Estense Embroidery or Ricamo Estense by Elisabeth Holzer Spinelli, translated by Jeanine Robertson (who writes the blog Italian Needlework), is a beautiful little embroidery book that introduces a style of embroidery inspired by Italian ceramics. The book is fascinating for a number of reasons, not the least of which are the beautiful embroidery projects you’ll find inside.

You’d think that, with all the “time off” from blogging, I would have finished the Blackwork Fish by now! Alas, it is not the case! Still, the embroidery on this fishy fellow has come along fairly well. I’ve finished the body, the tail, and a bit of fin.

What I liked best about this project up to the point of starting the tail was the diversity of stitches. Embroidering the body of the fish was fun, regardless of stitching solely in black for a relatively long time.

I found myself getting pretty excited as I approached the last few inches of filling down by the tail, Continue reading “The Blackwork Fish Is Coming Along Swimmingly!”

I’ve been dying to write this post for a long, long time – before I even knew what the new Needle ‘n Thread would look like, and for that matter, before I knew we would even have a new Needle ‘n Thread for sure! But here it is, shiny and new, and I want to tell you a little bit about it.

But first, a final tribute to the old, so that we can remember what it looked like:

RIP.

And now let’s get on with the new! Continue reading “Welcome to the New Needle ‘n Thread!”

Interweave Press produces Piecework Magazine, among other interesting needlework publications. Right now, they’ve got their spring sale going on, but … Continue reading Needlework Book Sale and Some News…

If you want to follow the progress on my “Blackwork Fish” surface embroidery project, here’s a list of links to … Continue reading Follow the Blackwork Fish

Last summer when I visited Lacis in Berkeley, CA, I picked up some great embroidery iron-on transfer packs from Italy, … Continue reading Italian Needlework Supplies – A Resource