Needlework News Snips for the Weekend!

Happy Saturday!

Here’s a little list of shareable embroidery and needlework-related news and items of interest that I’ve been collecting recently.

Pour yourself a nice cup of tea (or coffee!), and let’s have a good browse, shall we?

Embroidery Inspiration & Projects

Let’s start with some gorgeous goldwork embroidery from Cristina Badillo. In this Ave Maria goldwork piece, you’ll see all kinds of intricate couching methods in Spanish goldwork. Make sure you click on the photos for larger versions!

You might remember that, many weeks ago, we tried to present a live-stream video of Phillipa Turnbull’s review of the textiles from Muncaster Castle. Well, the live stream didn’t work out so well, but over on The Unbroken Thread, Kathy Andrews presents an article of her visit to Muncaster Castle to view the textiles with Phillipa’s tour. There are some great photos there, and a nice overview of the presentation.

Do you like mixed media? Do you want to do something a little different and fun with hand embroidery and ink? Over on Lakeview Stitching, Monica has started a series exploring painting on fabric with inks, and adding embroidery to finish some really cute designs!

Last week, Graphics Fairy highlighted a nice collection of free fonts that would make perfect lettering for Christmas and holiday-related embroidery. If you’re into making your own cards, they’d work well for that, too! You’ll also find some free embroidery patterns, like this vintage folky floral embroidery design, on Graphics Fairy – just type “embroidery” into the search form on the right side of the site.

Tracy Franklin has started a new series on her development of an embroidery design called the Crathorne bug. It’ll be great fun to follow along and see how the bug develops! While you’re there, check out her whole blog in general. Of course you’re going to find lovely stuff and learn a lot! It’s Tracy Franklin, after all! You can visit Tracy Franklin’s new website for her teaching schedule, too, in case you ever end up in the vicinity.

If you’re interested in English work (Opus Anglicanum), you’ll really enjoy Carol-Anne’s recent articles on Threads Across the Web highlighting a short course on Opus Anglicanum at the Ashmolean in conjunction with the Eye of the Needle exhibition there. She’s written two article so far: English Work: Embroidery Short Course – Part 1, and English Work: Embroidery Short Course, Part 2.

For eye candy, you might want to visit Carol-Anne’s recent post on Japanese Embroidery, too. The photos are gorgeous – be sure to click on them to enlarge!

17th Century Bookbindings! Over on Thistle Threads, Tricia highlights a collection of 17th century embroidered bookbindings – definitely worth checking out!

And speaking of 17th century – brought a little up-to-date – on Janet Brandt’s blog, where she chronicles her casket-making adventures, you’ll find this most endearing stumpwork dragon head, complete with pearly whites!

If you’re keen on whitework in general and Schwalm embroidery specifically, you’ll love the Tablecloth for All Seasons that Luzine Happel is developing on her blog. Just in time for autumn, she recently stitched an oak leaf and acorn into little Schwalm motifs that can be added to an all-seaons tablecloth. You’ll find all kinds of useful whitework filling instructions on her blog, too!

Over on The Crafter’s Apprentice, Wendy is participating in a Stitch Along that features this Save the Stitches blackwork project from Liz Almond’s Blackwork Journey, which I mentioned back in January of this year. Check out Wendy’s fantastic progress on the blackwork sampler – it’s pretty impressive!

Embroidery Supplies, Products, & Kits

Trish Burr has a free embroidery pattern with stitch suggestions available on her blog for a pretty Christmas decoration in whitework embroidery techniques (though it’s not technically “whitework”). She combines whites, off-whites, grays, black, and a little touch of red for a really unique embroidered presentation.

If you like the style, you can find Trish’s “Moonlit Owl” kit (threads and all) available at Wooly Thread. It looks like a Super Fun project, and great way to familiarize yourself with padded satin stitch and other whitework techniques, in a project that isn’t all white and is whimsical and fun.

Oooooooh! If you like colored threads, you’ll love the new color blends added to Colour Complements line of hand dyed threads. Lots of fun pearl cottons!

If you’ve been hankering for DOVO embroidery scissors and you’d love to see a pair in your Christmas stocking, Nordic Needle has a large selection of them available now, just in time for the holidays. To browse through them, go to Nordic Needle’s Scissors page, and then, at the top of the page, filter by Designer / Brand, with DOVO.

Well, we could keep this up all day, but there’s the laundry…and the dusting…and…and…

Enjoy your weekend!