September 10, 2012
Crewel Work Company Kit Winner!
Who won Phillipa Turnbull’s new Mellerstain Parrots kit?! Well, to find out, you’ll just have to read on…
September 8, 2012
Don’t Forget and Coming Up!
Just a quick reminder, in case you didn’t get the opportunity to sign up for this week’s give-away, it ends on Monday morning, bright and early. If you’d like the opportunity to win Phillipa Turnbull’s beautiful Mellerstain Parrot kit, visit the original article here on Needle ‘n Thread for the give-away and follow the instructions to enter before Monday.
September 7, 2012
Trebizond, Plaited Braid, and Should-Onlies
Are you familiar with Trebizond silk? When it comes to silk threads, Trebizond is Pure Luxury. I don’t think Trebizond has quite come into its own yet, in the surface embroidery world. Here and there, you hear about it used in surface embroidery, but mostly, it seems to more popular in needlepoint or canvas work.
September 6, 2012
Reader’s Question: Copyright in Embroidery
Once in a while, I take questions that come into my inbox and turn them into blog posts. The other day, I received a couple questions about copyright in embroidery. I thought it might be an interesting topic to open up.
Please keep in mind, I’m only writing from the standpoint of US law, and not as an expert at it, either, though I did consult an expert to make sure I wasn’t saying anything off the mark, here. Still, I’m open to correction!
By reading the copyright laws and understanding certain terminology and applying a little common sense, what’s what in copyright issues for embroiderers should be pretty clear.
September 5, 2012
Old Goldwork Techniques Close Up
I’m still fascinated with the goldwork-on-velvet panel I’ve been exploring lately. In discussing it with Phillipa Turnbull, who is an expert in historical embroideries, she suggested Italian, and part of a canopy from a half tester bed, confirming Lesley-Ann’s comment on the original article about the piece. The half tester is a bed with a partial canopy just above the very head of the bed. No certainty on the dates, but guessing 17th / 18th century. I may follow up with some other sources Phillipa suggested, to be more certain about the time period. I’m always for consulting experts – it’s much better than just guessing, so I was grateful that Philippa kindly took the time to discuss the piece and to recommend further avenues of exploration.
But in the meantime, what really fascinates me about the panel is the variety of goldwork couching techniques displayed in it, and the variety of gold threads and thread sizes used. It isn’t until you really get up close to the piece that you start to see all the details! I’m using a magnifier to look at some parts and take notes, but the macro setting on the camera is pretty useful, too, because it can get in there close, and then I can zoom farther in, using Photoshop.
September 4, 2012
Crewel Work Company Kit – a Beautiful Give-Away
Perhaps you’ve heard of The Crewel Work Company? If you haven’t, but you are interested in crewel embroidery, you must (must) become familiar with Phillipa Turnbull’s website. She offers glorious crewel embroidery kits, in the tradition of historical crewel work – they are timeless, they are lovely, they are… *sigh* … covetable! And she offers them in different stitching levels, from Level 1 for beginners (whom she calls “the terrified”!), Level 2 for beginners and stitchers with some experience, and Level 3, for those with some experience in embroidery who like a challenge.
One of Phillipa’s newer kits – the Mellerstain Parrots – is the subject of today’s give-away, with thanks to The Crewel Work Company.
September 3, 2012
Trestles for Large Embroidery Frames – Available!
If you are into historical embroidery, if you like stitching larger projects, if you do ecclesiastical embroidery and so forth, and if you work on larger embroidery frames, trestles are something you’ve probable thought about!
Maybe you’ve seen them in use in the photos on the Royal School of Needlework’s website, or pictured in their books, supporting slate frames. Or maybe you’ve worked with large frames and experienced the discomfort of trying to support them on the edge of a table, and wondered if there was another solution to holding up your frame.
