Well, I’d like it to be real travel, but I’m afraid it’s vicarious! The William Morris Gallery is located in London, which is a rather long hop from Kansas. Still, the good news is that the William Morris Gallery has a wonderfully refurbished website, perfect for browsing from afar. It’s worth looking at, if you’re a William Morris fan, or if you’re just wanting a bit of inspiration!

Feel free to click any of the images to go directly the gallery.

We seldom talk about it. We usually don’t show it off. But it’s always there. And sometimes, it’s interesting and educational to look at it.

It’s the Backside of Hand Embroidery.

It’s been a long, long time since I posted any free hand embroidery patterns on Needle ‘n Thread! But the other day I came across this sweet little single flower in an old embroidery journal that was crumbling in my hands as I opened it, and I salvaged the pattern by tracing it. Then I dumped it onto the computer to make a clean line drawing of it, and today, I’m giving it to you!

Let me show you the little design and then tell you why it caught my eye.

After examining the 19th century embroidered panel up close, my next step: preserving the design. Before I could make a good tracing of the design, I had to remove some of the loose metal threads.

Yesterday, we looked at the setting for this 19th century embroidered rose. Today, you get to see the rose!

There are some types of embroidery that I’m just drawn to, like the proverbial moth-to-flame scenario. This particular piece of 19th century ecclesiastical embroidery is one of those pieces that twitterpates me.

Who won the RSN Essential Stitch Guide for Whitework?! Well, well, well… that’s what we’re here to find out!