New stitches to learn
A package arrived today from my father in Iowa. It was a small and very nice package with 7 spools of Gilt Sylke Twist thread inside. I just L*O*V*E getting little packages in the post. Almost always they are thread. And I L*O*V*E thread. This particular thread was (and still is!) on sale at Hedgehog [...]
Royal Persian Blossom – almost done…
This weekend all I did was stitch. Well, almost all I did. Grocery shopping, laundry, ironing – the usual weekend chores. My darling husband did his fair share and a big part of mine as well so I could stitch more. It’s now late Sunday afternoon and I cannot continue stitching. My concentration is shot. [...]
Racing towards the finish
Usually I’m pretty relaxed about getting a project finished. I love every stitch and am sorry to be done with each piece. I ‘ll be sorry to be finished with the Royal Persian Blossom project, too…but I also can’t wait to see it completed! I’ve been working on the last components, all of which are [...]
Royal Persian Blossom trellis
Laid and couched work is one of my favorite ways to fill a large space. With careful planning and the right tools it goes quickly and smoothly. The laid and couched work in the large curved shape of the Royal Persian Blossom project combines two trellis patterns, cross stitches over the intersecting points of one [...]
Gentle shading – Royal Persian Blossom
This is the most subtle long and short shading I’ve done so far. The two shades of blue are very close so the shading isn’t as obvious as it is in other places in the Royal Persian Blossom design. Did this make a difference in how I stitched it? Well, yes and no. Usually long [...]
Little strawberries
I just love stitching strawberries. It’s not difficult to do and they almost always look delicious when they’re finished. This strawberry is worked in padded satin stitch using Pearsall’s silk red # 360, gold passing thread #4 couched with Perasall’s silk green # 221 over the top and the leaves are padded with silk and [...]
Gilt Sylke Twist rose and leaves
I’ve fallen in love with Gilt Sylke Twist thread!! I know, I’m way behind the rest of the embroidery world on using this thread, but better now than never. It isn’t that difficult to work with, the sparkle and the texture are just wonderful – unlike anything else on the market – and the results [...]
Gilt Sykle Twist + Japanese Needle = Success!
Today I finally got to try detached buttonhole stitch using Gilt Sylke Twist and my new Japanese needle! Finally, I hear you ask? Aren’t you on vacation this week? Yes… However, vacation weeks are sometimes for catching up and, like many of us I suspect, I couldn’t sit down to stitch until a few things [...]
Gilt Sylke Twist – so much to learn!
Since I first saw Gilt Sylke Twist thread on Mary Corbet’s Needle’nThread, I’ve wanted to use it on one of my own projects. It’s so beautiful and sparkly. I hadn’t embroidered for years and wasn’t quite ready to use such precious thread. Now that I’ve been stitching for a while and feel more confident, I’m [...]
Marriage Pillowe – Dressing Harmony
Since I saw this embroidered casket at Sudeley Castle last year, I’ve been interested in stitching people and clothing. I’m now at the point on the Marriage Pillowe from the Crewelwork Company that I’m dressing Harmony and Issac : Harmony first, of course! The stitch used to create the dress on Harmony is crewel stem [...]
Royal Persian Blossom: details make a difference
As I worked through the different sections of the Royal Persian Blossom project, I decided to leave the little, tiny detail stitches until later. I wanted to get the big areas stitched so I could feel that I was making progress. Yesterday I reached a point where it was logical to go back and add [...]
Royal Persian Blossom – right or left?
I’ve been working on the Royal Persian Blossom project over the last few days. It’s quite soothing to be back to crewel work after the demanding silk work of Trevilian’s Cap. One of the reasons I have multiple projects going at once is so I can move from one technique to another. The satin stitch [...]
Exciting News
Lets see…exciting news…what could it be? I finished all four of the silk leaves on the Trevelyon’s Cap project. To everyone who gave me encouragement and kind words, thank you! It went far more quickly than I thought it would at the end and they do look really pretty. The colors do glow, even in [...]
Trevelyon’s Cap – slowly, slowly
See the needle in the fabric? It was placed there in frustration. Not because my stitching isn’t good enough (it is) and not because I’d made a mistake (I hadn’t) but because this is taking ab-so-lute-ly f-o-r-e-v-e-r! I stitched a good part of the morning and all afternoon yesterday and all afternoon today. I’m still [...]
Needleprint Competition: A Mirror to my Art
Not long ago I wrote about the new book The Feller Needlework Collection: Volume 1 published by Needleprint.You may read my review of the book here. Needleprint is one of the embroidery blogs I read regularly. There are always interesting articles, information about auctions and exhibits and, occasionally, a surprise. Earlier this week, Needleprint announced [...]
Laying tool or scootching tool?
First, a definition: scootch – to move a small amount without standing up (of a person) or lifting from a surface (of an object). In this case, scootch without lifting the object, namely, the thread. I’m moving along on the Royal Persian Blossom project and finished another section yesterday. The flowers, stem and leaves were [...]
Introducing Issac and Harmony
Today I would like to introduce you to the happily married couple on the Marriage Pillowe; Issac and Harmony. Issac is on the left, Harmony on the right. Issac had a run in with a wall, hence his squashed nose. Harmony has a thick head of hair and eyes that are a really lovely shade [...]
Marriage Pillowe – last phase
Tomorrow, I’ll start the final phase of the Marriage Pillowe. Finishing it before Christmas would be a miracle (well, pretty amazing, anyway!) but I think I’ll get it done before the end of January. There isn’t loads left to do but beginning Friday we have Christmas guests until after New Year’s day so I’ll have [...]
Santa Pillow – how to make it yourself
Here’s another quick project for Christmas that I worked up last weekend. The pillow isn’t complete but it will be before Christmas – maybe even before next weekend if I’m industrious! It’s not complicated, it doesn’t take long, it’s simple and cute without being fussy. It would be a great project for a beginner – [...]
Trevelyon’s cap – first green silk leaf
Slowly, slowly the cap progresses. I am thinking of it as a l…o…n…g term project. Silk is finer than wool and it takes longer to fill any shape. The stitching has to be delicate. When all the silk is stitched, I will be stitching the gold and that will take even longer. I don’t mind: [...]
How to make embroidered mittens – a cute and quick gift!
Often during the day I have a few minutes when I can do some stitching but I don’t want to get involved with one of my big projects. With the holidays coming I thought I would use those minutes here and there to make some cute and quick embroidered mittens. You’ll need the following: 1. [...]
Just look at these colors!
The entire left side of the Marriage Pillowe is now finished. The colors that Phillipa Turnbull has chosen for the bottom flower are simply stunning. The center is blue trellis laid work with dark red stitches where the lines cross and down the center is a medium green stem. It’s a beautiful combination of rich [...]
Knots and shading
I’m a real fan of French knots, especially when they’re clustered together on the top of an acorn or over a little hillock as they are here. I like the little, individual shiny knots and the squiggly patterns they make when they’re all squished together. What I like most about these French knots are the colors! [...]
A little satin stitched leaf
The Royal Persian Blossom project has quite a few satin stitched leaves with stem stitch veins running up the center. The first four turned out really well so today I’ll show you how I stitched them. Some of you will remember my first failed attempt at satin stitch flower petals. I had decided that since [...]
