Several weeks ago, Ros Clarke, a reader here on Needle ‘n Thread, dropped me a line to let me know she’d be taking a class at the Royal School of Needlework. She offered to write up her experience for us – kind of an insider’s scoop.

I thought that sounded like fun! After all, who doesn’t like an insider’s scoop?

So I’m going to turn you over to Ros and let her chat with you about her recent RSN visit and class. I hope you enjoy it!

If you’re a connoisseur of old embroidery publications, you’ve probably heard of Thérèse de Dillmont, who was DMC’s featured embroidery expert for many of their embroidery publications produced in the 1800’s.

Though writing for DMC (a French company) and sporting a French name, Thérèse was, in fact, Austrian. She is perhaps best known for her Encyclopedia of Needlework, which can happily still be found in print through used book sources and can also be found online for free through places like Project Gutenberg.

Besides the Encyclopedia of Needlework, there are a ton of other publications with her name on them, including pattern books, technique books, books dedicated to specific regional embroidery techniques. I’ve been collecting publications with her name on them for many years, and I still stumble on one here and there that I had no idea existed! Many of her works are available online for free through Antique Pattern Library, too – they’re well worth exploring!

It’s Labor Day here in the US, and one of those treasured three-day weekends! You know the type!

Once upon a time, this day used to mark the official end of summer vacation for kids going back to school. Now, it falls somewhere in the second or third (or fourth) week of the school year and is welcomed as the first three-day weekend of the academic year.

When I was a kid, our family celebrated Labor Day by…laboring. We cleaned the garage and wallowed through the last big yard clean up before winter. We knew how to have fun!

One thing I love about Labor Day is that it signals that autumn is coming. It’s time to anticipate the imminent change of seasons by planning out how to spend the shorter upcoming days and darker evenings stitching.

Maybe you’re looking for a new project? Maybe you’re contemplating stitching up some Christmas gifts?

Well, to that end, I have a little 12-hour break for you…

For your weekend reading pleasure, here’s a little round-up of needlework-related links that I’ve come across lately that I thought were inspirational, interesting, or just fun!

So, grab a cup of something satisfying, and come browse with me!

Oh, oh, oh!! Here’s some exciting news for embroiderers who want to learn the basics of goldwork embroidery!

Lucy Barter, a Royal School of Needlework-trained embroidery instructor in San Francisco, has teamed up with Craftsy to produce Goldwork Embroidery: Essential Techniques.

So, being the lazy bum “highly efficient person” that I am, there are times when I opt for certain quick modes of embroidery design transfer, despite the fact that I have misgivings that they’ll work as I need them to.

The Thing is, there is Nothing quite so appealing as a design transfer method that takes a mere 30 seconds. And this is precisely what an iron-on embroidery transfer promises.

Don’t get me wrong – I have nothing against iron-on transfers, in the right circumstances. But there are times when an iron-on might not be the best solution, despite the promise of a quick transfer. For example, if your lines will not be completely covered with stitching, don’t opt for an iron-on. They usually don’t wash out. Opt for a transfer method that you are sure will leave no trace of a pattern.

And then there are times when the iron-on itself might be problematic. All iron-ons are not created equal. Let me show you what I mean.

The slate frame is possibly the Best Embroidery Frame that you can invest in.

Slate frames have been around for centuries, and it’s no wonder. In concept, it’s quite a simple thing – horizontal “roller” bars are held apart from each other by vertical slats or stretchers. The vertical bars pass through the ends of the horizontal bars, which sport a twill “tape” to which the fabric is sewn, top and bottom. Space and tension are maintained by pegs stuck in the holes in the vertical bars. The fabric is further tensioned by lacing it on the sides, until it is truly the drum-tautest fabric you could want.

You can adjust your tension on your fabric, by tightening the laces or adding another peg of space in the vertical bars.

Projects set up on a slate frame can stay there interminably, until they’re finished. And when they’re finished and removed, you just have four slats of wood and four pegs to store.

Whether your stitching forte is cross stitch, needlepoint, surface embroidery, whitework, crewel, goldwork – it doesn’t matter. A slate frame can handle them all!

If you’re not sure what a slate frame is, you might find this article on dressing a slate frame handy. You’ll see what the frame is, and one way of setting it up.