Classes and Workshops
Information about online and live classes will be advertised on my Events Page as well as on Facebook and Instagram feeds.
Classes for groups can be booked by email. Please send me a message via the Contact Page.
Mary Parsons 1780
This charming sampler is one of only four known examples which contains a maze as one of it’s motifs. Two of those samplers are in The Unbroken Thread Sampler Collection.
During this class we will look at the original samplers that contain the maze and learn about Mary Parsons and the other little girls who stitched these maze samplers.
In stitching this sampler, you will carry forward that same unusual maze motif these girls chose so long ago.
Simple Gifts Sewing Box
Create this beautiful stitching box that you’ll treasure forever! The embroidered top of the box comes from a charming piece of pottery that my grandmother, born in 1900, had in her guest room all my life. I now live in my grandparents’ home and still have the same piece in the same guest room. The colors and the image reminded me of a simpler, gentler time.
The embroidery for the Shaker box is worked using Heathway Wool and DMC stranded cotton. Using mainly chain stitch, satin stitch, French knots, buttonhole stitch and leaf stitch, you will bring this sweet couple in their garden to life.
Simple Gifts: Needlebook and Pincushion
These designs come from a charming piece of pottery that my grandmother, born in 1900, had in her guest room all my life.
This pretty tulip surrounded by vines of flowers will make you smile each time you go to get the needle you need. The homespun lining fabric and soft velvet tie are the perfect finishing touches to your lovely stitching. This project is a perfect introduction to surface embroidery if you’ve never tried it before!
The pincushion is counted work, all done in DMC stranded cotton. The design comes from the top of the pottery jar. The pincushion is edged in tiny, dark navy pompom trim.
Trevelyon’s Garden Pincushion
Imagine you found an old, but beautifully preserved piece of an embroidered silk petticoat. Perhaps it once belonged to Queen Anne of Denmark. There was only a small piece of it left that wasn’t damaged, moth eaten or stained. You wanted to keep it safe and use it for something you could see every day. This is the story of Trevelyon’s Garden Pin Cushion.
The design and embroidery are inspired by a petticoat in the Burrell Collection, Glasgow, Scotland and the botanical drawings of Thomas Trevelyon. The pin cushion is created using silk thread on silk fabric, embellished with synthetic gold thread and gold spangles, trimmed in gold twist, with ribbon tassels on each corner. The pin cushion is filled with crushed walnut shells so, not only is it beautiful, it’s useful!
Prince’s Thistle
After the Battle of Culloden in April, 1746, in Scotland, Prince Charles (known as Bonnie Prince Charlie ) left behind in his baggage a beautiful and extremely seditious piece of silver - his traveling canteen. After the battle, it was found abandoned on Culloden battlefield. The canteen was finally acquired by the National Museums Scotland in 1984, after a successful public fundraising campaign to prevent it being sold abroad. It bears the Prince of Wales’ feathers together with the Scottish Order of the Thistle. It is this thistle, beautifully inscribed on the canteen, on which our crewelwork piece is based.
The Queen’s Pomegranate
The Queen’s Pomegranate crewelwork embroidery commemorates the life of one of the bravest, most loyal queens of England, Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife. They married in 1509. Her motto as Queen of England was ‘humble and loyal’ and her emblem was a crowned pomegranate. The pomegranate represents life, fertility and marriage.
Trevelyon’s Needlebook
Sweet flowers and fresh, green leafy vines stitched on creamy ivory linen combine in this delightful needlebook. The design for our needlebook comes from the Trevelyon Miscellany of 1608, a book that’s over 400 years old, compiled at the end of the Renaissance.
The King’s Pineapple
Beautiful textures and patterns are created using bullion and French knots as well as laid and couched work in this charming crewelwork design! The King’s Pineapple is inspired by the portrait of King Charles II of England receiving a pineapple, a coveted and uncommon gift, symbolic of royal privilege.
Acorn Hill Needlebook
Delicately colored autumn leaves and darling acorns stitched on creamy ivory linen combine in this delightful crewelwork needlebook. The inspiration for our needlebook comes from the woods behind the family home of the designer and teacher, Kathy Andrews. The design comes from the Miscellany of 1608 by Thomas Trevelyon.
Bateau Bayeux
Over 955 years ago William the Conquerer sailed from Normandy to England to stake his claim to the throne. Not long after, the Bayeux Tapestry was created. This image comes from the ancient embroidery showing soldiers and their horses coming across the English Channel. It is embroidered almost entirely in what has now become known as Bayeux stitch, named after the famous embroidery. This course will teach you how to create a small part of this famous embroidery using the Bayeux stitch.
Trevelyon’s Pocket
In the 17th century gentlemen carried currency, important papers, perhaps even secret love notes in a pocket or pocketbook. Such pockets were rectangular and flat. These pockets were valued by their owners and often mentioned in wills, inventories, and diaries. Museums all over the world have pockets as part of their collections. They are beautiful reminders of an elegant past. The miniature replica, in silk and gold, is only 5 inches wide and 2 ½ inches tall.
This will run as an online class in the future.
Trevelyon’s Cap
Trevelyon’s Cap is a beautiful 5 inch high cap covered with stunning silk flowers and gold embellishments. The rich colors recall the sumptuous fashions of the late Elizabethan and early Stuart periods. The cap was created using a pattern found in the Trevelyon Miscellany of 1608.
This will run as an online class in the future.