Today, I’m reviewing a book produced from a clever angle. It offers a unique way of examining crewelwork by combining the expertise of two well-known names in the world of embroidery, each of whom has a contrasting approach to the topic.

Newly published, Crewelwork Then & Now by Hazel Blomkamp and Phillipa Turnbull is a project book that offers the reader the opportunity to experience both traditional crewelwork and contemporary interpretations of crewelwork.

Let’s take a look at it…

Autumn is my favorite season of the year, hands down! And I especially love autumn when it is particularly autumn-ish.

In Kansas, we often have autumns that are very, very slow to arrive – summer just wants to linger – and then, bammo! Fall is gone. And winter is here.

But sometimes, we enjoy nice, lingering, lovely autumns, replete with a beautiful color change, crisp blue skies, chilly nights, and all the other quiet attractions that make the winding-down of the seasonal year so very pleasant.

This year, we had summer through the last part of September and most of October, despite the cool-weather tease that we had in August. So I haven’t had a chance to get in a fall frame of mind. I feel like I’m careening towards winter at break-neck speed, and next time I look up, it’ll be time to prune my hydrangeas.

One of my favorite fall stitching projects I’ve ever worked is this set of towels called Autumn Variety.

It’s a rather wet start to the week here in Kansas!

In fact, it’s a perfect day to continue our Alphabetic Meanderings through the depths of the Needle ‘n Thread archives.

Today, F is for Fish – fish of the embroidered type, and specifically, the Blackwork Fish. It has been eons since this project was alive on the website!

Let’s kick off Wednesday with a little sneak peek!

Every year, I try to release at least one kind of Christmas ornament / decoration project here on Needle ‘n Thread – something accessible for beginners and beyond – that folks can use for their own holiday preparations or for gift-giving.

On an embroidery blog, it seems reasonable that my alphabetic recap series entry for the letter “E” could simply have been “Embroidery” – but that’s a pretty hefty umbrella!

Instead, I decided to highlight Egg Embroidery: that is, embroidery on an egg shell.

Over the years, I’ve highlighted many, many tapestry projects from around the world. Past or current, these tapestry projects have always fascinated me!

In recent decades, tapestries that use fabric and thread as a storytelling medium have become quite popular.

Although we’ve seen a plethora of them springing up around the world, they’re not really a new thing. The Bayeux Tapestry has been around for how long? Almost 1,000 years!