, I made bobbin lace for the edges and sewed it on. After that I embroidered her first initial “A” in cream and light blue using whitework technique. Very pleased with how it turned out and she was very much touched.

    384
  353. My all-time favorite needlework project – that’s a tough one! I think it would have to be a large gold and silk letter J, from the Sajou 612 booklet you’ve talked about before. It was my first real experiment with goldwork, and I love it!

    385
  354. My favourite is an icon image of Christ in silk shading, goldwork and some beading. It took a long time working on and off but when I am feeling a bit down, the image lifts me. I also admit to feeling proud that I managed it and it spurs me on to try other techniques.

    386
  355. My favorite needlework project has to be Marilyn Leavett-Imblum’s “The Quilter.” The color and shading in this piece is just stunning. It took a while to stitch, but it was worth it!

    387
  356. I spent about 3 1\2 years making Karen Kay Buckley’s Magical Mediallion Quilt for my king-size bed. Hand-appliqued and hand-quilted….lots of little stitches and over 1200 pieces of applique in this quilt. Although it’s showing signs of use, it still makes me smile and is my favorite project ( so far :))

    388
  357. My all time favorite project is not completed yet! It is Theresa Wentzler’s Peacock Tapestry. It is my first big project and even though it is not finished (yet) I still love it so much.

    389
  358. My favorite stitched project was a sweet crewelwork picture of a mother in a rocker with her baby, with a poem about how babies grow up so fast, and housework can wait. I gave it as a baby shower gift to one of my friends.

    390
  359. A few years ago I cross stitched a pair of loons on oatmeal 14 count Aida cloth. My husband made a curved frame for it and it hangs in our living room. It’s quite simple, very minimalist, but when I look at it, I can almost hear the loons’ call. I love it!

    391
  360. I love this question as it has me thinking about past projects. I think being a “favorite” has to do with whom I made it for. When I think about the project I think about the person who inspired it. My mother-in-law loved precious moments so I made her a wall hanging. It hung next to her bed for thirty years. Now with her passing, (she made 100 years), it has returned to me. When our daughters went off to boarding school I made them little hangings of family sayings. When we moved to the mountains we raised chickens and pigs. I did chicken and pigs. Birds, I can’t get enough of birds….
    But to pick a favorite…. It is my Doberman Pincher that I gave to my friend and breeder Eve. I designed it from start to finish. I take extra pride in this project as it truly is “my” project. Not someone else’s design. I dream about it and I know I’m not done with it yet. Next I want to fabric collage the pattern and see where that takes me.
    Thanks for asking.

    392
  361. I had a kit sent to me by my friend who lives jn Western Australia of an Elizabethan Pin Wheel worked in Australian threads. It was a joy to work.

    393
  362. my favourite project was finishing off a beautiful crewel picture which had been begun by a friend’s great aunt. I felt so privileged to be able to complete it and remain in awe of the extraordinary skill of the ladies from that era

    394
  363. Hi Mary,

    My all-time favorite piece was one I finished just a year ago … Elizabeth Almond’s “Save the Stitches” project. It took me over three years to complete it because of it’s size, but it was such fun to work on, and I certainly learned lots about blackwork.

    Thanks for another wonderful opportunity to win!!

    Sandra F.

    395
  364. My favorite project is probably my first – cross stich on an apron that I sewed when I was about 12. It is special because I completed the apron and the cross stitch with my grandmother, who was a talented crafter. I learned a love of knitting and needlework from her, although her passion for sewing apparently skipped this generation.

    396
  365. So far, my favorite project was a White Ermine Moth from one of Jane Nicholas’s books. As soon as I discovered Stumpwork, I’ve been obsessed and love stitching insects! Can’t wait to make more!

    397
  366. Oh, that’s a hard question. I’ve done a lot that I love. I think my favorite one is the quilt I did for my son. It has twelve block I embroidered. It took a long time but it was so fun to do.

    398
  367. My favourite embroidery was a Goldwork Peacock that I stitched for my daughter in law, Heather. It was my most challenging project to date, but the struggle was well worth it just to see Heather’s reaction when she received it.

    399
  368. My most favorite embroidery are the 7 very special embroidered Christmas stockings I did for each of my children.

    400
  369. My all time favourite project that I have stitched is a petite point Madonna and Child piece . Sometimes our projects become very special to us because of what is happening in our lives while we are stitching them. This is the case with this piece! It fills my heart! Thanks Mary for all you do for us Needleworkers! Cheers! Pat

    401
  370. My favorite embroidery project is a sampler I made 41 years ago, when my son was first born. Alphabet, numbers, a variety of stitches … and right in the center is a doe lying down. I think it was a Family Circle magazine pattern. It was meant to be a large wall hanging (and, as such, it hung in my first living room for a long time), but several years ago I made it into a pillow that now resides on my bed. Every time I see it I think of my son and that first sweet year of motherhood.

    402
  371. I love slate frames. I am still doing my favorite needlework project. Morning Glory and Bamboo from “Painting with a Needle” by Young Yang Chung.

    403
  372. Thank you in advance Mary and Mark for this wonderful opportunity. My all time favorite piece was a simple spray of cherry tomatoes cross-stitched on 24 count Aida. I worked the stems and leaves first and then the tomatoes from the bottom to the top. It was like watching the tomatoes ripen under my needle. I also love the hexagonal crazy quilt blocks I have designed and made for my story quilt “The Princess of the Pond”, for which I have also written the story. This quilt and book is to be donated to our local children’s hospital to be used by the caregivers to send the children to a fantasy world for a short time.

    404
    1. I’ve been reading the previous comments and it has brought to my memory so many of the other pieces I have worked up in my embroidery career. BTW, I just took a close look at those tomatoes and realized it was on 32 not 24 count.
      Best regards and luck to all, Brenda C

  373. My favorite needlework project is my only needlework project so far….a wool pin cushion with two cherries and leaves embroidered in wool.

    406
  374. A small embroidered wall hanging when my oldest was born. Had a mother rocking her baby with the words: Quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep, I am rocking my baby and babies don’t keep”

    407
  375. Nearly 45 years ago, I stitched a Danish kit that was a cross-stitched floral pillow. It was stitched on off-white wool woven fabric with colorful wool threads in reds, blues, yellows, greens. I had purchased the pattern on a trip to Denmark. It remains an all-time favorite.

    408
  376. My favourite needlework project that I have completed is a petit point picture of a mermaid by Melanie Delon.

    409
  377. My favorite stitching project is one that I have framed and hanging in my home. The message is “Be Ye Thankful”. I look at it year-round and remember to be grateful each time I walk past.

    410
  378. You really ask some difficult questions. You would think it would be easy but each project as I stitch it is my current favorite. Difficult to choose just 1 out of all of them but I think it would have to be a cottage scene with a bridge over a pond with a swan. Just because when I look at it it is so peaceful and tranquil looking.

    411
  379. My favorite piece of needlework was a recently finished quilt top of the Ferris Wheel scene from the book “Go Dog Go” that I stitched for my first grandchild. I love that through color and shadow I was able to replicate the depth of the original illustration, and grandson likes to run his fingers over the stitches. His mother, my daughter, loves that I remembered her favorite children’s book and that I added her two dogs to the picture.

    412
  380. My favorite was probably a cross stitch project for a friends wedding gift. It took several months because I was going slow so that it would be perfect.

    413
  381. My favorite project i ever stitched was Henry the Eight and the Tudors. They were canvases by JP Needlepoint with stitch guides by Amy Bunger. They were challenging to stitch, but the results were beautiful!!

    414
  382. My all time favorite is the project I’m now working on.
    It’s a 17th century floral piece in cross stitch. When that’s finished I’m gonna work the tulips, roses and other flowers with stumpwork/needlelace petals and leafs.

    If I’m honest it’s difficult to choose an all time favorite because each piece has it’s own memories and feelings. Sometimes I’ve learned a lot, sometimes it’s just relaxing, sometimes it was a challenge, sometimes it was my first acquaintance but I always love it.

    415
  383. Many years ago I made a design that became the face of a clock. I still have it and it still works! I look at it everyday and it makes me smile!!

    416
  384. I am quite proud of a stumpwork under the sea themed box I made last year. It had crystals and beads and lots of vivid colors.

    417
  385. The Trevelyon Cap course by Kathy fron The Threaded Needle has been and still is my favorite embroidery project. Due to an complete arm surgery I have not been able to finish it, for which I am terrible sorry. Soon I will be able to do so.
    I enjoyed it so much and learned a lot, however my arthritis stopped my completing the work.
    I am hoping to be able to make one of Hazel Blomenkamp’s embroidered creatures.

    418
  386. Loved the 50th anniversary sampler made for my parents ten years ago. It was a Just Nan pattern adapted to honor the milestone and one of the first needlework pieces finished.

    419
  387. My favorite stitchery was a series of counted cross stitch patterns from around the St Louis area. The series had The Zoo, Union Station, The Arch, Westport Plaza and Main Street in historic St Charles. I have completed the Zoo and the Arch. The frame would be a marvelous help in keeping the fabrics taut, I used just the plastic gripper frames and they tend to come loose very often. Thank you for the chance to win this wonderful prize. It would make my Christmas much merrier if it was under my tree.

    420
  388. After watching several videos I decided to try ribbon embroidery. I made a lamb and it really did come out cute. The project also required embroidery which I learned watching Needle N Thread. I was so excited once I saw that I could really do it that I found myself screeching with joy. I live in El Paso, Texas and I wish we had more availability to go to classes so I’ve been very greatful for online tutorials. Anyway, I gave the little lamb which I then sewed on a pillow as a gift for Christmas to my Mother.

    421
  389. My own favourite piece is a surface embroidery (done on stamped linen from a kit) of the Canadian provincial flowers that I stitched as a teenager. It was the first larger project I’d ever done, and my mother had it framed for me. It’s been on the walls of our homes ever since, and gave me the confidence to learn more about many different types of stitching in the decades since then and to enjoy both the process and the final results.

    422
  390. My most favorite item I’ve stitched is a Sports Sample for my husband. We weren’t married yet, and I did the “four seasons” in cross stitch. We’ve been married 30 years, and it still hangs in his office!

    423
  391. I stitched a Mother’s Day card last spring and my mother was touched. What could be better than that?

    Thanks to both you and Mark for the slate frame giveaway. I have one of his frames and it is beautiful. Would love to have a second one so more than one project at a time can get such a nice setup.

    424
  392. My favourite project would have to be the three samplers of circles i made for my sister. I used bright colours matching a quilt she had made. It was a lot of fun to make and they turned out to be gorgeous.

    425
  393. The most favourite embroidery piece that I have stitched so far is my gold work historic shoe that I stitched at the Royal School of Needlework, at Hampton Court; for my Certificate with Helen McCook, as my Tutor.

    426
  394. My favorite project is usually the one that I am currently working on. Started one of the Christmas Trees. It is so simple and relaxing that it is truly love it. Might have to do another because it is coming along so fast.

    428
  395. That’s easy! I loved doing my crazy patchwork evening bag. I’ve only been embroidering for just over 18 months and this project was so interesting because it made me use lots and lots of different stitches to great effect. I couldn’t wait to get cracking each day and it took me ages because I’m such a novice. By the way thanks for your great tutorials – they were a lifesaver for the project!

    429
  396. Beautiful work! I love Mirabilia and Nora Corbett charts for cross stitch. Anything whimsical and especially Painted Pony Design Angels. One of my most challenging was working on a Laurel Burch design as a new needlepointer. I love all the options of stitching that needlepoint provides.

    430
  397. My most favourite project was a Arraiolos rug, I designed, chose the colours and love the end result. Although I have already stitched 3 rugs, this one is my favourite.

    If you care to have a look, you’ll find it on this page of my blog – it is the one in reds, greens and off white.
    http://crossatstitch.blogspot.pt/

    431
  398. My favorite piece was a bell-pull that my Uncle Vernon designed for me. It was full of French knots, done with crewel yarn. Thanks!

    432
  399. My favorite piece was done a long time ago as a gift for my MIL. It was a Dimensions kit, a crewel still life with fruit and an antique coffee grinder and some flowers. It was a real stretch for me at the time and I totally loved doing it and doing it for her. She so appreciated everything I made for her as she wasn’t a stitcher AT ALL!!! 🙂
    It still hangs on the wall in their dining room.

    434
  400. Hello Mary; thank you again for hosting this special Christmas series of give-aways! Hmmm, I think my favorite project that I have stitched is the Berry Bouquet design by Debbie Kelley. It was my first “advanced” project that I completed and I get so many complements on it. The berries always look refreshing, no what time of year it is!

    435
  401. The project Im most proud of is
    the Di Van Niekerk book, “Ribbon
    Embroidery and Stumpwork”.
    I saw the pattern at my quiltshop
    and had a challenge learning
    all the different stitches as Id never
    done stumpwork or silk ribbon
    embroidery before. I was fascinated
    by all the techniques and I love small detail work. I had it professionally framed and it hangs
    in the dining room over the buffet.

    436
  402. My favorite design is any design from Lavender and Lace. I have stitched up several and currently keep them for myself–I just hate to give them away.

    437
  403. Wow. To win a slate frame would be beyond my wildest dreams. My all time favorite needlework piece I have stitched is Elegant Evantail by Kay Stanis. It is an extensive silk and metal piece that is beyond beautiful..

    438
  404. Very favourite sewing was a Chasuble & Stole for my daughter when she was prorated. I also made a teddy bear with an exact Chasuble & Stole in miniature. I also learnt how to do some simple macrame knots to produce tassels on the bottom of the teddybear’s Stole with 14 knots to remind her she was ordained in 2014. The pictures down the front of the Chasuble were copies of individual parts of the 6 churches that she would be serving. The front was produced with modern techniques and the back had the same pictures produced in a more traditional way. Loved it. Thanks for the memory.

    439
    1. There is a mistake in the comment – it should have said ‘when she was Priested’ not ‘protated’ – predicted text isn’t always the best.

  405. My all time favorite project was making my daughters prayer shawl. I had always wanted to try stump work, so I made flowers of Israel for her. It was a true labor of love and I’m so proud of it.

    440
  406. Would love to embroider one of the tiny trees on the lovely slate frame. Have the happiest of holidays!
    Gayle

    441
  407. All time favorite needlepoint so far has been a Raymond Crawford cardinal I made as a gift. Loved the painted canvas and how nice it worked up

    442
  408. My all time favourite would have to be a Hardanger sampler from about 12 years ago. I loved doing all of the six panels, one of which was a little house that I grew rose round the door in x stitch. I also used a variety of “soft” colours on the different fillings. Lovely to look at and such a great reference tool.

    443
  409. It truely is hard to pick one project. I love making new birth samplers and wedding samplers.
    After those I have some cute “bee” works. I collect bee skeps and enjoy decorating with my needle work & quilts.

    444
  410. I made a set of dishtowels with a vintage redwork design of bluebirds in a nest for my beloved Grandmother who loved bluebirds. On Christmas, when she opened up the neat little bundle tied with vintage grosgrain, her eyes flooded with tears. Though this was a relatively simple project to complete, I will always consider it my favorite because of the joy that it brought her- and to me!

    445
  411. Good day Mary,
    This frame is gorgeous and Mark a true artisant. Presently I am stitching Midnight Meander from Hazel Blomkamp which is quite a challenge but ohhh so beautiful although I have to say that my favourite of all has been the fox from Millie Marotta’s colouring book inspiration came with Jessica Grimms embroidered version. To this day I am thankful to your review posts on these, you have triggered my passion for needle and threads hahahahaha thanks to your generous partners and to you for hosting these give away!

    446
  412. My favorite project to date was a Brazilian embroidery heart in which I learned the technique and used it as a tool to quit smoking since I needed to use both hands. I have it hanging in a frame on on my wall and I am still smoke-free to this day. It has been 8 and one half years!

    447
  413. My all time favorite needle piece would be ‘Walkabout’, a wool appliqué piece embellished with embroidery, beads, ribbon, velvet etc. featuring edible insects of Australia. Investigating stitches to use introduced me to many embroiderers via the web including Mary, her vast stitch dictionary and fabulous videos

    448
  414. It would have to be our wedding candlewick piece. When we married I was firmly in early American style. 34 years later, it’s still up. My style is more mid century modern, but my husband refuses to get stuck in a style, so everything fits well.

    449
  415. Years ago I did a medieval lady with a grey afghan hound. This was in cross stitch on 32 count. Took quite a bit of time to complete. I doubt if my eye site would allow me to do this project again. Thanks again for the opportunities this Christmas season.

    450
  416. Thank you so much, Mary, for the time and effort you take on your blog. It is a fantastic reference for all things needlework and I have learned so very much in the years I’ve been reading. It is always difficult to pick a “favorite” – but the first thing that came to mind was Teresa Wentzler’s Egyptian Sampler. It was a joy to stitch and I still smile when I look on it every day in my home.

    451
  417. My best needlework project is a hardanger oval frame piece to decorate the top of my small sewing basket-so pretty! Thank you, Susan

    452
  418. I would love to win the slate frame and needle minder. I often use scroll rods and would appreciate the opportunity to try something new. Thank you for your generosity in offering the giveaway.

    454
  419. My favorite all-time project was a cross-stitch kit of a cottage exterior, dressed for Christmas, with about a billion french knots on the roof for snow. It was a lovely design – Creative Circle, I miss you! – and I displayed it proudly the Christmas after it was finished – 1983. The next summer we moved to Germany (Army family) and our crates (our household belongs) got wet, then sat in a very hot warehouse for a couple months as we were on emergency leave back to the States (my FIL died) and then had to look for housing when we got back to Germany. That lovely piece of embroidery was totally ruined by mold. A good few other things as well, but it’s the kit that I remember. I kept it a few years, but nothing I did removed the black, and I eventually threw it away.

    455
  420. My favorite needlework is a crewel picture of a cornucopia with squash, grapes, etc., fall vegetables. I ‘m pretty sure that the pattern was an Erica Wilsom. I made many of her patterns at the time when she was so popular. The picture of the frame looks so beautiful and I’d love to be picked.

    456
  421. I have never used a slate frame and would love the opportunity. Thanks for all the Christmas goodies in your giveaway. Even if I don’t win anything it is great to see the products and learn about the companies.

    My all time favorite stitching project was. 36 in bell pull. It was my first opportunity to learn hardanger and to live with feat of making the first cuts into the fabric as well as the way to fix when my scissors went a little toooo far. I gave it to my mother for her birthday. I get to see it many times a week when I go visit her.

    457
  422. Thank you for the chance to win! I think my all time favorite stitching projects are the two matching cross stitch pieces that depict a set of two young girls, one blond and one brunette. It reminds me of when my daughters were young, but also of my dearest friend! =}

    458
  423. My favorite piece of stitching was the blackwork owl I stitched last summer at the Royal School of Needlework.

    459
  424. I think my all time favorite that I stitched has to be a 16×20 wizard and dragon cross stitch. It was on Black Aida and it was heavily stitched—from one to three threads, metallic, blended colors—oh my! I had a light underneath the frame so I could see the holes better…took a long long time. But it was a labor of love, my son loves his dragons—still does LOL I know for sure I had 3 errors in it—creative elements LOL I’m not sure if there’s more my son’s 43 and he does cross stitch too.

    460
  425. My cross stitch Tudor Angel. But now that I am delving into surface embroidery I hope to have many more favorites.

    461
  426. My favorite is a 12”x18” picture of 4 gnomes (very real looking, not garden statues) with 4 medicinal herbs. I didn’t know I was able to do such good work until this embroidery peice, so that might be part of why I thought of it, but also I just love the scene.

    Thank you for such a lovely giveaway. All my digits are crossed!
    Seek peace,
    Wendy

    462
  427. Hi Mary! What an awesome prize 🙂
    One of my all time favorite projects was to stitch up a poem that my mom wrote. I stitched up three of them (roughly 8″x 11″), one for my mom, one for my daughter, and one for my sister. Unfortunately, I have yet to make one for my own home!
    Merry Christmas!

    463
  428. My favorite is the Stitcher’s Prayer, not for its beauty, but for its motto:

    “I pray that, risen from the dead,
    I may in glory stand,
    A crown perhaps upon my head,
    But a needle in my hand.”

    I give away nearly all my work, but that one stays with me.

    464
  429. I did a crewelwork piece with gorgeous irises many years ago that always made me smile when I looked at it. Over the years it disappeared (in a move, I think) but I realized that was okay as I had gotten the chance to make and enjoy it for years. It also meant that I could create another piece to cheer me!

    465
  430. A long row of Amsterdam houses in blue cross and back stitch. Complete with endless little windows, balconies and elaborate roof decorations it looks fabulous!

    466
  431. My favorite piece is the wedding wreath. We have been married 34 years. I Brailizan Embroidered the heart-shaped Wreath with my husband’s name and mine to show my love for him and my love from this craft. It came out gorgeous and we both starred at it and he said, “I love You and the work you do with embroidery!”

    467
  432. My favorite crewel piece is one by Phillipa Turnbull that was featured in Insiration magazine a couple years ago. I learned a lot from doing this piece. She used many stitches. Some of which were new to me. It’s framed and on my bedroom.

    468
  433. What’s my all time favourite needlework project that I ever stitched???
    This HAS to be my Emmie Bishop sampler – it had a huge variety of stitches; it took me years to complete because I was learning so many different techniques. When finished, I decided this was going to be an heirloom item: I had it framed with Museum quality glass, Museum quality material throughout. It is quite large once framed, and it has a place of honour in our dining room.

    469
  434. The needlework item I am most proud of is an Irish linen baby dress incorporating miles of hemstitching, original embroidery design of bullion roses, eyelets and filet embroidery. I learned the techniques from Mirella Aroyo in classes taken at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion. I’m glad I undertook it while my eyes and fingers were still young!

    470
  435. My all time needlework project is The Old Man of the Sea, a head portrait of a fisherman that looks so much like my husband. I always enjoy looking at it and it has a prominent place in our house each time we move. It reminds me of our connection to the sea as well as the many years it took me to finish. I finally finished it when we were teaching in an isolated logging camp in Southeast ALaska and I was sitting on the beach watching mostly all of the kids in camp playing in the water. I had lost the directions and was putting the final touches on the old man’s ear….it certainly isn’t perfection, but always brings back memories. That is what makes it special…the love that went into it.

    471
  436. My favorite piece is a cross stitch kit by Thea Gouverneur of a cat’s head. It’s all in shades of gray and black – about 20 different ones – and although it was a reals challenge, I refer to it as my masterpiece!

    472
  437. Stitcher’s Christmas #4 Give-away

    After 40+ years of stitching, choosing a favorite needlework project is a daunting challenge. Many have captured my heart, some have confounded me. One of my most recent projects has truly delighted me at every stage, however – The Mellerstain Firescreen from the Crewel Work Company. It is a reproduction of a 19th Century Scottish design featuring two wonderful parrots, woodland animals and leafy vines.

    When I read your story about Mark Harris and his beautiful craftsmanship, I knew he was the artisan I wanted to design the firescreen frame that would hold my finished embroidery. He is completing that project for me now, and I can’t wait to display the finished masterpiece in my living room.

    473
  438. My all-time favourite stitching project was a needlepainting adaptation of a photo that I took in Bayeux 2012. The photo of a little creek running through the colourfully planted parking lot near the city is a constant reminder of a fantastic trip to learn needle lace in Normandy. I worked in a variety of threads from cotton and linen to silks to get the different textures of the flowers and leaves and I even used some textile paints to highlight the reflections in the water. As I often worked on it in public, I had many people come up to see what I was doing; one woman even pulled it from my hands to inspect it more closely. After it was framed and I went to pick it up, a customer in the store refused to believe that it was an embroidery and not a photo.

    474
  439. I made a picture of a starfish that had a variety of stitches to give it texture. It not only was pleasing to view, but it had a great texture also.

    475
  440. My all time favourite (so far) would have to be the Roses and Antique Lace stumpwork and goldwork piece by Alison Cole. I was fortunate enough to do a two day class with her in Auckland, New Zealand last year and now have a new addiction, along with all the other needlework addictions I’m acquiring!! Upon final completion, I could not believe that I had created something so sumptuous and beautiful. I look at it most days and it inspires me to give other things a go and also make me proud of what I have achieved.

    476
  441. I think it is difficult to choose the most favorite needlework project I have stitched, but I will name Beginner’s hardanger by Marion Scoular, which I made into a pillow. I used Watercolors overdyed thread which was a challenge, but I am proud of the result.

    477
  442. My favorite stitching project of all time was two old world santas on navy even weave. I completed then while I was in college and the were auctioned for the local fire department

    478
  443. My favorite piece of all time has to be Lizzie’s Losenges, an Elizabethan sampler designed by Melinda Sherbring. New stitches, wonderful design, great stitch!

    479
  444. My favourite thing I’ve stitched, I think is Mary Hickmott’s Hellebores. It is stitched over one on Congress Cloth and I know the border is exactly right.

    480
  445. My favorite embroidery project that I have done was a set of four pictures depicting the four seasons. I did this as a Christmas gift for my mother.

    481
  446. A plastic canvas bag in shades of late 1980s neon that I made for my mother for Christmas. My ten year old self thought it was the *height* of tasteful. What my poor mother thought of it remains, to this day, a mystery, but she used that bag for many years and waxed poetic about its beauty when it was unwrapped. It was the first project I ever stitched entirely by myself. I planned it, I bought my supplies with my own allowance and I stitched it from start to finish…and had it done in time for Christmas!

    482
  447. My favorite needlework project was a communal tapestry of Alice in Wonderland, which was a project we did in 1965 in our 5th-grade classroom, managed by our teacher, who was a lover of Erica Wilson crewel embroidery. She drew Alice: blonde hair adorned with barrette, wearing white blouse in blue jumper, sitting in a field with grass, thistles and other flowers, a rabbit. Each student chose a character, which we drew and embroidered on a square approx. 6×6 inches, which ultimately bordered the large center piece of Alice. I made a mouse-and-teacup square, but my greatest memory revolves around Alice, which a friend and I worked on more than anyone else. We spent hours and hours chain and split-stitching! The finished piece was exhibited at the British embassy in DC, then hung in our school square for many years. I am grateful to our teacher for offering us a unique experience, teaching us (boys and girls together) a skill, entrusting us—a roomful of 10-year-olds—with creativity and artistry, inspiring a lifelong interest. We created a beautiful timepiece, which is “mine” only in the memory of my experience.

    483
  448. I loved to work on my small projects (magnets, towels, pillowcases, etc) that I hand stitch, adding beads and special stitches, and give as a special thank you to friends and family.

    484
  449. I made a tree skirt for my sister, stitched entirely in rayon. I used nativity patterns.

    485
  450. Hi Mary,
    Thank you once again for organising such a wonderful give-away. My all time favourite was embroidering my daughter’s wedding veil. She is our butterfly girl and her veil needed butterflies! The actual embroidery was very simple, just outlines of varying sized butterflies using one strand of silk for the small ones and one strand of metallic and one strand of silk for the larger ones, but it meant so much to both of us.

    486
  451. These questions are HARD! Pick a favorite? Wow! I really have to name a few- my hardanger Welcome for my daughter and sister – and a wool piece I did last year for Thanksgiving

    487
  452. My favorite embroidery is a Christmas table cover I embroidered over 30 years ago.
    It has 4 Christmas scenes based on the night before Christmas story and is embroidered using different stitches. I have embroidered many other items since then, but it is my favorite.

    488
  453. My all time favorites are the 3 birth cross stitches I have done for my 3 grandchildren. I now have 2 more I need to do.

    489
  454. My all time favorite thing I have stitched was a hardanger doily. I used pale blue motifs on off white linen. I think it was stunning. It is a gift fr a family members birthday.

    490
  455. My favorite project is a needlepoint designed by Carroll Lake and Michael Boren, the Church on Spilled Blood from St. Petersburg, Russia. It was large and complex, and when I signed up for the class I was sure I would never finish it, but the instructions were so good I got it done in 4 months! I would love to have this gift of the slate frame and needle minder for Christmas! Thank you, Mary!

    491
  456. Oooo, I would love that slate frame, as I am going to venture into goldwork for the first time soon!
    It’s hard to choose my favorite project, although I do have things that I have enjoyed making more than others. I guess I would say that it would have to be the “Box of Days” that I constructed as a response to a challenge issued by my chapter of the Embroidery Guild of America. We were given a pack of hand-dyed wool pieces, buttons, beads, and a yo-yo, and told to make something. I used the pieces and other materials to embellish an oval box, with depictions of the four seasons on the sides, and a multi-branched tree, flowers, and pond on the top. It really stretched my creativity, and I would like to revisit the project sometime in the future.

    492
  457. My favourite piece of needlework ever was the first piece I did that wasn’t just cross stitch; there was queen stitch and other speciality stitches. It led me to explore other stitches and other technics. Unfortunately I don’t remember the name of the designer or the name of the pattern (it was a long time ago) but it does still hang on my wall.

    493
  458. > What’s your all-time favorite needlework project that you ever stitched?

    This is such a difficult question! I think my favorite project I’ve yet completed was a baby blanket for my niece with the star field from the time she was born.

    494
  459. My favorite project was a series of mandalas I used to practice different stitches. They all came out really pretty.

    496
  460. I made a baby quilt with very subdued blue and white colors. I embroidered nursery theme pictures in the white blocks

    497
  461. My favorite piece, for now, is a silk and goldwork Tudor Rose that was the first thing I stitched after several years of not being able to because of a series of strokes. (around the time you were doing the Mission Rose, but not of that design) I finally got a medicine that controls the tremors and will stitch as long as I can because it could change in a moment for any of us.

    498
  462. Merry Christmas Mary!
    Of course I love all of the embroidery projects that I have stitched; how could it be otherwise? The one piece that is my favorite is my Nicola Jarvis bluebird (that’s the piece I would take with me if my house were burning down!). Thank you so much for your website-I can’t count the times you have come to my rescue with your tutorials and advice. Reading your blog makes me feel like you’re sitting in my kitchen with a cup of tea and having a good chat! I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

    499
  463. I just finished up one of my favorite embroidery projects – Christmas ornaments! I got happy with the bead embellishment too because, well, what’s Christmas without some sparkle? I’m just starting on another project for a gift, we’ll see if I finish in time – an embroidered rendition of a photo of two doggies, pets of a friend. One of them is a black lab, and he’s black all over so that should be interesting!!

    500
  464. It’s the Matryoshka doll I’m working on right now. She’s vibrant with lots of floral designs and about 6” tall. Can’t wait to get it finished and framed

    501
  465. My favourite project is a Ukrainian Whitework piece using Gay Eatons book as a guide. I was fortunate to take a class with Gay a few years ago. Sadly she passed away this year, this piece will always remind me of happy times at the Wanaka Embroidery School

    502
  466. Been seriously stitching for thirty-five years. So there are many projects I loved. My favorites are Christmas projects. They are so colorful and cheerful. Of those, the Nora Corbet reindeer really stand out. Always hate to put them away after the holidays.

    503
  467. My favorite project was a thread painting of a landscape. I stitched it with out pattern and creative abandon!! I learned a lot from the sewing and the creative possibilities of needle and thread!

    504
  468. My favorite stitching project was a small realistic wild rabbit hiding amongst some small desert flowers. I really enjoyed that project and how it turned out.

    506
  469. Hard to pick a favorite. But Mine is an older Shepherd’s Bush design called
    Harvest Moon.
    It was so much fun it seemed to stitch itself.

    507
  470. My favorite needlework piece – to date – is the Essamplaire reproduction Maria Antoni. It is a Mexican Sampler with beautiful colors stitched in ver a Sore. The light plays on the stitches, there are a variety of motifs, bead work, etc. Everything to love and a beautiful piece when finished. Very good instructions as well.

    Thank you for the fun of a give a way

    Lois

    508
  471. My all time favorite project was Nova by Ginny Morrow. I absolutely loved every single stitch and hated when I put the last stitch in.

    509
  472. How could one choose an all time favorite? If I absolutely had to choose (for the sake of the contest ;)) I would have to say my current project: Embroidered tees for my brother, sister in law, and two baby nephews.

    The project itself is nothing crazy but the fact that I can give something hand made to my loved ones for the holiday is such a joy.

    Happy holidays 🙂

    511
  473. My favourite completed project so far is a sampler of surface embroidery which includes flowers and insects. Fun to do and exciting to see them develop and emerge off the linen.

    512
  474. Thank you Mary for this gorgeous giveaway!
    My favorite project (it is difficult to choose!) was a little sampler that I cross stitched many years ago as a gift to my dear Mum.
    Have a nice day!
    Warm regards from France
    Ghislaine

    513
  475. There have been many ‘favorite’ projects, but my favorite designer for cross stitch is Pamela Kellogg and one of her pieces – a cat I call Patrick stands out in my mind as a favorite. I’ve just recently finished Katarina from Trish Burr and it challenged me and I just love the finished project. Have used some of the older frames where you sew the piece on, so would enjoy seeing the difference with these frames, should I be drawn to win – and I love the magnetic needle minders.

    515
  476. Boy, this is my all time favorite give away. I’d have been happy with gift certificate from Mark! Let me just wipe the drool off the screen….

    I love all my projects. Each one has taught me something new. So far my favorite has been a book I made to honor my sister, who passed away. The book is full of things I haven’t embroidered on before, screen, cork, silk chiffon…and it has calligraphy and watercolor.

    I started it to deal with my grief. Now I’m going to submit it to the SF School of Embroidery for their Multi Media Challenge.

    Thanks Mark and Mary.

    516
  477. These slate frames look so beautiful. My favourite piece was Memories of Solar Flare by Ro Pace, I loved the threads, the stitches and the finished result.

    517
  478. My favourite needlework project would be a set of four Canadian scenes in petitpoint on fine gauze which I made for my daughter about 40 years ago- a bit fine for me now, but I still like to look at them and remember the challenge. I would be delighted to receive the slate frame made by Mark and his wife. Thank you to them for offering this prize. Evelynne

    518
  479. I have not completed it but my favorite piece of needlework that I’ve stitched on is the Jane Bostocke Sampler. I love the history and all the stitches used to make this antique sampler.

    520
  480. As a fairly new stitcher, I have not completed very many projects yet. My favourite so far is a Christmas stocking with skating penguins on it. It is hanging for the first time this year.

    I am also just starting to accumulate the necessary stitching supplies and would be thrilled to win the slate frame in today’s giveaway.

    521
  481. I am in the process of making a Sunbonnet Sue quilt with 24 embroidered blocks for my granddaughter. I am over half way through and LOVE making the designs on Sue. She is doing different little girl things like holding a puppy and chasing a butterfly. Just reminds me of my granddaughter. I love this project because it will be for her and it is so lively and bright.

    522
  482. The favorite needlework project I have stitched til now is Gay Ann Rogers Queen Elizabeth.I have been enamored of Queen Elizabeth I since college, so bringing her to life with embroidery was a work of love. I also learned a lot as the project includes black work, pulled thread, bargello, and bead work.

    523
  483. I have never worked with a slate frame, and would love the chance to work with one of these lovely heirloom frames 🙂 Thanks so much for the giveaway! My favourite project is usually whatever I’m working on right now LOL Can’t beat that New Project Enthusiasm 😉

    524
  484. I love needle work projects. My favorite needle work was a beautiful and tiny, blue and green dragon smelling a snapdragon. It turned out wonderfully! I would love this giveaway! Thanks!

    525
  485. Oriental Splendor-Lena Lieu -Dimensions Gold Kit – absolutely stunning when I finished-have had numerous complements on it.

    526
  486. That is a beautiful frame. I would love to have it for my current project, a fairly large sampler.

    How to choose a favorite project–what a hard question. I think I will pick my pair of Mary Fry butterflies. It’s in my favorite technique, mixed media, and includes blackwork patterns done in color and surface embroidery. I took it at a Valentine seminar years ago AND finished it right away! Not an addition to my collection of UFOs!!!!

    527
  487. A goldwork Rose and bee on red silk that I made into a coin purse for my sister.
    Thank you for the opportunity and best wishes for the season and the coming year!

    528
  488. My favorite project is a crewel house and garden scene, originally from McCall’s magazine in the 30s? McCalls updated the threads in the 1990s and used Caron overdyes. Lots of different stitches used. You want to step into the picture.

    529
  489. I think my favorite embroidery project of all time is actually my current one, which is a large advent calendar. I’ve been making slow progress on it for the last year and a half, and I’m almost done with the front sides of the ornaments (fronts are Christmas-related shapes–birds, ornaments, nativity figures; back sides are just numbers, and will go much faster.) I’ve used a little bit of silk ribbon, learned a few new stitches, and will eventually add some beads and spangles in a few spots.

    530
  490. My most memorable item I have made is my embroidered sampler patchwork quilt. Each square was embroidered with flowers and each one was different. It took some time to finish but each block was a dream to do as I was able to use (and experiment) lots of different embroidery stitches. I am also able to look at it everyday on my bed as a reminder of my days sitting with my needle and thread!

    531
  491. My favourite piece so far is a countedcross stitch of Shakespeare’s plays characters. It’s a simple piece by Bothy Threads, and the characters end up looking a little flat and two dimensional, but that’s why I like it: all the players in Shakespeare are so multifaceted and have so much depth, it’s amusing to see them a little cartoony, stripped of their context. It reminds me how just words on a page can create such vivid pictures!

    532
  492. Thread painting blanket with Jenny McWhinney – colours designs and delightful personalities in her characters

    533
  493. My favorite project is a flower wreath motif from Yumiko Higuchi’s ‘Zakka Embroidery.’ It was meant to be a quilt square, and it was both fun to stitch and satisfyingly beautiful.

    My computer gave me an error, so if this turns out to be two comments, I apologize.

    534
  494. My favorite stitched piece is my 3D garden. I stitched the base on canvas then stitched the gardens along with a water fountain and brick walls.There’s insects, flowers and vegetables. I used things I found at a dollar store such as Chinese knots for pumpkins and a shell for a snail!

    535
  495. My all time favourite embroidery project is a successfully completed needle painting (designed by Trish Burr) of a European Kingfisher. I just love kingfishers!

    536
  496. I have a few favourite items, but I think my very most favourite is a panel I stitched for the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry. It is the panel about Culross, and it’s historical trading links, with the palace and garden surround by smaller motifs. Having stitched two panels for the Battle of Prestonpans Tapestry, and been involved with The great Scottish Tapestry I was asked to stitch the Culross panel. I visited the local primary school (41 pupils) and they each stitched as did each member of staff, including the ancillary staff. That was a super day, the children had no inhibitions. I also belong to the National Trust for Scotland Needlework Group at Culross and all the ladies there added their stitches and those from the various craft groups I attend, and last but not least my family, even the grandchildren who here 3 and not quite 1 ( she had needle put in hand and guided into place) at the time, to put their stitch in history. A slate frame like this would have been such a help.

    537
  497. Hi Mary, my all time favourite needlework project that I stitched a few years ago, was two panels of Japanese Embroidery. These two panels formed part of a group project (of eight panels) showing dancing fans with designs reflecting the four seasons. My panels represent summer and took over 200 hours to work. The panels were shown for the first time in the World Exhibition of Japanese Embroidery held in Cambridge, UK. I would love to win the frame that you are offering as I like working with slate frames and so am keeping my fingers crossed.
    Barbara

    538
  498. My favourite project was my first or nue piece – a picture of Marilyn Manson. It began a love of the or nue technique, and was the first piece I entered in the national embroidery exhibition in New Zealand.

    539
  499. Oh, Santa! What a glorious present to find under my tree!

    Hands down, my favorite project was the stockings I did for everyone in the family. All needlepointed . . . . . . When I was young and too dumb to know they were too hard to do for a beginner. . . . . . So I did them. . . . . . Like I often do when I see something new.

    When we don’t know what our new project entails, it’s so much easier to get started because we are too ignorant to know that we don’t yet have the skills to do it so we just jump in a go. It isn’t until we meet the “experts” that we find out we really aren’t supposed to be able to do something at that skill level. And we begin being intimidated by projects we’d really like to try. Because someone said we weren’t ready. Sometimes being ignorant is just perfect!

    My FUTURE favorite project ever is the bunad (crewel decorated Norwegian wool dress) that I’m terrified to start. The kit was UBER expensive and since I’m no longer too stupid to know I can’t do it, I’m very intimidated by the idea of actually starting. This slate would make starting it a WHOLE lot easier. Merry Christmas Mary!

    540
  500. My favorite project (so far) has been my Jenny McWhinney mouse blanket I did for my sisters 50th. I love the cute little mice ( I did one of Jenny’s designs in each corner) and love working Jenny’s style of needle painting. Every time I stitched it it made me smile and my creativity flowed with the rhythm of the stitching. It still makes me smile when I see it displayed at my sisters house. Of course I was thinking of her the whole time I was stitching it, family etc – so important to me.

    541
  501. My favourite project is one that I am still working one – the kind that is a 10 year project. It will be a quilt, the fabric is wool, the design is done in cross stitch, 30 panels, lots of birdhouses and nature, and I love the colours!

    542
  502. This is mighty fine give away. Thank you for posting it. My favorite needlework project that I ever stitched, wow that’s a hard one. I think it is a Teresa Wentzler fairy-tale castle which I still have. It was one of those projects that took a lot of time and was rather intricate but the efforts paid off.

    544
  503. My favorite all time project was a cross stitch pattern “Mother’s Tree”. I was able to go back 6 generations when Genzia Gravenstein arrived from Germany in 1860 and settled around Leonardville, KS. I don’t have daughters so the next name on it will be a granddaughter ( who at 5 already loves “sewing”.)

    545
  504. My favorite thing(s) I have ever stitched are the 2 Christmas stockings that I needlepointed for my husband and I. That was 34 years ago. They happen to be sitting in front of me as I type this and I look forward to seeing them every year.

    546
  505. My all time favorite needlework project was a crazy quilt. I had collected fabrics for 10 years, and it took me three more years to sew it. I embroidered free hand a leaf and an insect in each block, but it is so full of stitches that no one notices them until I point them out. I even put poison oak on one block; it has a beautiful leaf pattern. Thanks for this chance to win.

    547
  506. Of all of the embroidery projects I have done over the last 47 years or so, I’d have to say my favorite was one of my very first. I covered the back, sides and front of my trusty Levi jacket with a huge pink butterfly, daisies, ivies and lots of decorative stitches. It really set my jacket apart from the Levi jackets of the other teenagers in my school. Though I haven’t worn it it 40 years or so, I still have it hanging in my closet.

    548
  507. I did a needlepoint pillow for an antique dragon’s bench while I was living at home my first year out of college. The d u o n

    549
  508. My favorite project: a runner filled with fields of colorful flowers using a wide variety of surface embroidery stitches.

    550
  509. My favorite project is always the one I’m working on. Otherwise I wouldn’t start it. I’m working on 12 Christmas ornaments/gifts based on a holly and berry design from Thomas Trevelyon’s Miscellany of 1608.

    551
  510. Many years ago I made a large modern crewel embroidery of a wind tossed tree, still love the framed piece.

    552
  511. Think my all time favorite project was making the October block from a Piecemakers calendar. The twelve blocks were supposed to be one big quilt, but I decided to make them individual wall hangings. The center is a large tree done in embroidery, appliqué, and ribbon work, set on point. The four corners are done in crazy quilting. Lots stitching.

    553
  512. My favorite piece that I have ever stitched is Bunny Goodwin’s Told in a garden. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

    554
  513. My most favorite project was some poppies I did using felt appliqué, punch needle, and some embroidery threads. I mostly do counted cross stitch and I think I really enjoyed mixing it up on that one.

    555
  514. My most memorable stitching piece was a canvas piece called Dazzle. It was by Margaret Bendig. It probably was my third canvas piece. It took me over 100 hours to complete. The end result was worth it.

    I still like my counted cross stitch also.

    556
  515. I stitched a landscape of the vineyards below the Wairau Hills, in Marlborough at the top of the South Island, New Zealand and framed it up as a gift for my partner. It was a fun project, representing good memories of our time living there. And I became very experienced at French knots to represent the grapes!

    557
  516. My favourite project is always the one I’m ABOUT to stitch! In 2018, that should include my much-anticipated embroidered casket (Cabinet of Curiosities) so I neeedd a fabulous slate frame 😉

    558
  517. My first and favorite needlepoint was a “Home Sweet Home” 24×18″ in burgandy and light green! Hangs over my bed!

    559
  518. My favourite is a something called : ‘Amsterdam is changing’ or in Dutch ‘Amsterdam verandert’. I enjoyed working on it so much I couldnot stop: when I went off to work I thought, tonight I am going to do a new house or maybe I will do the ferry or…
    I learned something new every day and I used everything I learned in the previous years. It sort of grew under my hands. After I finished , I just did not know what to make anymore. Now I am getting back, but I miss Amsterdam very much!

    560
  519. My favourite ever needlework project is a giant cross stitch I did based on the book series “A Song of Ice and Fire”. It features the emblem and slogan of the different noble houses and took almost a year to finish. I’m still immensely proud every time I walk past it 🙂

    561
  520. Another great giveaway! Thank you Mary & Mark!

    I think my all-time favorite project – so far! – would be a blackwork piece showing the effigies of a knight and his lady. It was in an issue of Mary Hickmott’s magazine quite a few years ago. (I miss that magazine!) I not only loved the subject matter but I loved stitching it.

    562
  521. A perpetual calendar in the form of a bellpull that I searched for years to find. It took a year to finish but I still cherish it.

    563
  522. My favorite was one of my dad’s old work shirts, because it got me started embroidering. He was a firefighter, and gave me and my sisters old work shirts, which we covered in embroidery and used as light jackets. Collar and cuffs, button holes and placket, pockets, back yoke, all of it was embroidered with different colors and stitches.

    565
  523. My most favorite needlework project ever stitched would be my daughters First Holy Communion dress. The pattern was from AS&E magazine. White-on-white striped cotton sateen with an artfully tucked and embroidered bodice (originally done in ribbon embroidery but since I didn’t know how to do this, I substituted bullion roses) tiny bead accents and white satin bias trim on the embroidered collar and sleeves and piping where the smocked skirt joined the bodice.

    566
  524. Favorite: a red-on-white cross stitch medley of Christmas motifs. Did this about 30 years ago. It was a Friday_afternoons_at_the_in_laws project after the big noonday meal. We would all sit around the dining room table chatting, and my 2-year-old nephew would come sit in my lap and help pull the needle up and down in the design. His initials are on it as co-creator. Now he’s 32, a new father, and maybe this Christmas I’ll give him the picture for their holidays.

    567
  525. Wow, a slate frame! I wish I had had one when I made my all time favorite thing – a chasuble for Good Friday for my church. I embroidered the orphrey front and back using silk, velvet, gold cording and threads and beads. It was a 2 year undertaking. Slate frames would have made the work a little easier.

    568
  526. Hi Mary,
    I have wanted one of the Mythic slate frames ever since you reviewed them! That’s what I want for Christmas!

    My favorite project was a little “Joyeuse Anniversaire” from the French Needle. I stitched it for my Daughter and Son-in-law this past June for their first anniversary. It was simple and each part of the picture was done with a different stitch. I did go to your stitch videos for help. When it was done, I had it framed.

    569
  527. My favorite stitching project was an ornament I made with a cardinal as the main subject. I was missing my grandmother terribly that Christmas, and cardinals were her favorite bird. That little ornament helped me get through an otherwise dreary holiday season, and I still display it every year.

    570
  528. I think my favourite piece of needlework was a CQ purse I made for my late MIL. I had made one for myself and she loved it so much I knew I had to make one for her. I like bling, but MIL absolutely adored it. I don’t think I’ve ever made a piece with anywhere near as many sequins, buttons silk flowers and embroidery. It was way OTT, but she loved it, and that’s all that matters. Blessings Lesley

    571
  529. Long ago a Cancer astrological sun sign was stitched on the back of a men’s light blue workshirt. Months were spent on it. After school and jobs only offered so much time. It was given to a teenage friend, and its whereabouts is unknown thsee decades later.

    572
  530. My most recent favourite ie a bishop style smocked dress, ny forst ever, for my almost teo year grandbaby. Its the first I have ever done & on fabric boyght from her other gran. Its a print og said grandbaby’s dad’s favourite ever toy so should make him happy too. So win, win, win.
    Thankyou all for this chance to win a slate frame!

    573
  531. The most exciting piece is my current Joy Juarez Oriental Horse and hopefully I will do it justice.

    574
  532. My favorite is the first “big” piece of embroidery that I did as a teenager. It took me years, but I finished it! It now hangs in my entryway.

    575
  533. For now, my favorite is Amy Mitten’s Harmony scissors keeper. There are so many wonderful and unusual techniques in a small project!

    576
  534. My favorite project is the one I’m working on right now. I’m embroidering the back of a black jean jacket. I’m doing all kinds of different patterns and colors. So far I am at 30 hours and 30 minutes and maybe 1/4 done. It’s going to be awesome (I hope) I’m also going to decorate the pockets on the front and the sleeves. Lots of flowers and patterns. It’s fun. Xxxx

    577
  535. My all time favourite needlework project was making a Sacred Heart with gold metal threads and silk threads adding to it pearls and garnets. This little project was placed on the inside of the door of the Tabernacle at my parish church.

    578
  536. Goodness, that’s a hard one to answer! Maybe the organza, surface stitched feather? Or was it the Punto Antico mat…or a project from Michelle Mischkulnig’s blog – loved doing that one and loved the result. Or, maybe, the Jane Nicholas stumpwork? Hmmm. Got it! It was the very first piece of goldwork I did; a class and design by Jane Lester. It was challenging but so very satisfying as I had only done cross stitch till then. It is lovely and still hangs on my bedroom wall.

    579
  537. My favorite needlework project was just recently completed. It a team project from a Crabapple Hill kit for my niece. My niece saw this Crabapple Hill Kit and wanted to tackle it, but Leukemia got in the way. The Leukemia affected her eyesight so her Mom got a group of us together and we made the wall hanging for her. I did most of the embroidery with some help from my Mother and we are giving it to her this weekend. We are all going to cry.

    580
  538. My favorite needlework project ever is a Crsftsman-style Table Runner that matches my home’s colors and decor beautifully. Loved it so much, I repurchased the design and kit again to complete for a friend!

    581
  539. I have carried on the tradition of creating needlework pieces for wedding gifts as my grandmother always did. I did a hardanger runner for my cousin that was almost 4 feet long and 18 inches wide. The piece contained many different stitches and was great fun to make. The best part of creating the piece was how thrilled my cousin was to receive the piece and show it off.

    582
  540. My all-time favourite needlework project that I have ever stitched is an Elizabethan Box designed by Maree Talbot from Queensland, Australia. The box is a long-term project as it has 9 panels (inside and out) of Elizabethan embroidery. I have been working on it (on and off) for 10 years now and am almost finished my 4th panel. It is a beautiful project that I can gaze at with real satisfaction as the panels grow. It is the highlight of my embroidery journey!

    583
  541. My all-time favorite needlework project (it is hard to choose only one!) is probably the two flower girl dresses I made for my two oldest (at the time, only) granddaughters for my son’s wedding. The yokes and sleeves consisted of strips of white batiste alternating with white lace. All strips were separated by entredeux. The batiste strips were hand embroidered with yellow bullion roses and green leaves for the six year old and with yellow bullion rosebuds and green leaves for the three year old. It took over 100 hours to make the two dresses.

    584
  542. My favorite is a cross stitch image of a horse that resembled my real-live horse. Created a “frame” of sorts by using a newly learned craft of hardanger embroidery.

    585
  543. I can’t believe that I am admitting this, but I have stitched for 71 years and still haven’t upped by equipment to a slate frame! I would love one for Christmas..and I would put it to immediate use.

    586
  544. My favourite stitching is a mother daughter effort. My daughter painted sunflowers on muslin and I embroidered around them. I also did a quick cross stitch that she made ceramic buttons for.
    Deirdre

    587
  545. My favorite needlework project was a cross stitched project that I made for my dad. Daddy and I shared the same birth state, so I made a large outline of the state with cities, landmarks, and geographic details. Daddy loved it.

    588
  546. My favourite stitched piece is a table cloth I stitched for my Dad manyvyeats ago. It was full of Poppies in each corner, which I thought very appropriate for an old WWII ANZAC.
    This was my first large piece using satin and long & shirt stitch for shading the flowers.

    589
  547. Hello All,
    The needlework project I enjoyed most doing was a recent wedding sampler for a cousin whose life has been less than happy. She has overcome serious family and health issues so when she said she had found her perfect match I wanted to wish them something extra special. I found the chart Happily Ever After, a simple motto that said exactly what I wished for them. While it isn’t dramatically big or ornate, it epitomized, for me, exactly what they should have in their life together.

    590
  548. I am currently stitching “Ivory Blush” by Judy Dixon. It is the most beautiful piece I have ever done.

    591
  549. My absolute favorite project (so far) was the first crewel project I ever attempted. I was just finishing my first semester in college as a Biology major and by Thanksgiving I needed Something To Help Me Relax. I had been embroidering since 5th grade and I saw this beautiful Tree of Life kit by Georgia Bonesteel and promptly feel in love. It was probably way above my level of expertise, but I persisted and learned a lot of new stitches and techniques. And they actually worked!!! Unlike some of my chemistry experiments. By the end of Christmas break I had a gorgeous, finished Tree of Life. Then my mother, who thought embroidery an utter waste of time, demanded that I do one for her, which she had professionally framed and prominently displayed. Because of what I had learned from the first attempt I was able to personalize Mother’s version, and so the learning from the Trees of Life continued!

    592
  550. My favorite stitching project was a crosstitch of my grandparent’s farm house that I had made into a pattern from a photo.

    594
  551. What’s your all-time favorite needlework project that you ever stitched?
    – the Christmas Stockings that I stitched for my step children, their spouses, and my grandchildren

    595
  552. Many projects stitched over the years have given me much pleasure….both the doing and end result. Recently I have stitched samplers for my grand-daughters ; an alphabet animal sampler and an EF 1864 sampler. One said ” I will have this for my children ” and the other ” when I look at it I ‘ll remember my 5 th birthday”.
    Happy stitching and thanks.

    596
  553. I completed a skirt and jacket in 4H when I was probably 13 or 14. I embroidered flowers and vine on the pockets of both the jacket and the skirt. It was a cream colored material and the embroidery was in brown.

    597
  554. Mark’s frames are beautiful in concept as well as in actuality and would be a wonderful addition to my tools, particularly since I have arthritis in my fingers. His roller bar innovation would make it much simpler to set up, and from the looks of it, less painful.

    I have recently returned to handwork of all sorts – knitting, sewing, embroidery, and the like. Retirement gives me more time to do the things that I haven’t had the time or focus to do for many years. I love getting back to needle arts with all its colors and textures. My former projects were many years ago, but I have a project in mind that is a combination of positive/negative design, paintstiks, and embroidery. I don’t expect it to happen overnight or be easy, but it will be a challenge that I want to tackle.

    598
  555. “What’s your all-time favorite needlework project that you ever stitched?”

    There have been many, but all time favorite is a Bible verse embroidered with an illuminated first letter. It was worked at a time of great stress in my life, and to meditate on the words while stitching with beautiful antique silk threads brought much comfort to me.

    599
  556. My most satisfying needlework projects ever were the christening gowns for my grandchildren. Joy in every stitch!

    Thanks for this generous giveaway!

    600
  557. My favourite piece of all time is the crewel work piece I did in 2015 for my Royal School of Needlework Certificate. Its design was very personal to me, each element representing one of our cats. The elements in the tree of life in the design were those cats who had shared our lives in the past and who had passed away, whilst the flower growing on the hillock represented, Lewis, our tabby cat who was very much alive and on terra firma with us. Also on the hillock was a lion who represented the Lion of Whipsnade, a white chalk lion carved in the hillside of Whipsnade Zoo on Dunstable Downs in the Chilterns near our home. Our cats ashes are scattered on the hillside and we like to think the Lion looks after them. Lewis’s ashes are there now as well and the Lion is watching over him too.

    602
  558. My favorite project was my daughter’s ring bearer’s pillow for her wedding. I later took it apart and had the top if it framed with a picture of them in the middle where the rings had been.

    603
  559. I have many favorites but one I particularly enjoyed stitching is called “Frankie” designed by Michael Boren. It’s done on canvas and is full of interesting stitches that are fun to do.

    604
  560. My favorite needlework design that I stitched in 2003 is called “And They Sinned” by Vilma Becklin.

    605
  561. My absolute favourite project to date was the blue “red work” snowman table runner that I made for my Mom for Christmas in 2015. It was fun, frivolous and just perfect for the Mom “who has it all”.
    Thank you so much for all your help and inspiration in every embroidery project that I have tackled since I found your website in early 2014.

    606
  562. Would love one of these frames!
    My favorite needlework project is the Grazing Sheep from Rowandean. It was so much fun using all the different threads & seeing it coming to life. I haven’t been able to trust anyone (including myself) to frame it but it hangs safely in a closet ready for when the time is right.

    607
  563. My favourite needlework project was my first completed work. From a workshop with Jenny Adin-Christie it is a book cover depicting a lakeland scene of Beatrix Potter’s farm.

    608
  564. I am a papermaker and I collaged scrap paper together and embroidered over top to make a beautiful hinged box. Inside are dimensional scenes of frogs from a children’s book.

    609
  565. I was very pleased with myself when I finished this project, actually three. Over my bed, I have a large rendition of a matted and framed Scottish Thistle, and to the two sides, also matted and framed smaller different types of Thistles. San you tell I’m very proud of my Scottish heritage. With my Scottish cousins, and there are many, I am now the Matriarch. I visit when I can, and the budget allows.

    I would love to receive one of your Christmas offerings. I so enjoy your online column, and have learned quite a bit from it.

    610
  566. It is whatever project I am currently working on which happens to be a drawstring beaded bag designed by Sherri Jones & entitled “To England, With Love”. I am loving every minute of it!

    611
  567. An all time favourite is very difficult to choose as I like stitching many different techniques of embroidery. Blackwork Journey, by Elizabeth Almond, for the variety of patterns and designs.

    612
  568. A counted cross stitch of the words Walk in Love .It was my first cross stitch and very ambitious of me. Made a mistake in the count didn’t want to take out so had to constantly adjust my count .No one can see it but me.Turned out nice !

    613
  569. My favourite project? Such a difficult thing to answer! I guess beacause it’s Christmas, and because I’m looking at it right now, I’d have to say a very fine Santa Claus cross stitch which I completed when my children were babies. It always brings me joy to bring it out each December and reflect on all the Christmas’s it has seen.

    614
  570. I have wanted a slate frame for some time now but not sure how to choose. In addition I have not been able to afford a good one.

    615
  571. My favorite project was a Minnesota loon in water, left and right side straight angle, with the
    Minnesota wild rice framing the loon on the top and right side semi circular. I did this on light blue, with
    the darker blues forming the water and tans/greens for the rice. Of course the loon was blk/wht
    with red eyes. I cannot remember who was the artist, I bought the pattern at a craft fair just
    because I love loons and this one looked like he would entertain me with his call and laugh at
    any instant!

    616
  572. What a gorgeous frame. OK, my favorite piece right now is the Mirabella angel I stitched to honor the 9/11 victims. It is hard to choose just one but the angel was a true labor of love.

    618
  573. Wow Mary, that’s a hard one. As I sat here thinking about it, with projects whirling through my mind, I settled on our first Christmas with both of our children. I had smocked both of them coordinating outfits. The material was a dark green and it had little tan Christmas Teddy Bears scattered on it. I smocked a plate that had Christmas Teddy Bears in a row with geometric designs over and under them. I think my mind stayed on that project because of the year leading up to it. Our son had been born in March. He had pneumonia by the time he was 3 weeks and it just went like that from then on until our doctor discovered he had a compromised immune system. I spent 6 months not going out of the house except to take him to the doctors to get gamma gobulin shots. I smocked after my little ones were asleep at night as I also had sewed up their outfits. When we took the Christmas pictures my husband and I were both so grateful that we had both of them still. And I thought they looked adorable. He ended up getting pneumonia for Christmas! We still have him. And I am still so grateful.

    619
  574. My favourite is a blackwork piece. It’s from a photograph of my daughter, not quite finished but definitely my favorite because it’s my own design. I use it as my “go to piece ” in between other works. Love it.

    620
  575. My favourite stitching project ever is a Trish Burr Chriztmas Wreath I worked on this year as a Christmas gift for a very special friend. Worked in single strands it was a far cry from my usual wool embroidery but I enjoyed working on it and was very happy with the results.

    621
  576. I have done so many FAVOURITES it is hard to decide what is my all time favourite. I adored doing “Angel of Love” by Lavender and Lace. It was a joy from beginning to end and I was introduced to beadwork. I love the Mythic Craft range of frames and would dearly love to have one, the ease of setting up is a huge attraction.

    622
  577. I haven’t done anything significant recently but when I had more time I did a lovely embroidery embellishment on my hand knitted sweater. Really got to start prioritizing my free time and get back to my needle work.

    623
  578. Definitely my hussif. I designed a hussif to hold all my tools for Embroidery. Each component has a Brizilian Embroidery design on it. It is made with wool fabric and the inside lining is silk.

    624
  579. My all time favorite project that I have stitched was a pair of snow people with turkey work. It was lovely. My daughter has it. My neighbor wanted one.

    625
  580. My very favorite project is a needlepoint stylized floral wall hanging I stitched in the early 80’s. I had it framed and it is proudly displayed in my living room.

    626
  581. I completed a large colorful needlepoint canvas that came with a title “Sol e Mer”. It showed a bird filled sky blending into a fish filled ocean!

    627
  582. My all time favourite was a cross stitch of the sea that I lost in a house fire. Never found the design again but I still remember it clearly and that was 30 years ago.

    Thanks for the opportunity to enter your giveaways

    629
  583. This is an easy one for me to answer. My favorite piece that I have stitched is called Mogul Medallion, design by Jean Taggart. It is my favorite for several reasons. First, it is the most technically challenging piece I have ever done, with many small sections of the laid filling stitches for which Jean is known and an or nue border. I learned so much from it (it was a workshop that Jean taught for my EGA chapter). It came out pretty good if I do say so myself; I won best of show for it at my County fair. Lastly, it has an emotional connection for me as working on it helped me get through the grieving process when my mother died. It was so therapeutic to focus on something that needed my entire concentration.

    630
  584. So far it’s been a set of bookmarks (starting small here) for my family as Christmas presents. I find there are lots of projects on the go, but it felt great to start and fully complete a project and be happy with it enough to give it away.
    Thanks for the give a way – the frames look lovely.
    Kathy

    631
  585. My favourite is a still life stitched in Gobelin stitch. It has 124,500 stitches and I loved each one.

    632
  586. I think my favorite finish is actually my husband’s favorite finish. It’s Martina Weber’s (Chatelaine Designs) Medieval Town Mandala. A close second is Lady of the Flag.

    633
  587. I’ve never tried a slate frame and would like to do so. My favorite piece of embroidery is usually the one I am working on. I am currently working on a crazy quilt Christmas stocking that includes embroidery and ribbon embroidery.

    634
  588. A crewel embroidery picture “Snow White” that I embroidered for my daughter and it hung above her bed for many years, still in my possession .

    635
  589. My favourite embroidery is, An English Country Garden Queen size quilt. I’m on my last block the cottage & garden centre. Designed in Qld Australia by Leslie & Kevin McConnell 2013. Faeries in My Garden

    636
  590. I think my favorite embroidery was a large tablecloth and 10 napkins. It was a Phaltzgraf Christmas design called Winter Berry. It took me about 9 months to finish it. I embroidered it for a Christmas present for a dear friend. She collected all the dinnerware in that pattern. So I thought she should have the linens to go with them. It was a labor of love and worth it all to see her face when she opened the box. I would do it again for anyone to see the pleasure they receive from a special gift.

    637
  591. Hi Mary,
    Thank you for organizing a Stitcher’s Christmas. My favorite project I’ve ever done was a 34×42 inch baby quilt done for my niece, the first girl child in her generation.

    638
  592. So many projects and many unfinished. It is hard to choose just one. Of my completed ones I think a thread painted needle case by Catherine Howell would be my preferred, but I gave it to my sister when her husband passed away and don’t get to see it all that often.

    639
  593. When I was 21 all the girls wore short shorts. Well I copied a doily that my mother’s, mother embroidered and did the pattern exactly like she did. I never embroidered before, but I figured them all. It was a bunch of different flower. It fit perfectly on front right side of leg. They were jeans. Well my mother hated them so on a time I went to stay a few days away she put them in the trash. I was so mad,hurt, and cried. She didn’t realize where I got the pattern.

    640
  594. My favourite project was a tablecloth that I designed and stitched as a wedding gift for a very close friend.

    641
  595. My favorite piece was a scene from Alice in Wonderland. It went to a friend who had a new baby. Now that I think about it, I might draw that pattern again and rework it for myself!

    642
  596. I once stitched up some blackwork ornaments, but instead of using black thread, I did them in red and green to keep with the Christmas theme of them. I even attached some gold tiny beads for added sparkle. Gave them to friends and got many compliments on my stitching. I thank you Mary for giving us the opportunity of winning.

    643
  597. My favorite needlework project hangs above my sewing machine,
    “She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands.” Proverbs 31:13″ surrounded with sheep appliqué.

    644
  598. I have started stitching a Jane Nicholas project called Shakespeares Flowers. I have six done of the 12 and love the tiny intricate work with her designs. Thankyou for this opportunity Mary, look forward to your posts in my email each morning.

    645
  599. I think my favourite project was when I played with sashiko stitches. But it’s difficult to settle on only one!!!

    646
  600. My very favorite piece ever stitched was from a designer Diane Evans from 1996. It included cross stitch, pulled stitches, stem and lazy daisy stitches done in burgundy and navy. Love love love it. Shows off a lot of effects…impressive if I do say so myself. LOL.
    I think Tanja is so gracious to be giving away such an awesome gift. Thank you.

    647
  601. My favorite needlework project that I have worked on has been an embroidery one of snowmen for the cold January and February days.

    648
  602. Hi Mary! Thanks for being everyone’s secret Santa! My favorite project I’ve done is a reproduction sampler from The Examplarery, Ann Bowers. I smile and sigh with contentment each time I look at her.

    Thanks for the chance!
    Mary Flynn

    649
  603. No question. Long ago [like 40+ years ago], I recreated an antique Harper’s Magazine cover in needlepoint for my mother’s birthday. She loved it; *loved it*. It was a first effort for me and the positive encouragement her enthusiasm gave to me fueled a life-long love of all things needle and thread. ♥

    650
  604. what a fun thing to do!!!!
    My favorite thing to do is Halloween in Needlepoint!!! Love all the wild threads for hair, witches and wonderful boots. Love all the colors of the lime greens, wild oranges and purple. Probably is the painted canvas of 5 wonderful witches all dressed up for Halloween.
    Thanks S. Vadset
    ndlenana@frontier.com

    651
  605. My very favourite piece is one of the first crewel embroidery kits I ever stitched. There were black and yellow birds sitting on a tree with berries and leaves. The design was simple and elegant.

    Although I was inexperienced, some of the elements looked a little dull to me so I stitched more interesting stitches. I entered it into a local show and much to my surprise won a certificate. The entering was the important part – it took courage on my part as did altering the stitches. Because I altered the kit, it was very much my work and I am very fond of it.

    652
  606. My favourite needlework project I’ve stitched would be the Secret Garden Hummingbirds from your website Mary. I loved the challenge, I loved the colours and now it hangs on my wall in my needlework room. To be truthful I enjoy everything I stitch! A slate frame from Mythic Crafts would be wonderful as I don’t have one and I’ve admired his beautiful woodwork since you first mentione his site.

    653
  607. My all time favorite embroidery that I did was a reproduction of a 11th century silk and gold lion embroidery. It had been the first time for me to use gold wrapped thread outside of a sampling of stitches.

    654
  608. My favorite all-time project was a pair of Christmas stockings in counted cross stitch for my 2 young nephews. They were also the most complex project ever with many, many colors. I added blending filament and Whisper for snow and Santa’s bead & fur, respectively. The first design was Santa, sleigh, and reindeer above a tiny village below. It came from the book The Stockings Were Hung & was titled To All a Good Night. The second was a band sampler of Christmas motifs adapted from a couple of patterns.

    656
  609. Because I’m new to embroidery as of 5 months ago I have not done many but I have wonderful ones waiting to be stitched. Of the ones I’ve done and garden sampler that I am about half way done with is my favorite. I am making it my own by doing the stitches I want to do, instead of an outline per say that they want me to do. I am learning so much. Doing the turkey stitch for the bunny tail was a favorite. I have learned so much using this site. Thank you.

    657
  610. It would be Sensu , my phase 2/3 Japanese embroidery piece. There were so many different techniques in it and it took me 2 years to finish. I walk past it every day and think “Wow I did that”.

    658
  611. Mary, thank you to you and Mark for this exciting opportunity. I have never used a slate frame and find the prospect quite tantalizing. Meanwhile, the question is tough for me—I have been embroidering for many decades and all my projects seem to be clamoring in the background with hands raised, “Choose me, choose me!” So…I will spin the dial and go for a picture I designed for my sister nearly twenty years ago. She had just redecorated her kitchen and had put up a very pretty wallpaper border. I took a leftover chunk of it on the sly and created a picture from ribbon embroidery and beads and threads that closely coordinated with the paper’s bird nibbling on a bunch of grapes, with vines and leaves all around. She has moved twice since then but always finds a place somewhere in her home for that bit of work, and I still smile whenever I see it. It wasn’t my lengthiest or most complicated project, but I think I surprised myself with its outcome and it remains a cheery little hoopful of joy.

    659
  612. My very very favourite piece is a design by Australian designer Catherine Howell, Flemish Flowers, taken from the paintings by the old masters. It took me 3 years and 4 workshops $A1000 worth of hand dyed silk, wool threads and ribbons it was a challenge and a joy to work and now hangs proudly over my fireplace.

    660
  613. My favorite cross stitch was one of three black cap chickadees. I really enjoyed that one, seeing the birds appear as I stitched.

    661
  614. I have enjoyed embroidering many projects but two that stand out are a Hardanger Needlebook class which holds my many needles and an Elizabethan Sweet bag. This was also a class and holds my embroidery tools.

    662
  615. I have done many embroidery projects but the best were the projects were for my daughters bedrooms and bathroom. Flowers, animals, fairies, all so they would grow up looking at needlework everyday. Happily, they both embroider, knit, crochet, sew, and appreciate the time and energy to create.

    663
  616. What’s your all-time favorite needlework project that you ever stitched?

    Most of the projects I’ve managed to finish have been cross-stitch kits that I did as gifts for my mum – she has a little collection of them on her wall! But possibly my favourite is my epic French knot project – even if’s not quite finished yet! I like watching my tide of blue washing slowly over the pale gold silk I chose for the background.

    664
  617. My favourite project was a cross stitch pattern I designed for my friend based on his games

    665
  618. My absolute favorite was a goldwork project I did at an EGA seminar in Richmond of Virginia creeper ivy.
    I loved that it included multiple colors of metal, as well as different types of metal. Also there were painted leather leaves and stumpwork leaves that were goldwork too.
    Wow is all I can say.

    666
  619. My favorite completed needlework project is a needlepoint kitten who looks just like my kitten. Well, now he’s a cat but he still looks like the needlepoint.

    667
  620. My favorite piece was of a cat lying in a wicker chair with blooming geraniums on the floor around the chair with a spider plant hanging over it. It’s very old, probably from the 80’s but I loved the picture and I loved stitching it.

    668
  621. I have a question: why is a slate frame called a slate frame? Am I missing something obvious? Where does the slate come in? Thanks!

    670
  622. My favorite all-time stitching project was my very first. I did two simple animal pictures after basic lessons from my Grandma Lois. When I was finished, she put one in a hoop frame and made the other into a little pillow. I have these to my Grandma Fran and my Great-Grandmother. I have since received them back and treasure them very much.

    671
  623. My favourite was a decorative pillowcase with a monogram. Maybe it was because of the delicate cold shades of emerald green used there.

    673
  624. I did not even have to think about this. It was “The Three Kings”. It was marvelously patterned to cross stitch from a very famous piece. It was probably also one of the most complicated pieces I have ever done. It was on denim linen with all kinds of specialty Threads and beading. I hang it at the holiday season but it hardly seems enough. I look at it now and I can’t believe I made it.

    674
  625. A cross stitch pincushion, the pattern was really beautifull and it was my first cross stitch project

    676
  626. Oh, Goodness, Mary, all of the pieces that I have stitched are special! They are all like babies once they are started; you work to bring them to life. I am afraid that I cannot say that any specific one is more special to me than any other.

    677
  627. My favorite needlework project to date would have to be the wedding sampler stitched for my son and new DIL. I stitched Victoria Sampler Garden Wedding Sampler. It was stitched using silk threads and I adjusted the design to match the wedding colors and bridesmaid dress style. The finished piece was featured at the rehearsal dinner and presented to the couple following this event.

    678
  628. Wall hanging when granddaughter was born, showing name, date, weight, etc. using a pattern from Inspirations Magazine.

    679
  629. my very first project… a small crewel pillow that is right out of the 70’s. It is what got me hooked.

    680
  630. So far my favorite project is an entry I made to a contest based on science images turned into art. I based my design on the Dali Atomicus photograph but with a scientific twist and embroidered it in goldwork.
    Hilariously, I worked tirelessly to make the deadline, and when I submitted it (digitally with a photo) they said, ‘oh, we extended the deadline by a week’ – but they never posted that on their website. In fact, they have not even posted the winners for this year yet (it was held in May 2017). They were prompt with the rejection email though.
    My piece didn’t even make it to finalists (there were 20+ finalist spots), but I still love it.

    681
  631. My all time favorite project that I’ve stitched (so far) is the Peacock Tapestry design by Teresa Wentzler. It’s big, has a lot of color blends, kreinik blending filament, beads and a border involving diamond eyelet stitch. Kept me busy for over a year.

    682
  632. My all time favourite piece was a very sentimental one. It is a stump work mushroom design from Windflower Designs. I stitched it with my dad as he was passing! He clung to life with tenacity and kept asking if I had finished one yet! He couldn’t grasp that all of them were being stitched in stages. I have it framed with a plaque stating “Stitched with Dad” and his birth and death dates! I love it

    683
  633. I have used a slate frame in the past and love them for my surface embroidery. I am working on the casket project right now and have the bits for the trinket box on the frame right now. This one looks like it could be easier and I would love to try it.

    684
  634. My favorite would be “The Windswept Traveller – a snowy , windy scene with Santa determined to fulfill his mission!

    685
  635. I just finished a cross stitch needle roll designed by a friend of mine. First time I had done a needle roll and I love it!

    686
  636. I am new to embroidery and enjoy coming here to learn and see so many new thing! My favorite stitching piece so far is part of a quilted wall hanging I made for my folks. Thanks for the chance to[lay : )

    687
  637. Have had so many that I loved and found challenging – Tree of Life by Colleen Goy of Roseworks Embroidery Design in South Africa – did many of her patterns but this was one of my favourites and I still have it framed and hanging on my wall. Has lots of different stitches to keep one occupied for hours!

    688
  638. I do not have one all time favorite project – so many of my projects remind me of special times in my life: the counted thread wreath stitched while pregnant with my son, the Hardanger sampler for my daughters wedding, Catherine Jordon’s Great Lakes map and pieces stitched with friends where we helped each other finish class projects, just to name a few.

    689
  639. Oh how I would love to win one of these frames! The roller bars look so interesting and would really help with getting the dressing of the frame really square.

    690
  640. Oooh! A slate frame for several of my goldwork projects would be amazingly helpful! My all time favourite project is the Puerto Rican roosters in needlepoint that I’m currently working on (and have been for a while)! I’m really looking forward to it’s completion.

    691
  641. I think my favorite would be a flower basket embroidered quilt, stitched with pearl cotton and using colors that were popular during the depression. Took me 3 years of on again, off again stitching, but I love how it turned out.

    694
  642. My all time favorite needlework projects have always been the samplers commerating the births and later the weddings of my sons and other family members. What better way to commemorate special events than with needlework!

    695
  643. My all time favorite was hand embroider Holley Hobby! She will forever be in my heart! I first embroidered her in Home-EC class in 7th grade. Shes a beautiful girl to stitch

    696
  644. My all time favourite project is the linen shoes I embroidered with Hungarian flowers, they make me smile every time I look at them or wear them.

    697
  645. My favorite stitching project is the queen sized quilt into which I set 12 Paula Vaughan cross stitched blocks. I am currently quilting it on my Juki mini quilter and I continue to do other stitchery as well. However stitchery is like any other art. I feel connected to each project.

    698
  646. My main stitching projects are prairie landscapes that I sell. They consist of hand painted fabric skies and commercial fabrics for ground portions of the landscapes and are embellished with embroidered trees, shrubs, flowers, buildings, etc. But my favorite is not a prairie landscape but rather a rugged, wilderness beach scene which is far, far away from the prairie plains of Saskatchewan!! It has a lot of embroidery on beach area fabrics and a lot of beadwork as well on the beach areas. The fabrics I used in this piece were all drapery fabrics with some great textures.

    699
  647. Hi Mary,

    What is my favorite Needlework project?
    Oh my!
    That’s like trying to pick a favorite child, or type of chocolate, or favorite food…

    My answer would have to be, the one I’m currently working on.
    Which of course moves from project to project as I stitch them. 🙂

    Love the slate frame!

    Cynthia M.

    700
  648. My all time favourite is Branching Out by Alison Cole. I see it every day and it always makes me smile.

    701
  649. My favorite project ever was a little coin purse I stitched flowers on. I think I got the design from a coloring books mostly love that my aunt whom I gave it to loves it and uses it all the time.

    702
  650. My all-time favorite stitching project was my own design of aspen trees in a forest. I took 3 years of thinking about it before finding the perfect fabrics but once I began, it was done in a couple of weeks!

    703
  651. I have enjoyed all my sewing projects but at the moment the one I am doing and enjoying is my red Hungarian braid runner.

    704
  652. I must that my favorite so far is my very first original design I made when I was 11. I designed a blanket for my sister’s Barbie that I made from craftfelt and decorated with a picture of Barbie’s face (complete with ponytail) and the Barbie signature all done in sequins. My sister still kept that for 54 years and just gifted it back to me for my collection.

    705
  653. I would have to say my favorite piece is my Milkweed and Monarch Butterfly wool
    wall hanging. I loved embellishing it with beads and using a variety of stitches.
    Your videos are invaluable! I am keeping my fingers crossed for this giveaway. I’ve had my eye on one of these frames for quite some time.

    706
  654. My favorite project is the one that my grandmother started me on – a little pillow case with blue birds!

    707
  655. I think my favorite piece would have to be one of my earliest pieces. It was an owl done in crewel on a Blue-green fabric almost looks me burlap. A long time ago. I have good memories of sitting on my Granma’s porch in Ft Worth stitching it for her as a special gift. She loved birds and her very favorite was Owls. The piece was in the 60’s/70’s colors and she just loved it. She hung it right by the front door so everyone could see it. It was there for you bet 30 years is nail the house burned down. I get such a good feeling just remembering how much I enjoyed stitching it for her and how much joy it gave her. She and my mother taught me to sew and Stitch when I was a little child.

    708
  656. My favorite was a small pillow I cross stitched and sewed up and gave to my grandmother when I was a young girl. She always kept it on the bed in the spare room, when she passed it was still there after 30 years. I now have it to keep on my spare bed. It wasn’t much but was one of the first pieces I ever stitched.

    709
  657. Most of my favorite needlework involves clothing. My first embroidery was chicken scratch embroidery on an apron for my mother, and embroidering flowers on the collars of my little sisters’ dresses. Probably the most memorable was the floral embroidery on a handmade bikini. My favorite might just be the gigantic metallic beetle I embroidered onto a shirt using waste canvas, but I’m looking forward to more projects to come.

    710
  658. Although I have many favorite pieces, the most enjoyable was “Nova” by Genny Morrow. It’s a copy of a mini quilt on canvas. I could not put it down!

    711
  659. Such a hard question! At the moment I would say Hazel Blomkamp’s Late Harvest piece, which I stitched following a workshop with her at Koala Convention, in Brisbane in 2015. I loved the whole process of stitching it, really enjoyed attaching all the beads, and am so happy with the finished piece. It is a joy to look at and was a complete joy to embroider.

    712
  660. My favorite was done on black satin many years ago for my mother for Christmas- and I, being a silly teenager, barely started, so I literally sat up all of Christmas Eve to complete it in time for Christmas morning. Not a “stitch of sleep”!!! But I did finish, and it is a lovely memory. Unfortunately moths got in behind the frame and destroyed the piece about 20 yrs. ago. 🙁

    713
  661. I made a red worked angel with a Halo, holding a little cat with a Halo and it says”best friends forever”

    714
  662. My favorite needle-work project that I stitched was a miniature version of a 17th century casket. I loved stitching the whimsical animals and using the bright colored threads. I learned so much while making it. I’m now working on a large one that’s historically accurate in size. I would love one of Mythic Craft’s beautiful slate frames to work on. What craftsmanship. Just wonderful!

    715
  663. OOOoooo. I remember that review! What a great giveaway. My favorite needlework ever is a crewelwork pillow I did for my mom. I was having trouble in high school my junior year (rubbing shoulders with the “wrong” crowd), so my mom talked to my typing teacher and asked if she’d teach me embroidery and crewelwork. I’d go over to Mrs. Kates house once a week after school and learn from her. Of course, I couldn’t have known how much that craft would feed me until many years later. (When I was older, I wrote Mrs. Kates to tell her how grateful I was for the time I had with her. She died of cancer many years ago.) The pillow I worked on is one I’ve searched and searched for throughout the years; I remember it had squares and each square was a different motif featuring a basic crewel stitch, so similar to a crewelwork sampler. It was so fun to stitch and really beautiful. I just have this feeling that someday I’m going to find the original kit again. Time will tell….

    716
  664. Hi, Mary,

    My all time favorite needlework project is a name tag wherein I decided that I did not have to slavishly follow the official instructions, but could adapt and add elements (a caterpillar ) and no one would fuss at me.

    Seems silly now, but at the time I thought I had to do the project “right”.

    717
  665. My favorite project is an ornament from 2007 by Charlotte’s Web. It is a mini band sampler in the shape of a round ornament. I stitched it in the original colors for myself, then did it in eight different color ways for gifts. It was so fun choosing the different color combinations, and by the time I’d finished, I could do all of the included special stitches very quickly.

    Patti in Cincinnati

    718
  666. I love doing counted thread work. My favorite project was a free 24 month project from Papillon Creations called Around the World in 80 Stitches. I loved working on all the different stitches from different parts of the world.

    719
  667. Hi Mary and thanks for all these give away.
    My favorite project I have worked on and finished up to now is the Fandango design by Barbara Kershaw, a Canadian designer and teacher. It is a whitework project consisting of Punto antico. It took me hours to complete it over more than a year. But it was so satisfying to see the project grow. I finished it as the original into a band that I slid onto a cushion. It looks great in my living room and it impresses every visitor. But I am the first impressed with the look of it, thanks to Barbara, to her design and patient teaching.

    720
  668. My favorite project was a needle book with an embroidered garden on the front. It won a blue ribbon at the fair and best of show.

    721
  669. My all time favorite project involved 12 mini projects. A friend gave me a teapot shaped picture frame and I needlepointed a piece for each month. I just loved it! Plaids, stripes, santa, mermaid – quite the variety of subject matter. I still look forward to the beginning of each month to change the insert.

    722
  670. I would love to have a slate frame. I have never used one before and it is so generous of you to offer one. My favorite needlework project is a cross-stitched one, Summertime by Lanarte. It is dis6layed in my living room.

    723
  671. ‘The Holy Family’ that I did for my husband and one I did for my mother many years ago, it is a sampler all in different shades of blue on white cloth, because my mother loves blue and white.

    724
  672. Sweet giveaway! Thanks! My favorite needlework, and what I’m most comfortable with, is cross stitch. It moves along so fast and you see such quick results!

    725
  673. All time favorite stitched piece? Easy, the eagle I stitched for my husband when he retired from the Air Force after serving 30 years.

    726
  674. Oh. Wow. What a FANTASTIC gift for someone, thanks to you and to Mark at Mythic Crafts!

    My favorite project so far was the Christmas stocking I made our oldest son. It was mostly cross stitch but it included some other stitches and some specialty threads. It turned out beautifully.

    727
  675. Thanks for another wonderful give away! My favorite stitching project was a “Victorian Ladies” crazy quilt.

    728
  676. Ooo, I want to talk about my fave project(s). (They really go together, so I’m going to mention both.)

    I did a couple of needlepoint Christmas stockings for my parents. I think Mom was kind of floored when she got her’s. Dad’s was the next year so he kind of knew what was coming. 🙂

    729
  677. My favorite project I’ve ever stitched are the handkerchiefs I’ve embroidered for friends. They are embroidered with my friend’s initials and an image meaningful to them, such as an anchor or a paint palette. They’re small, but have brought me the most happiness in my embroidery.

    730
  678. Favorite? You want me to have -one- favorite???? How about a series – I’m still working on some the “Marbek” angels on and off!

    731
  679. My all time favourite stitched piece is a fairly large coastal scene, with waves crashing on rocks, a light house and sunset sky(or sunrise) it has lots of blended threads and the colour gradations are amazing, one of the very few pieces I’ve kept for myself, and it’s on the wall in my tv/stitching room so I see it every day… and it’s still my pride and joy.

    732
  680. These are beautiful looking slate frames, I remember the review you did on Mikes gorgeous boxes a while ago and these look equally well made and cared for as well. I’d love a slate frame, having never had one before and these have such a good setup method that they don’t seem nearly so daunting as I feared and with a quicker assembly I’d be embroidering sooner, which is the whole point. There’s no downside to these lovely frames, my fabric wouldn’t need endless tightening, which I’m sure we are all sick to death of, I’d be stitching my (hopefully) beautiful embroidery in an equally beautiful slate frame, personalized to boot, which I don’t think I’d ever get tired of being excited over. Win, win, happy me. Mary where would we be without you to show is these gorgeous things and educate us as well?

    733
  681. The most fun project I ever stitched was the one I made for my grandson. It was a Crabapple Hill pattern that I bought 20 years ago, thinking I would make it for my daughter. Well, time slipped away, and I found myself needing to stitch something for her first baby. Using 6 of the blocks from the quilt, I stitched them in colors to match the nursery. Choosing the fabrics and the right thread colors and the right crayon colors was all very time consuming, but I loved every minute. I was in my stitching room every minute I could steal. I embellished the sashing with embroidery, too, and learned a few new stitches from your videos for that purpose. When it was done, I was inwardly bursting with pride. I have to say, it is beautiful, and my daughter was amazed. My grandson is now 3, and still has to have that blanket in his crib. I will always remember the joy I felt while making it.

    734
  682. There are many favorites, but perhaps my most favorite is Ann Strite-Kurz’s adaptation of Charley Harper’s Bi-r-r-rd Bath. Counted canvaswork. Fun and lots of learning and really lots of beads.

    736
  683. My all time favorite needlework project is the one I am currently working on. It is a Rocky Mountain themed quilt I started two years ago. It was a mystery row quilt and along the way I had the chance to do thread/needle painted embroidery of six wildflowers that grow in the Rocky Mountains. Another row I thread/needle painted pine cones, pine boughs and chickadees. I am hand quilting it and have one more row to do before putting it all together. This will be the largest project I have ever done.

    Thank you Mary for this fun contest, you are one neat lady.

    739
  684. My all time favorite piece would have to be a cross stitch project from Stoney Creek designs called “The Tapestry of My Life” . It took nearly a year to finish but it holds a special meaning to me because of what it says.

    740
  685. My all time favorite project was one I designed. It was a Norwegian blessing I cross stitched for my sister. It was in Norwegian. After I finished I could recite the prayer. I still can 20 years later.

    741
  686. My favorite is a cross stitch magnolia that I did for my mom. She’s gone now, but that piece is on my bedroom wall and I see it every day and think of her.

    742
  687. Wow, what a wonderful giveaway! I’m so new to embroidery to have that masterpiece that is my favorite, but to date it is a Pall I made for a seminarian being Ordained next year. First off, something I made will serve a wonderful purpose, and secondly, it was trying this with all of Mary’s wonderful instruction and information that made me realize I could actually embroider. I never thought I could. Thanks Mary and all your “friends” who inspire me with their comments!

    743
  688. So far my favorite stitching project is “Apricot Delight” – a needlepoint piece designed by Marni Ritter. It is divided into assymetrical sections, and each section is a combination of 2-3 stitches, colors, etc. Such fun to stitch and watch “happen.” So far my favorite “stitch” is a tiny tassell about 1/2″ long – too cute!

    744
  689. Every piece stitched is my favorite at the finish. I would say my first piece is my favorite because it started me on such a wonderful journey and a lifelong
    joy of learning and creating with thread.

    745
  690. Dear Mary,
    A major thankyou to both you and Mark for this chance to be part of this wonderful give away.

    My all-time favorite needlework project that I have ever stitched!!!! That is tough as there are a couple that really count. I will pick out one – a large initial J in script. I drew it by hand and planned the colours and stitches that I would use. I did a lot of research before starting looking at illuminated alphabets, (which lead me along a few other paths as well 🙂 )embroidered monograms, and stitches. Then going through my yarns I used mainly perle silk and stranded silk. It only took me a few weeks to stitch. It is now framed and hanging on our bedroom wall.

    Thanks again Mary for a Stitcher’s Christmas 🙂

    Cheers Judy

    746
  691. I guess my favorite stitched item would be a Victoria Sampler design, Heirloom Wedding Sampler. I have made three so far, two were gifts and one was a commission piece. For the two that were gifts, I took out some of the designs and replaced them with their wedding invitation. I don’t even have a single wedding piece for myself!! Well, you’re probably familiar with the story of the cobbler’s children walking around shoeless!!

    747
  692. My all time favorite stitchery project so far is a Hardanger stitchery that hangs in my bathroom.

    748
  693. My favorite project was on of my very first ones. It was for my granddaughter after she was born. First initials and flowers.

    749
  694. My overall favorite stitching project is one of the first embroideries I ever made. I sketched by hand the book-cover of an Eric Wilson book (The Elizabethan Tree/Garden w little creatures sitting in it). Had so much fun teaching myself turkey-stitch so the squirrel & bunny would have a fluffy tail.

    750
  695. My favorite project is a Crazy Quilt wall hanging I made. It was so much fun picking out all the threads, ribbons, laces, and other embellishments to go on it. I loved the creativity it encouraged.

    751
  696. I loved stitching Jane Nicholas ‘s “Lifecycle of the Swallowtail Butterfly.”
    It was stumpwork using lots of techniques and the final picture told a beautiful story of life. I gave the finished picture to my sister for her 50 th birthday.

    752
  697. I cross stitched the Van Gogh picture Starry Night. It was a counted project which completely covered the entire area of the picture. I loved how it came out and I still get many compliments for it.

    753
  698. That’s a hard one. I just got back into embroidery about a year ago after searching the web looking to refresh my memory about all the different stitches. I came across Mary’s site and spent the next two days reading her articles of the stitches and watching her videos. I mostly make quilts and needed a brake. I forgot how much I missed doing embroidery. Back in the day, I embroidered on most of my denim.
    I signed up for Mary’s newsletter and printed out many of her embroidery tutorials. I have made many hoop art embroidery pictures of story book art for my little nieces & nephews. My next project is more involved it’s a Brazilian Embroidery design named Flower Dancer. If I run into a problem I know I can search Mary’s tutorials and get reacquainted again.
    Thank you for having this give away.
    I would love to be an owner of this Slate Frame.

    756
  699. Has to be the Christmas tree I stitched on the airplane on the way to my first visit to Paris!!

    757
  700. My favorite piece is an accordion book I designed and made 2 years ago. There’s 6 Christmas trees (pages) that I decorated with trims, beads, embroideries, charms, and fancy threads. The trees are red, green, white, gold, blue, and cream. Each tree had only one color embellishment, ie green tree with gold trimmings. The trees are pine tree profiles that are whip stitched together at the bottom edges.
    Barb

    758
  701. I would absolutely love to own one of these frames. Thank you both for this opportunity.

    My all-time favourite embroidery project is one where I embroidered over an indigo-dyed piece from Arlee Barr in Canada. I loved it so much I hung it on our wall.

    759
  702. My favorite needle work project is the first one I designed myself for a needlepoint class focused on samplers. I did a stitch sampler with a modern design in my favorite colors.

    761
  703. A black blazer that I embroidered on the lapels is my favorite needle work project. It is done in beautiful silk ribbon embroidery. I worked on it while I waited for my sister who was receiving chemo and radiation for two types of Breast cancer. I put all my love and hope for her in every stitch. It has been nine years and she is still with us.

    762
  704. Thank you for the opportunity to win this fabulous slate frame… My all time favorite (to date) needlework project was a series of needle books all with embroidered covers done in both thread and silk ribbon embroidery.

    763
  705. My all time favourite has got to be my first project as an adult. I did some needlepoint as a teenager and then forgot about it for 15 years. Then I took a class at the RSN where we made a needle case with a variety of stitches such as french knots and spider web roses – I was beyond delighted with my efforts and thought I had died and gone to heaven!

    764
  706. My all time favorite stitching project would be the crewelwork sampler I did with my mother when I was 12 yrs old, still a child but on the doorstep to teenage-dome. We worked it together in the late afternoons after I arrived home from school. I would sit at the table and stitch and my mother would help with difficult areas and stitches. It was my time with mother. We finished in time to send it off to my grandparents for Christmas.
    My grandmother hung it on the wall where it stayed until she died. I have several photos where you can see it in the background in that place of honor.
    I will always cherish those moments with my mother!

    765
  707. I was thrilled with my efforts with my arm chair caddy stitched in the Brazilian style. It is on permanent display.

    767
  708. Amazing woodwork, and a beautiful frame and needle minder! My fave project so far was Alison Cole’s Royal Butterfly project. I loved the mix of thread painting and gold/metal threads work. It never got boring!

    769
  709. I followed a needlepoint pattern for a very unique Whippet dog that my son owned.
    I changed the pattern a bit to exactly match “Henry”–giving him the smile and matching his color. I even took him to the needleworks store and matched the yarn to this exceptional dog. When my son left to go to medical school, Henry became my dog. He was a beloved member of the family until he was over 19 years old! But that needlepoint pillow in a chair in our living room is a reminder of that very special dog. So I think that needlepoint project may well be my favorite embroidrey projrct…

    770
  710. I don’t know if it qualifies exactly as a needlework project, but the thing that I am most proud of making by hand was a handsewn, embroidered, and tatted baptism gown and slip for our youngest child. It’s lovely and as the youngest in my family, I know she will especially appreciate having something that was made just for her and wasn’t a hand-me-down from her four older brothers and sisters.

    I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be the winner of the frame. I have a goldwork project that I’m waiting to start until I get a frame to work it on!

    Love your blog so much Mary!
    Blessings,
    Carrie PlaneNut

    771
  711. My all time favorite project was a winter scene of Clydesdales pulling a wagon/sled full of hay in needlepoint. It was a gift for my father who raised these beautiful horses and took four years to complete. I think it’s the fact that I completed such a tedious piece. Done in the80’s….long time ago.

    772
  712. This is like asking which child is my favourite! However, unlike with children, my choice is unlikely to harm my needlework. I think my favourites are the appliqued curtains I stitched for my first apartment with great big, sixties pop flowers on a white background. The sun shining through those flowers made that tiny attic apartment a garden.

    773
  713. My favorite would be a rainbow and cloud that I embroidered on a pair of denim bib overalls that I used to wear back in the 70’s!!! I loved those overalls and the embroidery just mad them so mine!!!!!!

    776
  714. My all-time favorite needlework project I stitched was a sampler over 45 years ago. While it was never framed, it has survived at least a half dozen moves, a house fire, and more. It was a very rudimentary project but it was my introduction to experimenting with various stitches and colors.

    777
  715. My all-time favorite project was my goldwork fleur de lys that I stitched as my class project at the Royal School of Needlework.

    778
  716. Embroidered quilt blocks for a breast cancer awareness quilt, in honor of a friends courageous fight against cancer. It is my favorite because it made her happy.

    Dianne

    779
  717. My favourite needlework project that I have ever stitched would be a Heaven and Earth Design Cross Stitch. It was an extremely challenging project mainly due to the size of the project and the number of threads involved. I learnt many lessons with this project like how to easily begin a thread, how to park threads and how to organise so many threads. I loved working on this project. It was something that I truly looked forward to spending time on each day, even if I only had time for a few minutes. I loved how the design developed and came to life. I loved the incredible detail and I loved seeing how so many different coloured threads could bring the project to life and give it such vibrancy. This has been my favourite project.

    780
  718. My favourite project (so far) has been a re-creation of the Loara Standish sampler (ca. 1640) – it’s totally reversible and was an absolute delight to stitch. A slate frame was a must for this project!

    781
  719. My all time favorite project(s) are the Christmas stockings I have stitched for my family. I love looking at them every single Christmas!

    782
  720. Maybe it sounds silly, but I think it is the school sample sewing book with crooked and uneven stitches, gingham placemat with buttonhole stitch appliqued fish and herringbone hems from class and a felt finger puppet I designed myself that have survived from my Primary school days. Thankfully my Mum and I at various times of moving, have been sentimental enough not to have disposed of them. 40 something years later, they are a reminder of where it all began, and how far I have travelled in my stitching journey and also how the products we have to stitch with have changed in that time as well.

    783
  721. My absolute fave needlework piece is my very first Crazy Quilt, completed in 2000-2001. It took Best in Class and a Special Judges’ Award out of 340 entries at the Marin Quilt Show in 2001. At 32 x 32″, it is titled ‘A Travel Journal’. Everywhere I went, each major family event that occurred during that time was memorialized on the quilt. Flowers in a garden we visited, native plants by a stream, insects and the night sky in Yosemite, my son’s exchange trip to England, the hanging plants above my in-law’s deck, and most especially, the spreading of my husband’s ashes over the Hudson River. I had never done any silk ribbon or fine border embroidery before launching into this piece, which I carried (and worked on) everywhere. Judith Montano’s VHS tape and book were my guides. It isn’t just a stitching piece, it’s a slice of memory and time.

    785
  722. I had fun stitching a series of 1950’s dresses for a quilt. I customized the colors to match my project and the stitching was easy, but fun to finish.

    786
  723. One of my favorite projects was a cross stitched nativity ornament set I gave to my Mom for Christmas years ago. We still hang them on her tree every year. It may have been one of my first projects, but my family still enjoys seeing them every Christmas.

    787
  724. My favorite project was my first crewel work. It was a long Jacobean design with all kinds of wonderful colors. The directions were excellent and included detailed descriptions of the stitches. It took me two years off and on to finish, but the project hooked me on embroidery. And that was only the beginning.

    788
  725. My favorite needlework project that I have stitched is Mary Hurst by the Scarlet Letter. It is full of specialty stitches and I learned so much from stitching her.

    789
  726. My favorite project is still in the works. A round tablecloth with an Easter theme. I have been working on it on and off for about 3 years It’s about half done. I knew it was ambitious, but I love working on it. It makes me very happy.

    790
  727. The project that to date that I have found most challenging and rewarding is ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ by Jenny Adin Christie. It is amazing and allows you to put your own spin on it.

    791
  728. I love Elsa Williams vintage Jacobean Crewel kits. The designs are always interesting and fun to stitch. I would enjoy using a slate frame to work up one of the several kits I have acquired.

    792
  729. Hi Mary

    My all time favourite at the moment is a set of table napkins called ‘Still Life’ from Inspirations magazine No 8. I’m just stitching the last one in the set of 4 and hope to have it finished in time for Christmas.

    Regards
    Delia

    794
  730. Two years ago I stitched a design based on a drawing in the book by Johanna Basford’s “Secret Garden”. It was a ring with leaves and flowers and I used only blue and green color. I emailed the pictures of it to the Inspirations Magazine and it was included in Embroidery News Issue 43 May 16 2016. That made me very happy. Happy Holidays !

    795
  731. I think my all time favorite was a crewel picture of violets for my mother about 40 years ago. It was my second crewel piece and the sentimental value outweighs almost everything else. It is still hanging in her house where my youngest brother is living. They treasure it also.

    796
  732. I made A Barbie dress and cross stitched a simple pattern across the hem of the dress. At the time it was a challenge because I was only 9 years old. I still have the tiny gingham dress.

    799
  733. Hi Mary,
    I am finding it hard to pick a single project as my favourite. That is because the pieces I treasure the most are those that represent a moment in time that I like to re-visit, perhaps the shaded Blackwork portrait of my Mum’s cat Skunk sits top of the list. It was a birthday gift for a celebration that may never have happened due to serious illnesses – both for my Mum and myself. Sentimental aren’t I!
    Merry Xmas
    Chris

    800
  734. One of my favorites is the huge kimono with a bunch of different stitches. I like to look at all of the different patterns in it.

    801
  735. Needlepoint piece of a book cover with California poppies that I designed and stitched and gave away to a friend many years ago. I haven’t done any needlepoint in sometime and it is one of my favorite types of embroidery, so I need to design something new to stitch. Slate frames would be lovely to own. Thank you and Merry Christmas.

    802
  736. My favorite is a sampler I stitched for my Mother. It was designed by a good friend and I was able to attach tiny sea shells that my Dad had collected on trips he and Mom had taken to Florida. Lots of good memories stitched into that piece.

    803
  737. What a beautiful piece of woodwork, never mind being functional. My favorite needlework piece that I have made would be a large sampler with inter Alia a peacock, intricately curving wrought iron gates, pulled thread work and beadwork.

    804
  738. The best project I ever embroidered was a father Christmas for my daughter. She had just moved into a tiny studio apartment and had no space for a tree. I embroidered a 3d Santa for her. It was done on white felt with ribbon embroidery flowers. She loved and used him for many many years .

    805
  739. Favorite item stitched is a series of Winnie the Pooh pictures for my grand daughters room. How fun!

    806
  740. My all-time favorite needlework project that I have ever stitched is the one I am currently working on call Mother’s Tree by Lavender and Lace. It is a cross stitch family tree that will have 9 generations of my grandmothers on it.

    807
  741. Generally, my favourite is always the project I just started, and my least fave the one I’m 3/4 through and think I’ll never finish 🙂
    I made a Hardanger teacosy for my mom once. That worked out well.
    Thank you for this competition series!

    809
  742. My favourite piece is the first one I designed myself (and, coincidentally, the first one I made on a slate frame). It’s an abstract piece based on tree bark.

    810
  743. Wow, I’d love one of these slate frames.

    My favourite stitching project is probably the first one I ever stitched. It’s a tiny little pot pourri sachet with a cross stitch rose motif. I didn’t really know what I was doing so the tension is awful, I used knots to start my thread, and I didn’t cross all my stitches the same way. But I am so proud of my 14 year old self for finishing it, and for starting a long-term love of stitching.

    811
  744. My favourite was a sweete bag with a Charles Rennie Mackintosh rose, designed by Jenny Adin-Christie for me. I stitched it as a big birthday present for my oldest friend, as we are both Glaswegians and love CRM.

    812
  745. My favourite piece ever is my Alpine Sampler, a stumpwork, silk and goldwork sampler designed by Jenny Adin-Christie. It was challenging, but I just love it.

    813
  746. Favourite project ever? That’s tricky because I’ve done so many over the years. Currently the one that most pleases me is the little dragon I stitched in silk thread this summer. Great fun to do, I learnt a lot in the process, and I am more that happy with the resulting picture. A good slate frame would have helped a lot with that project, come to think of it. Fingers crossed….

    814
  747. I think my favourite project of all time would be anyone I get to finish w/o having some sort of blooper! Either from cat, human, or…whatever else seems to wind up on it!

    815
  748. My favourite project is a scene of a shearing shed I completed for my mother. Her father was a shearer and this picture brings her many happy memories. It was very fine work and took over a year to complete.

    816
  749. Many years ago when the Needlework shop in Regent Street,London, was still open I bought a large Danish kit of London 1616. It depicts the original London bridge, made of wood with houses all along it. It cost an absolute fortune ( I was a young wife and mother) but my husband treated me to it. It took nearly 20 years to finish it . It measures 20″ x 15″ , on 32 count linen and is completely covered in cross stitch. It is now on my sitting room wall .

    817
  750. Hi Mary,

    Thanks for such a wonderful giveaway! My favorite all time project is an Elsa Williams kit my grandmother had started but did not finish. After she passed away, my mother gave it to me. I completed the project and gave it to my mother at Christmas. So I guess that project is my sentimental favorite!

    818
  751. Generally, I love most whatever I’m working on at the moment. However, I love the Sunflower that I cross-stitched designed byDonna V. Giampa so much that I did two of them. Now I’m stitching Capucines (design by Catherine Laurencon) and learning how to do long and short stitch.

    819
  752. My favorite needlework project I stitched was a cross stitch Christmas stocking I stitched for my first child. I had never cross stitched before but happened upon a Dimensions kit on sale for 5 dollars so I bought it. Not only did the stocking turn out beautifully but the 5 dollar kit gave me a wonderful hobby.

    820
  753. My all time favourite would have to be Emperor’s Goldfish a project I completed at an Avril Ambrose-de Havilland workshop at Beating around the Bush in Adelaide some years ago. It features goldwork, use of hand dyed rayon thread and organza. The tutor was very skilled, relaxed and encouraging, the project covered a number of skills and techniques I had not met before and I had my piece finished after a week. I love the light and movement in the piece which is still very much admired.
    Thanks Mary for the opportunity to enter this give away for those beautifully hand crafted needle work items.

    821
  754. My favorite project is an EGA Correspondence Course “Meadow Medley” by Luann Callery. It is a wildflower bouquet with stumpwork..

    822
  755. My favorite is the counted cross stitch I am working on now. I am working a pattern that is from one of my photos. This is the first one that I tried and I am so excited to see how well it is turning out. The picture is of our first parrot who passed away last December. Thankfully we have been adopted and blessed with another.

    824
  756. Gosh Mary, that is a tough question! But rightly so, with such an amazing prize! The most proud I have ever been of a completed needlework piece, was in January this year, when I finished a Dimemsions cross stitch kit, called Guardian of the Sea. I was commissioned to complete it, by the daughter of the stitcher who had started it, but passed away before completing the piece. I was so honoured to be able to work on something so precious, and signed the piece with the initials of the two stitchers who had worked it. It is gorgeous, and I will always be proud of the labour of love it was for both of us.

    825
  757. Hard to choose this one…but I think my favourite was a small linen piece on which I stitched dandelion seed flowers. It was sewn while on a family holiday and I made it into a purse to hold special thimbles.

    826
  758. My most favorite project was aHardenger apron,done on white even weave fabric. I still like to do hardener but I also enjoy thread painting. Thank you Mary for all your wonderful knowledge that you so generously share with all the rest of us!
    Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year to you and yours.

    827
  759. All time favorite? Wait, wait… I just got started this year! My favorite is when I can do a row on the Kaleidoscopes that looks good! Wish I had learned all this when I was much younger, but now is my time……I’m going for the gusto!!! Thanks Mary.

    828
  760. I am a novice embroiderer, I am currently stitching the Home Sweet Home Workbox by Carolyn Pearce.I am having fun stitching the panels and learning the stitches thanks to Needle’n Thread tutorials. Thank you Mary for helping me to learn.

    829
  761. My favorite picture I have ever stitched was a panoramic view of Jerusalem that I found on the Web that was the view from our hotel when we visited. It even won best in show at our local fair. It became a present for my brother’s 10th anniversary in the ministry as he was the reason we went to Israel after his gradulation from the seminary.

    830
  762. My all time favourite needlework project was stitching a Protea for my husband. It was my first attempt at long and short stitch and my husband was thrilled with the results (I was too). Cheers Helen from Queensland

    831
  763. My all time favourite embroidery project was hardanger finger pin cushions because, ally were very simple, I smiled all the time I was sewing them and still smile when I see them.

    832
  764. An embroidered handbag for my Aunt for her 90th birthday. She had been there for me as a child growing up. What better gift for someone who gave me so much love and understanding than a gift from the heart and hands.

    833
  765. My favorite project of all time was a series of small individual crewel “veggie” pictures I stitched as a teenager. They hung in my mother’s kitchen for years. Today they hang in my daughter’s kitchen. She is as proud of them as the day I finished stitching them! That project started my stitching passion!

    834
  766. Mary, Thanks to you and Mark for another incredible giveaway offer!

    And another hard question — what’s my all-time favorite needlework project? Very hard to say — different ones for different reasons. For today, I’ll say Emie Bishop’s “Unfinished Sampler” (Cross ‘N Patch), because that’s the project that pushed my skills to another level. Also because when I picked it up again after a long hiatus, I did a lot of the stitching during a family read-a-loud of the Harry Potter books, and rejoined some stitching friends (lost them when a local stitching store closed) at a local sit-stitch. Lots of memories tied up in this one!

    835
  767. i would have to say that at this point my favorite embroidery piece was A Perfect World. i enjoyed all the flowers and bugs!

    836
  768. Isn’t that a little bit like asking which is your favorite child? Actually, my favorite piece of needlework isn’t one that I stitched, but that was stitched for me. For our 25th anniversary, my husband, who had never stitched a stitch in his life, designed and worked a sampler for me. Our daughter, who is quite a stitcher in her own right, taught him the basics–and he took off with it. He said he knew how much needlework has added to my life, and that an embroidered work would mean more to me than anything else–and he was right!

    837
  769. Not long after my Dad died, my Mom gave me a light weigh denim shirt to embroider. She loves lilacs, so I put a little spray between the snaps; koala bears on each sleeve; interwoven border designs around the cuff stitching, making thing up as I went. When I began on the yoke, I just let the shirt guide me. I thought of flowers & birds & trees.
    The shirt wanted a person walking a long path that wound into the horizon, alone. 26 years later, the shirt knew what her life would be. She had lots of friends & joy thru those 26 years, but her greatest joy was not there.
    I just spent a month with my Mom, helping her to heal & move to California, and there was that shirt, still looking good. I am guessing that she didn’t wear it much over the past, because of the design. It did get packed to go with her, in her new life.

    838
  770. My favorite needlework project was a sewing Hussif with embroidery and silk ribbon work. Hidden in the embroidery is a small motif I added for my husband and each of my children based on each of their interests. I now have it with me to use as I work on all of my other embroidery projects.

    839
  771. Hi Mary! My favourite project I’ve ever stitched was a layette for my daughter before she was born. I stitched her initials and small designs on her sheets, muslins, and onesies and I still treasure them. x

    840
  772. A pair of counted cross stitch pics featuring strawberry recipes. They were sampler style with recipe in center and strawberries with vines as outside borders.

    841
  773. I think this frame is so much more convenient than the hoops for embroidery. I’ve started using art canvas frames with thumb tacks or stitching the fabric around it, but it’s course. This one is elegant.

    842
    1. I forgot to add my favorite project has been a needlepoint angel embellished with surface embroidery.

  774. I would love the opportunity of owning this beautiful slate frame. I have not worked on one, so it would be a wonderful tool to have. Thanks.

    843
  775. My favorite project to stitch was a chocolate sampler by Nancy Cucci. Each box was its own little mini picture.

    844
  776. I think my favorite thing I have ever stitched would have been the bird picture I did for my mother many years ago. It had an owl on it and that is her favorite bird. Lots of different stitches helped to pull it all together.

    845
  777. The thing I loved making the most was the children’s book from the Inspirations magazine, I love the little mouse it is so cute. I am currently working on the Thistle Thteads 17th century casket and the slate frame would be fabulous for doing this.

    846
  778. My all time favorite project is “Puzzle Pieces” by J. H. Murawski. This was a class at the 2009 EGA Seminar. The piece used many Jean Hilton stitches which were often layered. I amazed myself by finishing it in less than three months. “Puzzle Pieces” is framed and hanging in a place of honor.

    847
  779. So far my most favourite piece is Trillium by Alison Cole.
    It involved Stumpwork, needle lace, goldwork and came out fabulously. I would post a photo if I knew how. Other than that what ever I am working on tends to be my favourite.

    848
  780. My favorite project was the kit from a class I took through the Royal School Of Needlework out of San Francisco. I was looking forward to the class and I was not disappointed. The project reminds me of the wonderful experience I had.

    849
  781. My all time favorite needlework project worked on is the project that I am currently working on. It is a block of the month appliqué work done with wool fabrics that gets embellished with embroidery stitches in various kinds of threads. I love working with wool and seeing the blocks come together layer by layer is so much fun, but adding the embroidery is what makes these blocks. It always amazes me what a little bit of the right thread can do! Thank you for the opportunity of winning a great prize! Would love to have such a beautiful frame!

    850
  782. My favorite project was likely a large Kaffe Fassett needlepoint of autumn leaves (from Ehrman Tapestry) because, despite its size, I was sorry to see it end. The soft colors were so peaceful to work.

    851
  783. The slate frame is gorgeous! Thanks to you and Mark Harris for this Christmas offering. I embroidered an icon of Saint Nina for a SIL–a first time attempt for such fine work without instructions and it turned out well. That has to be my favorite because it was such a surprise. Whoda thunk I could stitch like that?

    852
  784. My all-time favorite needlework project would have to be a needlepoint vest done in a knitted stitch depicting various needlework tools.

    853
  785. A friend of mine and I worked together on a project for a silent auction. It was fun figuring out how to bring our two unique styles together.
    Thask for the giveaway!

    854
  786. Galic Gold a class piece by Jean Taggert. It is still one of my favs, hangs with 3of my original designs.

    855
  787. Ooh, a slate frame! I have always wanted to try one.
    My all time favorite project is a needlepoint cushion that I gave to my mother when I was in high school. It’s ivory wool with a variety on stitches in concentric squares. She loves texture on decorative items, and she must like this one because she still has it in her apartment at 90 years old.
    I enjoyed stitching the project because of the variety of stitches, and I also love it because I associate it with my mother’s living rooms over the years.

    857
  788. My favorite, although it is not finished, is a crazy quilt block for my sister. I designed a block that has the letter O for her last name and morning glories. It will be beautiful when it is finished. I hope that she loves it as much as I do.

    858
  789. Mary,
    I did embroidery as a young girl, and then not a lot until recently I have picked it up again. But I did complete a dresser scarf at that time, and I was really proud of my accomplishment.
    I am a quilter now, but find that I really am enjoying hand embroidery in the evenings. I have purchased three of your ebooks and look forward to doing them in the coming days.

    Thank you Mary, you are really an inspiration.

    859
  790. One of my favorite projects was a cross stich design from a magazine. It has two birds on it that are holding a thread that says Whistle While you Work. It’s just cute and I turned it into a bag to carry projects I’m working on.

    860
  791. Several years back, I created a montage of my husband’s military career. To this day, he still hangs it in his office!

    861
  792. My favorite needlework piece is actually the Jacobean Tree of Life pillow I finished in October. It was a printed design. No chart or instructions. So I got out all types of embroidery threads – mostly perle cotton and stitched away. I used every interesting stitch I could think of. There is a fair amount of variegated thread. There is a bird, butterfly, dragonfly, owl, squirrel, bunny and lamb. They were all fun to stitch. But the favorite was the lamb. Tiny French knots from nose to tail.

    862
  793. My all time favourite project! I love my Nancy Nicholson Kit Long Tail Bird. I loved the variety of stitches and how it stitched up so quickly. I did a few variations to stitches and treads of course!

    863
  794. I used my mom’s high school picture from the 1940s to design a stitched picture of her face. She loved the gift.

    864
  795. My favorite project is a silk shading piece: a pansy, for my RSN Certificate. I very much enjoyed blending different shades of purple, violet, and lavender .

    Thank you, Mary, for another great give away!

    865
  796. My major and masterpiece work so far were 6 needlepoint dining room chair seats on blank canvases. It took me 3 years, but the Victorian style parrots were worth it. I sure could have put that slate frame to good use and would love to use it on those Christmas trees.

    866
  797. I have 2,the stump work goldfish that was a GCC from EGA, and the other is a Lavender and Lace cross stitched piece called my guardian angel. I actually have many more that I treasure . I love surface stitching and a slate frame would be the ultimate tool to have !

    867
  798. My favourite project of all time… difficult, but I think I would have to say it’s my goldwork buffalo skull I created for a competition. Took me absolutely ages, and in the end I was sewing until 2.99 am in the morning to get it finished and in the post on time, but despite all that, I still love it! It’s about to be transferred onto a new backing and have some of our Harris Hawk’s tail feathers added, as a memorial to our lovely Alfie who died a while ago.

    868
  799. I think my favorite needlework project was my first project using long and short stitch. It was a crewel tree of life and I started it while attending the Elsa Williams School of Needlework back in the 70’s. Long and short stitch is still my favorite. I have been working on a couple of Trish Burr’s projects recently.

    870
  800. If we need a work project brings me joy so it’s difficult to choose just one. The one that sticks out in my mind as my favorite is a just recently finished needlepoint project. When I moved my mom to an assisted living facility earlier this year I found a crumpled faded needlepoint brillianty beautiful pansies that she had started when I was in high school. I knew she love the pattern but somehow could not bring myself to finish it. No she cannot stitch because of her Parkinson’s disease. I learned everything I know about needlepoint And freestyle hand embroidery from my mom and for 81st birthday I filled in the canvas with my own artwork in the places where it had faded and stitched it up for her. Tears filled my eyes as her face lit up when she opened the box. It brings me joy to see it when I visit her and we talk about the times we used to stitch together.

    871
  801. My all-time favorite needlework project has been a picture of sailing ships with their sails filled with different blackwork designs with gold colored accents. If tatting qualifies, I have done much more of that including hand sewing several “pin cushions” that are adorned with tatting for storing beautiful brooches on your dresser. I guess I can’t decide on only one all-time favorite. I expect to have many more favorites now that I’m reading your news and notes, Mary. Thank you for keeping so much information coming out to us.

    872
  802. Congrats to the goldwork winner. I have the brooch kit and it is lovely. My favourite piece is a wool bear embroidered with wool. The pattern for the bear and stitching was from Inspirations magazine.

    873
  803. My favorite stitching project is the wedding sampler I designed shortly after our marriage. It is approximately 15 x18 on fiddlers cloth. It had many elements that were special to us including pods of hanging raspberries along with lettering all done in DMC. I worked on for many years adding new bits as our lives evolved. It is my heirloom project.

    874
  804. My all-time favorite needlework project is a crazy quilt wall hanging with sections devoted to the women in my family–grandmother, mother, me, my sister, my daughter, and my niece. Each section is filled with stitches, motifs, buttons, and charms that represent events and personality of each woman.

    875
  805. Several years ago I did an online class with Sharon Boggon on freeform embroidery. The first assignment was to create a small work in a monochromatic color scheme. It’s amazing what you can do in shades of cream when there’s lots of interesting stitches and texture. To this day, that piece is my all-time favorite.

    876
  806. I have two favorites, one was a Lorna Bateman pin cushion for myself, turned great and a friend said you did not do that, it was a floral and very small. Second was a needlepoint project for a friend as a thank you gift, which I put in the lid of a wooden box. I would love to have a slate frame, which I read about some years ago, at that time had to be ordered from England, which I was never able to order.

    Thank you, Barbara

    877
  807. My all time favorite. That is a hard one! I guess I need to include a group. For years I have been making felt applique and beaded/sequin/embroidered Christmas stockings for my grandchildren and nieces and nephews. Up to fifteen now. They are fun and can be as easy or complicated as my heart (and time) desires. It is nice knowing they will have them for the rest of their lives and are one of a kind; made with love.

    878
  808. My favorite project was a butterfly i did in blackwork. it turned out beautifully
    but unfortunately lost to wildfire with the rest of my projects…

    880
  809. It’s hard to say what was my all time favorite needlework project. A favorite in terms of enjoyment in the stitching was a crewel piece designed by Erica Wilson entitled Country Life. It includes a scene of a house much like my own and many small animal, flower and insect motifs in a frame around the scene. It uses a wide variety of stitches which made it fun to stitch.

    881
  810. my all time favorite project that I stitched is a piece designed by Victoria’s samplers ,called the anniversary sampler. I did it for my and my husbands 35th anniversary. we have now been married 53 years.

    882
  811. A few years ago I did a Dracolair designed Christmas Stocking of a dragon dozing in front of a fireplace and its Christmas tree with presents under it. There were stockings hung from the fireplace complete with several fingers for the dragons claws. (It got a 2 place ribbon at the county fair that summer!

    883
  812. Last year I did a small hand embroidery of different types of ferns that I enjoy every time I look at it on my wall! That is my ‘current’ favorite project!

    884
  813. I spent 2016 creating a 23” x 19” Hardanger Wedding Sampler for a niece’s wedding. I used numerous (at least 11) patterns of small motifs, or parts, to design and create the sampler. There was Hardanger, cross stitch, embroidery and beading used. The finished result was amazing!

    886
  814. Probably my all time favorite needle work project is an appliqué quilt that I’m still working on. I love the design and colors, and my stitching is some of the best I’ve ever done.

    887
  815. My favorite of the ones i have stitched….it would have to be a band sampler that i did with quite a few blackwork bands, and some that were not purely blackwork. I enjoyed it immensely and to this day when i see it i always wonder if it was really me that stitched it!

    888
  816. I just finished a calico gardens project that I designed to incorporate a variety of techniques. I love the end product and it looks fantastic framed and hanging up on my wall!

    889
  817. I have always atmired the zebra swallowtail butterfly with it’s beautiful colors so I embroidered it on a nice piece of cotton using embroidery floss. Then put it on a frame.

    890
  818. The Wheelbarrow by Patrick’s Woods designs (Sherri Jones) is my all time favourite thing i stitched. It was a labour of love that i worked on at night when i had babies. I consider it my best piece!
    dq

    891
  819. My all time favorite project was by What Dalhia Did – it was a larger dragonfly that I stitched in metallic thread for my food friend who loves dragonflies.

    892
  820. I recently completed a Trish Burr needle painting project ‘Kingfisher with Chinese Flower.’ Such a joy to stitch; gorgeous colours, and my first attempt at irregular long and short stitch. I’m really pleased with the result. Thanks for the opportunity to win the frame, Mary. And Happy Christmas!

    893
  821. I can honestly say that I don’t have an all time favourite. I love most of the projects I do for many different reasons, including the look on someone’s face when I give one to someone who truly appreciates it (not everyone does, which is OK).

    894
  822. Happy holidays. And thanks to both of you for another great Christmas gift for someone. I think of all the handwork I have finished my favorite was an old Elsa Williams Crewel kit called Tree of Enchantment. A beautiful tree of life with owls, lambs, bunnies and other animals. I worked it with my mom showing me how to do all of the new stitches and that’s what made it special. It was my first venture into more complicated needlework and is still a favorite. I’ve just started the tulip kaleidoscope and am loving it.

    895
  823. Would have to be my hardanger tabletopper or the Norman Rockwell Santa done in Crewe that I did years ago. My husband made the frame for it and we hang it every year at Christmas.

    896
  824. Hi Mary.
    My favorite all time stitching project is a combination of Brazilian embroidery and quilting. It’s an appliqued basket filled with embroidered flowers. The background is quilted and is finished as a wall hanging.

    897
  825. It is so hard to choose! I learned the most from Tanja Berlin’s “Harebells”, having never done goldwork prior to that class, so it is very special to me. I’ve placed the framed piece on an easel on my great-grandmother’s hutch and it’s a stunning focal point in the room.

    898
  826. That’s tough question! I’d say the needlepoint project I’m working on right now…. a jack of hearts stitched in silk and ivory with lots of fun stitches. What great holiday giveaways!

    899
  827. “Tree of stitches” by Abi Gurden. I only cross stitched till then and she opened a whole new world to me.

    901
  828. My favourite piece of work is a cross stitch cockerill the colours are beautiful, the cockerill has a shadow and it looks so realistic.

    902
  829. Like everyone else, I find it hard to say which embroidery piece is my favorite. But one of my favorites is a Cross-Eyed Cricket sampler called “A Walk in the Woods” that I did in 1999. It is framed and on the wall and I still like looking at it every time I walk by it.

    Thank you Mary for these giveaways!

    903
  830. My favorite needlework project is Anne Maria Clarke, a reproduction sampler by The Essamplaire. Beautiful border with lots of queen stitches!

    904
  831. My favorite needlework project was a cluster of flowers and leaves on a kitchen towel for my mother.

    905
  832. I love needlepoint and haven’t done it yet. Love the beautiful pillows and pincushions that I’ve seen in magazines. On my bucket list for sure.

    906
  833. A white-on-white Christmas stocking with a touch of gold stitched on canvas. There were many different stitches and threads. And I made it for me rather than to give away!

    907
  834. My all time favorite was a rug for my miniature house. It measured 3 1/2″” x 5 1/2″ with a 3/4″ fringe on both ends. It was done in very tiny needlepoint. What made it so much fun was that it was done on 40 count silk gauze and DMC embroidery floss. The design was a very intricate Persian style using at least 20 different colors. Part way through I almost gave up but I persisted. I am so happy that I did . It is beautiful

    908
  835. My favorite needlework project was a set of tea towels that I embroidered with my mom’s help. It was my first major project and a favorite memory since it was a “Mom & Daughter” project.

    909
  836. My all time favorite project was a gift for my sister! I worked on the piece for over 6 months and gave it to her on her 50th birthday. It’s called “Hats” and it’s inspired by an old family photo of a great aunt with two friends, taken in the mid-30s. They are dressed to go out with fabulous hats, coats and muffs to keep their hands warm. I used a digital process to transfer the faces to silk fabric which I stitched to a vintage hankie. I then stitched their clothes, bodies etc with many different kinds of stitches. I loved making the piece and it’s still my favorite!

    910
  837. My most favourite piece completed is ‘Art Deco Diva” a goldwork lady dancing by Catherine Howell. And my idea of pleasure is a piece of embroidery set up in a Mythic Slate Frame.

    911
  838. My favorite, I don’t believe I have one. I’ve done so many I couldn’t begin to chose. However, the ones I’m most proud of are the 3 old European St Nicholas Christmas stockings I’ve just completed. They are counted cross stitch done over 2 threads on 32 count Belfast linen and each one has more than 200 color changes. My daughter requested these at the end of December 2016. We lived in Germany for many years and her Christmas theme this year is a German Christmas. She has many German Christmas decorations. I started them on January 8, 2018 and finished the stitching just before Thanksgiving. I stitched almost every day and often for 6 or 9 hours a day. Just about the only thing I worked on all year. They are backed in velvet and lined in silk. It was quite the project,

    912
  839. My favourite project was one I completed a year ago. It is of a House Finch and it was done is surface embroidery with gold work mixed in. My design based on a photo I took. I loved working on it!
    Merry Christmas all!

    913
  840. My all-time favourite project is usually the one I’m presently working on! I do have more than one on the go at the moment and am presently gathering ideas for my first design, so a beautiful slate frame would be ideal to help make this my new all-time favourite. I’m planning to practise some whitework techniques before I can complete my design, so 2018 will be a busy year.

    914
  841. Long Dog’s ” A Token of Love”. Good memories as it was a round robin stitched by fellow guild members. Merry Christmas

    915
  842. Thank you Mary and Mark for a wonderful Christmas give-away!

    That’s a tough question, Mary! But I think I’d have to say the silk and gold work project I did with my first RSN class. It was rather a dream come true working with RSN!

    916
  843. My favourite piece is “Art Deco Diva” a gold work class from Catherine Howell.
    I love wood in all it’s forms, and my idea of pleasure would be a piece of work set up in a Mythic Slate Frame ready to work on.

    918
  844. I completed my all time favourite stitching project when I was 6 years old…a needle case I embroidered for my mum. I was so proud of myself when I gave it to her. And to this day, whenever I see it, it reminds me of of when my passion for needlework started, as a young child, inspired by my mother.

    919
  845. A friendly dragon done in the style of opus anglicanum (laid and couched) designed by Tanya Bentham. He hangs in my stitching area encouraging me as I learn new techniques and as I think about all the stitchers throughout history doing the same things I am doing now. I love the connection to history that embroidery provides.

    922
  846. So hard to choose a favorite but I would have to say a cross stitch portrait of my grandson (20×24) that I cropped out of a photograph and translated into a cross stitch pattern. Definitely a labor of love. It now hangs proudly on my daughter’s living room wall.

    923
  847. My favourite is Shepherd’s Fold by Shepherd’s Bush. I love the colours, waiting for the next installment and it is so useful when complete.

    924
  848. It was a wedding sampler – for my second marriage – to the best guy ever. He hadn’t been around stitching, and was fascinated by the whole process.

    925
  849. My most favourite is a runner in blues in single thread satin stitch of butterflies and finished with a small picot edge. This was done for my Daughter who had inherited an antique dresser from my mother. A modern twist to an old idea !!

    926
  850. This is a very hard question. My favorite is probably my Japanese embroidery level one piece.

    927
  851. My favorite project was when I embroidered a Gila Monster that a friend drew. He is a biological illustrator and it looked like it came out of a old text book. It was also my first time working on the legacy fabric and silk thread. I had the hardest time giving it to my friend when it was completed

    928
  852. One of my favorite projects is a punch needle. It’s one large flower that took me months to finish, but looks nice on a small wooden box.

    929
  853. My favorite project is a sampler I designed and stitched for my mother many, many years ago.

    930
  854. What a wonderful prize the slate frames would be.

    My favorite all time stitching project was a contemporary form of a crazy quilt made with vintage linens, laces and embroidery. I used my husbands baby bib, an embroidery from his baby pillow case, and fabric that I designed. Every seam was hand embroidered with a minimum of two different lines of stitches. I love giving new life to vintage embroidery. I backed the piece with my dear mother-in-laws damask tablecloth to continue the memories. It is a lap-robe that is 4 x 5 feet made for comfort when I no longer have the eyes and hands to embroider.

    931
  855. Thread Painting would have to be my all time favourite – basic stitching I know, but it’s watching it grow and blending just the right colours at the right place make it challenging. My Emu that I completed left handed whilst in hospital for an operation on my right shoulder many moons ago that would be my all time favourite thread painting piece.

    932
  856. I bought a 70s stamped alphabet wild flower kit on eBay. It was stunning . I worked on it 4 about 5 months. Turned out beautiful. Husband made frame and it hangs on wall in entryway.

    933
  857. My all time favourite stitching project is Teresa Wentzler’s 12 Days of Christmas. I’m half way through the days and it is my second project working on linen. I just love it and I’m now on a push to finish it for 2018 and to hopefully display next Christmas.

    934
  858. My favorite needlework project was a cross stitch pattern of a bald eagle with a scripture from Isaiah. It was the most advanced cross stitch pattern I had completed with mixed thread colors and depth of field was created by changing the number of threads used and using half cross stitches instead of full cross stitches.

    935
  859. My all-time favorite needlework project was a four-way bargelloon 18 ct canvas that I did for my grand-daughter. It was my very first & only venture into a design of my own but inspired by Margaret Boyles. I even used a ribbon design to frame around it.

    936
  860. My favourite project is the one I completed today of an Australian Pink Robin which has a bright pink breast and quite fun to embroider. I was inspired by your post on Chinese embroidery and also by Trish Burr’s embroidery. Working from a photograph I stitched the design in split threads of Gutermann all purpose sewing thread just to see how it came out.

    937
  861. Oh, how I need a slate frame! Gee, that’s a really tough question though. There’s the pioneer sampler I finished a few months back, that was a huge project and I’m quite proud of it! Or maybe I should pick my unicorn, which I did years and years ago and it hangs on my wall, but just recently re-created in microstitchery, and it’s going to go on my Christmas tree! I’m going to plump for the unicorn.

    939
  862. My favorite piece has actually been a series of them. I’ve learned needle painting with small flower pieces on tea towels. It’s been really fun learning how best to shade and play with color with this technique. 3 down, 3 more to go to have a set!

    940
  863. My favourite piece is an image of a horse done as a gift to mark my grandson Liam’s birth during the Year of the Horse.

    941
  864. My all time favorite stitch project was the stumpwork Clematis by Alison Cole done over 2 years ago

    942
  865. My all time favorite stitched project so far was an apron. It was just one big white canvas, so I decided to brighten it with some embroidery. I chose an Erica Wilson pattern. It was done with a combination of cotton floss and sock darning wool (so the raccoon would look more furry and still be washable). Of course, after finishing, I couldn’t stand to get it stained, so I went out and bought another apron to cook in. They hang side by side in the kitchen.

    943
  866. My favourit needlework project that I have ever stitched was a design of African violets, for my grandmother when I was a teenager. I really laboured our it to make it perfect and was so proud of it! I even saved my pennies, framed it and gave it to her for her birthday. She placed it on her mantle, a high honour indeed. When she passed, it was returned to me. Although I have completed many projects since, the nostalgia associated with this one, makes it a clear favourite.

    947
  867. So far my favorite project has been the blackwork assignment for my EAC class. It is the first embroidery that I have ever done some of the designing myself. We were given the outline and some requirements as to what we must include and also how dark or shaded each section had to be but the rest was up to us. I had so much fun playing around with the patterns and trying different variations that it took me forever to do but it showed me the beginning of what I could do.

    948
  868. I love stitching pictures. My favourite? Either Bluebird Embroidery’s “Christmas Robin” which I have just finished, or the copy I did of the GWR ” Steam to the West” poster (Charles Mayo) .

    I have never used slate frames so thank you for the chance to win.

    949
  869. My all time favorite stitched piece would probably be Lavender and Lace’s Angel of Winter. I actually stitched all four season angels for my mother’s angel collection. When Mom passed away six years ago, the angels went to live with my sister, daughter, daughter-in-law, and me. My daughter got my favorite, but my second choice was Angel of Autumn, who now makes her home with me.

    950
  870. An Alison Cole kit called Illuminated Floral. It was my first foray into stumpwork detached embroidery and had more than 60 detached elements to it. It is a gorgeous design and I still get pleasure looking at it on the wall every day. Although it was challenging, working on something so beautiful kept me motivated throughout.

    951
  871. Sadly, I do not have a favourite. I have only ever stitched small things. I see many beautiful projects worked by others but as yet I haven’t done anything really nice. One day ………….

    952
  872. Dear Mary,
    I made a counted cross-stitch alphabet from a book by Donna Kooler. It is very pretty. I enjoyed it because it wasn’t stressful to stitch. I enjoyed stitching it so much that I periodically stayed up late into the early hours (well past midnight) without releasing it was so late!

    953
  873. Mary my all time favourite project was a framed birth sampler. It was embroidered on lovely linen with silk threads and was set in a cottage garden and had an old fashioned pram with a teddy bear covered with a patchwork quilt. I enjoyed every stitch.
    Thank you for organising our Christmas give-aways we are so lucky.
    Bright blessings to you and your family for Christmas and 2018
    Sandy

    954
  874. I do a lot of cross-stitched covers for notebooks, as gifts to dear friends, but my most beloved project is a little larger, though of the same concept. When I needed a binder for a school project (I am still in high school), I bought the first that met my sight, a very boring white one. Then, I decided to, very ambitiously, make it an embroidered cover. I traced over quite some photos of cross-stitch works on Pinterest, counting them out stitch by stitch. Then I started stitching. I am still stitching on it, every evening a few, and I have already done quite some elements, but it is, in every sense, a beautiful long-term project.

    955
  875. Without a doubt, my most favourite project was the Royal Society of Needlework crewelwork course. Up to that point I had been teaching myslef so I relished the opportunity to learn from the RSN tutors. The setting, Hampton Court Palace, was breathtaking, the whole experience was unforgettable.

    956
  876. My favorite project is an or nué apple. It was not traditional or nué, as it was done on padded felt and the gold thread was done in a circular fashion. However it is a small but stunning piece of embroidery.

    957
  877. I think my favourite embroidery project was the first piece of thread painting that I tried, which was three anemone’s. I was pleased with the result and have been ‘painting’ ever since.

    958
  878. Hi,
    This is a hard question to answer, like what is your favorite ice cream! Well, it depends…….
    If I had to pick just one (oh boy) it would be Hazel Blomkamp’s crewel project that I finished recently. It was a great learning experience and I just love how it turned out!
    But then there was also the Trish Burr project……well you can see where this is leading!
    Have a great day.

    959
  879. I’ve just started doing little stitcheries of my own design and I like those the most, more than kits. They’re more like art but I love the creativity of working on them.

    960
  880. I have many, I think 🙂
    But the only one I have framed and it is hanging in the guest room is done with silk ribbon and silk threads. I designed a topiary type tree with a my monogram.

    Thank you for this opportunity to win the lovely frame. He does beautiful work.

    Merry Christmas to all.

    962
  881. The project that I loved to embroider is a picture stumpwork I had purchased from Die Van Niekerk

    963
  882. So far, my favorite has been the two hummingbirds. it took me forever, but it was worth every hour of work. So beautiful when it was finished.

    964
  883. My favorite project is the one I’m working on now. It’s a piece of needlework approx. 16 x 16″ that my grandmother started before she died, and which I’m now finishing. She left no design, but rather was creating a sampler of her life. Her children are there, her canary, a map of her ranch, a favorite quote… Now I am filling in the gaps with my own memories of her. I feel so close to her every time I work on it, though it took me a while to work up the courage to begin. I love your beautiful blog and have learned a great deal from it.

    965
  884. Hello Mary and Advent blessings. My favorite project must be my sister’s wedding dress– simple heavy satin with a lace overlay on the bodice. I enjoyed invisibly attaching the lace and then embroidering with beads. (I got to bake, transport and assemble the wedding cake, too.)

    966
  885. I am still a beginner, but I think my favorite is the Christmas ornament I just completed from the kaleidoscope ebook.

    967
  886. Most times my favorite project I have stitched is the one that I just finished, but if I was forced to choose I would say it was my Alpine Garden Mandala by Chatelaine Designs.

    968
  887. I think my favorite embroidery so far would have to be a floral alphabet name sampler that I made for my daughter. It was my first time using floche and I was instantly hooked.

    Thanks again for the opportunity to win another great prize.
    Karen in WV

    969
  888. Beautiful frame! Whatever I’m currently stitching is the first thing that comes to mind but if I had to pick one favorite, it would be “One Long Panel” by Laura J Perin. It was my introduction to canvas work. Although, I haven’t yet met a form of needlework that I don’t love!

    970
  889. My favourite would have to be Random Thoughts- a sampler from The Drawn Thread. I worked on it while my husband was in palliative care 5 years ago and so I changed several motives into
    more personal motives.

    971
  890. My favorite is a preprinted fabric bouquet of flowers–a pure labor of love. It was for a man to give to his stage 4 mom. It was by far the largest I’ve done, too. I used multiple fibers, trim for the basket, ribbon work and it was hard to part with.

    972
  891. My favorite needlework project ever is Gay Ann Roger’s Queen Elizabeth I in needlepoint. I would love to win a slate frame. thanks.

    973
  892. Merry Christmas!
    My favourite all time project is difficult to choose. Since I have gained my love for needlework from my mother and grandmothers, I have to choose from the Victoria Sampler, the Heirloom Stitching Sampler. It now is hung amongst portraits of those wonderful women. My daughter is now continuing the love for the needlearts.

    974
  893. My favourite piece is a scene of lupins growing against a fence. The original chart called for 18 count cross stitch, but I did it petit point on 40 count silk gauze. Unless they look very closely, people think it’s a photograph.

    975
  894. My favorite piece is a Sue Lentz design on 28 ct Lugana over one, that used only DMC 34 ‘new colors’ some 30 years ago. The wood craftsmanship in Marc’s pieces is truly stunning.

    976
  895. Hmmm, tough choice. Whatever I’m working on at the moment is usually my favorite. For me, the joy is in the ‘doing’, not the ‘having’.

    977
  896. My all-time favorite needlework project is a needle painting piece I did from one of Trish Burr’s books called “Mauve and White Rose spray”. It is special to me because I stitched it over the course of the six months we spent moving into our new house. It hangs in the front entryway so everytime I see it I am reminded of the joy of our new beginning.

    978
  897. I would have said my all time favorite was the very first needlepoint kit I received for my 16th birthday but now I would have to say it’s the cross-stitch Christmas stocking I did for my first grandchild last year!

    979
  898. My favorite needlework project is a series of 5 panels telling the story of Honeybunny’s Garden for my grandson Thomas’s 1st birthday.

    980
  899. Finding an all time favorite stitching is pretty hard. If pushed, I would have to pick an embroidered chatelaine that a made several years ago. Lots of shadow embroidery, bullion roses and buds, and a touch of lace. It carries my most used tools. I hang it in my sewing room when it is not put to use.

    981
  900. My favorite project I have stitched so far is probably the thread-painted red fox from an online class I participated in. It was such fun to see a beautiful red fox materialize on the fabric! Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this give-away!

    984
  901. One of my projects that still gives me joy when I see it is a sampler I made for my late father-in-law, who loved sailing. The sampler includes a tall ship and the saying “The gods do not subtract from man’s allotted time the hours spent in sailing.” I think of my dear father-in-law each time I see it. (I reclaimed it after his death!)

    985
  902. I often embroider pillowslips as gifts for newlyweds or babies. Collectively, they are my favorite needlework.

    986
  903. This is a tough one. After 50 plus years of stitching I had to really think about it.. I guess I have to say the needlepoint piece that I made for my daughter when she was young. The picture was of a girl with dark hair. The little girl looked just like her & I loved working on it. It hung in her bedroom for many years

    987
  904. More than 10 years ago I found a pattern for a stump work red rose which I fell in love with & after many months of stitching finished it. Have had it on show at our Guild Headquarters in Sydney & won a couple of show prizes . It’s definatley my favorite . Thanks for the chance to maybe have a great slate frame. Doreen .

    989
  905. My all time favourite needlework project I ever stitched is always the one that I am currently working on because I feel that you can never have a favourite, especially when most of my work is given away to the special people in my life !!

    990
  906. Thank you yet again. 🙂

    My favorite stitch to date (and least favorite, too!) has been Leon Conrad’s Queene Besse Chessboard. I loved all the intricate blackwork fillings, but man, trying to get all of the outside squares of each block just right was a PITA.

    991
  907. My favorite needle work project has to be A STUDY IN GOLD AND SILVER by Jim Worth. I loved working on each area and was so motivated to finish and frame it.

    992
  908. My favorite needlework project was Carolyn Pearce ‘Home Sweet Home’. I learned so much and by the end I truly was a better stitcher. Plus, I am proud to say I completed the house and smalls myself.

    993
  909. I don’t know that I have an all time favorite needlework project. Each one has had its own special quality. The best answer I can give is that it’s always the last one I did. I do have one project that I’ve been working on and off of for quite a while and it’s a cross stitch called To Be Blessed by Cyndy Callog. It’s a beautiful view of a birdhouse complete with birds and garden flowers. The sentiment on it says: ” Having someplace to go is home…. Having someone to love is family…. Having both is a blessing.” It’s a sentiment that has been with me for a lot of years. The project got lost for a little while when I moved from my home to an apartment and then one day I located it and felt at home once more. This particular give-away is exciting to me. I’ve always wanted to try this type of frame but have been afraid to try. It would be a wonderful gift. Thanks for all that you put into your site Mary. You are a real Blessiing.

    994
  910. This is a tough question! I think my favourite project was one I finished for my hairdresser’s mother. Gold work Egyptian head. I learnt so much, and got to put my own design flair on the piece. It was well received and meant a lot to be able to complete this piece for both the mother and daughter who have always been part of my life.

    995
  911. I am a cross stitcher and love to stitch reproduction antique samplers. I have done several and many more in line. I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite.

    996
  912. My favorite has to be the cross stitched Irish Blessing that I made for my mother. It was fun to do and she loved it. Mom is gone now and my daughter has it hanging in her home.

    997
  913. My all-time favorite needlework project has to be my Elizabethan Panel taught through my local embroidery guild. I loved stitching the little animals and insects and wide range of floral elements was very interesting.

    Thank you so much Mary and Mark, for the opportunity to win such a lovely frame.

    998
    1. My favorite project was a crewel unicorn — it was tough with so many different shades of white and cream and most of the stitches were split ones. In the end it was worth it, very pleased with the results.

  914. I honestly do not remember the name of the needlework projects that I have most enjoyed but I know the designer: Sue Lentz. What I like about her designs is the unusual stitches and threads she used and the complexity of the designs.

    1000
  915. My favourite at the moment – a stumpwork bauble decoration by Julie Kniedel, holly, ivy and winter rose. My first really big stumpwork project and I managed to get it near-perfect. Can’t wait to bring it out for its first Christmas. My all-time favourite is a large sampler in drawn/counted/pulled thread, whose design was in Embroidery and Cross stitch magazine in the 1990s. Boy, would I have loved the slate frame for that!

    1001
  916. My favorite project I’ve stitched has been the “box of delights” pattern from Elizabeth Almond. I really enjoy blackwork and I was so glad to find such a nice large pattern for free.

    1002
  917. My favorite embroidery project was a white monogram on a kitchen towel to give as a gift. I was very happy with the finished project and proud to give it!

    1003
  918. The slate frame looks amazing and would be wonderful to work with. My favourite project to date was completing Pertinacity from Hazel Blomkamps book Crewel Intentions. It is a large project with many different techniques and it felt like a big achievement to complete it

    1004
  919. Mary, you ask great questions that gets me thinking. My all time favorite project, after much contemplation, would have to be a small hardanger project that was stitched with love and gifted to my husband. Also this small project led to another favorite hardanger piece.

    1005
  920. My favourite project so far has been a bag that I made for my daughter’s birthday. I cross stitched a ‘Dr Who’ scene and lined the canvas bag with red tartan material from a skirt that she’d outgrown. The bag gets used all the time and has been on several overseas trips. I love it that she enjoys it so much!

    1006
  921. My favorite is a small initial “C” from the French Needle. It’s pretty tiny, but contains a lot of different stitches and was a lot of fun to work on.

    1007
  922. My favorite needlework project was a mother and child portrait for my sister to celebrate the arrival of her long awaited-for son. Thank you, Mary, for such wonderful give-aways!

    1009
  923. I am pretty new but am really enjoying the dropcloth sampler. I have used your videos to learn and add a few more stitches!

    1010
  924. My favourite piece of embroidery I’ve completed so far is a floral sampler framed and hanging in the first bath. I learned a number of new techniques, (thanks to your YouTube videos) and the colour of the ground fabric is my favourite marigold. However, that being said, I’m really enjoying my current redwork project of the 50 states and their state birds. The end goal is to make a quilt out of each panel, so the overall project brings me future joy even though the process is long.

    1011
  925. In 2012, I stitched a set of four cushions for our living room. All were stitched in wool on canvas, used the same colours, and were stitched on the theam ‘Roses’. The first was traditional crossstich with a bunch of roses in the centre; in the second, I used an Icelandic pattern from the seventeenth century containing a stylized rose within geometric borders; the third was based on an early Viking pattern, believed to be from the thirteenth century; in the forth I used a Bargello pattern in green hues as the base, but put a cross-stiched rose down in the right hand corner. The four have now been ‘borrowed’ by my daughter (as daughters often do-) for her living room…

    1012
  926. As a “beginner-beginner” (experience limited to quilting and some regular machine sewing), I own my grandmother’s long-ago Reader’s Digest Guide to Embroidery but have never used it. The goldwork beetle book by Jane Nicholas has me absolutely entranced and anxious to start the online Craftsy classes ASAP, and the bonus chance of getting a slate frame is just frosting on the cake! Thank you for being here to guide and encourage!

    1013
  927. Thank you for offering this great giveaway! My all-time favorite needlework project that I’ve ever stitched is probably the pillow that I made as a gift for my sister. Thanks again!

    1015
  928. When I first joined my local chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild in the late 90”s, I was a brand new stitcher. I didn’t even know what a lying tool was or how to use it. After a couple of months of being taken under the wing of so many wonderful chapter members, one of them gave me a pattern for “a stitcher’s needlepoint studio.” It was provided by the national organization and it was a beautiful book of instructions only. I had no clue as to what to do. But I kept at it and learned and all those special needlepoint friends kept sharing tips and knowledge and about three years later, I finally felt brave enough to stitch the project. It is one of the first thing you see when you enter my craft room now. And I am happy to report that it won a second place award at Shoreline Stitchers’ Showcase, an exhibit put on by our local chapter.

    1016
  929. My all time favorite piece was more of a collage of sorts — My grandmother had passed and my sister was taking it very hard. I had inherited my great grandmother’s fabric stash in which was a square handstitched of her favorite quilt pattern – fan, my grandmother would not only find and purchase the fabric but hand trace the pattern and then cut the pieces for my great grandmother so it was perfect. I had much health issues and hadn’t been stitching much but pulled out a kit for a needlework heart from a class never finished and finished it then mounted the block to an over large piece of fabric on the airplane to the funeral, attached the heart with tassel to overlap but not hid the square, upon arrival I had my mom crochet a piece of lace which I attached between the fan tip and petals – then laced the whole thing onto mount board and my dad made a frame. I gave it to my sister who cried getting us all crying with her and it hangs in her house still today. Four generations – great grandmother, grandmother, father (mom too), and daughter.

    1017
  930. My all time favorite needlework project is Victoria Sampler piece entitled “All Hearts Come Home for Christmas.” It contained a number of speciality stitches (like Hardanger).

    1018
  931. Mary you’ve outdone yourself this year on these wonderful “A Stitcher’s Christmas” giveaways! Thank you so much for organizing this fun build up to Christmas!

    My all-time favorite needlework project? Wow! That’s a tough question! My ‘first impulse answer’ was “whatever I’ve just started to stitch”.

    I’ve thought it over for several days though and, I’ve decided that a more fair answer would be my “Raspberry Truffle Tuffet” pincushion that was designed and stitched as an entry in the PieceWork Pincushion contest in 2008. It went on to win the Grand Prize and was featured on the cover of their July/August issue that year. (Just Google Raspberry Truffle Tuffet to see photos.) I had so much fun designing and stitching it and the followup Blackberry Truffle Tuffet design that was published in PieceWork later that year. I think I need to get back to working on the Strawberry and Blueberry versions soon! A beautiful new slate frame would be the BEST incentive to “get busy stitching” on those ideas that are rattling around in my head!

    1019
  932. I’m currently working on ‘Reflections of Joy’ by Orna Willis. I love the design so much and the colors are beautiful. It was hard to pick which color palette to use so I am stitching it up twice! Once with the ‘Bright’ color palette and once in ‘Jupiter Lighthouse’.

    1020
  933. My all-time favorite project was one that I designed myself:two runners with a thin, satin stitch band around all four edges. The design and color matched a set of my dishes, and I cross the runners across the table. The embroidery took me about a year. But I enjoyed this project, and I love using those runners.
    Thanks for the opportunity to win the neat slate frame.

    1021
  934. I think that slate frame is wonderful! I saw your prior review of it and now I definitely want to try using a slate frame. Thank you Mythic Crafts for donating it to this contest. I have usually used a scroll frame but I am trying to expand my skills into needlepainting. This looks like the best tool to use when stretching my fabric.
    My all time favorite needlework project was a crewel kit featuring a large Siamese cat laying down and facing forward. I remember it best because it was the first major crewel design I had ever attempted and I couldn’t wait until I had time each day to work on it. It took me 3 years to finish it because during this period, I was at my first real job as a librarian.
    I still remember those days fondly and I have the finished project to prove I can accomplish anything as long as I set my mind to it. I’ve loved embroidery ever since those many years ago.

    1022
  935. In 1976 I did a set of autumn embroidered arrangements. I still have them and over the years have changed the frames to keep them current…still love them.

    1023
  936. My stumpwork knotgarden done on a slate frame. I spent 3 days stretching the canvas and securing to the frame in the traditional way. This stayed taut throughout the stitching. Loved doing the numerous stitches. It was a fun project.

    1024
  937. More lovely stitching goodies!
    My favourite embroidery I have finished is some flowers surrounding an applique Winnie the Pooh, on a little woolen blanket. It was in anticipation of the birth of my first child. Not perhaps my best work, but filled with memories.

    1025
  938. My favorite project is a Jacobean crewel piece which I did in a class with an excellent teacher. I gave this piece to my mother and now it has special meaning as she also loved it. I learned so much from this project. It was the beginning of a wonderful journey learning about other techniques and making friends with similar interests. I have completed many projects and have many more I would like to do.

    1026
  939. My all time favorite needlework project was actually a counted cross stitch of a moose in a lake, for my husband. Only worked on it when he was not around in order to for it to be a surprise. It worked!

    1027
  940. I usually ponder and reflect privately your questions but I had to share my very happy time stitching a painted canvas of a Boston Zterrier. We have three! Jenny,aka Princess Jen-Jen, turned 13 on December 3. Her likeness is captured in that canvas!

    I sat on a cruise ship happily stitching away on my canvas, bringing the piece to life. Happy time stitching a lovely piece. I know there will come a time the pups will no longer be with me. I will have lots of wonderful memories come back to me when I see that canvas. It’s at the finishers but I’ll send a photo once it’s returned. Turquoise background worked in silk threads set off the distinguished (and very sweet!) black and white face.

    1028
  941. What’s my all-time favorite needlework project that I ever stitched?
    I’m into small – tiny, even. I did a delightful Klimpt-style oval piece which ended up as 1 7/8 x 2 1/2 inches. Now I am doing – for the second time – Irmgard Helms’ “Sand in the Desert” . This is 127 x 89 stitches, and will end up about 8.5 x 6cm. I love the design.
    Then, I have done some beautiful goldwork – and will do more. And a lovely simple pohutukawa flower on soft black wool felt. I’d do that one again, if I could find the felt! And a gold thread and beetlewing flower picture.

    So many beautiful things to stitch – not nearly enough time!

    1029
  942. Hi Mary! It’s hard to pin point my most favourite needlework project amongst the many that I have done or that are on my “to do” list. But after lots of thought, I believe my favourite piece is the second piece of Hardanger that I stitched while driving to Florida. It is a beautifuly intricate piece worked on a pale pink linen. The centre motif still gives me great joy to look at as I can’t believe that it was just me second attempt at Hardanger. Thanks for all the great give aways!

    1031
  943. I have two equal favourites. The first is a platypus entering a river worked while completing a certificate course at the RSN. The completed piece is part canvas work part raised work on a canvas base. The platypus is worked in Ghiordes Knots and looked like a very bad hairdo until it was trimmed and brushed to create fur. The second is a framed piece consisting of 5 panels; each panel is of a different insect and medieval flower.

    1032
  944. My favorite stitching project was Whisper by Jean Hilton. I remember stitching it while I watched the “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy and whenever I see the piece I can still see the UrikHi storming Helm’s Deep!

    I also stitched it on iridescent white canvas with iridescent white thread. You have to strain a bit to see it just as you have to strain a bit to hear a whisper.

    1034
  945. My all-time favorite needlework project was a geisha in cross stitch with 90 colors. It took me two years to finish it. During this period, I was working full time and studying full time too at night for a university diploma. Every night, when I came home from university, I had to make some stitches on my geisha and only after that kind of therapy I could sleep. I am very proud of this project.

    1035
  946. I do not have a lot of projects under my belt, but I would say at this point, the Violet needle painting kit I bought from Trish Burr a few years ago or so. I just finished it and though not perfect, it has inspired me to try more!

    1036
  947. I would have to say my favorite needlework project I ever stitched was the birth sampler I cross stitched when my daughter was born. It isn’t a “traditional” birth sampler with soft colors and “cute” images. Rather, it is a peaceful scene of a baby in a basket shaped like a mother duck floating amongst the rushes on a peaceful waterway with baby ducks following. I have never seen another one like it and my daughter (now 22 years old) loves it and has it displayed in her bedroom.

    1037
  948. I’d have to say my favorite project was one I made for my brother-in-law and his wife. They have a boat and just love that lifestyle. I found a pattern that is the nautical flag alphabet and numbers Sampler. It was quite large, about 14×20, and the biggest hand stitch project I have made. I think I was as proud of completing the size as much as the stitching itself.

    1038
  949. Since I’m really into goldwork right now, I will say my goldwork flower from Lucy Barter’s craftsy class. I just finished it and I’m in love with all the different techniques that were put in it, not to mention the combination of different goldwork materials that were mixed in. Definitely a piece to go back to for inspiration.

    1039
  950. I like them all. I think the one that has the warmest memories is a printed sampler I did as a child. My mother, sisters and I would have a cup of tea by the fire on wintry Sunday afternoons and sew on our samplers.

    1040
  951. Almost 20 years ago I bought a cross stitch kit at Michael’s. It was probably 11 by 15 or so. A little boy and a puppy. I made it as a gift for my boyfriend’s friends’ first baby. The husband wrote the sweetest thank you to my boyfriend saying he knew how much time and thought went into the gift and he and his wife were so touched by the gift. It wasn’t my favorite thing to stitch but it was my favorite thing I’ve stitched just because I knew how much it was appreciated.

    1041
  952. My favorite project for me was a pulled thread sampler. It was way out of my comfort zone but I learned so much from doing it. But in general my favorite projects are gifts I make for others. I hope they enjoy them as much as I enjoy making them.

    1042
  953. What a lovely giveaway!

    Naming my favorite project is really difficult! There have been so many that have been my favorite over the years. If I had to pick just one, I’d have to say it was Fantasy Remembered, a stumpwork project designed by Luann Callery as an EGA correspondence course.

    1045
  954. I loved working the Emerald Dragonfly last year that Alison Cole created. It was my first “gold work” and I followed the very clear instructions included in the kit and it “resembled” the creator’s piece. It was fun, fast, and easy!
    Thank you.

    1046
  955. A Dimensions Crewel Siamese Cat. Took me forever, but is framed and hung on wall as a proud accomplishment. My first bullion stitches, Over 20 years ago. I used stretcher bars as the only thing then big enough for the project.

    1047
  956. My favorite piece is a wooden casket with stitched panels – it took forever to complete, but I loved every moment I worked on the stitching and the finishing.

    1048
  957. What a difficult question to answer…….so many …..but I did really enjoy stitching a piece of crewel work under the guidance of Anna Scott, so much so that I could not put it down once home until it was finished.

    1049
  958. My all time favorite needlework piece is a crossword sampler baby announcement that I did for my granddaughter. I wanted something not so cutesy, and found a pattern from Just Nan that was perfect.

    1050
  959. Hi Mary
    I can’t specify one particular project as my favourite as I put my heart into all of them, but one that I spent most time on designing, preparing and stitching was a fabric book I submitted to a national competition a few years back in order to win the entire collection of their threads! Happy to say that all the work I put in paid off!
    Keep well.

    1051
  960. My friend and I did a Moira Blackburn cross stitch sampler together by passing it back and forth. We recently finished the project and we plan to give it to another friend of ours for her birthday. I learned so much and had a lot of fun while working on this with my friend. Thanks for asking the question.

    1052
  961. My favorite project was an Brazilian dimensional embroidery. It had swirls done with a varigated thread. It is a design by Loretta holtzburger. I don’t remember the name of the pattern, but it was fun to do. Mary from Idaho

    1053
  962. I’m still fairly new to embroidery so I don’t have a lot of projects I’ve finished. I’ve practiced on and off, mostly off, all my life. I guess Right now Any project I finish is my all-time favorite. Right now I’m working on a sampler on linen stitched up with DMC Perle Coton in order to learn several different stitches and techniques. You’re website is a fabulous resource. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

    1054
  963. What’s your all-time favorite needlework project that you ever stitched?

    A tribute to my husband. He died recently and I’m using his favourite shirts to make the padded sails and hull of a galleon based on HMS Victory – his most liked ship. I’ve had to do lots of samples and experiment with adapting stitches to make the rigging because the hull is very proud of the fabric and the rigging is secured on the outside of the ship and then up to the mast, partly under the sails. It needs to be free from the hull upwards as far as possible. Many things are a challenge – it is my first piece of embroidery in over 40 years, but I’ll make it as a memory of the best husband in the world. He would have loved it, though I would have got stick for using his favourite shirts – I’ve used the pockets where I could and will donate the shirts to charity when it’s finished.

    1055
  964. It’s been a good few years, but in my late teens I did a cross-stitch piece for my grandparents that is probably still my favorite thing I’ve embroidered – a set of seasonal wreaths. Not the most complex or most interesting or probably even the most beautiful thing I’ve ever done, but it came out so well.

    1057
  965. My favourite stitched project is “Allure” by Carolyn Mitchell. It is complex and uses many different threads and stitches. The threads are gorgeous and there are plenty of beads and Swarovski crystal beads. It was one of those projects I loved every step of the way.

    1058
  966. A beautiful crewel embroidery moth designed by Erica Wilson, who is much missed! I use it every day to prop up my latest reading.

    1059
  967. A beautiful crewel embroidery moth designed by Erica Wilson, who is much missed. I use it every day to prop up my latest reading.

    1060
  968. I’m relatively new to embroidery. This site has been so helpful. At this point, my favorite project would be one I’m working without a pattern, figuring it out as I go, in order to create a Christmas gift for my 7 year old. I’m embroidering a character from Bendy and the Ink Machine for him.

    1061
  969. My Favourite embroidery was the Jacobean cushion from Philippa Turnbull, UK.
    I really enjoyed stitching that during and after my trip to the UK.

    1062
  970. My favourite project was a set of 3 Victorian houses in Eureka CA that I cross stitched. I have a couple of others in the set that I have not tackled yet, but hopefully in the future I can get to them.

    1063
  971. My favorite project I’ve stitched is probably my Steotch-a-long Snoopy that I did for my dog and put “The Saddest thing is an Empty Food Dish,” instead of any of the provided options and hung it up at her height where her bowl is.

    1064
  972. My favourite piece was my first mirabillia, the rose of Sharon.
    I was pregnant with my son and the doctor advised I had rest and took things easy. Haha how was I going to do that ? I chose a large project and set up a stitching station .
    I look at that piece now and I remember every stage of my pregnancy and whereabouts I was stitching. I left the confetti stitching at the top till last . Typical this difficult bit was done whilst I had post natal depression.
    I finished it and it reminds me of the difficult journey my son and I took. It’s very special.

    1065
  973. Wow! What an amazing give-away! I think that my favourite needlework piece is the first cross stitch project that I stitched when I was being taught to cross stitch. Finishing it was so encouraging and I learned to love needle crafts from that experience, so I remember it kindly!

    1066
  974. My all time favorite was a set of pillow cases I embroidered during one winter at college. I gave them to my mom who loved them. After she died they came back to me. They are a bit worn and I see lots of mistakes. But I always think of my mom and using the skills she taught me to relax during a tough semester. My roommate did a cross stitch kit at the same time. We giggled and watched movies and stitched.

    Thanks for the opportunity. The giveaways are fun just to see everyone’s answers

    1067
  975. My very favorite needlework project is the Christening gown my mother-in-law made fifty years ago for her first-born, my husband Phill. It’s made of white cotton fabric in a plain, country-kind of style, with eyelet trim, & it was worn by four children in that generation, then by three children in the next generation. Upon the Baptism of my son, I asked permission to embroider the names & Baptismal dates of the children who wore the gown, which was granted. I embroidered in outline stitch with white cotton floss along the edge of the gown’s jacket, all the way around from front to back to front, just above the ruffle. Each name & date is embroidered in my favorite cursive alphabet & separated by a small satin stitched heart.

    1068
  976. Wow, this is such a terrific give-away!! Many thanks to you and to Mark.
    My all-time favorite project is an easy pick. In the house we had before this one, there was a fusebox mostly recessed in the wall on a stairway that was clearly visible to anyone coming into the house. Not only was it ugly, but the door wouldn’t stay shut. I decided to stitch something to cover it up, and I looked through the patterns I had in queue, but none would finish to the right size/shape. So I thought to myself, “Self, you got that Jane Nicholas book on stump work several years ago and found it intriguing, but you’ve never jumped in. So I pulled out the book and read through it, drew up a design of the right dimensions, spent weeks gathering all the various materials I’d use and plunged. I absolutely love it, and it hangs in a conspicuous place now (and always will).

    1069
  977. It was the Christmas stocking that I made for my husband about 30 years ago. It was cross stitched with little candy canes, a train, a wreath and other little Christmas designs, and it still looks good and he still uses it!

    1070
  978. My favourite? I love all of the projects I’ve done. But some of the first that I did way back when still give me a good feeling. We were living in a rather isolated area, little grocery shopping much less needlework shops! But I could buy magazines (McCall’s needlework perhaps?) I saw some ads of beautiful projects, all unavailable to me. Finally, I got up the nerve (and the money) to send an order to the USA. It was the long crewel sunflower that many of you might remember. I was so proud when I manged to finish it! Getting it framed was a trial–no framing stores of course. But I had a lumber yard cut some slats of some kind and managed.
    Still have it 50+years and many, many moves later.

    1071
  979. My favorite piece was designed by Posey McMillen. It was 3 butterflies in a circle stitched with gold and silk threads.

    1072
  980. I took a goldwork class with RSN when they were here in San Francisco. It was a design a design for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and not only do I adore that completed project but I now have a passion for goldwork. And as a result, it got me back into doing all types of needlework again after 20 years.

    1073
  981. What a fantastic give-away! I would love to own a slate frame! My favorite stitched piece after sixty+ years of all kinds of needlework, is a counted needlepoint piece called “Frankie” designed by Michael Boren. I started the piece in a class with Michael and finished it soon after. It’s an adaptation of a Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass window. It has won a blue ribbon in the SC State Fair and a red at the Callaway Needlearts exhibit, and has been shown in several other non-judged exhibits. It was a delight to stitch and stretched my skill level at the time (about ten years ago or so).

    1074
  982. My all-time favorite needlework project was the very first one I attempted. I was 10 years old – 60 years ago. It is a cross stitch sampler that says, “Greet the Day With a Song, Make Others Happy, Serve Gladly”. It is currently framed and hangs in my dining room. I didn’t do another until I was in my 30s (a crewel pillow in @ 1975). I am starting back up again and learning so much from your blogs and video how-to’s.

    1075
  983. The challenge was to create a piece based on a song title. I decided on one of my favorites, “Pennies From Heaven.” Using a variety of fabrics in shades of gray and blue, I made a few hundred hexagons, and on about a third of them I used a shisha stitch to attach a coin. With help from friends, I was able to collect coins from over 80 countries on six continents. (Antarctica doesn’t have a currency.) Beads and ribbons helped create the effect of falling rain and added some bling. As with many projects, I’m pleased with the finished piece, but the greatest pleasure was in the making.

    1076
  984. I’d love to have this clever slate frame as it would help me keep my gold work neat. My favourite needlework project I’ve ever stitched was a gold work piece taught by New South Wales embroidery tutor Avril de Havilland. Avril designed it and dyed the silk threads that we used. It was the first time I tried embroidering with gold threads too but Avril encouraged us to keep going. I finished and framed the work and think fondly of the class as I walk past it hanging on the wall.

    1077
  985. I think my favorite stitching project(s) is a series of Hardanger ornaments I made which I gave to people in exchange for donations they made to support our Breast Cancer Walk. This is something I do every year, make ornaments to give as a thank-you for donations. But my favorite ones are the Hardanger ornaments.

    1078
  986. I’d say the needlepoint project that I still haven’t finished (it’s been put away for a few years). It is Beth Russell’s Compton Cushion, from her Traditional Needlepoint.

    I love Beth Russell’s designs, which are mostly needlepoint interpretations of William Morris designs. I have done a number of projects from her designs, but always changing them to cross-stitch with DMC, as for a long time Appleton crewel wool was too expensive to buy here in Australia.

    The Compton Cushion is the first one I’ve done as needlepoint (with one strand of tapestry wool, not 4 strands of crewel wool, which helps with the cost), and I love it so much! Taking plain white canvas and seeing it turn into a swirling gorgeous coloured pattern is fascinating. Seeing how the colours change as you fill the background in and the contrast changes from white to dark, almost black is just as fascinating.

    I love it.

    1079
  987. My favorite isn’t really a project but rather the next new skill (stitch) I’m trying to master. Working at getting the stitch right then being consistent in repetition. It just makes me happy when I get it. I enjoy small projects, but am ready to go bigger and more elaborate. The slate frame is absolutely beautiful, someone is really going to be thrilled to be the new owner. Here’s to wishing!

    1080
  988. My all-time favorite project is an eyeglass case for my mother, made when I was little. While nothing fancy, it made her happy, and she used it all the time.

    1081
  989. If I were asked about my favorite embroidery techniques, the answer would be absolutely different. This could be crewel (especially in winter), goldwork, maybe even needle painting (I am trying to learn it, but I need much more practice). But my favorite project is embroidered icon in cross stitch. I stitched it some ten or more years ago. It was from the Spanish magazine, dedicated to the most known Spanish Catholic paintings (some sculptures were prepared for cross stitching too). This is the project that I would not be able to give as a gift. Or maybe I could do that, but only for a very very special person.

    1082
  990. I am really enjoying Martina Rosenberg designs and so far I had stitched one which is Butterfly Lace Mandala and have one more WIP. Unfortunately she passed away suddenly last week and this is a huge loss for the stitcher’s community…. really very talented designer 🙁

    1083
  991. Pilar from spain:
    Well, I’m a begginer in this stiching world, but I love the Secret Garden Hummingbirds project develop on Needle ‘n Thread and that I’m embroidery now.
    Merry Christmas.

    1084
  992. My all-time favorite project would have to be the layette set I made while I was expecting my first baby. This was back before ultrasounds were so common and the “big reveal” took place in the delivery room. I taught myself how to do English Smocking with that project, which includes a smocked gown, coat and bonnet. It took months to complete it. People would ask me “What if it’s a boy?” My response was, “It doesn’t matter, he’s wearing it no matter what!” I left out that the fabric was covered in yellow rosebuds, didn’t I? Fortunately, I had a girl. And her daughter, my only granddaughter, wore it as well, which was my plan all along. I’ve got a pleater machine now and have smocked other projects, but that one will always be precious to me.

    1085
  993. My favorite is still my first counted cross-stitch kit. It was a small design of hummingbirds and flowers (either hollyhocks or hibiscus, if memory serves) over a white picket fence – nothing special. But I’ll never forget the feeling of walking home from the school bus stop with as much speed and determination as my 11-year-old feet could carry, eager to get back to stitching.

    1086
  994. Oh my! What an absolutely gorgeous slate frame! I love your articles and reviews. You have created the best resource there is for our craft. Thank you so much!

    1087
  995. Over 20 years ago I completed a counted cross stitch of an old-fashioned sewing room. It still proudly hangs where I see it everyday. I’ll have to look up the designer and write it on the back of the framed piece.

    1088
  996. I am in the middle of one of the garden series by Liz Turner Diehl (Irish Garden). Lots of specialty stitches with great diagrams, and even some cats peeping out from the bushes!!! I havent been able to find if Liz still is designing, such a great talent. I always take this piece on holidays as its so much fun. I have other patterns of hers but think I should finish the first one before embarking on others!! Looking forward to all the replies

    1089
  997. My favourite thing I ever stitched so far was a crewel work of tropical fish for my dad, and the letters from your Stitch Sampler Alphabet! I have a lot of things in mind that I know will be favourites when I get finally get to them, including goldwork. Someday I hope to buy the goldwork sampler kit from Tanja Berlin and I would love to have a proper slate frame to work it on! Thank you for hosting these give-aways, it’s a great way to let a student on a budget get a chance to try working with top of the line materials. Have a great Christmas!

    1090
  998. I have a sampler that started life as my 30th birthday present – a book that grew to become every letter of the alphabet. Many family dinner guessing games, plus a lovely wall hanging. It is amazing how many hours can be spent pondering different questions found in the piece.

    1091
  999. It would have to be an Alpaca with a rainbow afro, she seriously makes me smile every time I look at her. The body was thread painted and the afro was all turkey stitch. The reason she is (currently) my most favourite is because she was the last piece I embroidered before hand surgery in November. It gives me hope to be able to stitch again.

    1092
  1000. My favourite project I ever stitched. I made a watercolour quilt for my youngest daughter and I stitched a series of “symbols or messages” hidden within the design. They were only visible on the back of the quilt and only if you knew they were there. A wishing star, the oak tree with the swing, etc. Loved making that quilt and figuring out how to hide all the secrets within ithe quilt pattern.

    1093
  1001. My favourite stitchery, called A Stitch in Time, was a sampler that involved many techniques but only one colour. I learned a little bit about hardanger, pulled work, drawn work, as well as doing some cross stitch. It was a great project for someone who has a poor attention span but loves learning new techniques.

    1094
  1002. My favorite is the birth sampler I stitched for our daughter. My 79 yr old grandmother stitched one for our son, and when our daughter was born two years later, she gave me the book (printed in Danish) so I could stitch one for Sarah. I had to do some adapting/designing to make it uniquely Sarah’s but also using some of the same motifs that my grandmother used in her brother’s. It took me 2 years to stitch.

    1095
  1003. My overall favorite has to be my second needlepoint project. I found a large 19th century printed Berlin work chart at an estate sale about forty years ago, and about five years later, I set about to turn it into a pillow project using canvas that I found among my grandmother’s needlework supplies. I’ve learned a lot and have completed a number of projects of varying sizes in the interim, but I still prefer the challenge of working on unprinted canvas and linen.

    1096
  1004. Many years ago I mailed a photo to a company that would return a cross stitch pattern of your photo. While doing some organizing, I recently discovered that nearly completed cross stitch piece, which was a close up of my husband and I on our wedding day. I had tucked it away in a box, fully intending to complete some of the stitching around the edges. It’s the piece I’ve made with the most happy memories. And I like it just as is, not quite complete.

    1097
  1005. My favorite stitching project was an anniversary cross stitch for my in laws 50th.
    Done in all golds and some gold metallic.
    The project made me understand the need for a GOOD stitching frame.

    1098
  1006. My favorite piece is a navy blue cross=stitch pattern of a horse and buggy in Amish country. It reminds me every day of the fun my husband and I had on a long weekend trip. Everything was great including the kittens at the home of an Amish family.

    1099
  1007. For 3 yrs I have been learning and practicing Crewel Embroidery. I have learned a lot and used several kits and designer projects. Last winter I made my 1st large original crewel “masterpiece”. It was so rewarding to see my skills and idea come to life ! It really boosted my confidence

    1100
  1008. I’m still pretty new to surface embroidery, but my favorite project so far was stitching flour sack towels as a wedding gift for a dear friend. One had a silly little line-art portrait I drew of them and they liked it so much that the bride cut it out of the towel, hemmed it and framed it to go on their mantel.

    1102
  1009. My favorite needlework project is a large embroidered handkerchief I made in middle school, because it was my first serious project that also had real-life application.

    1103
  1010. My favourite project is the one I am working on at the moment. A friend is teaching me how to embroider a fabric book about trees.

    1104
  1011. When I was a teenager, I completed my first large cross stitch piece. It was of the Last Supper, and I gave it to my mother as a Christmas present. It showed me that I could to large pieces, and the my mother’s delight at receiving it made all of the time worthwhile.

    1105
  1012. My favourite project is probably the series of pincushions I stitched a couple of years ago. It’s one of the only enbroidery projects I’ve actually finished into useful items, and they were a joy to stitch og beautiful once finished. I got the pattern from a local embroidery store, which had several of the pincushions stitched up and one display. I think the stitch is called gobelin stitch, though I’m not sure – the entire fabric was covered with thread until it looked almost woven from the shiny cotton thread.

    1106
  1013. My favourite needlework project… has to be my very first crewel piece worked with Shelley Cox at her studio in Hawkhurst, Kent, UK. It gave me the confidence to sign up for the certificate and diploma course at the RSN at Hampton Court. I am now about halfway through my Jacobean piece and loving every moment – that first piece with Shelley has opened up a whole new chapter in my life and introduced me to Goldwork, Canvaswork, Beaded Canvas and many other areas that I have yet to explore and introduced me to some wonderful, talented people along the way.

    1107
  1014. A needlepoint of a dragon – the pattern came from a photo I took of a ceramic tile wall in the Forbidden City in Beijing – it’s my favourite because it’s my own design and it takes me back to that place when I look at it – and it was the first big project I ever stitched.

    1108
  1015. My favorite needlework project is a stitched and framed basket of strawberries with a prayer that starts with
    “May our meals be seasoned with your love” etc. It is stitched on linen and has hung in the dining room for the last 40 years. It is simple but lovely.
    Wishing you a healthy and happy Christmas!
    xox

    1109
  1016. My very favorite needlework project was the christening dress made for my grandchild seventeen years ago. It was from an antique pattern and constructed from Swiss organdy. It has pleats,lace,entreadux, and several kinds of embroidery. Three other children in our extended family have worn this dress and it will be handed down through the family. The name and birth date of each child who wears it is embroidered on the hem of the dress.

    1110
  1017. My favourite Needlework project was a little Monogram I did in an RSN class. It’s a lovely little project, but more importantly, it is emblematic of a dream come true!

    1111
  1018. I think my favourite piece of stitching is always the one I am just starting . But one that gave me so much joy was the silk Christening dress that I made for my first grandaughter with silk ribbon lily of the valley on the sleeves and lilliums on the bodice in very pale colours. Her name is Lillian. A joy as a baby and a joy now as a 13 year old. All 3 grandaughters have smocked dresses that I made for them that had a lot of dreams and blessings stitched into them. Love and joy to you for Christmas Mary and all the needlework sisterhood Chris from Australia

    1112
  1019. It’s very, very small, but I loved doing the goldwork Needlework Nibble strawberry scissor fob. I gave it to my mother, and it was (sadly) stolen when her house was burgled. Someday I may do it again!

    1113
  1020. Hello Mary, my favorite project is a landscape, two years long embroidering, made in Guatemalan embroidery, with Williams threads. Use as a guide a photograph, I love it because when looking at the landscape, photography and embroidery are similar, I feel very happy when I look at the embroidery. Greetings, many blessings, a big hug.

    1114
  1021. My favorite needlework project was a wall hanging which included embroidery and quilting featuring Kaffe F. fabric.

    1115
  1022. My favorite needlework project was one of the first ones that I ever did. My mom gifted me a crewel embroidery kit of a Siamese cat on with just head, tail and front legs and a bee the cat doesn’t look happy about. This frame is a wonderful giveaway perfect for getting back to a long neglected roses project. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

    1116
  1023. I have been a cross stitcher for many years. My sister sent me a link to one of your blog articles back in October. At first I didn’t look at it because I didn’t think I’d like it, but big sister knows best. I have really fallen for embroidery. Your stitching and designs are beautiful and I want to stitch these lovely things too! It is hard to pick a favorite project, but I stitched a sampler from Shepherd’s Bush called Fair Philomel. It is a long band sampler with lots of different specialty stitches. I’m looking forward to lots of new stitching and learning from you in the new year.

    1117
  1024. Most of my needlework stitching’s are small and done with a hoop… However, my favorite completed project an intricate needlepoint of woodland rabbits worked on a frame. It took forever, as I worked on it from one baseball season to another. My two sons and their high school teammates actually paid attention to my progress. Thus, it holds great sentimental value to me. Although they are well into adulthood, fond memories linger.
    On my wish list is to begin a needlework project of birds, which will require a frame… one I have searched for, and this slate frame seems perfectly suited to my needs. I would dearly love to obtain this fine slate frame ¬– functional and a beautiful work of art!

    1118
  1025. This is extremely difficult to answer. All of my projects are my favorite. If I didn’t like it I wouldn’t have finished it.

    1119
  1026. My favorite needlework project ever was the silk embroidery repair of little “tent”, a ciborium cover. Initially I was rather terrified of the task, but as I carefully filled in the worn places the work became truly satisfying. Because of this project I found your blog which has been of great inspiration!

    1120
  1027. Thank you so much for your newsletter. My favorite stitch project is a birth sampler for my new granddaughter. I put a lot of work into it and a lot of prayers. My son and daughter-in-law had been trying to start a family for many years. They decided to give up and to concentrate on careers. She a doctorate in nutrition him an engineer. They now have their dream. We now have 8 grandchildren but that stitchery was special. We almost lost it and our home in the Sonoma county CA wildfire. I kept thinking about both. Thank you for this opportunity. Kathy

    1121
  1028. Thanks so much for this wonderful opportunity! I can’t say that I have a favorite stitched piece. I do think that I have the most affection for the smocked and French handsown clothes that I made for my children and the Christmas stockings I made for them. Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy new year.

    1122
  1029. My all time favorite project and most deeply meaningful was a cross stitch kit featuring everything honey related. I worked on this project almost exclusively during the times I spent in the hospital with my son. He is disabled and he had many surgeries over the years and I used this needlework project during those hard times to focus on something that was happier, and a quiet activity. It is finished now and will be framed soon. My son is doing well even with his limitations.

    1123

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