I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more
Contact Mary
I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more
Contact Mary
June 14, 2011
Thumbing through the latest issue of Needle Arts Magazine (the EGA’s official quarterly publication), I fell into a reverie on all sorts of subjects related to the needleworker’s dedication to the pursuit of All Things Needle.
The cover started me off:
June 13, 2011
Last week, after reviewing Autopsy of the Montenegrin Stitch: Exhumed by Amy Mitten, we had a little give-away for the book, and today, the winner is announced!
June 12, 2011
In ecclesiastical embroidery – both historical and contemporary – it’s fairly easy to find representations of the Holy Ghost in most collections. The Holy Ghost is symbolically represented as a dove, from Christ’s baptism in Luke 3:22: “And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape, as a dove upon him.” As a symbol, the dove evokes certain images – it is gentle, pure, peaceful. Within larger images on historical vestments, you might look at the whole picture and completely miss the dove, but if you look hard enough in Christian figure embroidery on vestments, sure enough, you’ll often find a little dove figured into the needlepainting somewhere.
Lately, I’ve been in touch with several embroiderers out there who have been working on different pieces of ecclesiastical embroidery for Pentecost. A couple sent photos, so I’d like to share them, and I’ll also show you some photos of historical pieces with the Holy Ghost discreetly figured into the embroidery.
June 10, 2011
Tricia Nguyen over on Thistle Threads is doing it again – she’s selling a special little “needlework nibble” to help a cause. For each $18 Tulip Slip Needlework Nibble kit she sells, $10 will be donated to Winterthur Museum to support their textile and needlework exhibition budget. They’ll be running an exhibit called With Cunning Needle: Four Centuries of Embroidery, from September 3, 2011 through January 8, 2012. The more funds they raise to support the exhibit, the more items they will be able to exhibit. RIght now, they’re $5,000 short of their needed budget.
June 9, 2011
Remember the book I reviewed yesterday – Autopsy of the Montenegrin Stitch: Exhumed? Well, thanks to the author Amy Mitten, I’ve got a copy to give away!
If you’ve ever tried to unravel the intricacies of the Montenegrin stitch, especially when it comes to making seamless joins between lines traveling in different directions, then you’ll want this book! Stitchers who enjoy working historical reproduction samplers will find it an immense help, as will anyone who wants to add this beautiful stitch to their repertoire.
June 8, 2011
For those of you familiar with canvas work and with counted thread embroidery stitches – especially variations on cross stitch – you are probably familiar with Montenegrin Stitch, or have at least heard of it. Montenegrin stitch is similar to long armed cross stitch, in that the stitches “interlock” and overlap, but it is different, in that it includes a vertical stitch in its stitch movement, and the resulting band of stitches tends to look more “braided” than long armed cross stitch.
Confusing? Yes, well – try working the stitch! It can be a real bear, especially when it comes to changing directions, moving on the diagonal, and merging lines that travel in different directions.
Several years ago, Amy Mitten published a book called Autopsy of the Montenegrin Stitch, which became the definitive guide to the stitch. By examining examples of Montenegrin stitch and working out all the possibilities of the stitch herself, Amy was able to compile clear diagram instructions for Montenegrin stitch. Recently, Amy updated and re-published her book, and now we have Autopsy of the Montenegrin Stitch: Exhumed!. (Yes, she’s a bit of a mystery buff.)
June 7, 2011
I love it when stitchers send me pictures of the embroidery they’ve done, using embroidery patterns they’ve found here on Needle ‘n Thread! Here’s a stitched-up version of the Jacobean Circular Thing, embroidered by Marilyn.
