Welcome to Installment #8 of A Stitcher’s Christmas for 2019!
I’ve noticed over the years of writing here on Needle ‘n Thread that there are two things that stitchers especially love: good thread and good tools!
This year’s Stitcher’s Christmas has featured a good selection of threads (and more to come), and we’ve had one installment featuring tools. As we come towards the end of the series, I’m very happy to present you with some more beautiful tools for hand embroidery.
After Jenny Adin-Christie launched her new website earlier this year, I reviewed this snazzy little laying tool of hers. It’s one of my favorite stitching tools!
I jumped on her newly-launched site and indulged in a few of her other bits and bobs, too – like her bead / goldwork trays, a ceramic waxer, and a delicate, hand-painted needle minder. There’s nothing on her site that isn’t lovely and isn’t, I’m sure, very well made.
So I reached out to Jenny to ask if she wanted to join in on this year’s Stitcher’s Christmas, and she gave a very enthusiastic yes, offering a nice selection of four beautiful tools for one of you.
I’ll tell you all about them and then announce the winners of last week’s book give-away. So read on…
Jenny is an embroiderer, designer, and instructor who lives in the UK. She travels around the world to teach, and her needlework creations are always spectacular. They are beautifully designed and engineered, unique in style, involving gorgeous threads and other materials.
From small and dazzling – like this little butterfly millefiori kit – to complex and astounding – like her Wordsworth Harp needle case design – all of Jenny’s pieces are delightful to look at and evoke a very pleasant sense of wonder.
Her web shop is stocked with a marvelous selection of tools, many of them handcrafted. They are utilitarian and pretty. What more could you want?
First up is a ceramic heart waxer. I have one of these – it’s very sweet!
If you have a little display-type sewing box, or the type of sewing box where you have pretty little tools that are delightful to see and that make great conversation pieces, this is a nice addition.
For me, admittedly, I like a useful tool – which this is – so, yes, I actually do run my thread through the beeswax, even though I know that some day, it will all be used up. (But I can restructure a new filling, methinks!)
Next, we have a hand-made stainless steel mellor.
A mellor is a tool often used in goldwork, but handy for other types of surface embroidery as well. It can be used as a laying tool, as it’s quite comfortable to hold, and it can also be used as a general Poker-and-Prodder-of-Things, when you need to poke and prod things while stitching – which happens more often than you’d think!
You can read more about the mellor here, where I discussed its use in a goldwork project.
The third tool is a hand-crafted, carefully engineered pricker.
The pricker is used mostly as a tool for creating transfer patterns to use with the prick-and-pounce transfer method, which you can read about here.
With this pricker, you can change out the side of the needle you want to use – so you can pierce very tiny holes with a #12 needle, or you can increase the hole size by using larger needles all the way up to a #8.
I don’t have one of these yet, but it’s on my list. There’s a great selection of colored handles along with the more traditional wood shown above. I’m quite partial to the green and the blue handles. What about you?
Finally, the winner will also receive one of these little stiletto / laying tools made by Jenny’s dad.
I’ve used mine almost daily since the day I received it as a gift (thank you, Holly! again and again!), and I love it. If you’ve never used a laying tool, it’s a perfect one to start with. If you use laying tools, this one will surely become a quick favorite!
You can read specifically about this laying tool here on my review of it, and if you’re unsure of what a laying tool is and how it works, you can read this article and watch this video.
Jenny’s little tool also works well as a stiletto, to open up holes in your ground fabric for all kinds of reasons, including for making eyelets in whitework, or for plunging goldwork threads, or for any other reason you might need to widen up an opening in fabric without breaking the weave.
It’s a perfectly balanced, smooth, weighty little tool and great to have in your stitching arsenal!
Give-Away Guidelines
This give-away has ended. Thanks to all who participated!
1. Leave a comment on the comment form below. If you’re not sure how to get to the comment form, click on this link – it will take you straight there. Your comment must be left on the website on today’s article, not on any other article. Comments submitted via email are not eligible and I am not able to reply to them due to time constraints. Please do not comment as a reply to another comment. Replies are not counted.
2. Be sure that your comment has a name on it that is recognizable as yours. You might include a last name, nickname, or the place you live.
The reason I particularly mention this one is that it reduces confusion when the winner is announced. It’s always hard to disappoint people if they mistake the name for their own!
3. Make certain your email address on the comment form is entered correctly, so that I can email you if you win. Leave the “website” line of the comment form empty. Do Not leave your personal contact information in the comment box itself. In other words, don’t sign your comment with your email address or your mailing address! That’s just an invitation for spam.
4. In your comment, answer the following question:
What kit designed by Jenny captures and delights you the most and what do you like about it? You can browse through her kits here. There aren’t too many in stock right now, but you can still enjoy looking!
5. Leave your comment before 5:00 AM central time (Kansas, USA) Monday, December 23rd. The winners will be randomly drawn that morning and will be announced at the end of that day’s give-away.
If you love lovely tools, then go forth and comment, and in 2020, you may be adding these delightful pieces to your needlework box!
Search Press Book Winners!
The winners of last week’s give-away from Search Press – featuring four different sets of books, one set to each winner – are Maura Witt, Sian Owen-Cruise, Laura Meltzer, and Nina Burnsides. I’ll drop you all an email with further details. Thanks to all who participated!
If you’re eager to get your paws on some of the new books coming up in 2020 (there are some real beauties on the list!), you’ll find them all on my Amazon Recommendations page here, under the Recommendations list. You can add them to your Wish List or pre-order them now, so you’ll be among the first to receive them!
My Amazon Recommendations page is an affiliate page, which means that any purchases you make through the links on that page result in a small commission for Needle ‘n Thread. Every penny helps, so thanks for your consideration!
Don’t Forget…
You can still sign up for Monday’s installment of A Stitcher’s Christmas – a full set of the Elizabethan range of crewel wool from Renaissance Dyeing.
The winners for that will be announced this Friday, when I’ll regale you with a gorgeous color-themed give-away from French Needle.
See you then!
The Owl and the Pussycat. The color harmony is perfect, the scale of the figures is very pleasing. The other kits were also beautiful, but this was my favorite.
These tools look amazing! Am looking forward to a trip to the UK in 2021 and the opportunity to take class with Jenny…her work is simply spectacular!
I have two of Jenny’s kits that I haven’t started yet, and those are two that delight me the most…Wordsworth Harp and Gawthorpe Needlecase. In addition to the wonderful and unique designs, I love the history behind them both.
I can’t choose just one. I truly love them all. I have narrowed it down to three. The blue wren Etin, because I love birds and blue is my favorite color,. The row of seaside houses, because it’s just charms me , and the Gawthorpe needle case. I love the fish.
They’re all stunning but I really love the Wordsworth Harp!
The handmade laying tool sets my heart a flutter!
I have several of Jenny’s kits already; the Harp needlecase and the Gawthorpe needlecase, and the Owl and the Pussycat picture. If I were to buy another one, it would likely be one of her pulled thread pieces. They are so delicate and detailed! Or maybe one of the wrens. I love that she designs things that are unusual!
I LOVE all of Jenny’s kits! Currently, my favorite is the Wren and perch which I have completed. I have the blue Wren (and others) but haven’t done that yet. I have some of Jenny’s tools but not these and would be very happy to win them.
I have taken a class from Jenny and she is very patient, thoughtful and knowledgeable. I highly recommend her kits and to take a class from her.
I love the (brown) wren kit so much! I grew up with them nesting under the eaves of my house, and see them often in the garden now – and I love etuis and have collected several antique ones. The attitude of the little wren is just perfect.
I love Jenny’s Embroiderers Basket. Its a whitework technique. I also love her metal work castles.
Oh, beautiful! I couldn’t decide which I liked best, so The Gawthorpe Needlecase and Mosaic Pheasant. A nice needlecase and a lovely wallhanging.
Oh, my what adorable kits – so delightful and unique. Since I have to choose one, it will be the Little Row of Seaside Houses. Why – unique, 3D and I love the ocean.
There are so many beautiful things there, like the passion flower which I think would make a lovely ornament somewhere in our new church building (when it’s finished) because of the flower’s symbolism. But for personal use, the butterfly every time (in the gold version rather than the copper) – what a dainty and delicate piece of embroidery!
Although I like any stitchery project I prefer one I can use for something. For that reason I like the needle case or the scissor case. They are both exquisite.
I once stitched up the Phesant from Jenny because I was delighted with the range of threads in the kit. I think most of her kits have an excellent mix of threads, and often a goldwork element which is my favourite. I am interested in the Hampton Court design of hers because I have studied at the RSN Hampton Court and it has become a meaningful place to me for my embroidery advancement.
I love Jenny’s harp and have the kit.
I quite like the Hampton Court Sampler. It has lots of different materials and techniques to work in and the colors are lovely. What I really love though is the quote at the top ” Isn’t it true, what small can do with a thread, a thought and a stitch”
Jenny’s Brown Wren Étui is both a beautiful object and a useful tool. It is enchanting really, as most of her kits are. It would delight me to see the wren sitting on my chair side table, enticing me to pick up the needle and thread.
I really like the Pugin Scissor Case. I’m allergic to real flowers so I’m drawn to embroidered ones. The flower on this case is beautiful and makes you want to touch it.
I love her kits but my favorites are her wren etuis – the blue one is so beautiful and useful
Love your newsletter. It is always full of idea pricking ideas and helpful tips.
The brown Wren Etui! exquisite details, and a lively personality! As a birdwatcher, I have a soft spot for Little Brown Birds;)
I am excited to try my first kit from Jenny Adin Christie, the beautiful Pugin Scissor Case which I recently received. It is a lovely floral project based on a historical design. Her tools look beautiful and I would love to try them too!
What beautiful items! The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase is what immediately grabbed my attention! Such delicate details on it! I love music and have always admired harp players – what a beautiful way to store needles in plain sight! I love it!
I love her little birds, just beautiful.
I think I like the Embroiderer’s Workbasket. I love the types of stitches and the lacy look it has.
I believe it would be something that I could finish.
I have loved the Gawthorpe needlecase since the first time I saw it. Actually I love all her designs. One of these days I am going to purchase one of her kits. Kim R. Rochester NY
Jenny truly is a craftswoman and artist! Her kits are extraordinary – way beyond my expertise- and so beautiful to look at. Her needlework tools are equally elegant and lovely.
I love the utility of the tools with beautiful artistry of some of the embellishments. Such a lovely combination and balance of elements. Useful tools can be pretty! And I love pretty!!
The kits are amazing just to browse through her website and see her creativity. The Wordsworth Harp is not only beautiful but functional…just a joy to look upon.
The kits are exquisite. My favorite is the Edelweiss Handbag. A sunny nostalgic image in a form that could be shared outside the home. A real conversation starter!
The Gawthorpe Needlecase evokes for me such delicacy and care. Much as I admire all the kits, that’s the one that sings to me.
The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase, Hands Down! It is elegant, functional, and my other hobby is playing harp so I am somewhat partial to all things harp.
The wren etuis are a close second.
The Gawthorpe needlecase is my favorite, although everything shown is gorgeous. I like the muted colors and dimension of the piece.
The Embroider’s Workbasket catches my eye!
I love the Little Row of Seaside Houses. She packs such wonderful stitches and materials into one small piece. It would be a joy to stitch and a delight to muse on the “inhabitants” of such little houses.
Just love the the scissor case – so much delicate detail! And one always needs a scissor case!
Hi Mary,
The Blackwell Rondel appeals to me because it is such a pretty design. Thanks for the give away.
Another wonderful give-away, Mary. I love the Mosaic Pheasant, so magnificent! The selection of needlework tools would be a treasure to have. Thank you, Mary and Jenny! Happy Holidays.
I love her wrens! I actually have one under the tree waiting to be opened on Christmas as a gift from me to me! I can’t wait! It just looks like its hopping around and makes you so want to reach out and touch it. How can you not just love it!
I love brooches and when I saw the MILLEFIORI BUTTERFLY BROOCH, I fell in love! I can’t imagine being able to make something that beautiful! Would love to win the tools mentioned. I’ve been looking at embroidery tools and would fine these very, very useful!
I love the Millifiori butterfly broaches. I think they would make anyone who saw you wearing it smile.
In my humble opinion, everything Jenny touches is gold. She’s talented, she’s nice, she sells only the best quality which is a trifecta for other stitchers.
Hoorah for Jenny.
The butterfly brooch is just beautiful and what a conversation starter it would be! What a lovely accessory to make and wear.
The Gawrhorpe needle case followed closely by the Owl and the Pussycat.
What stunning kits! What a difficult choice to choose just one. But having to choose just one, the Little Brown Wren called to me. It is adorable and would hold my thimble boldly instead of me scrambling around to find in in my cabinet.
Thank you for considering me for the needlework tool collection giveaway.
I love the Blue Wren Etui. I like birds and blue and it would be so much fun sitting among my embroidery things so I could look at it a lot .
I love the harp kit the best. It’s beautiful and delicate and feminine and would look so pretty on display.
Wow! Jenny’s embroideries are fantastic and the tools would be any embroiderer’s dream to own. Thanks for this opportunity to try and win some fantastic tools!
Mary Ann Cincinnati
Jenny’s Gawthorpe needle case is so, so lovely, too lovely to use as it was intended almost! She really does have an eye for design and produces the most exquisite embroidery.
Lynda H, UK
Jenny’s kits are all so wonderful! I love especially the blue wren and its multi dimensional aspect. . I do a lot of embroidery with bird themes and this little blue fellow perched on my desk would be very inspirational! Thanks as always for the giveaway.
I like the little Wrens. The problem is there is two wrens which requires a making a decision. They also have stitched mounds that they can be mounted on, a lovely finish
My first Jennie kit was the Blackwell Rondel. I have several others and am about to start the Pugin Scissor case -!it is small, has lots of different techniques and it is useful. her kits are some of the best designed and packaged that I have come across. Worth the money.
Mary, always love reading your articles. Jenny’s kits are wonderful, and the contents so beautifully presented. I really love her Hilltops design – means a lot to me as the lake district here in the UK is one of my favourite places to visit. My husband and I try to go there at least once a year.
I love Jenny’s butterfly broach. I love the way the beads lay and I wear lots of pins.
All of Jenny’s kits are delightful, but my current favorite is the Gawthorpe Needlecase. I have it in my stash but haven’t gotten up the “courage” to start it yet. If I was so lucky to win these tools, maybe that would be the inspiration I need to get started! Thanks for giving us the opportunity to win these stunning tools!
I love the pheasant! It would be beautiful for a special trinket box.
I’ve had my eye on the Wordsworth Harp needle case ever since it was a special offer at The Crewel Work Company. My budget and I have been having words about it ever since.
My favourites are Hampton Court Sampler and Little Row of Seaside Houses. I have completed one of her smaller Millifiori brooches – it’s very lovely.
Whoa. I’ve never seen Jenny’s works before today. They are all quite striking, but I am most drawn to the Blue Wren Etui because I like birdie things, and those blue colors are beautifully mixed to look so realistic.
My choice of Jenny’s kits would be the Embroiderer’s Workbasket (whitework). I have promised myself that I will do something in whitework sooner rather than later in the years remaining in my stitching life. This design looks elegant and doable.
I am enchanted by Jenny’s Harp needle case, I love how imaginative it is – maybe I haven’t been looking hard enough but I have not seen a needle case like that before.
However I also love the Owl and the Pussycat kit. My mum and I used to read that poem together and my sister and I read it at her wedding so the kit brings back lovely memories. I would love to buy it when it is back in stock and stitch it for my mum.
All Jenny’s tools are delightful, I hope I win so I get a chance to use them all in the new year!
The Gawthorpe needlecase is amazing! I like the colors and especially the fish
I like ‘Little Row of Seaside Houses’. I would like to live there.
Cheryl F from Tyler Texas
I love the Pugin scissor case. It is beautiful! The stitching on it is very intriguing and something I would love to try one day.
I love all.of her pieces but have been saving up to do the Hampton Court Sampler.
The Owl and the Pussycat is my favorite. I have always loved the poem and this piece presents a beautifully detailed rendition of it. I love it!
I think the Embroiderer’s Workbasket is stunning!
What beautiful work! My favorite is the Galthorpe Needle Case.
Jenny’s kits are all so lovely but if I had to choose just one, I would choose the Hampton Court Sampler. It has such a variety of different embroidery techniques to learn. While I like metal thread embroidery, to me it shines more when combined with other types of embroidery.
Good morning Mary! If I were to win a tool from Jenny, I would choose the laying tool made by her father. I use a laying tool for most of my work. I love the whimsy of the Seaside Castles and the Brown Wren but I also am intrigued by the Pugin scissor case. What can I say….I love all her kits! Merry Christmas!
My favorite kit of Jenny’s is The Owl and the Pussycat. It is truly beautiful. I’m working on my needlework skills to do my very best stitching on this piece. The reason it’s my favorite though is that my mother used to recite that nursery rhyme all the time when I was very young. If I listen carefully I can still hear her voice. She has been gone for a bit now but I hope to share the rhyme with my young grandson.
Blackwell roundell appeals to me the most. I love the delicacy of the design and I do like to stitch goldwork pieces.
All of her kits are beautiful! It’s difficult to select among them but I would choose the Millefiori Butterfly Brooch. I have always loved millefiori work and this butterfly is beautiful. I have never done anything this intricate but I love a challenge!
I love Jenny’s, and have a few already. The next on my list to purchase is the Owl and the Pussy Cat. Apart from it being an absolute delight, I love the poem so everything about it makes me smile.
I missed out on the laying tool when Jenny opened her website so I’m waiting for her to restock unless I am the lucky winner of this amazing give-away.
Many thanks to you and to Jenny.
Oh my! Oh my! What treasures, and how generous of Jenny! I have been salivating over the absolutely “stuff” on Jenny’s site for some time as she is a true artist. And so to business… living here in Australia where we have a few different little blue wrens, well how could I go past Jenny’s Blue Wren Etui? I couldn’t! And now all my fingers and toes will be crossed in hope…..
So hard to choose! But I think my favorite is the Gawthorpe needlecase. It reminds me of Venetian gros point needlelace.
The Pugin Scissors Case is absolutely stunning. The colors are gorgeous, the stitching is full and glorious and the attention to detail in the finishing make it a grand piece. Lovely!
Absolutely gorgeous products online views; can’t imagine how much more beautiful they must be in real life! I’ve been a brooch wearer for decades and am in love with the Gold and Copper butterfly one!
The Wordsworth Harp needle case has to be the most exquisite creation of a necessity I have ever seen. Classic!
Seriously we are to pick a favorite, of my goodness I love them all. I don’t think my skills are up to them, however the MOSAIC PHEASANT is special. It would make me smile every time I use it.
Be happy all,
Naomi
Beautiful craftsmanship, and so special since her father crafted these for her.
That Owl & the Pussycat kit is beautiful! My mom and I made a baby quilt to the same theme for my first nephew and it brought back sweet memories.
The Hampton Court Kit is lovely! It Is like a fairy-tale scene which appeals to me. Plus I like the soft colors.
Oops! I was so excited by this give-away…… insert ‘gorgeous’ after “absolutely”.
The Gawthorpe needle case is my favourite design. I’d love to win the tools.
Oh my goodness, the Edelweiss handbag is amazing. Definitely my favorite!
I absolutely love this tools and it’s so great that your dad makes them! My dad was a Craftsmen an I treasure everything he made for me!!
The Wordsworth Harp Needle case. Stunning.
Kelly Ann D. in Modesto
The kit I would like is the butterfly broach. It is exquisite. Would also like the tools in this giveaway.
As a closet Anglophile, I love anything from the Tudor period so Hampton Court Sampler is my pick. Love the various specialty stitches.
I love them all but the blue wren etui is the one that keeps catching my eye.
Jenny’s bird etc is and mossy hillock are the most charming things I’ve ever seen!
It’s hard to really pick one piece from Jenny Adin-Christie’s kits (those needle cases and etuis are amazing!) but the little seaside houses piece catches my eye every time. Who doesn’t like a miniature village? And who doesn’t love Jenny’s work?
Merry Christmas!
Jane/Chilly Hollow
The Blackwell Roundel is so beautiful. The two wrens are also exquisite. So beautifully sewn.
I love the scissor and the passifloral, but I just might have to make the harp needle holder for my daughter in law.
Beautiful kits. I especially liked the butterfly and the wrens.
I love the little row of seaside houses-just magical!
I wavered back and forth about my favourite piece but finally decided that the little seaside houses was the one. It was just so whimsical!
I love her little wrens! They’re so pretty and also functional!
Hi, Mary,
Wow! These designs are a revelation.
The Gawthorpe Needlecase catches my eye. I love it for the elegance of its classic design and the colors.
Amazing, just amazing. I am so glad to encounter Ms. Adin-Christie’s work.
Beth B in Charlottesville, VA
I love her kit coming in 2020, Blackwell Roundel. The stitches are beautiful and winning these tools would help me achieve beautiful handwork!
Her kits are fantastic! My favorite kit is the Edelweiss handbag – the design of the flowers is different – modern and elegant. I also like the shape of the handbag. I hope the kit becomes available again.
The Harp needless case is absolutely amazing!! I can almost hear the sweet music playing as I stitch away.
Good Morning Mary!
The kits are absolutely gorgeous. Hard to pick just one!!! For a “usable” bit of beauty I would choose the Pugin Scissors case. For absolute delight, I would choose the Blue Wren Etui.
I will return to this website, especially for her tools.
Thank you!
My favorite is the Wordsworth Harp Needlecase. Well maybe it is the Blackwell Roundel. No maybe the Milleflora Butterfly! There are just too many to choose only one!
I love the Hilltop Garden. The ribbon work is stunning.
The Pugin Scissors Case looks like something from a dream set in another time – gilded, lush, and rich. The featured flower and its beaded center draw me into the design. Working it would build on existing skills but it also invites to extend them.
The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase captures and delights me the most. I am a musician and fell in love with the harp when I was temporarily storing one for a friend. I like how this needle case stores the needles to look like the strings on the harp. Plus the column of the harp reminds me of the poles on a carousal which I also like. And, the flowers on the soundbox body are exquisite.
The Pugin Scissor Case is spectacular! In fact, all of the kits are so beautiful and I am quite a beginner in stitching. I don’t think I have the skills to create such wonderful pieces. However, the Owl and the Pussycat sure looks like fun!
Thanks for sharing such a great site!
I absolutely love Jenny’s Blue Wren Etui! My sewing room is filled with vintage and antique needlework and tools but also many little critters to make it a cozy den. This kit fits the bill 🙂 perfectly!
Jennifer B. in NEPA
OMG her creations are all so exquisite and intricate it’s hard to pick a favorite! I’m seriously torn between the LITTLE ROW OF SEASIDE HOUSES and the MILLEFIORI BUTTERFLY BROOCHES.
I was first drawn to the houses, the waves and golden rainbows pulled me in with a storybook fascination.
Then, I saw the butterfly! How elegant a lady would feel walking into a room with one of these brooches on her collar! SO lovely!
I doubt I’ll ever have the embroidery skills necessary to create such lovely pieces, but one can dream! (And with the proper tools… who knows? )
I love the butterfly brooch. Our is small enough that I feel I could easily complete it. My grandmother had a paperweight done in this technique which I loved to look at when little.
Impossible! Another site addiction now! I love the mosaic pheasant because I have photos of my father from pheasant hunting on thanksgiving when I was small. We truly were lucky to have them! Also the needle case! And the rondel coming out next year! Thank you Mary, you surely have brought the magic of the season back for me! I haven’t made a wish list in about 60 years!
Hard to choose, most unique all. I believe I would pick the Roundel. Wonderful tools offered. Thank you
I love all of her kits but my favorite is her Millifore brooch because the variety of stitches makes the butterfly appear live!
Hampton Court Palace!! Which I bought and just received a few days ago. The instruction booklet is so detailed and the illustrations are out of this world…. I believe I will be able to have success with the kit!
I love the Gawthorpe needlecase. The colors are very soothing and I like the floral motif. The kit is also practical, as I am always misplacing my needles.
So many beauties! I think the scissors case would be just right.
I absolutely love the blue wren. To be able to embroider a life size bird on the metal form would be a challenge I’d love to try. Nothing ordinary about this kit.
Wow, these kits are absolutely breathtaking! I wish I had “Mossy Hillock for the Wren Étuis” to sew. To begin with. And then the brown bird. Or the blue. Or both … Santa, do You read this?
I love the Passiflora kit! When I was young, these grew wild on my dad’s farm, and I thought they were beautiful, but he considered them weeds. I still love the exotic look of them.
i have done a few of Jenny’s kits and the one i love the most is her Wren. i love the 3-D nature of the piece and i loved stitching it. her kits are so well organized and easy to follow. every time i look at what she is doing i keep adding more favourites to my list.
thanks again.
The Blackwell Roundel looks very appealing to me. Love the colors. I was fortunate to have done the Passiflora kit in a class with Jenny in Perth Australia 2 years ago. Very good teacher and very interesting lady.
Oh, my goodness! That Garwthorpe needlecase is *exquisite.* I think I had only seen her harp needlecase before.
The Gawthorpe Needlecase is going on my wish list. The style, design and stitching are amazing.
I love the Wordsworth Harp needle case and I hope one day to be proficient enough to make it. I love beautiful things that have a purpose. I also love tiny things and this tiny harp is just so adorable.
I’ve been on this site a number of times. The Mosaic Pheasant has been on my wish list since I saw it Inspirations. One day for sure I’ll get that one. The Little Row of Seaside Houses looks like a castle in the sky which my granddaughter loves. I’m hoping to get that one before she too old for castles.
Merry Christmas
The Hampton Court sampler is gorgeous and would be a wonderful project to complete
All are perfectly lovely! I like the milliflori butterfly brooch. But several of the out of stock ones appeal greatly to me. With the brooch, I could wear it as a pin or perhaps fasten into a hair barrette— as I have long hair which I mostly wear “up”.
Jaw-dropping! That was my response to the Wordsworth Harp on first glance. Then as I realized how small this beauty was, I fell deeper in love. As major projects go -this is worth it!
Jennifer Wollesen – I like the Wordsworth Harp. A friend of mine has made one similar and it is beautiful.
All her pieces are so exquisite and actually functional! But I have to select the blue wren etui as my favorite–such clever construction and artistically detailed.
Jenny’s design that I like the most is the millefiori butterfly brooch. I’ve been fascinated with millefiori every since I saw a millefiori watch in a catalog. I even had the opportunity to do a little glasswork with millefiori canes at a friend’s home. I was beyond pleased after it was fired, and the people I showed it to could tell it was supposed to be the American flag!
Thank you again for another wonderful giveaway!
Susan
Jenny Adin-Christie’s kits are all whimsical and fun to look at. I love the blue wren best because I love the color blue and because my husband and I call our house Wren Hollow for all the wrens that live in the woods around us. It looks like a challenging piece to work, but one that would reward you for the effort. And having the mossy hillock to perch the wren on would be a wonderful addition to the sewing table at my chair-side.
Oh the Gawthorpe Needlecase! What do I like about it – first, it is beautiful. Second, it looks achievable. Third, it is useful…and did I mention, it’s beautiful? Jenny’s kits are gorgeous – thank you for the giveaway and for leading me to this designer…what a treat!
I love the “Owl and the Pussycat” kit. The finished embroidery image is charming, the colours are subtle….they harmonize beautifully, the work has some “bling” and it evokes a bygone time…albeit in a fantasy land….of the Victorian era. The attention to detail in the stitching is amazing and draws the viewer in. Jenny does true justice to the nonsense verse it is titled after. At this crazy time of the year who doesn’t crave a little escapism! (Helen in Peterborough)
I love the ceramic waxer. It would be a joy to carry in my sewing kit to wax my quilting thread!! Like you, Mary, Inwould try to refill it when it is used up!
Such beautiful tools and kits!! Its hard to just pick one kit, but decided on the Pugin needle case.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the harp needlecase. Our Granddaughter is a harpist. She started playing in third grade and is now 19 years old and a College Student. She owns her own harp which is similar to the needlecase but not in color. Her harp is natural wood with gold leaf up the front column adorned by a gold leaf crown. On the face of the front is a floral design in gold leaf. This harp was made at Lyon and Healy in Chicago, I’ll. She is a VERY lucky girl.
I love the Putin scissor case
♡ The kit designed by Jenny that captures my heart and delights me the most, is without a doubt, the Pugin Scissors Case! From the first moment I laid eyes on it, it took my breath away! Be still my heart! The colors are perfect, the stiched details are exquisite! The touches of gold are the icing on the cake! I think I shall simply perish, if I do not acquire this kit!♡
I really like the blue wren. you have a take a second look to see it was done with needlework. I would love to see in person the techniques used and the materials used to make this beautiful project.
Thanks
All the kits are stunning but I would be torn between the millefiori butterfly brooche or the edelweiss handbag kit. Both are absolutely my taste.
I love the little row of seaside houses! It is so whimsical and sweet. We take our entire family to the beach each summer, so this really reminds me of fun times!
Wow! How does anyone pick from Jenny’s exquisite pieces? If I had to pick one, I’d love to work on the Hampton Court. The detail in the castle and the foreground intrigue me and would challenge me to work carefully in such a small space. I can see myself putting the finished piece on my wall to share with all my friends.
Thanks for sharing this amazing artist’s work with all of us.
Beautiful tools and the stiletto tool is exquisite. My favorite kit is the The Embroiderer’s Workbasket, although they are all beautiful.
Hi Mary,
The Hilltop Garden is gorgeous! I think I will be ordering that one!
How beautiful all Jenny’s work is!! I like the Owl and the Pussycat, because that is one of my favorite poems – my children and I would recite it at bedtime – but the wren etuis are perfectly charming. I think they are my favorites.
I Love all of her tools. I really Love the Milefiori Butterfly Brooch! Thanks for the giveaway. PD44
My fave kit is the mosaic pheasant kit! I love the colours, and the way that it captures the beauty of the bird whilst still being stylised. I am drooling over it!
The harp needle case is simply astounding in beauty! How I enjoy things that are both practical and pretty!!
It is very hard to pick…I like them all. But if I had to pick just one it would be the Owl and the Pussycat. I have always loved this poem and Jenny’s embroidered interpretation is gorgeous. The colours evoke the poem and the range of fibres and techniques would be interesting to learn and stitch. I also like that the embroidery can be mounted on a book…what a wonderful heirloom gift for a child this would make. Beautiful , challenging, fun and interesting to stitch….what’s not to love.
Hard to chose but my favorite is the Seaside Houses! Love all her tools that you showed!
I’m still a huge fan of the Wordsworth Harp Needlecase. It’s structure is intriguing to me. Goldwork is one of my favorite techniques and I’m finding that the “build” of a finished piece to highlight the work is amazing.
All of her pieces are wonderful and I’m so happy she has a shop!
THE BLUE WREN ÉTUI is just beautiful and contains such practical tools, the thread cutter, the needle case and the waxer. The colors and the artistry are amazing.
Hill Top Garden – I love the flowers!
THE GAWTHORPE NEEDLECASE is my favorite. I would love to stitch this one. I have done several of Jenny’s kits, the instructions are very good and easy to follow. Ana-Maria from Cambridge ON
I am quite taken with the Hill Top Garden kit. I love all things Beatrix Potter, having the entire book collection and was immediately drawn to this piece. While a bit intimidating, reading the information about the kits make it appear to be a surmountable challenge.
I love the Little Blue Wren with it’s lively colours and seemingly cheeky demeanour. Thanks so much for the opportunity to win such lovely tools!
They are ALL beautiful, but I think the Gawthorpe Needlecase is my most favorite, closely followed by the blue wren. What is entracing about the needle case, in addition to it’s functionality, is that there is something to discover everywhere you look, a different technique or gorgeous material/thread or a symbol with deeper meaning.
I love the Brown wren etui.
I was fortunate to join Jenny’s class a couple of years ago during Bath Textile Summerschool and worked on the wren. It is so clever, from the 3D printed form of the wren, to the variety of the embroidery techniques used in it and the top quality material. And she teaches so well.
I love the edelweiss hand bag because I have some dried edelweiss my father brought back from Austria during WWII
This was a hard decision. Each item is so different. They are all lovely.
The Blackwell Roundel is so elegant and challenging. Yet the Hill Top Garden is very inviting.
I absolutely love Jenny’s Gawthorpe Needlecase! I love the subtle colors, the complexity of the design and the uniqueness of the design.
Her site is an embarrassment of riches, and my favorite is the Embroiderer’s Workbox–especially the raised scissors!
I am really intrigued by the prickrrs. I’ve been doing a lot of research on pattern transfer, including a translation of the instructions for pricking and pouncing in the front of Tagliente’s 1527 pattern book, Essempio di Recammi. Then I tried doing some demonstration pictures of the technique. Doing that pointed out to me just how rudimentary my pricking and pouncing skills are and how much I need to practice. Pretty tools always make that easier. Thank you for pointing out the prickers, they are now on my must have list.
I love these tools. One always has a place for pretty and also functional things. I like th laying tool for the functionality and the materials used for their cleanness.
Wow. The more I learn, the more I know I don’t know! I told this again to my embroidery group last Friday after Edie said “I didnt know there were this many different stitches!” I assured Edie and everyone that we will continue to learn every stitch on your Needle N Thread website, with hope you will add more. Discussion followed as to the types of embroidery we want to take a look at in 2020. Sherry mentioned goldwork. After I looked her straight in the eye and asked if she thought our group was ready to try that, she said no, so as a group we settled on Swedish embroidery and stumpwork, with additional emphasis on fill stitches. This year, we learned chicken scratch, counted cross stitch and the basics of Elizabethan blackwork.
I looked through Jenny’s website, and drooled over the beautiful items. I quickly realized that each of these kits are beyond my current abilities. But my favorite is the harp needlecase. Such a clever yet beautiful tool.
Thank you for your give away, Mary. I’ve seen so many beautiful things.
I love the Wordsworth Harp needle case! I love the fact that it brings in so much of Ireland into the piece and it is spectacular!
All of Jenny’s kits are beautiful. Her instructions are so complete that almost anyone who has some experience stitching can follow them and arrive at a wonderful finished product. Having completed several of her kits, my most favorite is the fairy wren. It is 3 dimensional, it has a variety of textures and most of all is the color…an almost neon blue. It is simply beautiful.
Wow, so many treasures top chose from! I’m enamored of the harp needle case. I love that there are components made by her mom and dad. And I love decorative items that are useful.
I have just bought the Blue Wren and the grassy hillock, so I have to say they are my favourite. They are delightful and so intricate. The tools would make a great addition to my kits.
I saw amazingly beautiful- but expected items like the scissors cases and framed pieces-but GASP- the wrens!!! Did not expect to see these gorgeous 3D pieces- fantastic!
Oh the Hampton Court Palace kit for sure! I’ve been fortunate enough to go across the pond and visit the palace and the RSN, but once is not enough! I could go again and again, and what a beautiful stitched piece for a memento of the visit!
The embroider’s workbasket was one of of several projects that tweaked my heart. She has such beautiful items that it was hard to choose!
Oh my gosh these are the most amazing kits! It’s hard to choose one, but I love the Pugin scissor case. I think the design is gorgeous and I love all the different techniques and materials she uses! Silk and wool, wool flannel appliqué, or nue!!
The Blackwell Roundel is gorgeous! While I sincerely doubt that I’ll ever try goldwork, its beauty is undeniable.
Well, I’m in awe of these kit offerings. All are lovely and way beyond my abilities.
To select one, the Gawthorpe Needlecase is appealing. I like the idea of an external pocket. One always needs an extra pocket handy.
The tools offered would greatly improve my stitching experience. Maybe then I could contemplate such beautiful kits.
The fine embroidery tools from Jenny Adin-Christie really beckon to me. Not only are they beautiful, but promise an elegant function, as well. I will admit that I have already chosen a kit from Jenny, but haven’t seen it yet, as it waits under the tree for Christmas morning. Near the end of his life, my father hand-carved a sweet little Carolina wren for me. I keep the perky wren close on my bedside table, and often admire the love and meticulous carving that went into such a treasure. When I saw Jenny’s wren, I knew immediately I would stitch it in my father’s memory, and display the wrens together. I can’t wait for Christmas! By the way, Ms. Jenny is a wonderful person to do business with.
Love the hand embroidered blue wren scissor holder.unique,challenging and beautiful blues
Thx for this opportunity Jenks site is amazing
I love Jenny Christie’s work and my favorite kit is The Gawthorpe Needlecase. The design is lovely but what attracts me most is the shape of the design. A beautiful combination.
I love the Millefiori Butterfly Brouche.
Thank you and Merry Christmas.
Jenny’s designs are amazing. I am really drawn to the Edelweiss Handbag but for sure “WOW” factor I have to pick that incredible Wordsworth Harp Needlecase–gorgeous.
I like Passiflora. I have a Passion vine and it blooms all summer long. So beautiful and it smells wonderful. I think she really captured this beauty.
The bead embroidered butterfly is stunningly beautiful. I’m particularly fond of beaded embroidery pieces. I hope to learn how to do it someday soon.
Jude J.
Everything produced by and for Jenny is exquisite.
The harp needle case is amazing and so unique
Good Morning on Stitcher’s Christmas #8, Mary. I have seen Jenny’s Gawthorpe Needlecase featured in many media outlets and Pinterest sites. The detail in this little gem is simple awesome and has been an inspirational background picture on my computer many times. But, there are other projects I want to complete before tackling this beauty. Jenny’s tools would also be a very welcome addition in my workspace. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in your Stitcher’s Christmas. Jan
They all were delicious to look at but if I had to pick one that I would want to do myself it would be the passionflower. I have always loved this flower and in fact grew it for the first time in my garden this summer.
I love what Jenny Adin-Christie does. I have seen her mille Fiori pieces at one of Seminar of Embroidery Association of Canada, where she was teaching. But now, what pleases me even more is the kit I will be working on with Jenny as a teacher next May at Rythm the Needle, the national seminar of Embroidery Association of Canada, that is the Passion flower.
I love the Pugin scissor case, not only is it beautiful but it would be a delight to use.
The Hampton Court Sampler, because I would love to go there!
What a talented designer! My heart jumped at the brown wren with thimble storage and thread cutter. Too wonderful! I’ve been eyeing the laying tool ever since you’ve shown it!
After looking through Jenny’s kits the Hampton Court Sampler was quickly my favorite. I love the colors and the scenic details. It’s so delicate and the 17th century embroidery history you get to try out when making the sampler is very intriguing. I just think everything about it is lovely and getting to learn a variety of raised stitching techniques in one kit is fabulous.
I love Jenny’s Brown Wren Etui. It is so cute, and practical, too! What a treasure!
I love the Brown Wren Etui Kit. Such a sweet little bird with all-but-hidden treasures!
I just love all of Jenny’s offerings and having to choose only one is difficult. But I especially like her Little Row of Seaside Houses kit. I grew up along the Atlantic coast and have spent endless hours in watching the weather and tides turn throughout the years. This little kit brings a smile to my lips and some lovely memories to mind. It is both charming and whimsical and would be a delight to complete.
Wow! all the kits are so beautiful. I am really torn between the Gawthorpe and Harp Needlecases. The colours and stitching are stunning.
Thanks Mary.
What kit designed by Jenny captures and delights you the most is the Pugin Scissor Case. It’s so elegant and the colors really catch my eye.
I love the use of metallic mesh ribbon in the Owl and the Pussycat kit. I’ve never seen that before and it creates such a beautiful border!
I adore both of the wrens. I love functional sewing kits, and the details on them are exquisite.
The Blue Wren Etui is gorgeous but, being useful too, makes even more appealing.
I have been browsing and drooling over the kits on Jenny’s site for several months. My favorite right now is the Hampton Road House framed in the wooden box top. Gorgeous!
Jenny’s kits are stunning, I love the blue wren, the colours are simply fabulous.
I like to use prick and pounce technic, so I would like to have the pricker tool. It seems to be comfortable in hand. And I have something for mini wooden bobbins!
What FANTASTIC tools. I have been fortunate to follow courses with Jenny at P.E.I. (Canada maritimes) and will be so very happy to receive these gifts.
Thanks Mary for this opportunity
All of Jenny’s kits are absolutely fabulous but the Brown Wren and the Blue Wren are simply breathtaking! I love the detail on each one and the fact that are functional as well as gorgeous.
Hard to choose between the bird etuis and the scissor case, but i think the scissor case wins!
The Blue Wren Etui is fabulous. I pick it over the other wren because of the color. Oh what a wonderful display piece this would be. The thought that went into the design! Add the little green hillock and well it would be just splendid! The thought of needles tucked away under wings is delicious. I’m inspired to be more creative in the keeping of my tools just seeing this.
Wow! What a lovely website Jenny has! I would love to do the white work kit – embroiderer’s workbasket and Hampton court sampler- I’ve been wanting to stitch houses Even though this is a castle. But, I also loved the handbag. Everything was so lovely!! I love tools!!
I’ve had the great pleasure of stitching some of Jenny’s kits. Next I’d like to stitch Hampton Court, or maybe make the bluebird as a companion to my wren. I love the bits of unusual stuff in her kits – things I’d never otherwise have the opportunity to try.
The Blackwell Roundel is definitely on my wish list.
Wow! I really love Jenny’s stainless steel laying tools. I can just imagine how smooth they would feel in your hand. I’m sure the weight of it would be perfect.
I love the Owl & the Pussycat kit. It’s just magical.
I just received the harp kit, I asked for money for my birthday and ordered it. My next wish is a laying tool. Every thing she has is very lovely. I think her boxes are beautiful.
So many of Jenny’s kits delight me, it’s hard to choose only one. I have seen the Owl and the Pussy Cat in person and it is utterly exquisite. I think that one is my current favourite! I choose this kit because it has such a range of techniques and uses so many of the fantastic specialty supplies.
I have to pick just one?!? The Wordsworth harp needle case has enthralled me for years. It is elegant, beautiful, and an intriguing and creative needle case! I don’t know if I have the confidence to attempt any of these beautiful kits but, wow, I’d give it a try!! 🙂
It’s a tie between The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase and Pugin Scissor Case, for the delightful combination of gorgeousness with practicality!
These kits are beautiful. If I had to pick one, it would be the Gawthorpe needle case as I love its’ fish. The wren etuis, , both blue and brown, and the Wordsworth Harp are amazing. Beautiful tools.
The Pugin Scissors Case. I have purchased this! I love the colors the lovely rose design and the wonderful variety of the materials used. I love Jenny’s stuff, I took a class from her in Williamsburg, VA a few years ago and she is a fabulous teacher! I even finished the class project! Her instructions are excellent.
Wow – her designs and tools are so elegant. The kit that jumped right out at me was “The Embroiderers Workbasket.” Two reasons – I absolutely love whitework but am somewhat of a novice and 2 – because I love containers – especially containers for stitchers. The kit is exquisite….. and sweet and useful all at the same time.
The Hampton Court Sampler is my favorite but all of them are wonderful. I’ve taken a class from Jenny & her kits are beautifully packaged and the directions very clear.
I love the Jenny Adin-Christie harp needlecase. Her things are incredibly beautiful. I can’t imagine ever being about to afford one but I could spend hours looking at her site.
The Little Row of Seaside Houses which I hope to be doing with Jenny at UK Embroiderers’ Guild Summer School next year. I have been lucky to have stitched the Fantasy Castle, Sweete Bag, Mille Fiori Brooch, Passiflora, and Mount Mellick work with her in the past. Lovely, lovely lady and so very talented.
Everything that Jenny designs is gorgeous – just visiting her website is a feast for the eye. I especially love the Pugin Scissors Case. It’s truly a work of art.
Oh my goodness, the brown Wren and the tussock are so darling. How beautiful to have a little bird on display, always ready to help with some stitching.
I love the little brown wren. Coming from Australia, we have the colourful blue wren, but without a doubt Jenny bought so many elements to this little brown bird. There is so much bling. From the gold thread worked into the Needlelace of the body, spangles and beading on tiny wings, real gold beak and legs, gold free-form shape around the sharpening pitch, spangles and beading on the ground and tail to my favourite spangle and beaded ground. It is spectacular and I simply adore it. Some of the beading represents dew in the morning. Yes, I will be working on the blue wren. I will have a matching pair. Like everything Jenny produces, the kits are of an unbelievable quality and attention to detail.I love Jenny’s designs. They make me look a far better embroiderer than I am.
Little Row of Seaside Houses really made me want to venture to the ocean. I love the details and the colors are so calming too. I’ve tried a little stump work and want to try more designs using it.
Such beautiful kits, but if I could have just one, it would be the Blackwell Roundel, complete with the Pins and Needles workbox to house it in. I fell in love with it when I saw it in Inspirations magazine, and it would look great on my worktable! The goldwork and the warm colors of the embroidery are beautiful, and they perfectly complement the workbox. Honestly, though, I would be happy to have any of the kits.
Wow, those tools are gorgeous! Fingers crossed!
Picking just one of those kits is practically impossible, but if pushed I think her whitework kit, The Embroiderer’s Workbasket, might just be my favourite.
I love the subject, the kit’s very beautiful, and I have always been interested in whitework.
As a weaver and bobbin lacemaker as well as needle-worker, I find myself especially fascinated by the way many whitework techniques manipulate the weave of the fabric, like in drawn thread work, and how interesting lace-like effects can be produced.
Missie of Roseville thinks the Pugin Scissor Case is beautiful! The stitching techniques and use of materials offer a challenge to any stitcher. I would love the opportunity to do work at this spectacular level!
Oh what lovely projects! The one that spoke to my heart was ‘The Little Row of Seaside Houses’. Such wonderful detail-it is just magical! I found myself just sitting and smiling while I looked at it.
Would love a nice laying tool
The Mossy Hillock enchants me. It looks like a place tiny fairies might congregate and play. It’s going on my wish list for sure.
I would do the harp. I have always enjoyed the music played from a harp. This miniature would be a great keepsake. Joyce Howell
I am a bit obsessed with The Gawthorpe Needlecase. It hits all the right buttons for me…beautiful stitches, soft lovely colours evoking that more genteel lady’s toolkit that is both art and functionality. Best of all is that £10 of every kit sold go to helping in the preservation of the Gawthorpe Textile collection. As one how is greatly fascinated with historical textiles I love the idea of an active way to contribute to keeping this form of history alive.
The Embroiderer’s Work Basket I love it and would love to learn how to make it
The Millefiori butterfly is gorgeous! I have looked at it at least dozen times….maybe I should hint to Santa.
I looked at Jenny’s kits when I read the original post about her website/ tools earlier in the year and was simply blown away by the beauty of her work. I have had the two wren kits with the moss base on my wish list since that time. I can’t wait to try my hand at these magnificent creations!
I, like many needleworkers, have used many disparate objects in lieu of the correct tools. How many of us have used the tip of a knitting needle as a mellor or a large needle as a laying tool? It would be great to finally have the proper tools. Thank you for the giveaway.
I adore the PUGIN SCISSOR CASE KIT, and have saved the photo to my photos the first time I saw it posted. the colors of threads are visually exciting and the embroidered thread textures are luxurious and dimensional. I love this case because it is all over gorgeous and useful and you can learn so much in making this item
Thank you Mary and Jenny Adib-Christie for the giveaway. I love all the kits, they’re exquisite. Though I doubt my skills are up to the task, I would choose the Gawthorpe Needlecase.
I love the wrens
my favorite kit is the mossy hillock because it really looks like moss
I adore The Brown Wren Étui, because it’s one of my favourite birds, and the fact that it has these “secret” hiding places 🙂
I’m totally in love with the Blackwell Roundel. It looks like goldwork but I know it can’t be since the ground fabric is silk organza. The design reminds me of other “Elizabethan” designs. The beautiful sewing box it’s mounted in would be a must have as well!
So hard to choose just one. The item I have chosen is the Pugin Scissor case. It would certainly take me out of my comfort zone and challenge me. The feeling of being able of achieving something so beautiful and practical would definately be worth all the hard work.
BJW.Y.UK
Jenny is so talented! I drooled over her pheasant when it ran in Inspirations. Though I’ve yet to plunge into goldwork (no pun intended), it’s on my bucket list. Once I’ve begun, I know I’ll have to stitch the pheasant. Finding a lovely oval frame or box such as Jenny has used will be another adventure! I’m glad to know that she “resurrects” kits from her archives on occasion. Thanks, Mary, to you and Jenny for this Stitcher’s Christmas opportunity!
The butterfly brooch, Passiflora, and the brown wren
I would enjoy making the butterfly broch. I saw one in an antique shop years ago and did not purchase it to my regret.
I adore the scissor and needle cases, and the bird etus. Beautiful tools! Thanks!
That little brown wren etui captured my heart! Wow, a masterful collection; each is just inspiring. Thanks so much for introducing me to this site.
Honestly, this is too hard to decide. The birds are exquisite, absolute works of art.
I have never come across this website, and am in complete awe. The projects are absolutely beautiful. I don’t know when I’ve been so inspired to try something like this. I signed up immediately to get her newsletter.
A favorite? Oh dear, that’s very difficult. I love the butterfly, the bird, the castle, so I guess those are my favorites. Thank you for introducing her to me.
Pam in Gig Harbor
Jenny makes such beautiful tools! I love having lovely tools to admire when sewing or doing other crafts. The heart shaped waxer is so delightful and functional. I’m also interested in the stiletto laying tool. I’ve been working with gold and that would be a great addition to my toolbox. I am a “gadget girl” and have accumulated a number of tools you’ve suggested on Amazon!
The Blue Wren Etui is what delights me, among her kits, but I do love them all.
The Harp Needle case is amazing!
Wow! Everything on this site is so amazing! It is hard to choose just one kit. I am leaning toward the brown wren etui and the mossy hillock for it to perch on. I love birds, so this would be a perfect etui for me. And I am fascinated by the different textures on the hillock. Learning those stitches would be useful for future projects.
I love the Hill Top Garden. All her designs are amazing!
The blue wren etui! I love beautiful, serviceable needlework. This is stunning – but way above my skill set, I fear.
The brown wren étui has captured and delighted me for a while now. I love birds and there is something so Victorian and practical about it. I love the thimble sitting on its back!
Oh my goodness! I absolutely LOVE the little harp needle holder. It’s so delicate and intricate! As a musician, it’s a must-have.
Love the color of the Blue Wren etui. Merry Christmas!
The Gawthorpe Needlecase is my favorite. The addition of the fish just tickles me and the mix of techniques is interesting.
Jenny’s kits are all exquisite! I loved looking at and reading about them all! Being a bird lover, I just adored her Brown Wren Étui. She has celebrated that plain little brown bird in beautiful stitches and created a useful tool as well. I think the wren would like that!
Jenny’s kits are so pretty it’s hard just to pick one. I think (when I have some money) I’ll be buying the gorgeous little blue wren etui and the lovely mossy hillock.
The birds are all wonderful! I can’t pick a favorite.
I just love the millefiori butterflies! I have always liked the turquoise/teal and copper colors as well as the option to wear the piece as a brooch. The techniques used would definitely stretch my skills, but it would be worth it once finished. Thanks for the information and opportunities to win.
I am especially drawn to Jenny’s wrens and scissor cases. I am saving $’s for one of them now. The tools would be a very welcome addition to all my stitching treasures. Thank you, Mary, for this opportunity! Merry Christmas❣️
It was heard to choose between three lovely designs which have special meanings for me. I chose The Owl and The Pussycat because my husband loved owls and I compiled a book of owl poems for him. He used to recite some on a regular basis. He would have loved this as the book cover.
I love the owl and the pussycat. I love both animals and the colors and texture are great.
They are all stunning. I like them all but would choose the gawthorpe needle case. It is both useful and beautiful as well as being unique.
My favorite kit she offers is “Little Row Of Seaside Houses.” I really like the whimsical aspect of this kit.
Thank you for the opportunity to own so many beautiful tools.
What a lovely feature today! I love Jenny’s work. I am torn between favourites for her kits since they are all so lovely. But the Row of Seaside Houses really caught my fancy — it is so tiny and magical. Feels like a scene from fairyland! I really love it.
I am really taken by Jenny’s Little Row of Seaside Houses! I have seen pictures of a couple of these by different stitchers and each one has been delightful. It reminds me of my childhood vision of a magical castle by the sea – fond memories of drawing and colouring at my grandparents’ and being encouraged to add another tower, another courtyard…
I like the millefiori butterfly pin
Oh, oh, oh, I have drooled over Jenny’s designs for years! I LOVE her Little Row of Seaside Cottages, and hope to be able to purchase the kit some day! The tools are exquisite, thank you so much for hosting this lovely giveaway every year!
I like the classic look of the Embroider’s Workbasket. So sweet and clean.
I love Jenny’s design called Little Row of Seaside Houses. I love it because it is small with a powerful design effect. It has glitz and soft beach colors. It has challenging, beautiful stitches. It is amazing! MaryZ in Austin, Texas
I love embroidery tools!! Old and new. They are so pleasing to the eye and feel so good in the hands. So of these are wooden and another favorite. They look so beautiful and feel so good in the hand. I would be so honored to have any one of these tools.
Jenny’s Wordsworth Harp Needlecase is the most exquisite piece of embroidery I have ever had the pleasure to see.
I absolutely love the Millefiori Butterfly Brooch! The colors are luscious, and I would love to learn the techniques for finishing such a delightful project!
I love the Gawthorpe needlecase because it has so many elements and textures.
All of Jenny’s work is just exquisite! I like Blackwell roundel but I think my favourite is the Wordsworth harp needlecase because, not only is it lovely, but it’s also so clever! Thanks so much Mary!
I am a big fan of stumpwork and Goldwork, and I love Jenny’s designs, in particular the Blue Wren Etui. Here in Yorkshire UK we are are going to be lucky enough to have Jenny as a tutor on our residential school next Summer. I have applied to be on her course and have chosen the wren to make! It would be lovely to arrive with a set of Jenny’s tools, all ready to begin!
I would love to win these tools. Being a Senior on a fixed budget, I don’t buy a lot of the latest and wonderful tools. Love to look at them and think about using them, but of course they’re not to be mine.
Without a doubt the little blue bird! Her work is amazing.
The bird sculptures are awe inspiring. The Blue Wren is magical: way beyond me! But I think I could manage the Embroiderers Work Basket. I am doing whitework now and I need practice with satin stitch. That’s the kit I would pick.
The blue wren is fantastic. I love the bright colors.
I have been lucky enough to own 2 of Jenny’s kits: Hampton Court and The Owl and The Pussycat. I should have completed Hampton Court first but when I ordered the second kit I just had to start. I am now close to the end of it and it has been so wonderful to do. Jenny’s presentation of her kits, in linen bags complete with picture and then when you open the bag there are loads of little bags in bigger bags, which hamper me from starting sewing because I just have to study each delicate bag and drool!
One thing that Jenny never is, is stingy with materials. There is always more than enough. It is with great delight that I have worked on this piece and I’ve learnt so many (new to me) techniques and used new materials along the way. It is supposed to be a book cover, which I had fully intended using on my annual diary, but as I reach the end, I can’t imagine it being handled every day and so it will become a picture.
Well now, that is a difficult question to narrow it down to 1, but my very favourite would be the GOLD MILLEFIORI BUTTERFLY BROOCH kit. It sparkles and catches the eye with so many lovely stitches and baubles. I would love to own and make this gorgeous brooch.
I also am very excited about the WORDSWORTH HARP NEEDLE CASE coming in 2020. What an ingenious creation! Thank you for the opportunity. And…..Merry Christmas to you!
The harp needlecase kit is my favorite! It looks so elegant and whimsical at the same time.
I love the Hampton Court Sampler. It catches my eye because I’ve never seen embroidery in that style before
Oh that is an easy one to answer the Little Row of Seaside Houses is what I have my eye on. Although all her pieces are lovely I like the size of this piece and that it shows depth in it for such a small piece. I can picture myself down by the seashore in a house like this.
The blue wren etui – love non-traditional finishes such as things that end up being 3-D
I like the heart shaped scissor case. The work is stunning. I do enjoy her Instagram feed. All of her work is such eye candy.
My favorite kit has got to be the brown Wren etui. I’ve been admiring it for some time as it combines two things I love – birds and thimbles!
I was immediately enthralled when I first saw Jenny’s Wordsworth Harp! It was only available then through a tour. I spent hours trying to justify going, but couldn’t. Later, she offered the kit for only one month. I dithered until my DH said ‘So, order it already.’ He now denies that, but it took me only a few seconds to place my order. The kit itself it exquisite! I wanted to savor every stitch. I’m pleased to say that my Harp was awarded ribbons at the NAN Exemplary last spring. It is most cherished!
I love the Hampton Court Sampler.
I was lucky to work in London for about six months and took several classes at the RSN at Hampton Court. This reminds me of my time there.
I love the Blue Wren. It’s such a happy piece. Now to have the skills to complete such a piece.
Thank you Mary for all your inspiration. I use your work as inspiration when adding needle work to my quilt and craft pieces.
kathy
Those are all awesome tools which any stitcher would love to have!!
I would have to say I love them ALL almost equally!! They are just gorgeous and intricate and wonderful. However, if I had to choose one, it would probably be The Owl and the Pussycat because I have always loved that poem and I have a pussycat who looks just like the one in the embroidery.
I love Jenny”s Wrens, the male and the female. I have ordered and received both of these birds. Now to start stitching them. I was lucky to be able to take a class with Jenny and took The Gawthorpe Needlecase. Jenny is a fantastic teacher and I love her designs.
Hello,
I’m planing to buy the BLACKWELL ROUNDEL it is gorgeous, I bought the pattern book from inspiration already, when they sold out of the kit I was disappointed but than not long after Jenny opened up her online shop and I’m glade it’s there, I’ll order as soon it’s back in stock❤️
I got stuck on Jenny’s site. There are so many wonderful things to dream about. You are cruel Mary Corbet.
I really loved her little brown wren Teri.
He is really adorable, but of course I want the whole thing so I hope i win the little bird and can then go ahead and order the rest.
Ricky in Winnipeg
While all the kits are lovely the Gawthorpe Needlecase is the one that caught my eye first. The design is absolutely lovely and the softness of the colors just appeal to my creative nature. The butterfly brooches come close and remind me so much of my mother who is no longer here.
This one was easy. The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase jumped right off the laptop into my lap. I love harps (I even have a little Celtic one) and this one is gorgeous. Pricey, but gorgeous.
I love the Passiflora kit. It is so delicate! All of her kits are exquisite but this one I kept coming back to.
I love the Pugin scissor case as it is just so breathtakingly beautiful!
Jenny’s site is one of my favs. I love the scossor keeps Pugin for the rose & bright colours and Gawthorpe, my favourite, for the fish as its a bit different.
The laying tool is on my Xmas list. I saw one at a class, it feels good in the hand.
What wonderful tools, I own the laying tool and it perfect! I’m hoping to maybe be selected to receive the wax box!!
Merry Chritmas
I have a crush on Jenny’s harp case ever since I saw it. It is so beautiful and designed so well that I just hope I could ever do it justice.
Mary, if no one has told you, Thank You. Not just for the giveaways but for all the incredible information you give us all the time. Melinda
I can’t decide between the Wordsworth Harp Needlecase and the Gawthorpe Needlecase. I have admired the Harp for some time. The first time I saw the Gawthorpe, I realized it is a lovely piece of needlework. All of her kits are beautiful, but these two catch my eye every time.
The Brown Wren Etui with its companion Mossy Hillock Kit is absolutely breathtaking! If I ever have to leave living in a woodland as I do right now, it would make my sewing time, inside anywhere, bring back memories of feeling ever so ‘cosy.’
Oh MY goodness! Everything was breathtaking. I loved the little birds. The wren. I’m not sure what you do with them but they are adorable. The Harp needlekeeper was lovely too.
Jenny’s Owl and the Pussycat design is my ultimate project! I have the kit – I am just too chicken to start it.
I love the look of “The Embroiderer’s Workbasket” kit. I really like the whitework.
All of jenny’s kits are gordious I’m embroidering the gawthorpe needle case right now and it is just wonderfull very detailled explanations, all the histoiry behind the creation and beautifull materials that you can’t fine anywhere else, so delicate
It’s seems like being back in the XVIIIth century!
I hope for another kit for christmas : one of the wrens
I love the Blue Wren and Passiflora kits I think because of their richness of colour and realism and because birds and flowers are my favourite things!
My favorite Jenny’s kit is the The Embroiderer’s Workbasket. I like the white work, because to me you really see the design instead of seeing color.
The blue wren. The design is just beautiful. I love tools that are both useful and beautiful.
I love the Blue Wren Etui. I really like boxes and unique storage pieces.
I love that sweet heart-shaped waxer with the tiny violets on it! ♥ But her kits…oh my gosh her kits!! The Owl and the Pussycat grabbed my attention straightaway!! The owl is on my dad’s family crest (Fowler) and a (big) cat is on the crest on my mom’s side ([Mac]Bean). What’s even funnier (if you’re familiar with the poem) is that my mom asked my dad to marry her on Sadie Hawkins day (February 29, 1960). And they’ve lived happily ever after ever since! All of her things are beautiful, but that particular one makes my heart thump with happiness! 🙂
No wonder so many of her kits are out of stock. There are. All beautiful, donut and imaginative. The tools look like a piece of art also.
These kits are all incredibly beautiful. My response to each of them is, first, amazement at their beauty, and then, “I would learn so much if I worked through the process of making this lovely thing.” I am particularly drawn to the Brown Wren Etui because it is simply beautiful and because I am a bird watcher and love the wrens and their quick, often quiet, subtly beautiful ways. I am someone who learned basic embroidery at my mother’s knee so many years ago and recently took up embroidery again, learning on my own from books and your wonderful needlenthread website and a few kits I’ve purchased from you, so much of the stitching that I see on this wren is unfamiliar to me. The scalloped stitches the run over the head near the eyes is just beautiful. I would be astounded to have created just a few of those stitches. I am also drawn to the Owl and the Pussycat design because I love the poem and recited it (and read it from a beautifully-illustrated book) to my children when they were young. The Hill Top Garden also draws me because I, of course, love Beatrix Potter’s illustrations and I am learning to grow flowers, and trying to learn to embroider them. The gate in this Hill Top Garden is also enchanting. Thank you, Mary, for your website–it’s the only embroidery website I visit with any regularity–and is so very helpful to me. It’s been my way of reclaiming the joys of stitching that remind me of days spent beside my mother as a young child.
They are all beautiful kits, but the one that speaks to me is the Hilltop Garden. I have English ancestry and a lover of Beatrix Potter books.
I love Jenny’s work, I am more familiar with the white work and am so charmed by the wee wren kit! My home is called Little Wren, very apropos! I will have to keep an eye out for restock of that
I just broke down and purchased Jenny’s Pugin Scissor Case! I do love ALL of her kits! I just received it and am super-impressed with the presentation, quality and completeness of both her kit contents and the instruction manual!! It will be my “New Year” treat!
The Pugin Scissor Case & the Wordsworth Harp Needlecase are the two that drew my eye the most. I actually can’t imagine making these gorgeous things to my own satisfaction, but they look amazing on her website!
The Blue Wren Etui is my choice. (Robin W in MS)
I love all of the kits! It is hard to choose. My particular favorites are the wren etuis. I sit in our small sunroom, stitch and watch the birds!
Jennie’s embroideries are lovely, with exquisite detail, but I think her best is yet to come. The goldwork Roundel is simply gorgeous.
Thanks for the opportunity to win her wonderful tools.
There are so many lovely designs but the Embroiderer’s Workbasket is my favourite. I should love to stitch it to attempt all the different white work techniques it encompasses.
Genevagal
So many wonderful pieces! I’m intrigued by the Harp needlecase and completely enchanted by the Blue Wren etui. That would be so much fun to stitch and finish!
My favourite is the Wordsworth Harp Needlecase, as it is simply unique and very stylish.
Jenny’s stitching tools are certainly in a clsss by themselves. I love the laying tools, especially ones with wood, as my husband was a woodworker. My present laying tool is one of those large needles.
Thanks to your previous article (which I shared with several people) I believe that Father Christmas is bringing me a Gawthorpe needle case kit for Christmas so, as you can probably guess, that’s my favourite of Jenny’s current kits.
So hard to choose, but the Pugin Scissor Case caught my eye — exquisite, unique, useful. What’s not to like?!
I must say they are all beautiful but my choice would be the blue wren.
Bluebirds signify happiness and with the bird close by would make
me smile.
What a beautiful site! I love the embroiderer’s work basket.
A delight to browse her site. I immediately fell in love with the Brown Wren Etui, I see it is out of stock but I still love it and perhaps it will be available in the future.
I’ve been drooling over the wren etui for a while! It’s so delicate and yet useful and clever (ie 3 dimensional construction).
Imagine stitching such a treasure that is worthy of a museum!
I love and covet Jenny’s Blue Wren! Oh wow oh wow this is a must make kit! We are blessed with many different birds living here and this little blue wren would so fit in!
Merry Christmas Mary!
Jenny has such a beautiful collection of kits! My favorite is her Pugin Scissor Case. I will add that to my birthday wish list.
I love the Pugin Scissor Case. I live in the UK and we are lucky to have so many fabulous Pugin buildings and decoration – the most famous of which is probably the interior of the Houses of Parliament.
Jenny’s colours and embellishments are a work of art!
The Gawthorpe Needlecase is absolutely gorgeous and would be amazing to do, I also live quite close to Gawthorpe Hall in Lancashire and have done several 17 century events portraying a household of that time. What a great coincidence.
I love Jenny’s designs. Each one is exquisite. The one that touches my heart the most is the Brown Wren. I think it’s because there’s a little family of Bewick’s wrens that live in the area, and I see one or two of them occasionally in my small front yard or at the bird feeders. There are a number of birds that come to the feeders–sparrows, titmice, and nuthatches, for example. However, the wrens are rare and so small and quick, that it’s a delightful surprise whenever I catch a glimpse of of one. It’s like an unexpected gift. Jenny’s Brown Wren captures the delicacy and the beauty of this little brown bird.
It has to be the harp. The way the different sized needles fit to make the strings absolutely fascinates me.
Love the little brown bird and of course would have to have the box for it to sit on. What a fun little spot to store my tools as I stitch.
“The Embroider’s Workbasket” is my favorite. I have already stitched some whitework projects. Whitework intrigues me!
I had never heard of Jenny until your mentions. I have to say that her work is lovely. As far as her kits I think I would enjoy learning how to work in 3D as she has in her “The Blue Wren Étui”. I enjoy making Etui in general and have never stopped using the ones I made. It is so nice to have pretty places to keep your stitching tools.
For me it’s the Gawthorpe needlecase. I love the design, the colours, the range of stitches used – what’s not to love. It’s an absolutely beautiful piece of work by a master-craftsperson
Jenny’s kits are amazing for sure. I’d have to say the one piece that stood out for me was the Harp Needle Case.
The exquisite work and attention to detail would make it a topic of conversation for years to come. Someday I’d love to have one so that it can become a family heirloom.
Amy B. from Conshohocken PA
Thanks for the opportunity!
I love the little blue wren. Adorable AND useful!
My apologies if this posts twice because my browser froze during my previous attempt!
I’ve been drooling over the brown wren etui for a while! It’s so delicate and yet useful and clever (ie 3 dimensional construction). I also like the colours of the blue wren version.
Imagine stitching such a treasure that is worthy of a museum!
The kit I find the most intriuing is HAMPTON COURT SAMPLER because of the variety of technique offered – always something new to learn and in this case there are techniques of her own!
I was fortunate to have a 2 day class with Jenny in September. I purchased at least a dozen kits that will challenge me for months to come. I love them all but I guess the most special one for me would be the very first project, the Pheasant.
I love the Gawthorpe needle case with the little fish.
For me, The Wordsworth Harp, has to be the one. So beautifully constructed, it stands out in front How I would love to complete this and have it stand proudly among my embroidery treasures.
It is very difficult to choose between Jenny’s pieces and pick out a favourite. If pushed I end up with two – the Gawthorpe needlecase and the original Jenny wren. Pushed even harder and I think the wren wins out – for multiple reasons. It is a sampler – so many different stitches and techniques. It is so clever with the body and the feet, and the thread cutters. it is different. It looks incredibly complex but is so achievable. It pushes me out of my comfort zone, but not to uncomfortably! I’m a counted thread stitcher by nature and like it when I know precisely where I have to put my needle. Jenny’s kits firmly push me out of my comfort zone into a whole new world. Whenever I finish one of Jenny’s pieces I have a real feeling of: “did I really make that?” Always the sign of a great designer.
I do like Whitework so I choose her “Embroiderer’s Workbasket. Charming and useful.
I think that Jenny’s work is extraordinary in its artistry and imagination. My favorite is the Wordsworth Harp, but I find all of her work unique and well done. I would love to take a class from Jenny. The tools she offers are lovely as well. I would especially like to try the laying tool; it looks as though it would feel comfortable in one’s hand.
The Millefiori brooch is my favorite!
Mary, you are welcome again and again. I also want those boxes and I need a new waxer. Can I just have one of everything?
Jenny, even my husband wants me to make a wren and wooden base. I love them so!
Actually Jenny, there’s nothing that you have made that I don’t want to try. I can’t wait for you to visit SF School of Needlework and Design!
Tell your dad that I treasure my tools from him. xxoh
These are beautiful tools and I would be especially thrilled to have the laying tool. I have always believed that practical tools can be beautiful, too, and now that I am starting to downsize, that principal is definitely at work. Thank you for your holiday tradition of giving away beautiful needlework materials.
I still have all of my childhood Beatrix Potter books so I love the Hill Top Garden design.
The little blue wren delights me. It is so bright and appealing. Of course it would need the mossy base to stand on with the glass cover to help keep it clean. Oh, where would the shopping end?
I checked her site when you first reviewed it. I wanted to order, but was broke at the time. Everything looks quality made. Wish she had a US outlet to make it easier to buy.
I enjoy your site and reviews. Thank you.
What kit designed by Jenny captures and delights you the most and what do you like about it?I love all of her kits but really enjoy the “little row of seaside houses” It looks so whimsicle.
I also have a laying tool and use it all the time. They are beautiful as well as practical..
I love of Jenny’s kits and have several. I currently covet the Wadsworth harp.
Marjie in Maines
I love the Brown Wren ETUI. It is beautiful and useful. So many pretty stitches and beads.
I loved Jenny’s designs and the Mosaic Pheasant particularly caught my eye!
My favorite kit is the Hill Top Garden. I love English gardens, but have a black thumb, so stitching one is my way of enjoying them at home.
Why, the Owl and the Pussycat of course! It’s very lovely and when I was little I loved the poem – actually I still do!
It’s just as well that most of Jenny’s kits are sold out. They are all so gorgeous and intricate. I love anything with turquoise blue and the color just pops in the blue wren etui
Would love to win these beautiful accessories. I’m new to cross stitch so these would be lovely to help develop skills.
Many thanks for this opportunity.
I have loved Jenny’s kits for years, but haven’t been brave enough to give them ago. I love the Brown and Blue Wren Etui kits. They are just like something that would have been made long ago. That had so much fancier tools back in the day. I also love her Pugin Scissor Case and The Gawthorpe Needlecase, but the little birds have my heart.
My favorite Jenny kit is the Wordsworth Harp needle case. It is so beautiful and clever but mostly beautiful. Jenny’s kits are incredible. ~Liz B.
I love the mossy hillock, this might seem a strange choice but I’ve just spent a cold, sunny afternoon photographing mosses and lichens in a woodland. To see them in stitchery is amazing, I will have to have a go myself, I’ll keep my eye and the kit for when it’s back in stock. Thanks for the introduction to her website.
I love this particular column because after I have struggled through learning a new stitch I find out
there is a fancy or not so fancy tool to make my stitches easier and more beautiful!!!
May I have one of each please. They are all my favorite for different reasons. But having to choose just on I would choose Hilltop Garden. It looks just like spring. The flowers, the colors and the house are perfect. Diane P
Dear Mary, I did not need to look through the kits offered by Jenny Adin-Christie as I have been in love with her Owl & Pussycat kit for ages! Someone posted a photo of their completed work so I had to ask questions! From that person I contacted Jenny and she kindly sent me a catalog of her kits, but I did not order one at the time. But, I have been enamored by the Owl & Pussycat for ages! Thank you.
Jenny’s kits are more ambitious than I tend to be but I am always charmed by houses. The Little Row of Seaside Houses would be my choice. 🙂
Thank you for the chance to win those beautiful tools! Most of all I love THE BROWN WREN ÉTUI kit!!! I mean, every design is beautiful, but this one is so unusual, cute and exquisite at the same time!
Amazing tools!!!!!
Babs S.
The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase-perfect.
talking about Jenny Adin-Christie’s classes, tools and kits literally makes me swoon. I can’t begin to tell you how I love to look at her kits and imagine bringing one home to start working on. I was lucky enough to see some of her kits and her finished Brown Wren in person, and wow!
The harp needlecase is on my dream wish list, and i am diligently saving my pennies with the hopes that I can purchase one. The whimsy that went into the design is so captivating. I love the thought that its the needles that make up the strings on the harp. I think that being able to work on this project would be a highlight of my stitching career – to be able to create something so dainty and fine, and useable at the same time; it would be nothing short of creating a work of art. Ah even talking about the harp makes my heart beat faster, lol.
Thank you for highlighting Jenny and her wonderful tools, I would be so honoured to add one to my toolbox.
Merry Christmas Mary!
Hilltop Garden is a favorite. I love all types of floral design; especially with a house. (And especially Beatrix Potter inspired). I like the different types of needlework in the design. Some of which I don’t know what it is?? All beautiful work though and hard to pick a favorite.
I love the Brown Wren Etui with it’s delightful hidden places and uses. Certainly it would be left out if I made it…to enjoy artistically as well as for project helps. There is a lot of whimsy to this and a lot of her work. How lovely to see these items of hers.
I love the Gawthorpe Needle Case, not only because it is so beautiful (and would look lovely handing from my chatelaine!) but it evokes Gawthorpe Hall, a place my mother visited and talked about frequently. Beautiful kits, all of them!
The Gawthorpe Needlecase does it for me. At first glance, I fell in love with the fish (we have fish of some sort in every room in the house). When I looked closer and read the description of it, I fell in love with the many aspects of needlework employed, some I have never done before. It’s a bit fussy for my tastes overall but I’d be willing to overlook that to make such a beautiful item.
I confess I have yearning for the Edelweiss handbag. The embroidery is just beautiful, and it is a handbag design that I just love, but rarely see in quality products.
In terms of in-stock, the butterflies are beautiful. I like how much texture there is, with the beads and goldwork.
For surface – the Blackwell Roundel is lovely. It’s probably beyond my skill, but it’s just so refined.
And for 3D sculpture – I don’t think I’d ever make one, but I absolutely adore the wrens.
I’m in aw of Jenny’s Gawthorpe Needlecase. I have always wanted to stitch it. Someday I hope to be lucky enough to take one of Jenny’s classes.
My fav kit is defiantly that Hampton Court. All are amazing but this takes my breath.
I loved all of the kits, but I was most drawn to the THE GAWTHORPE NEEDLECASE!!! I want to try out all of the threads and techniques in this piece!!
Pam Wesselink
All of the kits are so beautiful that it is hard to choose a favourite. I think the wren etuis are the ones I like the best. Beautiful & useful.
The kits are beautiful – I love the harp. I had seen it previously and marveled at it. Oh so lovely and practical.
The brown wren etui, because I’m also a gardener, and it’s _so_ _cute_.
The butterfly brooch, just for the sheer beauty – and ’cause I’m a gardener.
The harp needlecase, for the sheer genius of the design, and because I’m (somewhat off-and-on) learning to play the harp.
Oh, dear. (Rolls dice.)
OK, I’ll choose the brown wren, because it’s also the most useful, and would look really nice on the casket I want to embroider, someday. I think. Maybe I’d better go back and look at them all again.
The Blue Wren Etui is my favorite kit. I love birds and this one is delightful.
The wordsworth harp needle case!! That is the sweetest most clever design for a needle case I’ve ever seen. I really love these kits they are so beautiful and charming but the harp !!
The Owl and the Pussycat is my personal favorite. Just look at that pea-green boat!
First time commenting but I’ve been a lurked for a while now! I couldn’t resist any longer. For me, Jenny’s Wordsworth Needle Case is the most wonderful thing. Just fell in love with it. I don’t know if I have the skills to work it but I sure as heck to want to try. So maybe I’ll save up and treat myself in the spring!
Thanks, Mary, for all the inspiration you’ve given me. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Choosing is difficult, all are lovely but: Pugin Scissor Case – beautiful and useful, The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase – beautiful, unique, and useful!
They are all lovely! So hard to pick just one, but I’d choose the Pugin Scissors Case because it is functional as well as beautiful. Or, maybe the Gawthorpe Needle Case.
All of the kits are amazing, but I think I like the MOSAIC PHEASANT the best
I love useful tools as they make things much more professional and easier to work with.
I really like the Hampton Court Sampler and part of the reason I like it, apart from it being a beautiful work of embroidery, is because I can foresee myself using parts of the design in other pieces.
Oh the harp needlecase for sure! I saw that when it was offered as a class and my heart jumped! I’m so excited that it will be a kit too.
I have nearly finished Jenny’s Blackwell Roundel. It’s delicate and bejeweled! Just gorgeous. I’ll be doing the pugin scissor case next, with its stunning colours and intricacies.
The “ LITTLE ROW OF SEASIDE HOUSES” is irresistible! It looks fun to work on and will go so well with our beach house by the lake.
I like the butterfly brooch best. It reminds me of my husband who use to say ‘Butterflies are free’. I believe because they are so pretty and enjoyable without having to pay for them. Thank you for lovely newsletters.
I think I would really enjoy stitching the butterfly kit. they Butterflys make me smile they make me think of Spring.
The Brown Wren is my favourite of Jenny’s kits. What I like about it is the realism and functionality of this little wren. It’s also one of my favourite birds, even though it’s incessant chattering can sometimes be a little annoying. Wrens make me chuckle as they are such little busybodies.
The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase is just precious and one of my favorites of her many awesome kits.
The Blue Wren Etui. Just love birds of all kinds.
The Gawthorpe Needlecase, brings me joy every time I see an image. It is so delicate in colour, design, and presentation. It epitomises Jenny’s whole being. I met Jenny first in Wanaka and Dunedin, New Zealand. I listened to her lectures, in awe and I am just waiting for the opportunity to attend one of her Classes.
The Blue Wren Etui – my favourite birds!
I love the Owl and the Pussycat. It’s one of my favorite poems, I memorized it long ago. I’ve collected posters and prints of it and would love to embroider this lovely image.
I fell in love with Jenny Adin-Christie’s beautiful work when I first saw Passiflora. The idea of translating such a delicate flower into fabric and thread made me look at flowers and flora in general in a whole new way. Then I met The Owl and the Pussycat and the layering of elements creating depth to an illustration was brilliant. I’m saving up for a kit!
I LOVE the Blue Wren Etin. It makes me smile. The stitching is exquisite.
The bird Etui’s – oh, my. The Blue Wren Etui for the ‘flashy’ and the Brown Wren Etui for the ‘classy’. It would be difficult to decide between them! Such a great talent…..beauty and function in one kit. What’s not to love?
Oh, those are charming! There are several I like — The Owl and the Pussycat, and the Roundel — but if I was going to get one I’d get the Hampton Court sampler. I’ve been to Hampton Court and I’m not much of a Henry VIII fan, but I love the hills and the fishie, and I would very much like to have an opportunity to learn and practice those raised stitches.
All of the kits are amazing but the brown wren blew me away! What a wonderful prize, I promise I’ve been a very good girl this year!!
There was so much beauty there that I had trouble choosing a favorite, but I settled on THE GAWTHORPE NEEDLECASE
The harp needlecase wins hands-down because it’s so unusual and intriguing. (Not sure it is very practical and the harps I’ve seen don’t look much like this one, but it is surely lovely in its own right.)
Wow, they’re all beautiful. The blue wren etui really caught my eye, but the Owl & The Pussycat is also calling to me.
That Pugin scissor case is gorgeous! The combination of shiny and mat materials just makes it.
I would be absolutely thrilled to have any of Jenny’s kits. It would be so hard to choose since I love them all? If I’m pressed, I would probably choose the brown wren.
I absolutely picking the Brown Wren Etui. I am big lover of birds and this one is so useful with a place to keep your needles and thimble. I would surely love to have this. It would be a great project and something to use, not just dust.
The Embroiderer’s Workbasket and the Edelweiss Handbag have both been calling to me since I discovered Jenny’s website (Thank you Mary for the review and link that introduced me to her beautiful tools and kits!). I’m planning to buy an aficot when they are restocked.
I love nearly all Jenny’s kits. The form and colour is always magical. But the most glorious is the Wordworth Harp Needlecase. The imagination that went into making such a beautiful needlecase is just amazing!
I think my favorite kit is the Pugin Scissors Case. I love the look of the little birds (especially the brown wren!), but I have a practical bent (and need a scissors case). I love the colors and flowers on it, especially.
My favorite kit is the owl and the Pussycat. I love the colors and variety of stitches. It makes me want to sail away with them.
I love the use of color on the Pugin Scissors case. Just glorious!
This is difficult to choose, but I would have to say either the blue wren or the Wordsworth harp.
I had always wanted to learn how to the play the harp but had piano lessons instead since my mother insisted that it was more practical.
Blue is my favorite color & I find the bird just too darn cute. 🙂
I have just madly loved Jenny’s work since I first saw it, maybe 5 years ago. The Mosaic Pheasant was my first favorite- I bought it and worked it a few years back. Now I have my eye on the Owl and the Pussycat, partly because I have always been fond of the subject, but mostly because Jenny’s interpretation is so original. Her tools look remarkable, and I would be very excited to win a set of them.
I love Jenny’s wrens! Especially the fairy wren. But I also love the harp needlecase. All her kits are wonderful. Thanks again for another great giveaway.
Heather M.
I love Jenny’s designs and tools. I think the harp is my favourite and I’m looking forward to making it.
The Embroiderers work basket is delightful and I love white work.
I like The Embroiderer’s Workbasket. The white on white is beautiful with an extra bit of contrast. I also appreciate that it does not contain wool and silk which I work to avoid.
I love the Little Row of Seaside Houses. It is like the embroidery just upped and walked out of a story book tale and into the stitchery. This evokes feelings of story book happy endings and all things cheerful. I am sure, even though it looks daunting to stitch, it would be a joy because of it is story book look and feel.
I love the kits “the owl and the pussycat” and the “blue wren etui” I am always amazed by the insane amount of detail in her kits, her work is so spectacular!
I love the Gawthorpe Needlecase – It is incredibly beautiful and uses many different interesting techniques as well as being very functional.
I love the Blackwell Roundel kit. It looks quite challenging, but I could learn a lot by completing it. And I know a special person who’d help me over the more difficult spots. Once I finished it, I would purchase the round box to show it off.
Hi Mary, Jenny’s ‘The Embroiderer’s Workbasket’ delights me the most because she has created an elegant design related to stitching that as she says in the description, is an introduction to every technique used in Fine Whitework, from padded satin stitch to drawn thread work and net insertion.
With such a talented and inspiring lady, where do you start? it is such a pleasure to see authentic reproductions of historical pieces adapted to inspire the modern sewing enthusiast. The research and design behind every piece is pure artistry. I particularly like the Pugin Scissor case and Gawthorne Needlecase (why shouldn’t we have something as beautiful as it is practical). The Blackwell Roundel is exquisite, something I could only dream of making.
Her hand turned tools are beautiful. So lovely that they are made by her Father. Again, practical in form – beauty in design, form and function.
Love the Passiflora, I’ve always thought the flowers were amazing.
I would like to do the Embroiderer’s Workbasket. I love the many different effects one can get using just whitework.
All of Jennys designs are lovely. My favourite would be the Blue Fairy Wren. I love the composition and colours Jenny has used. Like Jenny I have seen fairy wrens in Australia & they are a wonderful little bird.
Ooooh! I have dreamt of and yes, lusted after, her Wordsworth harp needlecase since you first showcased it, Mary. It just captures my imagination in every way–the fact that it is a harp, the way the needles are its “strings,” the embroidered flowers, every part of its design structure and colors. I simply adore it. It is clever and endearing and and and…
Anyway, thanks Mary and Jenny for the tool giveaway to our community!
Merry Christmas!
Linda
What is there not to love about Jenny’s kits! They are all so beautiful, but I have to say my favorite is the Blue Wren Etui. I love anything with birdies and especially little blue ones. This is so adorable! Thank you to Jenny for sharing some of her lovely tools!
This is another one of your tricky questions! Having to choose is very difficult when there are so many delightful kits to choose from. Probably for me as a change to my usual embroidery I would choose the Blackwell Roundel Goldwork or the Embroiderers Work basket. Either would be lovely to embark on. They are both on my bucket list. They would be both useful and exquisite.
The Wordsworth Harp delights me most. I love the way its use (needle holder) is an integral part of the design.
Jenny’s kits are absolutely beautiful! I love the Embroiderer’s Workbasket and have been extremely interested in beginning a whitework piece. This kit is one of the sweetest ones that I have seen and it has many different stitches would be fun to do and challenging at the same time.
Thank you,
Betty B.
All of her designs are brilliant, but my favorite design is the Mosaic Pheasant. Any of the birds are gorgeous.
They are all so lovely. I’m drawn to the brown wren thimble holder.
I love the blue wren and the harp needle case.
I’m really liking the Moss Hillock for the Wren kit, especially since I’m super interested in mosses at the moment and figuring out how to make them on fabric.
I so want to stitch the blue fairy bird
The kit I really really like is the Milleflori
My favourite would have to be the scissor case, with Hampton Court a close second!
Oh, most definitely the little harp as I’m learning to play the harp. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it! (But I could live with that butterfly as well, haha). Gorgeous stuff she creates.
The kit I really really like is the Milleflori Butterfly Brooch. I love the colors and that it’s a brooch. Thank you!
My favorite kit is The Owl and The Pussycat! I love it!
Oh my, The Owl and the Pussycat is my hands down favorite! While I do love Edward Lear and that poem in particular the kit is an absolute delight from the sequined tree trunk to the jeweled leaves and the sweet little owl… it’s incredibly charming.
What kit designed by Jenny captures and delights you the most and what do you like about it?
The item that called out to me was the MOSAIC PHEASANT – It reminds me of the State Bird of South Dakota, where I was born and raised (until I went to Grad School out of state).
I adore the Passiflora. We had them growing at our house where I grew up and I always loved hearing the story of what each part stood for.
I really admire the design of Jenny’s Millefiori Butterfly Brooches. I like both color choices. It’s on my list to self-give for my birthday. Maybe I’ll be lucky and win one?
So much beauty and temptation on Jenny’s website. For me, it has to be the Owl and the Pussycat – I could eat it up with a runcible spoon!
Hello Mary,
These tools are beautifully crafted and oh so practical. I would certainly have good use for all of these tools. The prickers would certainly come in handy transferring designs onto my fabric. I’m currently working on the Snowflakes you’ve designed. Just lovely.
Fran O’ Donnell
These tools from Jenny all look amazing!! Looking at Jenny’s kits, the one that speaks to me the most is The Hilltop Garden. My dad passed away earlier this year and one of the things he loved was to garden-flowers, veggie’s, etc. This would be a special piece in remembrance of him.
Fascinating! Thanks
The kit of Jennys that inspires me the most is, the Hampton Court Sampler, both for the great memories it brings back, of living in the UK, and it’s technical ability, that takes me beyond the simple cross stitch I’ve attempted so far with my latest being a Queenslander House. I work in design, so love textile work that deals with architecture mostly, and being a guy, find some of the patterns are too whimsical, shall I say. All of the patterns seem to mix the practical with a bit of beautiful work. Keep them coming.
Adam Harper, from Melbourne
Oh my! Those kits are beyond gorgeous. It has to be the blue wren etui for me. This is a bird I love to watch each year and I have collected a few handmade ones, so that kit will certainly find a home there one day.
Vicki from Melbourne
Beautiful tools. With arthritis in my fingers her stiletto laying tool looks like it has a fairly large handle end which makes it easier to hold. I need to check her website out. Thank you
The Blue Wren Etui has stunning colours! I love birds & find it both adorable & beautiful.
My favorite kit of Jenny’s has to be Hill Top Garden. I am a huge fan of Beatrix Potter’s and what’s not to love about that scene!!!
The Blue Wren Etui kit. It looks so life-like.
All Jenny’s kits are amazing but I love the colours of The Gaythorpe Needlecase. I would love to have the opportunity to stitch this in the new year.
Oh Mary, I love the Blackwell Roundel. It is an amazing combination of warm colors and yet delicate looking fabric and work. Wish I a couple of clones who would run/clean my house while I sit here and stitch!
Mary, I have been enchanted by the harp needle case since you mentioned it earlier. It is beautiful but I especially like how the needles trick the eye to believe they are harp strings. All the designs are spectacular and beautiful. The laying tool is lovely. Thanks for all you do for us all!
I am about to do a class with Jenny – the whitework daisy sampler – and am so looking forward to it. Samplers are a great way to try lots of stitches within a technique and this one is an absolute stunner.
I was not familiar with Jenny’s work, but her website was pure eye candy. I especially liked the Gawthorpe Needlecase. The color way was so delicate, but effective. It was amazing to see such a pleasant design with so many varied stitches in such a small area. I especially liked the bow.
Thank you!
Oh wow this is very hard to choose..I love all Jennys kits and the things in her shop and she is great to purchase from..But I just L O V E her harp..it is just beautiful.the colours and design wow…it’s always in my thoughts. Thank you for highlighting her work
Hilltop garden is my favourite. I love Beatrix Potter’s artwork and stories. Have read about her conservation work. She was a remarkable woman. Hope to visit Hilltop some day.
What beautiful tools! The ceramic waxer is especially beautiful. Thanks!
I would love to make the blue wren etui!
Thanks Mary!
Those tools are beautiful. I love having special embroidery tools that are both beautiful and very, very functional. These definitely fit that description. As to what kit I like best, how can I choose? The bird etuis, the owl and the pussycat and the seaside houses, are tied for first, and everything else comes in a close second. If I have to pick just one, it would be the seaside houses. I love miniature house designs — they are my favorite thing to make. I don’t know if it’s because I am an architect’s daughter or if it’s just me, but it’s a very strong preference either way!
Thank you Mary, Jenny’s shop has so many gorgeous kits. The one that really appealed to me was ‘ The little row of seaside houses’ I love the raised work, the colours and stitches used as well as how sweet it looks when framed. It also reminds me of the beautiful coastal towns back home in the UK.
All of Jenny’s kits are amazing, but I adore the Wordsworth Harp needlecase. I like because it is beauty in practicality.
All kits are wonderful! I particularly like the Embroiderers Workbasket.
Just one??? That is very hard, all her kits are so delightfully detailed. Then I scrolled down and saw the Embroiderers Workbasket. Still lovely details but in the simple elegance of all white. Thanks!
I adore lots of her kits, but the top of the list is “The Owl and the Pussycat”. I first saw it in an article somewhere (years? ago) and was enchanted with all the different little elements and techniques. I’ve long enjoyed the poem and this embroidered fantasy suits it perfectly. In reading reviews, it appears that the instructions are such that I might actually accomplish this work of art. It tickles my fancy and makes my heart sing.
I was lucky enough to do a class with Jenny at BATB and she is both a very talented embroiderer and designer but also just a lovely genuine person. I love all of her work but the design that captures and delights me most is Hill Top Garden. I love the multitude of what look to be seemingly simple stitches but used in such a way to look very complicated. I also love the multitude of threads, wools, silks and fabrics which were used to capture the essence of Beatrix Potter’s home which I was lucky enough to visit in 2011.
I am infatuated with the Little Blue Wren etui. It’s such a tiny, delicate and sparkly thing, and also useful. What’s not to love? Jenny’s way of incorporating different stitches to reflect feathers is fascinating to me.
I fell in love with the Blackwell Roundel in “A Passion for Needlework- Factoria VII”, so I purchased it the minute it came on the Inspirations Magazines Kits page. 🙂 . I may never get it put together as the kit contents are just so satisfying all on their own.
I love the brown wren but it is a hard choice against the blue one. I love birds so was drawn to them. However I also love the harp…..well when it comes down to it they are all awesome.
The Gawthorpe needle case is just exquisite. It was so hard to choose but that would be my favorite.
I adore Jenny’s designs. I have yet to tackle one. The intricacy is I believe beyond my attention span capabilities at this point in my life. Maybe when I retire I can devote more time to amazing designs like hers. I love the Owl and the Pussycat and the Milifori butterfly did give me pause ……….
I would love to be entered into the drawing for the laying tool/stiletto you are so graciously giving away.
thanks for doing amazing informational blog posts.
Happy Holidays
Melody Bryan
The Pugin Scissor Case is magnificent! I love the detail of stitches and colors. Fabulously elegant. But then, I could say that of all the kits. Second place would be the Owl & the Pussycat. Awesome art.
I love Jenny’s kits. I have made the Wordsworth Harp and would like to do the wren next. I will be taking a class with her in July and am looking forward to it.
I absolutely adore the blue wren!
Hello Mary,
I love all of Jenny’s designs, but the one I would chose is the Wren etui, it’s so darling. Thank you for the opportunity Mary. Kind regards Mandy xx
The mosaic pheasant brings back memories of my father, who for many years bred these beautiful birds. Or do I like most The Wordsworth Harp, which echoes my distant Irish heritage. All Jenny’s designs are delightful. I would love to win any of the wonderful stitching accessories.
I think the pheasant strikes my fancy at the moment. My stepdad is a wonderful bird hunter, providing pheasants & duck for our family for years when chicken was out of our financial reach. Now, he does it for the pleasure & his dinner plate as we are all world flung. I would love to have the tools to complete a picture such as this, tho a
challenge it would be to this native crocheter!!
I am astounded by the beauty of these handmade tools and embroidered works.
And I truly agree with how handwork calms the body, mind and soul.
Thank you for continuing to pass on your knowledge and skills to those wishing to learn.
Susan Beer
I like the Wordworth Harp kit. I find it to be very original and so delicate. I love the colors used. Plus, I just love harps.
Louise – Sydney Australia
Well Jenny’s kits are amazing and so beautifully packaged they are a joy to receive. Out of the ones I haven’t yet stitched I am delighted by Hill Top Garden. It feels so enchanted you can feel yourself drawn along the path and hope to meet Beatrix at the door to the cottage. Heaven!
Having taken classes with Jenny A-C and used her tools, I can’t recommend them highly enough. Jenny is a wonderful teacher and I hope to do more classes with her in the future. I have her Mellor (made by her father) and it is wonderful to use. So smooth and light, with so many different uses. I would therefore love to win one her other tools, particularly the laying tool. Gail Guthrie, Nornalup, Western Australia
Hard to choose just one. It is between the harp the rondel and the whitework case
All are beautiful. The harp is so unique.
The rondel is so romantic. The whitework is so clean looking
The brown wren etui is absolutely beautiful, as are these tools!!
The one the I would love to do is the little row of seaside houses. I love houses and I think these are so awesome and I love the techniques that have been used on this piece. I love all of her kits and have 2 of them.
Hi Mary
Well hands down, it was the Millefiori butterfly brooch. In fact, I so fell in love with the kit, that after a couple of hours of pondering, I decided to BUY it. Yes, you made a sale for her. So these giveaways work!
Maybe that will also mean I’ll be lucky enough to win…nah, I doubt it. Oh well, I have the consolation prize of your wonderful blog. Thanks for running these astonishingly excellent giveaways, but more importantly, thanks for year after year of superb blogs.
Best
Jess
All of the kits are magical! It’s hard to pick one but the Wordsworth Harp is wonderful and I haven’t seen anything like it before.
Oh, the Gawthorpe Needlecase is amazing! Absolutely enchanting. I can understand why it’s out of stock…
I have had my eye on the Gawthorpe Needlecase for months contemplating purchasing it. I visit the website & look at it often. I love the soft colors & the overall beauty of the design. I see it is currently sold out. When it is restocked I will have to purchase it. I just can’t get it out of my mind.
Thanks again Mary and all the sponsors for this great series of Christmas Goodies Giveaways!
This one is super easy for me to answer! My favorite of Jenny’s kits is the Wordsworth Harp kit! I am very luck to have one of these kits sitting on my work table. It is a top priority for 2020! I’ve been using it as a ‘carrot’ to get some other things finished up and I can’t wait to get started on it!
Wow, this is perhaps one of the best giveaways yet Mary ! I love tools – would love to win these – especially the laying tool!
All of the projects are intriguing – the two wrens holding the thimble , the harp and the whitework scissors etc for the top of a box are always intriguing. Winning this would be such an amazing way to end the year ! Thanks for the chance …
They all look so beautifully made that anyone of them would be a joy to use.
Merry Christmas Mary and to your family also. Love your letters they are really
inspiring.
If it weren’t for Mary at Needlenthread I would have never known about a stiletto/laying tool and the beautifully executed website of Jenny Adin. I had always used a large fat needle when embroidering with floss and silk ribbons. Now I know there’s a tool that will be much easier to use and not as easy to misplace as the needle. Her tools and kits are so wonderful. I can almost feel and taste (if that makes sense ) her designs. I can’t wait to order from her!
My fabourire kit of Jenny’s is The Owl and the Pussycat. This beautiful kit with its attention to detail, its complexity and and glorious presentation is the most fabulous kit I have ever seen. I also love her blue wren and hope tobe able to do this in 2020.
I absolutely love the millefiori butterfly brooches!
I love the Hill Top Garden, the detail of the garden is great. If you have read The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by Susan Wittig Albert you know about her garden ay Hill Top Farm.
I love needlework tools. Jenny’s Pugin Scissor Case is such an elegant way to house those rabbit scissors she recommends. The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase takes my breath away. What an inspiration.
I love browsing Jenny’s site and I’m trying to decide just which project to buy.
What a beautiful works this needle artist has created! And your description of the tools has really been like a miny class to remind me of what I had forgotten from classes I took years ago.
I like the Hampton Court piece the best. I tend toward working in historic embroidery techniques. I am an 18th century – specifically 1770s – reenactor and demonstrate embroidery in public. A piece like this with traditional raised work would be wonderful to work on at an event and the tools would help greatly.
I love the brown wren kit. It’s useful and it would be a delight to stitch and give continuing pleasure every time I embroider. I like the special handmade touches like the beak and legs. It makes it a real heirloom for my girls.
realmente todo lo que presentaste es hermoso, pero me enamoré del pequeño corazón con cera!! yo bordo mucho aquí en México de forma tradicional, distintas técnicas, pero también estoy haciendo mucho bordado antiguo y medieval, de todo esto doy clases, de forma sencilla porque no tengo ningún establecimiento, solo doy mis clases a una o dos alumnas eventuales en alguna pequeña cafetería cerca de mi casa! todos estos materiales son inaccesibles para mi, ya que aquí en México no hay cosas tan bonitas! al igual que muchos de los libros que promocionas, yo he logrado conseguir algunos mediante Amazon o Book Depository. Mi sueño dorado es poder viajar a Europa y tomar cursos en alguna gran escuela!!!
All of Jennie’s kits are wonderful. The directions are fabulous with a work of art in themselves. I currently have my eye on the Pugin Scissor case. Is is beautiful and useful as all sewing tools should be.
I love the Pugin scissor case. It is beautiful!
My guild is planning on stitching the Gawthorpe Needlecase. But I also have my eye on the Milliflora Butterfly broach. So pretty!
Thanks for reminding me of her lovely pieces.
I like the blue wren etui. It looks elegant and there is a lot of detail. I like the different shades of blues.
I have a couple of kits to finish from Jenny. They are on my to do list this year. The tools look so dainty, pretty but so practical.
Oh my, Jenny’s products are amazing, as is the lady herself. I have been lucky enough to attend one of her classes here in Australia, and she is the loveliest and most talented and professional needlewoman! Her kits are stunning and detailed, with gorgeous packaging and thorough instructions. My favourite of her kits is the Hampton Court Palace one – which combines my lovely of English history and my obsession with needlework.
Either the sissors or needle cases… how wonderful to have beautiful storage for your tools.
Wordsworth Harp Needlecase – not only a stunner and cute, but a very clever idea.
Hill Top Garden, for sure. I love houses.
I think all of the tools are so useful. I would most likely use the laying tool the most. I smock quite a lot and this tool help threads lay smoothly.
The kit from Jenny’s collection that I love is the Pugin scissor case. I hope it comes back into stock. For me, it is the most delightful scissor case that I have ever seen.
The owl and the pussy cat was just delightful. My great grandmother would sit with us reciting nursery rhymes or singing little songs. The owl and the Pussycat was my favorite. It amazing how something can spark memories of long ago. It made me smile.
Definitely the row of houses! I’ve been looking at this delightful kit for a while, and I can’t wait until it’s in stock again!
What a beautiful website to explore. The kit that inspires me most is the one called Hill Top Garden……Beatrix Potter’s garden. It is stunning and a place where one could get inspiration to write or work on art. I loved the movie about Potter and this is a perfect depiction of her home. I have never used a laying tool but watched the video of yours Mary and it looks so useful. Thanks to you and Jenny for this fun choice.
Jenny’s kits are absolutely beautiful, but I like the Blue Wren Etui the most. It reminds of the blue wrens we have here in Australia, especially the Superb Fairy Wren, which is one of my favourites. His “wife” the Brown Wren Etui would be a lovely companion piece with both of them mounted on a lovely dried branch.
I have some of Jenny’s tools and they are amazing. Her father makes them for her. I also have the ceramic heart waxer which is part of the Gawthorpe Needle Case that I did when she was a tutor last year on a Needlework Tours class in the UK. Jenny is a truly wonderful teacher, she gives each student individual attention. Looking forward to another class with her in January 2020.
The Gawthorpe Needlecase is my favorite as it is useful as well as beautiful.
Such gorgeous tools – I would spend more time fondling them than I would actually using them! And to answer your question – there are two kits that I love and would have a hard time choosing between them….the blue wren and the Pugin Scissor Case. I love them all but those two top my list.
I also love Jenny’s work. I have taken a class or two with her and love her designs. It’s a tough choice to only pick one but I love The Owl and the Pussycat….
The kit that delights me the most is the Blue Wren Kit. I love its combination of utility and whimsy, and it’s blue.
I like the Blackwell roundell kit because it reminds me of Jacobean design, which is one I have enjoyed embroidering before.
There are several kits by Jenny that capture my heart with delight. If I had to choose only one kit from the collection, I would choose the Blue Wren Etui. It is simply beautiful, I love birds and my favorite color is blue!
Ahh, the joy of having the correct tool for the job! Such help when one needs to make that hole or remove a stitch or whatever. Jenny has clearly had these problems and set about making tools to accommodate her needs. I told my family recently that when I move on to that wonderful, perpetual Embroidery Class in heaven they absolutely MUST ensure that all my embroidery books, tools and threads are passed on to the Embroiderers’ Guild here in Australia, as they are sooooo valuable for any keen stitcher. Let’s hope one of those special items is one from Jenny Adin-Smith’s collection.
PS: We are literally “frying” here in Oz. Temperatures now off the gauge!
Oh, My Goodness, Jenny’s work is stunning! I feel that I could never do justice to her kits, but I’m in love with her Gawthorpe needle case!
The Mosaic Pheasant is so lovely….all the magnificent colours , it would be
a fun stitching project. Thanks and Happy Stitching.
The harp needlecase is so magical and unexpected. I would love to work on such an exquisite piece.
Hello,
I love the Blue Wren. He so cute and has so many features to him.
Kim
Wow! I am totally out of my league here! But if I had to pick I would pick the Blackwell. It is so beautiful!
The blue wren took my breath away. It is amazing.
I love the harp needlecase! I saw that and went bananas. It’s my favorite out of her kits because I love when embroidery projects are functional (so I love etuis!) but this is something very original, very out of the ordinary. I like the origin story of it too, the tie to history! So cool.
What I admire about these tools are the skills used to create tools that are useful as well as beautiful.
I am totally divided on “favorite” between the Blackwell Roundel and Blue Wren Etui ~ ~ the Wren pulls ahead because I really do like things to be useful and I love birds. The Roundel is so beautiful.
Of course they are all magnificent and many have been stitched by people in my embroidery group, however I LOVE my Blue wren kit. I already loved the brown wren, and was waiting to see the picture of the new wren Jenny was bringing out for the last Beating around the Bush convention. I have to admit that when I saw the picture, I gasped! The colours are so vibrant! The stitching and materials make such interesting textures! And always, when Jenny is teaching, she includes information about where the materials came from. She takes my breath away with her creative use of materials, innovative ways to use them and, of course, perfect stitching. I am stitching mine for my husband, for his 60th birthday, and will put a caption on the glass dome base, “The male is a magnificent bird”!!
The mossy hillock all by itself. It’s fascinating. I love embroidery that recreates textured landscapes, whether close-up or distant. The colors are sublime, and I love the functionality of the tiny pincushion.
The kits are delightful. I particularly love the Blue Wren Etui. I love the idea of a beautiful and functional item. If I were to buy and sew one, I might (perhaps) be able to better track my embroidery scissors!
Oh wow! The roundel is my favorite, but there are several in contention!
What kit designed by Jenny captures and delights you the most and what do you like about it?
The kit I like the most is the Hampton Court one. I love the components: the fish, the brick look of the castle walls, the hillocks or mounds in the front. I like the colours. In addition since it is a sampler, there are stitches I would be learning and I could use the excuse that I wasn’t “just” embroidering but that I was learning something.
The Owl and the pussycat kit is the kit that most captures and delights me. It brings back childhood memories of the rhyme “the owl and the pussycat”, and the detail in the stitches is a stitchers dream ! I confess to stalking Jenny’s site waiting for this kit to reappear!
Wow, fabulous kits, but I’d say the Owl and the Pussycat.
thanks
I greatly admire Jenny’s designs and I’ve been in love with her Harp needlecase ever since I first saw it – I think it’s such a clever design that is also absolutely gorgeous!!! I’m hoping 2020 will be the year I finally get to try a laying tool, and these – along with the other tools and treats (love the pretty beeswax keeper) – look like an amazing place to start 🙂
All Jenny’s work is amazing. My favorite is the brown wren and one day I hope to make one. Thank you for the chance to win the tools.
I am known for the brooches I wear each day. My design choice are either a Dragonfly or Butterfly. Many have been gifts from thoughtful friends including my dear Brother. Milliefiori Butterfly is on my radar.
I absolutely love the Brown Wren! Beautifully done and so many interesting stitches!
Dee from Wisconsin. I like ‘The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase” by Jenny because I love harp music and harps.
The Wordsworth Harp Needle case really caught my eye. The design with the flowers and the overall uniqueness of holding the needles. I had to do a close-up look to understand why it was called a needle case and when I saw that the harp string are needles, oh how wonderful.
Oh my goodness, the Little Row of Seaside Houses is perfect!
A difficult decision, but after much deliberation I decided on the scissor case. The detail and uniqueness of the design are delightful. I love nice tools. Maryann Drouillard
The Owl and the Pussycat drew me into my imagination of the story
This question is super easy to answer! I had contacted Jenny before her shop opened so I could get the kit for the brown wren etui, so that is obviously my top choice.(Unfortunately I didn’t get to the sale quick enough so I await the restock like so many others:)
The bird is the first image of embroidery in 3D that I can recall ever seeing online. I probably came across the photo a dozen times and saved it just as many. To think that a needle and thread could recreate something so realistically! This began my search and discovery of stumpwork and so many different amazing projects.
I love that it is realistic but I also adore the idea that it is hiding so many useful tools! It is like a little magical world underneath the glass dome. Beautiful, magical, and practical! Wow!
I also love that Jenny’s family is so supportive of her art – the pride they all take in providing tools and kits is surely felt by all!
If I had my choice of kits, and I was feeling really really brave it would be the Harp kit… my mum is Irish, and is turning 90 in a couple of years so this would be the perfect gift for her (and it would take me that long to finish it I think!)
The blue wren is beautiful. I would love to try making that kit when it is restocked. It looks like it would challenge my ability but still so rewarding if I can complete it.
I really like the blue wren. It looks like feathers and it’s useful too. Nothing better than beautiful things sitting on your table. And the way this is put together is amazing.
Mary you’ve asked the impossible! And I’ve spent the last shopping day studying these pieces happily & excitedly. There’s no way to choose just one…
-The Blue Fairy Wren put me right in my comfort zone of mixed media pieces & bright colors! I And the fact its on its own little base breaks the rule already with 2 picks.
-Then when you REALLY ZOOM IN on the first project with the scissor case, that would teach one how to do the most incredible borders.
So then I could finish the little holiday ornament stack I’ve had building up on a shelf in my closet for a almost two decades-I started them when my niece was born, and with her father (& my little brother) was in the military and stationed somewhere different all the time. So for her to remember, I’d add the year and place she was each year. Since that year, I always buy the Holiday Ornament Issue of Cross Stitch Magazine when it comes out before all the other holiday mags. It’s not Christmas without completing at least one ornament from it. I convert some to needlepoint, or something else other than cross-stitch. But this has been the only traditional stitching I’ve ever done & none have been finished because I’m afraid of getting the borders wonky. Wonky on most of my other work is often the point. But if it’s traditional, it needs to be straight and perfect, at least that has taken root in my head. And her borders are very cool and look so natural, but I’ve no idea what it is she even used!
– Then there is the Butterfly Broach and the Passion Flower that is much like the ones that grew wild where I was as a little girl in the south. It’s back to mixed media again and there are more finished edges to learn plus just the fun of of playing with all the sequins and threads!
It’s tough to pick one because there are so many skills there I’d love to learn to do in every project, even the most traditional white work piece at the end!
But if I’d have to walk a plank off a ship to name just one, it’s the Blue Wren.
My favorite Jenny Adin-Christie kit is the Hill Top Garden kit. I think it is a charming, lovely design that exemplifies a embroidery perfection! It is definitely on my future to-do stitching list!
The addition of laying tools will be an enormous help as I look to try thread painting in 2020.
Pat R.
Gawthorpe needlecase is amazing.
Really like the look of the Whitework Embroiderer’s Workbasket. I’m a gadget guy and like things that are useful. The wooden workbasket with the embroidery themed whitework (which would be fun to learn how to do) would be very enjoyable.
I love the Mosaic Pheasant. I was lucky enough to do this as a class with Jenny a few years back, and it’s a stunning design, so bright and colourful, and packed with detail. Jenny is also an incredible teacher.
I love the Wrens! I’ve stitched several stumpwork items but nothing compares to these 3D birdies. They are just delightful. I am intimated by these because a flower, some fruit you can easily identify even it a bit misshaped. The Wrens need to be perfect. They still remain on my want to do list.
Passiflora is what delights my eye. It is my favorite flower and Jenny’s rendition of it is perfect! I love them all! The brown wren etui is another favorite.
The Little Row of Seaside Houses is such a beautiful kit. I love the varied sea features stitched with wonderful supplies and techniques. The same goes for the three little houses in the scene. Such a beautiful design. Thanks for the chance to win one of the beautiful tools. They all look very useful.
My favourite of Jenny’s kits is the Owl and the Pussycat as it brings back great memories reading the story to my younger sister.
Next on my list of things I would like is the stiletto/laying tool. At the moment I am using a very short ivory stiletto of my grandmother’s but being so short it is hard to hold properly.
Thank you for offering us these opportunities for Christmas.
I like The Owl and the Pussycat. I like animals and I appreciate that this project has lot of different details.
Nicole
The butterfly is beautiful…lots of beads. I love working with beads. But the embroiderer’s workbasket peaked my interest. I’ve always wanted to do whitework & that is a lovely piece.
All of these kits were lovely, at first the blue wren etui jumped out. I love 3 dimensional projects and this looks so enticing. Then I got down to the Millefiori butterfly brooch and changed my mind. If I to choose only one of these, it would be the butterfly. I have done butterflies in surface embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint and beading. The beading ones were the most fun. This would be a wonderful addition to work on.
I love the elegant and ethereal Passiflora. When I was a little girl, my grandmother had a passion flower vine growing on the landing outside her Victorian-era apartment in San Francisco. The structure of the flowers fascinated me, and still does!
The Gawthorpe needlecase catches my eye because of the shape and the motifs on that curvy shape. Love the color too. It was hard to choose as several items catch my eye.
I love Jenny’s work and have made one of her small brooch kits. In the current crop I really like the passiflora – it is so delicate and perfect.
Currently, I am so interested in White Work. I would love the Work Basket kit.
Rosann P. – North Carolina
All of Jenny’s kits are delightful but the little blue wren etui is most inspiring since I have always loved blue wrens and it is an Australian bird.
We have a pair of wrens in our yard. Our budgie takes off their call. Ours is the Superb Fairy Wren that has the upper body and head blue. The Splendid Fairy Wren is blue all over like the Blue Wren Etui.
My choice is the THE BROWN WREN ÉTUI. They have the sweetest colours making up their soft browns and are so dainty. The kit delights me and she is a masterpiece and useful Euti.
Many thanks Mary.
Cheers, Kath Grabham.
I have one of Jenny’s kits, The Owl and the Pussycat. Her instructions are clear and detailed. Right now I seriously love the butterfly brooch. Looks gorgeous!
The kit that I would love to make is the gorgeous The Embroiderer’s Workbasket and I would keep Jenny’s beautiful tools inside. All her kits look amazing.
I just adore Jenny’s blue wren etui. Such a cheeky little bird. I want to pick it up and examine it further.
I love all of Jenny’s kits! The kit which is most appealing, Blackwell Roundel, I purchased through Inspirations kits. I’ve yet to start on this kit, though! Working up my courage!!
I love the Millefiori Butterfly Brooches. So pretty and delicate.
I really like the Passiflora kit. Passion vines grow wild along the edges of my yard & it’s one of my favorite flowers.
The tools are lovely, and it is always a special delight to use something beautiful. Jenny has some amazing projects in her kits, but the one I like especially is the Owl and the Pussycat. I have always loved the poem, and the embroidery has so many different part to it, that it would be a real education to do! So many different textures. I’m sure it would be a delight to do, but a lengthy one.
I love anything beach, so Little Row of Beach Houses for me! Thanks for the giveaway!
I have been coveting one of the millefiori butterfly kits (the pinky-rose copper one!) for some time. I love the colors and the shape, as well as the number of beads and metal threads used. They are on my wish list!
What beautiful kits that Jenny has. It would be impossible for me to decide between the scissor case and the needlework case. They are both so beautiful. The tools she sells certainly goes along with the beautiful handiwork. Amazing!!! Happy Holidays!!
Deb
the first kit that I ever saw of hers is the Harp Needlecase and is still my fav. The Embroiderer Workbasket is a close section both for design and technique.
My fave of Jenny’s kits has to be the Gawthorpe Needlecase – showing varied techniques it looks as though it comes from a different era.
It I must say it was difficult to chose from all listed.
Would have never thought I needed a beautifully embroidered wren, but I Do!!! So lovely and the little hillside for it to rest on. Think my Grandchildren will have to grow up a bit before I can display it, but they will!
I’m totally in love with the little wren etui! How fantastic!… such a fun, and useful, conversation piece. Of course one would need the mossy knoll to perch him on. I’d be thrilled to accomplish such a wonderful kit
The Owl and the Pussycat has Always been a favorite of mine… “And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, They danced by the light of the moon.” -Edward Lear
All are beautiful! Since I love special sewing accessories, I’d be trying to choose between the Pugin scissor case and the Gawthorpe needle case.
I love the Gawthorpe Needlecase, it is just gorgeous.
LOVE THE LOOKS OF THOSE STILETTOS! THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD LOOK BETTER IS IF ONE OF THEM IS IN MY HAND!
I think the Blue Wren is lovely. It makes me smile just to look at it.
Such a beautiful work!!
The Hampton Court Sampler delights me. I’ve loved castles since I was a child. And Hampton is one I hope to experience one day. I’m especially excited about this sampler because it’s designed with stitches for teaching different techniques.
The mosaic pheasant is the piece that attracts me. One of our guild members made this pheasant and the picture doesn’t do it justice. The piece is quite small but the design is just amazing. The colours used in this kit were picked with great care and the result shows the talent of the designer.
The Owl and the Pussycat is delightful in title and techniques
I am most drawn to the Blue Wren. I love deep colorful threads and am particularly loving jewel tone blues and greens right now. He is just beautiful!
I am captivated by both the Wordsworth Harp needlecase….so amazing! And the Blue Wren Etui…both are gorgeous and awe inspiring.
Such beautiful, practical and covetable tools. My favourite kit from Jenny’s website is the ‘Little Row of Seaside Houses’. Small in size, but so detailed, with many unusual threads and stitches. It would be good to do before attempting one of the even more dtailed pieces. I have see many of these amazing pieces in person, they are so exquisite.
I just purchased a butterfly kit from Jenny and am anxious to begin. It was so hard to choose, as she has amazing kits. I would love to do the needlework harp case eventually but will have to save up for that one.
The kit that really catches my fancy is the millefiori-butterfly-brooches.
I’m learning so much with your newsletters! I’m new to collecting many of these embroidery tools and these ones look amazing!
The colors in the Millefiori Butterfly Brooches are stunning! Beautiful work!
I loved them all but I must admit the brown wren is calling out to me. Absolutely beautiful!
I love the Edelweiss purse design. It’s a favorite flower of mine and I appreciate the lovely design elements in this pattern. It would be a pleasure spending time creating it.
I love the brown wren etui. Never saw anything like it and just so pretty.
Can I pick one of each? This is impossible. I have gone over and am running out to buy a lottery ticket so I can purchase each one! After much deliberation, I have decided that the blue wren etui with the hillock, the wooden base with the measuring tape and the glass dome would make perfect companions for my stitching room.
Amazing giveaway, Mary! Thank you and Jenny Adin-Christie for this wonderful trip into this area of embroidery.
Merry Christmas to all.
Her kits are gorgeous and way beyond my skill level but I really fine the pheasant adorable. Also the Owl & Pussycat
The Owl and the Pussycat kit is so darn cute and I’ve always loved that little poem, too. It would definitely present a challenge for me as it is far more advanced than anything I’ve done so far in the way of needlework, but it would be so much fun to learn all those new techniques.
The Pugin Scissors case is so richly beautiful and the variety of material is appealing but looking at the kits several times I fell in love with the little brown Wren. The stitches, the colors and the utility give high marks but mostly the understated humor make her my final favorite.
Merry Christmas!
I loved Jenny’s Little Blue Wren.
All are so lovely but the harp speaks to me. It would make organizing needles a delight rather than a haphazard experience.
Wordsworth Harp, hands down. I’ve been drooling about the Harp for ages now. It is a symbol to me of what practice, hard work, and dedication can achieve, and it inspires me anew every time I gaze at it’s picture.
Jenny’s Wordsworth harp needle case is unique and inspires me to aim high with my future needle work projects.
I love Jenny’s little wrens. They are one of my favorite birds. The work on these is so intricate that they look real.
I love all of her kits. There absolutely stunning. However, my favorite is the edelweiss handbag. Not only is it beautiful, but I love handbags.
I love the harp needle case. My mother loved harps and always wanted to learn to play – and I love needles. The tools are lovely!
I would love 2 win those tools thet would be ideal 4 goldwork. I ne ver win prizes but thats ok. Thanks 4 the change look forward your reply thanks Christine
Wow those tools are wonderful. But I must admit those kits drove me wild. I’m not sure that I have the skills to do any of them, but I’d love to try the little row of seaside houses. But on the other hand the needle case was exquisite. The row of seaside houses would be so cool on the wall.
Mary, you have outdone yourself with this Stitchers Christmas.
This is Sharon LaRose in Chicago: I really like Jenny’s brown, and blue, wren etui as it appears to have multiple types of needlework: embroidery, crochet, appliqué. It’s a stitchers dream! And the mossy hillock? How cute is that!? What a wonderful way to store your needlework supplies.
The little row of seaside houses – absolutely gorgeous, fun, and quirky. Love it!
Very talented artist. For numerous reasons, The Owl and Pussycat.0
Holy! those birds! They’re amazing! I love that little seaside row of houses as well.
I ordered 3 of the stilleto/laying tools on the day you featured it in your news letter. It was sold out already, and on back order. Apparently I am not your only fan that ‘needs’ every tool you recommend. Thank you for your wonderful newsletter, and Merry Christmas.
I’d love to work the brown wren etui, probably with the mossy hillock. They’re both lovely!
I almost purchased one of her laying tools when you first reviewed her site.
Of all the wonderful kits I love the Hampton Court Sampler best because of the fairytale aspect of it…it’s so wistful.
My second favorite is the Pugin Scissor Case because it’s a beautiful useful tool keeper.
The Wordsworth Harp Needlecase looks amazing! Just beautiful work!
I love the Edelweiß handbag!
I like most of the kits because of the incredible detail, but I especially like the Millefiori Butterfly Brooches.
I love the butterfly millefiori
It would have to be the Mosaic Pheasant. I live on a game farm and I’m surrounded by pheasants. This really catches the colours of these beautiful birds.
I have stitched a few of Jenny’s designs and the next one I would love to make is the Pugin scissor case. I love how Jenny puts together so many different materials and techniques and creates beautiful heirloom pieces
Un enchantement, the world of Jenny is a ravishment , a dream for me.
I have made the Roundel and took so much pleasure to do it ! So delicate, subtil, and exploring technical stitches.
My favorite kit is the book cover and one day, perhaps, le Père Noël will put it in my chimney
They are all so beautiful but I absolutely love the Little Row Of Hillside House! I have a passion for tiny embroidered houses!
What a lovely site to browse through! I adore the harp needlecase!! I have it on my wish list – I play the harp so that piece speaks to me!
Dear Mary,
The green Worthsworth Harp Needlecase is absolutely exquisite. But I’m going for the Mosaic Pheasant for design and colour. Thank you for giving us so much enjoyment looking at beautiful needlework projects, threads, and tools, and excitement in anticipation of the winners of your Christmas Give-aways. The prizes are top of the range.
Thank you for offering this lovely give-away! All of her work is exquisite, but I think my favorite kit is probably the Hampton Court Sampler. I’ve always wanted to take a class at the RSN, and I love castles in general, so it’s a great combination with her beautiful design!
Ooh decisions! I think my favourite has to be the owl and the pussycat, because I love its quirkiness. But I also love Hampton Court and the row of seaside houses and … !!
I’ve been forever in love with the Gawthorpe needlecase… it is one of my pending projects in life. Thanks!
I love Jenny’s Seaside Houses kit; anything that makes me want to crawl inside and be there says it all! Thank you for the opportunity to win the needlework tools. I’d never known of a laying tool until reading your blog, Mary, a few weeks back!
What a great give away from Jenny
Would just love to win those tools
She is coming to NZ next year.
Fingers crossed.
Thanks Mary
So often you buy tools that you never use but these are beautiful and core to an embroiderer’s kit. Its such a joy to have lovely equipment to work with: certainly makes you up your game!
I love all of Jenny’s work and kits.
I have in particular been hoping to purchase both the wrens. I love the intricate look of the items and the variety of skills and threads/ material that is used.
Such pretty little accessories. They would be so helpful to my sewing.
I love Jenny’s kits. I have been trying to purchase a wren kit for quite some time. Initially I was saving up. Fingers crossed I will get one at some time x I love the mix of threads and material used.
I absolutely adore the brown wren étui. I particularly like the simple yet elegant design and the delicate details. That’s needelart at its finest.
One learns something every day, what a delightful combination of tools – someone will be very lucky to win this set.
Thanks Jenny and Mary! I love the ceramic heart wax, just because I’ve never tried waxing threads can´t find wax prepared for that or I don’t know how to prepare it… and that heart is lovely!
Merry Christmas Mary and to all of your followers!
I love the Wordsworth Harp. What attracts me is the engineering needed to construct such an item. It is so beyond what I can imagine finishing – I could cobble thru the stitching, but then what? I hope to increase my finishing skills – when you start with 0 it is easy to go up – but I do not expect to ever come close to something like this. Beautiful.
Thank you Mary for spreading so much fun,
Lois
What a nice shop. So many wonderful needlework tools and kits. Of the kits my favorite is the LITTLE ROW OF SEASIDE HOUSES. I love it because I live in a town on the coast and this design appeals to my image of how I’d like my town’s seaside to look.
I like the The Blue Wren Étui. The color is beautiful and the free standing base makes it so it can be on display while still being useful. Just what i need to keep me organized. Susan T.
The gawthorp needlecase. I have admired this for awhile now but it is beyond my budget and skills set.
The harp is delightful, the green color is vibrant against the flowers.
My favorite kit is Hill Top Garden. Beatrix Potter has long been a favorite of mine and I have some needlework and knitting books which have patterns depicting her home, garden, and many “friends” (animals) from her books. This is a lovely piece which celebrates Beatrix Potter and her peaceful garden. Thank you for this opportunity.
All her kits are exquisite but the blue wren etui is one I want to try. The colors are beautiful and it is so cheerful. It makes me smile. Of course the wren would need its hillock to stand on. Mary thank you for all you do for us. You inspire me to try new things. I look forward to your emails.
Merry Christmas
I love the butterfly, although it would be quite a challenge to make! Also, the colored handled prickers are fabulous! Thanks, Marty
The little seaside houses kit is absolutely charming! I primarily cross stitch but I think I would have fun learning new techniques with that beautiful kit. I’m going to keep an eye on this and hope it comes back in stock soon!
The kit, Hill Top Garden ‘captures and delights’ me the most and what I like about it is that it contains so many different techniques and stitches that I would like to try but haven’t had the courage to try yet! LOL I also have only done embroidery that I have designed myself, so far and would love to try this to see how it feels to “follow” ideas that someone else has designed.
The tools would be great as well, I am pretty tool-poor and tend to make due with things I devise myself and they are not near as beautiful or functional as these gems are!
Wordsworth Harp Needle case is the kit that intrigues me. When I first saw it in Inspirations magazine I could not get over the beautiful detail. Just stunning.
all of Jenny’s kits are gorgeous, but if forced to pick only one, I think it would be the Blue Wren Etui. Or the pheasant. Or…. 🙂
I love and so admire Jenny’s stumpwork birds. Someday my skill level will be sufficient to do one!
These tools are beautiful as well as useful . Most I have not seen anywhere else. I would love to try all but would be more than happy to receive one.
That Blue Wren looks like it could just start chirping on its own if given the opportunity and the Wordsworth needle case is one of the most unique kits I have seen.
I’m in love with The Blue Wren Etui. I love the colors and the concept. I think it is beyond my ability level and I adore it anyway.
The Gawthorpe Needlecase is my favorite of Jenny’s. It has such a delicate and refined look to it.
Shears are an important part of my job, dog grooming. I keep in cases for protection. My relaxing hobby is embroidery, and I look after my equipment as well, therefore I use cases for my scissors. I like the case with the dragonfly and fish , the Hawthorne, as it brings in beautiful colors for relaxing feelies, and animals, which I love to embroider.
My favorite kit is the Wordsworth Harp Needlecase. It is beautiful, unique and so creative. I also like the historical aspect of the piece. I don’t think I have the talent to creat this unique piece of art, but I can dream.
Another tough decision! They are all beautiful. I find I am partial to the wrens and of course the mossy hillock. Maybe I should start with the hillock and work my way to the wrens!
I have been using beeswax to condition my thread since I began hand quilting in the 80’s however it wasn’t until the last 5 or so years that I realized conditioning my embroidery thread was useful. I don’t use it on all but it is always by my side therefore I just adore the little heart with the beeswax! Unfortunately, I could not find it posted on her website but I have bookmarked her shop for the future.
Thank you ever so much for your free gift of knowledge and time to all of us out in the stitching world. I don’t know if you can imagine how grateful we are! Merry Christmas!
Oh my…I followed another link and found the beeswax heart! Hoping it will be under the tree! Thanks again!
Jenny’s tools are exquisite! Thank you for bringing these to my attention again. As to the kits, Wow. Not sure if I’m quite up to stitching many of these. However, the one that really caught my eye is the Mosaic Pheasant. There were still some around at the nearby farms when I was growing up. In addition to seeing the male’s distinctive plumage, I’d sometimes hear their hoarse calls, and know they were around. Thanks for a trip down memory lane.
I love the “THE WORDSWORTH HARP NEEDLECASE” for its beauty and simplicity. I like how it combines old and new technology.
Being from north central Kansas, I am partial to the Mosaic Pheasant. We have many pheasants in our area. They are beautiful birds!
The kit by Jenny that delights me the most is Blackwell Rondell, I just love the design. It appears to be delicate but yet very strong at the same time.
Me encantan todas las herramientas hechas a mano, lamento que el envio a mi país tenga un costo tan elevado, lo que dificulta su adquisición, pero me conformo con mirar todas esas bellezas y soñar.
My choice would be the little blue wren. It would be a huge challenge to create something so three dimensional but Jenny’s kits are so comprehensive in their instructions. She is amazing.
It’s the Owl and the Pussycat all the way. My favorite poem since childhood.
I love the Blackwell Roundel for its historic connection, the muted colors, and the twining tendrils.
I love Jenny’s Passiflora Stumpwork piece. The delicate petals together with the stigma and anthers are to me the epitome of this form of art work. The delicately wrapped purple feathery corolla makes this flower seem so real. And as I also have a passionflower plant in my home that bears her exact variety of the flowers!
A good pricking tool would be real useful for transferring the design onto the delicate fabric of the petals, when I order the kit.
Thank you for your wonderful and informative articles that I love to read and learn from.
Paula B Edmonton
I had the joy of taking one of Jenny’s millefiori classes a couple of years ago. So then I had to buy the butterfly! However, as a bird watcher, I’m in love with ther bird etuis, specifically the blue wren (we don’t have blue wrens where I live).
Oh my! She’s an amazing stitcher and designer! I really love the Little Brown Wren Etui. But then the Wren needs the mossy base and wooden stand – and of course the bell cover after putting all that work into it!
I like the Needleworker’s workbox…a white work embroidery which captures the tools of our passion for needlework. On the wall or boxtop it would be a persistent reminder of my love for needle, thread, a piece of fabric and scissors.
The Brown Wren Etui is my all time favorite. I love seeing and housing the little wren here on my property. So tiny and fast…
On the tools are . My favorite on her kits are the seem and the hillock.
Oh my, her kits are definitely exquisite treasures that look like they should be in a museum! I love the Pugin scissor case – probably because I love anything heart-shaped, plus it’s a beautiful flower.
Several years ago I made Jenny’s passiflora stumpwork kit. It was perfect. The best kit I have ever had. It had more than enough material, it was interesting, because so many techniques were involved in making the flower. My husband immediately confiscated the finished project and it has been sitting on his desk ever since.
The Blue Wren Etui is my 1st choice but there are others that I would like to stitch as well. Hopefully she will have more stock in the spring as there are quite a few items I would like to order.
So right….tools and good thread…..so important. Winning these tools would be wonderful. Beautiful and useful!
What beautiful tools! And your thoughtfulness to continue to share your talents with all of us is truly appreciated. Recently returned from a trip to Paris with my daughter and granddaughter. It was because of finding your site and blog that I knew to track down French silk thread as one of my must have memories of the trip.
I love all of Jenny’s kits but I love the Blue Wren, this is the next one for me to buy,I am working on the brown wren at the moment.
Sue Thomas
So many incredible embroidery kits-how to choose one? I have to admit that the one that literally made my jaw drop is the Gawthorpe needle case; from the beautiful color palette to the exquisite design it is a marvel.
I forgot to mention that I m saving up to do “The Owl and the Pussycat”
This brings back so many memories of when I was read to by my Dad it was my favourite story at that time and it set me up for a life time love of books.
After reading your review on laying tools, I actually did go on her site and purchase one – I can’t wait for it to arrive! While exploring on the site, I fell in love with Little Row of Seaside Houses. It is a mini masterpiece. If I were a tiny storybook character, that would be my house.
I have never used any of the tools mentioned, but I now think I must get a laying tool. The tool makes so much sense as I have struggled with making my satin stitches look they way I want them to look.
I am also going to read more about the pricker tool as I have not been totally pleased with the water soluble transfers for my work.
So many tools, so much to learn…
Suzi’s MiMi
The little row of seaside cottages is an absolute delight! I’m not sure I would have the skills to complete it, but it would look great in my home by the sea.
Échantilloneur Hampton Court très jolie pour mettre sur un coffre à bijoux. Mais tous les kits sont très jolis . La broche papillon quelle merveille!. Merci pour ces beaux cadeaux de Noël. Tu fais des heureuses chaque année
Oooooh, all! Everything! It all looks wonderful, but the Gawthorpe needle case caught my eye. I like the soothing colours, soft & gentle looking. Opposite of what it contains!
Mary-thank you for every year doing this fun giveaway. Happy Holiday everyone!
I have been very lucky to have done some of Jenny’s kits and her workshops but the one kit on my dream wish list is The Owl and The Pussycat. There is so much to look at and so many techniques. Its also one of my favourite childhood poems.
I love Blackwell Roundel for it’s fine and elegant look. Also a combination of warm wood colours and delicate shining gold is amazing.
Wow! The Wordsworth Harp needlecase is absolutely adorable! Truly one of a kind!
I love her website and all her projects, however, I am drawn to the Blackwell Roundel as I love the textural work and the lovely colors in this work. They are warm and just downright lovely! I would also love to win the tools Jenny has generously offered for this giveaway.
I like the mosaic pheasant. I have always loved the colours of pheasants and Jenny captures this beautifully.
Karin New Zealand
My favorite JAC kit at the present is the Passion Flower, but it is only slightly ahead of the Wordsworth Harp and the two birds. Her projects are just amazing and I am so glad that she ha