August 5, 2011
Royal Blossom Stitch-A-Long Update
Here’s a brief (really brief!) update on the Talliaferro Royal Persian Blossom design that I’m working in conjunction with our stitch along over on Ask & Share.
August 4, 2011
Considering the Scale of Your Embroidery Project
Lately, I’ve taken to considering the scale of embroidery projects that I work. “Small” and “large” are relative terms when it comes to hand embroidery. Sure, a small four inch embroidery design, when lined up next to a large forty inch embroidery design, will look small, no matter what.
But there are times when a four inch embroidery design can be huge. Let me show you what I mean!
August 3, 2011
Another Mystery: Hand Made Lace – What is It?
The other day, I posted photos of a mystery stitch, and received some really good response from readers who offered a variety of ways to construct the unknown stitch. Today, I’ve got a couple pictures of a hand-made lace, and knowing that many of you are very knowledgeable about lace of various types, I thought I’d post the photos and see if you can come up with the type of lace, or perhaps determine the techniques involved in making pieces that look like this.
The photos come from a reader who recently visited an exhibit at the Utah Quilt Guild museum. They had a display on lace, with various types of lace exhibited and named. They called these two samples “Mystery Lace,” as they didn’t recognize the type, with a request for any information. The visitor took photos and sent them on to me, and I thought it would be fun to send them on to you! I’m no lace expert, that’s for sure!
August 2, 2011
Hungarian Hand Embroidery Design #9: Floral Rectangle
This is a magnificently complex rectangular design from Lilly’s Legacy, a collection of Hungarian folk embroidery patterns drawn by graphic artist Lilly Baróthi Zathureczky between the 1930’s & the 1960’s. Today’s design was drawn in 1945, while Lilly was living in a refugee camp in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Unlike most of her other drawings I’ve posted so far, this one is not completely colored. Just a corner has been painted, with the outline of the rest of the design drawn in ink.
August 1, 2011
Ideas from the Past – Needlework Inspiration
In the most recent issue of Inspirations Magazine (Issue #71), you’ll find an article by yours truly about finding inspiration from the past for needlework designs today. In the article, I highlighted sources for out-of-copyright needlework designs that can be adapted to all kinds of different embroidery techniques.
Besides designs from these old publications, I also like to glean ideas and inspiration from old pieces of needlework. One area of needlework where stitches, techniques, and materials are used in interesting combinations is old church embroidery. Whenever I get the opportunity (and have permission), I photograph old pieces of ecclesiastical embroidery, and often when I’m looking for ideas for materials, for interesting combinations of threads for certain effects, or for some kind of inspiration for a design, I’ll flip through my ever-growing collection of photos of church embroidery pieces. I also have a tendency to collect old worn out pieces of ecclesiastical needlework. Damaged beyond repair, they make a great learning tool.
Using an example from my collection of photos, I’ll show you what sparks my interest.
July 30, 2011
Goldwork & Silk Tudor Rose: Final Petals
The next step on the Goldwork & Silk Tudor-style Rose project involves filling up the rest of the inside petal space with #7 tambour gold. If you’re just joining in on this project, feel free to read up on the rest of the stages. You’ll find the embroidery pattern, plus each developing stage of the project, listed in the goldwork & silk Tudor-style rose index.
July 29, 2011
RSN Stumpwork Essential Stitch Guide: Book Review
So far, the Royal School of Needlework has released four good “essential stitch guides” in their new series of needlework books on specific topics: blackwork, crewelwork, silk shading, and stumpwork. Today, let’s look at their new stumpwork essential stitch guide!
