Last week, I reviewed La Serenissima, the new crewel embroidery instructional guide from Talliaferro. At the end of my review, I promised you a little surprise, and here it is!
Today, thanks to Anna, the artist behind Talliaferro, I’m giving away one complete instructional guide to one lucky stitcher out there who wants to take on this gorgeous project!
Read on for the details on how to join in the fun!
If you haven’t read any of my reviews of the instructional guides from Talliaferro, you can find two of them here on Needle ‘n Thread: Royal Persian Blossom and La Serenissima. These reviews will give you a clear idea of what to expect in the instructional guides from Talliaferro.
The guides are just that: thorough, step-by-step guides for these gorgeous crewel embroidery projects. They don’t include fabric or thread, but they do include all the information you need to purchase your own. This way, you can substitute threads and fabric, and you can even change up the color scheme if you wish.
La Serenissima is suitable for intermediate embroiderers and beyond. I think it would be somewhat challenging for an absolute beginner, but a determined beginner could take it on, if the desire is really there. None of the stitches are difficult – the most challenging part is getting the shading right.
Give-Away Guidelines
This give-away is now ended. Thanks for participating!
The guidelines for today’s give-away are simple! Here they are:
1. Leave a comment below on today’s article on Needle ‘n Thread. You can reach the comment form directly by following this link. Comments left on other articles or sent via email are not eligible.
2. In your comment, answer the following question:
What attracts you most to crewel embroidery?
3. Please make sure you leave a distinguishable name either in the “name” line on the comment form or in the body of the comment. If your name is Sue, for example, you might qualify it with a last initial, with a nickname, or a location – for example, Sue in Seattle.
4. Leave your comment before Wednesday, February 24, 5:00 am Central Time (Kansas), and I’ll announce the winner, drawn randomly, that day. The winner will need to contact me via email with mailing information.
And that’s it!
If you’d be thrilled to get your hands on this instructional guide for this gorgeous crewel embroidery project, feel free to join in! The more the merrier!
If your comment doesn’t show up immediately, don’t worry! To avoid spam on Needle ‘n Thread, all comments are manually approved. So if you see “awaiting moderation,” that just means I’m away from my computer. It’ll show up eventually!
What I love most about crewel is all the beautiful textures. That, and feeling connected to a historical tradition of embroidery! Thank you for doing this giveaway–La Serenissima is such a beautiful piece.
I love the soft yarn and the texture it provides.
Hi Mary,
This is such a wonderful opportunity! I had too contemplate why I like crewel embroidery so much. First it is a connection to my child hood stitching, Second I LOVE the colors and shades available in wool thread and Third the stitches are not complicated and can be perfected with time and patience.
Barbara in Texas
I love the intricate designs of crewel work. It is like painting with yarn. I am new to this craft and am practicing using kits so I can learn this craft and eventually create my own artwork. This is a gorgeous piece!
I love crewel because it is painting with thread. I become an artist with a world of color and texture at my fingertips.I can be serious or whimsical. I can create someting that fills me with source of joy.
This is so lovely and I would love to win the instructions. My love for crewel goes back to the 1960s when it was always my stitching choice. I moved away from as time progressed but now I’m really wanting to do crewel work again. It truly is timeless and so enjoyable to do.
Barb in Arkansas is most attracted to crewel embroidery for it’s softness of lines. It looks amazingly like a painting! I have been studying La Serenissima and it lines, I think it is an extraordinary design. I would love to try it!
Thanks for the chance to win this project!
I think it is the softness of the look that appeals to me. I like the way the stitches give realism to flowers and birds. This would be a wonderful challenge to stitch. In your review you refer to it as Crewel Eye Candy…just that it is. And the pictures of her designs makes me hungry to try.
Crewel embroidery us the best! What I like the most about crewel embroidery is that no matter how far you follow a pattern or the basic stitches of crewel, something new always happens. Either you discover a variation on a technique or a stitch develops into one that feels created anew.
I love crewel work as it is like painting with thread.
What a wonderful giveaway! I started doing crewel stitching when I was a young girl because I loved the colors and the fanciful designs. I still do.
What attracts me: the luxury of the woolen thread, the traditional designs, the texture, intensity and depth of color achieved.
I love the use of the different stitches and the elegance of the finished piece. Plus the challenge.
The variety of colors and textures. We never run out of choices, and we can do so many different things with just needle and wool.
I am intrigued by this because it is nostalgic to me. I have 2 pieces hanging in my craft room, one made by my mother (a bouquet of flowers in a vase, pinks and reds), the other (large bunch of green foliage) purchased at a garage sale. They are beautiful and timeless! I am just getting into different types of embroidery.
I have always been drawn to crewel, as I love wool, and using it to make exquisite stitches into a picture is the crème de la crème of wool use. And then Mary Corbet introduced me to using other fibers to add sophistication to the art, and I have been blown away. I love the depth of color and stitches, especially when stitches are worked on top of other stitches. It is so substantial and yet elegant.
Anya Gray
What I like most about crewel embroidery is that is allows more creativity and freedom of expression than some other forms of embroidery. No two crewel pieces ever look exactly alike!
Thank you for the giveaway!
My favorite thing about Crewel work is the range of stitches and textures. I get bored easily doing the same thing over and over!
The forms of crewel embroidery and the combinations of stitches are what appeal to me most.
I love the beautiful designs, especially those by Anna from Talliaferro. The Serenissima ist just gorgeous. I would be over the moon, should I be the lucky winner! It couldn’t come at a better point in time, as I am looking for a new, colorful project to start…
This crewel work is ultimately one of the most beautiful pieces I have seen. The unique use of stitches and beads are wonderful. I would love to be able to reproduce this work. I will keep my fingers crossed maybe I will win the pattern.
Thanks for all that you do for us. I enjoy following your blog.
Hi Mary. I love the flow of the designs and the muted colours. When I look at these designs I feel a sense of history but with a modern twist. I would dearly love to do either one.
Marjorie in Picton, Canada
Love it because it is beautiful and show the love of needle and artist.
The variety of stitches attracts me to crewel work. I find crewel fun and challenging. Experimenting with different threads and stitches is something I enjoy on a Sunday afternoon. Anna’s kits are beautiful and I hope to work on one in the future.
Thank you Mary for the give-away!!
I love the beautiful colors and textures. Such beauty!!!
I am attracted to crewel embroidery because you don’t get bored with the designs. The options on what type of stitch to use are endless.
Crewel embroidery just calls to me…..it is so beautiful and so unique in it’s layering of textures and colors and feeling. It heralds back to another time. Crewel has been around for centuries and I love to know that this wonderful art form continues to thrive and be appreciated.
I agree that the textures are beautiful, I love the colors and design elements as well. I can let my inner artist out to play.
What I love about crewel is the variety of stitches that are used to give different effects. I love that the stitches range from very simple to complex layered stitches. I like the challenge of taking each of them on the the effects they create. La Serenissima is such a beautiful fantasy floral that I would love to do it. Thanks for making it available to your readers.
I learnt about crewel embroidery few years ago and love it. I am from Poland, currently living in USA and wool embroidery was not very well known when I was growing up in Poland. I learnt from my mom knitting, crochet and traditional embroidery. Crewel embroidery is a challenge but I am very determined to accomplish it. I love diversity of stitches and vibrancy of colors, I love feel of wool, maybe because I was a knitter for many years, and as a gardener I love patterns with large flowers. Most crewel designs do not reflect surrounding environment at all but they provide a lot possibilities to become very creative with selection of colors and stitches. I would love to embroider the La Serenissima design.
My Mother was a master of crewel embroidery,,,growing up I was always fascinated as I watched her stitch with all the wonderful threads. I have several of her crewel pieces hanging throughout our home – including a bell pull done on linen with beautiful blue wools. As I enjoy all types of embroidery this give-away piece would be a welcome and special challenge and I would certainly feel the guidance of my Mother’s heart and hands.
What I like about crewel embroidery is the way the pieces look so full. I love the thickness of the way the thread is used to fill in certain areas. Thanks for the chance to win.
This crewel project is absolutely beautiful, and challenging. Having finished only one crewel piece in my life, and that being many, many years ago, working on such a wonderful piece now would be ever so much fun. Thank you Mary for this great give-away.
I love all embroidery and although I find the really really small stitches I used to do a bit of trial now, still get great pleasure from the bits n bobs I produce. This year I am doing embroidered birthday cards for everyone ….
Have also been dabbling with silk painting and may combine the two – wish me luck!
I like the beautiful images and grod work of crewel.
I love working with color and texture, especially color shading, and surface ornamentation. I was lucky to be able to take silk shading and goldwork classes at the Royal School of Needlework. Combining that with crewel allows me to revel in all three and to give freer rein to my love of embellishment.
I find Crewel work very attractive because of its flowing shapes, colourful designs and the variety of different embroidery stitches used in each piece.
I have always enjoyed doing crewel work and I love Serenissima’s designs. In fact, a few of us in my quilt guild are getting ready to do quilt blocks in similar designs. Thank you so much for this giveaway.
For me, crewel provides texture not just feel but visibly, and the connection with the past works. I have some pieces of crewel work from my great grandmother, and I learned crewel from her daughter. The great colors and techniques are very rewarding. Thank you for the giveaway and thank you for this website that keeps the learning going.
I love crewel embroidery for the variety of stitches you can use and the many beautiful coloured threads…… The possibility of making parts of the work 3-D always interests me. Stitching this kit would be a wonderful challenge.
Dear Mary
From the beginning when you reviewed Royal Persian Blossom till now with this new review, I am a fan of the embroideries from Anna. They are so beautiful!
I do like crewel embroidery because yo can make gorgeous overlapping with colour and you can make such beautiful “paintings ” with this form of embroidery. From the book of Hazel Blomkamp, Crewel Intentions , I started the “Dancing threads”. I am really a crewel fan!
Marijke from the Netherlands
I think that what attracts me most to crewel embroidery is the rich, beautiful texture and colors of all the stitches. It is also fascinating to see how the designer and/or stitcher has used the different stitches & techniques in the project.
Jan Q
I’ve loved crewel since I started embroidering in my teens. It’s always been one of my favorite types of embroidery. I love the color, texture, shading and the traditional feel of the designs. It would be a challenge but great fun to embroider this beautiful design. Thank you Mary!
Crewel embroidery is really interesting because it connects the past with the present and the future, seamlessly.
What’s not to like? The colors, materials, the history; imagining someone doing a similar patter hundreds of years ago- lovely!
What I love most about crewel embroidery is the beauty of the piece. The patterns tend to be floral, which I love, and bigger, the colors are lovely, the threads are wonderful to work with, whether they are wool, silk or cotton! I have been embroidering for many years and would consider myself an “advanced” intermediate stitcher as there are still stitches I have not tried. I love staring on a piece and working through, say all the leaves, stems etc then moving on to flowers and seeing the piece come together is awesome!
Crewel embroidery in my mind, encompasses a wide variety of stitches, hones skill in using color and texture, creating perspectives etc. The historical aspects of crewel in different countries is most intriguing.
Anna’s designs are inspired and fun to work – would love to win!
I loved watching my mom and grandmother do crewel
work, I have some of both of theirs…
there was always subtle yet vibrant colors, and as they worked I would watch layers of texture unfold…
I do crewel, though not as well as they did
but it is still within my passion of working with threads of many colors bring an image to life
Thank you for sharing your work with us and giving us a chance to have a wonderful part of this world
What I love about crewel is the wonderful texture of the finished piece!
I love the variety of stitches! There is so much depth to crewel embroidery.
What attracts me to crewel embroidery is the long and short stitch makes shading so beautiful, something I haven’t learned to do but truly want to. I can do hardanger, pulled thread and a number of other methods, but crewel with long/short is on my bucket list and this looks like such a fantastic design to begin with. I enjoy all your articles. You are truly an expert. June B in NB, Canada
Absolutely beautiful and a refreshing way to do crewel. I would love to win.
I find Crewel to be beautiful and the wool yarns seem to be quite forgiving to me.
I love the textures and the history the crewel work builds. I love the idea that 100 years from now someone can look at what I did. Perhaps they will think about ME, wonder who I was and what my life was like. I certainly think about who stitched the historical pieces I see.
As a child I always admired the two decorative pillows that my mother used in various lotions throughout the house. They must have been done my our German maid when my dad (I am an Army brat) was stationed in Germany. I am now the very pleased and proud owner of the o e remain pillow which has a very lovely wool crewel design. I would love to win these instructions and complete my own crewel work adding to a legacy. Thanks so much.
Jean
All my life I have been fascinated by the incredible art that can be produced with various types of needle and thread. I have attempted a lot of it, and still do sewing, some embroidery , knitting , crochet etc. When I look at crewel projects, in museums, online, in books or even the couple of pillows I have in my own home, I am in awe of the art, the colours, the talent that goes into creating it. I’ve seen it done by natives in many other countries always exquisite, always desirable and yet just beyond my personal reach. I have so often felt the urge to try it but have also had the fear that I would mess it up. Maybe now in my late 70’s I should ‘woman’ up and just go for it….
Crewel attracts me because I love working with wool and I love the colors.
What am amazing design! And you will do it justice. Its wonderful to see Crewel reinterpreted for a new era yet drawing on tradition.
Crewel was one of the first embroidery techniques that I learned and was taught be by grandmother when I was in early elementary school. I enjoy seeing it and would be interested in learning more.
I like the threads and the stitches used in crewel embroidery. The many color shades make the embroidery look beautiful.
Crewel–I love the stitch variety and stitch combinations. Then-using beautiful wools, silks-oh heck, i just like crewel! It was how I started out and I need to be reminded occasionally just how lovely it is
What attract me to Crewel is the texture. Also i inherithed a beautiful half done project From My mother in law and i would love to acquire the spilla to finish it. Thank You for this opportunity 🙂
What I love most about crewel embroidery is the connection to my grandmother. She instructed me on crewel embroidery when I was 11 or 12. Her creations were fabulous. She also did needlepoint and designed and made her own rugs on a loom. I have always loved crewel since that time and have over the years done many projects.
The Talliaferro creations, particularly La Serenissima are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I would love to win the design. Thanks for the giveaway!
What am amazing design! And you will do it justice. Its wonderful to see Crewel reinterpreted for a new era yet drawing on tradition. I love Crewel because of the possibilities of texture.
I love crewel embroidery because it looks like a painting and it fills in nicely. I love the fact that I can get a large area in a short amount of time. I love working with yarn as a medium as well.
Mary I enjoy the “painterly effect of crewel embroidery and the variety of stitches that can be used.
Susie in Omaha
Hi Mary
What a lovely give-away. I have always liked crewel, even when it might have been a bit less “fashionable.” I like the textures, the feel of the fibres, the depth of the piece. I would love to try this piece; I have looked at the site so often! Drool, drool. Take care. Sending warm thoughts to you, always.
Thanks so much for the giveaway. I have just gotten into crewel embroidery and love it!
I love Crewel work because it allows me to interpret a stitch in my own way without the restrictions of a canvas grid. Since I’m not even close to being a designer, this gives me a platform to be me!!!
I like the wooliness and textures of crewel. It works up relatively quickly (compared to those super fine silk threads) and makes great pillows and other larger projects.
I’m a thread addict. The beautiful wool threads and the layers of multiple stitches are what excites me. I love the challenge. Beautiful piece.
Deb from Ma
Crewel was popular when I first resumed stitching after college. I loved the Jacobean look and the way it worked up faster than other techniques. I’ve done many other techniques since then, but still love the look and feel of crewel. These new pieces have shown how delicate crewel can be. A fun challenge.
I love doing crewel work. Love how the stitching shows movement as you manipulate the thread direction. I always stitch with floss rather than wool as I prefer the sheen. Even from a kit, I change to floss, ignoring the wool.
Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to win this wonderful set of instructions.
LDW/Palm Desert
Thanks to Anna and yourself for this generous gift.
Two things attract me to crewel embroidery. First symmetry…the way stitches are used to mimic reality and the second is the colour palette; usually a choice of deeper, richer coloured threads. Wonderful visual effect.
It was the first type of embroidery that I studied on my own. I was captivated by the textures and colors as a child and that hasn’t changed.
I love crewel embroidery! What attracts me to crewel are the beautiful exaggerated flowers and creatures. It reminds me of my very loved Grandmother’s needlework! Thank you Mary for giving us this wonderful opportunity!! Bless you
Years ago, 1962, I saw a crewel embroidery kit of a wall hanging with a Jacobean design. I loved the shapes and colors and all the different stitches, and I saved up and bought it. Although I have done many different kinds of designs with crewel, that type is still my favorite. The La Serenissina design brings that first memory back to me. I’d love to do it.
Also, it can be my first crewel project on my new Millenium Frame I’m waiting for — ordered after I read your article about it!
I have always loved crewel embroidery for the realism that can be created using just thread and shading. The textures and the opportunity to try out different techniques and threads fascinates me. La Serenissima is a beautiful piece and would let me experience all of these things. Thank you.
I love Crewel embroidery because using wool instead of one strand of thread makes colour shading much easier to do and it easier on the eyes. Oh I can’t describe it! I just love it!!!
Susan from the UK
I love crewel embroidery for the details. The varying stitches and different techniques make it more of a challenge and I really enjoy that aspect of it.
I love the tradition and the new interpretations of this type of embroidery. It was my moms favorite so I have a connection to her which is hard to put into words!
I just love the mix of textures and the color combinations possible!
I love the history of the style. I equate it with regal, rich and royal. Thanks Mary and Ms. Anna of Talliaferro for the opportunity to participate in this giveaway.
An absolutely amazing needlework , such beautiful color and texture , I normally work in threads so it would be great fun to stretch myself .
I am drawn to crewel embroidery as it has a classic, time honored look. I find the skill required for completion of a project speaks to me not only as a skill requiring time and dedication, but desire to create a lasting tribute. I am particularly interested in different techniques for fill. Turkey work, lattice and of course, long and short stitches showing evidence of smooth perfection draw me towards closer examination. I am usually the one who wants to flip a beautiful piece over for closer examination of the back, hoping to see an indication of the process.
La Serenissima is a perfect example of technique in stitch variation that I admire.
Thank you for a blog that I truly read and refer to when researching a technique or review of a product.
Melinda
Beautiful piece
The wildness of most of the designs, the colors, the variety of stitches used are all things that appeal to me in viewing and working crewel embroidery.
Thank you.
I love crewel for the different stitches and different textures you can achieve in a design!
I love the threads and yarn. The colors, feel and playing with them! I want to learn it all.
I like the look and feel of the different textures. There can be so many combinations within one piece.
I love crewel for several reasons. Since I am very interested in history, crewel work allows me to feel a connection with people who lived long ago. Secondly, I love both the colors and the textures.
Finally, it is special to me because my mother loved to do crewel work. She passed away many years ago, but in my mind and my heart she feels closer to me when I see or work on crewel.
I would love to learn this technique…what attracts me towards this is the fact that it’s traditional and looks so beautiful!!
I love so much about crewel embroidery. I love the variety of stitches to learn and use. I love what can be created with the stitches. I love working on a project and seeing the image change and come alive with color and texture. I love how addicting it is that when I am almost done with the project I “have” to find a new and more challenging project.
Oh,Mary, how lovely it would be to grow as an embroiderer with La Serenissima. I’ve enjoyed the little bit of crewel work I have done but this would be both inspiring and challenging. My mother did excellent crewel work and I long to follow in her footsteps.
What I love most about crewel work is the different stitches. It is great fun to constantly do different stitches as you work along on a piece. Their appearance and texture add so many elements to the finished project, and it is never boring. I was actually disappointed when I finished the Royal Persian Blossom as I had never had so much fun doing an embroidery piece. Many thanks to your tutorials as they are a help when you are trying a new stitch for the first time.
I love the feeling of fairy tale illustrations. I like how the crewel designs are both romanticized and simplified at the same time. I also prefer wool over cotton, and I’m so happy to notice that Talliaferro uses Appleton crewel wool in her designs! It is the brand I also use and I like how vivid and detailed her work looks.
Crewel is like ballet. It is graceful with strong lines. The shading is like the flow of color of the ballerina’s dress. So many different stitches can be used, It has strength like the ballerina’s partner lifting her.
Crewel Embroidery to me is Bold and Beautiful ( I think that may have been the name of a soap opera!)
I like the different textures and stitches, the wide variety of threads and colors. I guess I like it all!
Thanks for the giveaway but most of all thanks for the newsletters. I look forward to them in my inbox.
I love crewel embroidery because of its heirloom quality. My mother taught me how to embroider when I was old enough to use a needle. She’s been gone 39 years, but I feel her loving presence every time I pick up a needle.
Hi Mary- hope you are feeling ok given the circumstances but your positiveness comes thru´-keep strong!
As to crewel embroidery, I love the diversity of stitches and Talliaferro´s designs have a lovely combination of colours. I did her Persian Blossom and would love to try Serenissima. Holding thumbs!
The sheer beauty of the combination of fillings and solidly stitched areas. It’s so versatile, from the historically authentic patterns to brand new reinventions.
Crewel embroidery is that it not only is closer to life-like, but also, unlike the boring repetitive cross-stitch, the results are instantly gratifying and every stitch is a challenge!
I too love the textures possible with crewel embroidery. But THIS project speaks to my soul. I have come to love the combination of pink and dusty green more than others. I have one entire bedroom decorated in this scheme and this would just fit perfectly in it.
Thank you for all you do for us. Your inspiration, encouragement and lists of sources has been a life line for me. Thanks again.
Thank you Anna and Mary for this wonderful giveaway. My favorite part of crewel embroidery is the variety of filling stitches used. They convey such wonderful movement and warmth to me.
Stunning. You can actually see the same brush mark lines as oil painting…and you can almost feel the breeze blowing past. I love the movement and the colors a real treasure.
Charlotte
Crewel embroidery to me is the epitome of what surface embroidery should be. The designs and texture are fabulous. I would love a challenge like this to add to my skill level. Thanks, Mary
I love the look and feel of wool fibers. So beautiful!!
I, like others, love the texture and more matte appearance of crewel embroidery. Also, it’s fun to learn new techniques, and I haven’t done much crewel work.
Beautiful!
I have never worked with wool but I think the results are gorgeous!
I like the look of wool and the flowing lines! Very peaceful look!
I also love your site and have followed you for years!
Crewel embroidery is beautiful and practical. It soothes me to be working on a project.
Storygenie in Georgia
Crewel embroidery is so graceful. I love the depth you see in it.
I love the flow and the look of crewel embroidery. I really like the different patterns. As a Brazilian Embroidery stitcher I used these patterns to stitch a sewing case. The threads added sheen to the patterns.
They are always fun to create.
The thing that most attracts me to crewel embroidery is the regalness and simplicity of it at the same time – simple stitches used to create a very regal/beautiful piece. The creator of the design leaves the embroiderer to leave their mark with the fabric/colors/threads they choose. Also love the name of this particular piece – it does seem so serene! Thanks for all you do to promote needlework of all types! – Marian
I love crewel embroidery. I have recently ourchased the entire set of Appleton wools and I am so wanting a project with which to use them. I like projects that are complete with step by step instructions because then I don’t have to think….just stitch. Crewel incorporates so many stitchs, it would is just fun. This kit would give me hours of enjoyment.
I just love doing all types of embroidery I started with cross stitch and then protested to crewel. It has such depth and the way one can manipulate the yarns to crest such realistic and creative pieces intrigues me. I love your site to help refresh or show new ways to do my pieces.
Thanks
Oh yes, please – I would love to win this booklet. I’ve done a little crewel work over the years, and I think it’s the texture and softness of the fuzzy wool yarns with which it is generally worked that attracts me the most.
I have always been attracted to crewel work for its soft textures. To me, the wool makes it appear more realistic as well. It’s been awhile since I did some hand work (other than beading) and I would love to try it again.
Handwork is the best form of therapy! It takes you away for that ‘Calgon’ moment and you can stay in that moment for as long as you want.
I love crewel embroidery because it’s my way of painting a picture. I can use all the colors I love and work different and unique stitches. I think it also feels like in part I am carrying on an art form with a long history.
Well, my Grandmother taught me embroidery. It always reminds me of her. When I smell thread and carbon paper, I see her twinkling eyes and her heartfelt smile. I have never heard of or seen anyone do this kind of embroidery!! It is so different from what I do. It is so beautiful. I really would like to try it out. Branching out and learning something new is always so fun!! That is what attracts me to this project.
This piece of crewl crafting emulates the beauty of over a thousand years of needlecraft. It’s tone and texture are pure vision by the artist and Talliaferro are clearly fortunate to have her design for them and this piece of work excites those of us looking for inspiration. Thank you
Crewel work has everything I love — color, texture, art, history, beauty, romance… Just everything! Your blog has inspired me to get back into embroidery and I have learned so much. Thank you!
Dana in California
Crewel is just so beautiful. I love the texture of crewel. Thanks for offering this contest as I would love to have the guide. Judi from Texas
I love crewel work because you get to creat in a relaxing mode by the use of your own creativity & ability to place the needle & threads on a canvas & thread by thread see your project evolve. Also, the textures that we can create.
In this fast & computerized world, what a treat to sit quiet & create!
To my eye, crewel work provides the most texture and the softest lines of any of the needlework arts. It was my first introduction to needle work and I have since tried all of them. Although I’m now primarily a quilter, I’d love to get back to hand stitching and this strikes me as the perfect centerpiece for a piece of quilted art.
I started with crewel and surface embroidery as a child. I love the textures that is created. It would be lovely to win this project not only because of the topic but also that day is also my.birthday. Lol
For me, the attraction of crewel work is a tie between the gorgeous colors and the variety of stitches. Doing a new stitch or in a new color with each different motif keeps “the love alive” to continue working the project. Thank you for another beautiful giveaway,Mary!
What I love the most about Crewel is that to me, it has always looked like music. There are many colors(notes) and textures(cords)and curves (musical flow) that blend together to create a beautiful piece.
In fact, until I came across the Talliafero website, I admired crewel embroidery from afar, loved the fibers it generally uses but had never really seriously thought of attempting this form of needleart. I truly became a convert, a few years ago, when I saw the sheer elegance of the Talliafero designs, its shading and balance… This is why I now so love crewel embroidery.
Anne DH
I learned basic crewel embroidery as a girl. I was allergic to wool yarn so I moved onto different forms of embroidery, because at that time, all crewel kits were with the yarns. Later, I returned to crewel with embroidery cotton and silk flosses. I find this embroidery is the closest to recreating nature in all its beauty.
I have just finished my first piece of crewel work, so I am completely hooked. To win this fabulous embroidery guide would be my dream come true. The shapes and colours are so awe inspiring I can’t wait to start the next project, if I am lucky it might be the Royal Persian Blossom.
I have just recently returned to crewel embroidery. I learned it when I was a teenager and then moved on to many other types of needlework. I love the shading and many textures in a beautiful crewel design. It’s so enjoyable to do the myriad of different stitches!
I love the colours and the textures of crewel embroidery. It’s just so much fun to work on.
Ricky
I would love to win this!
I love crewel, there is so much to learn and so much variation. It is easy to adapt crewel to your personal style and it looks wonderful in my modern home. I have tons of yarn and the perfect linen for this beauty, so fingers crossed!
Thanks for the opportunity to win this
Why do I like crewel embroidery?
The textures created by using just thread is amazing, but it is really the color variations and transitions that I love the best. The almost lifelike look in the final stages of a project is testimony to artistic expression without using a paintbrush.
Kimberly
I have always loved Crewel embroidery and have worked it since I was young. I like it because of the beautiful texture it creates on even modest cloth. I also love the ability to split threads and create interesting textures, especially on flowers and leaves. As a lover of nature, I can accomplish realistic insects and birds to accompany the flora and fauna.
I love crewel embroidery because of the many different stitches and the ability to not really follow the directions but to make the piece your own. The different dimensions and textures created by the thread and the stitches makes the piece so much more interesting and beautiful. Thank you for the awesome give away!
Gorgeous crewel project that would add sophication to home decor. Elegant with wonderful movement.
Thank you for sharing and offering the opportunity to win!
I love the variety and richness of the colours in crewel embroidery. It’s ‘lusciousness’ and elegance of design make it so appealing. Plus I love a challenge. I can’t get enough if it.
Crewel work is so interesting to look at and I enjoy The examples of centuries-old pieces. It would be gratifying to try for myself. Thank you for the offer!
I love crewel because with every stitch you are creating beauty from a blank piece of fabric.
Crewel embroidery has a delightful diversity. You can have a full rainbow of colors or simply one. You can use a variety of techniques or a single stitch. It can vary from simple to complex, whimsical to elegant, old fashioned to cutting edge. Crewelwork is flexible. It has something for everyone and few enough borders that your imagination is one.
Good Morning, Mary,
I’m attracted to crewel embroidery for a variety of reasons: rich colors, a variety of textures, and stitches, and they all come together to form a beautiful image. However, in addition to the beauty of the craft, I am also attracted because it brings back fond memories of my mother who did beautiful crewel work.
Jana
My grandmother was a wonderful seamstress and embellished her work with her own crewel designs. She worked on costumes for the opera and theatres. She always loved crewel as it allowed her to explore so many stitches and textures. I loved to watch her whilst she stitched and told stories. I inherited her love of Crewel and now I’ve retired would love to do this in her memory.
Unfortunately I have none of her work,but the pattern and design just reminded me so much of her.
I did a bit of crewel work 40 years ago. Recently Brazilian has been my thing. I am ready to do some other things now and I like the looks of this kit.
What I love most about crewel is its timeless qualities. So many of its traditional designs and stitches transcend time and place. Working with these pieces allows me to participate in creating work that has such a long and beautiful legacy.
I am most attracted to the elegance of Crewel Emboridery and the intricate stitches. I once had floor length Jacobean Crewel Embroidery drapes which were my favorite decor item until the dog chewed them. Thanks for this giveaway. I have always wanted to master this art for myself.
I love the softness and the texture of crewel embroidery threads. Crewel work was one of the first techniques I learned when I first began to stitch over 50 years ago. I loved it then and still love it today. Thanks so much for the chance to win this beautiful guide.
I love the mix of elegance and more rustic textures that are achieved through crewel embroidery. In this particular piece, these two elements come together beautifully. Love it! :))
I was taught surface embroidery as a child and stitched that path for a long time. Somewhere in the 70’s I discovered crewel. It was fun and much faster than surface but after awhile I slowly switched back and now you bring all those memories back. These designs are fantastic and I was thinking Hmmmm maybe I’ll do just one project; then your little give away came so I’m throwing my name in the hat.
Thanks!
Working with wool is a lovely change from embroidery floss. This designer has produce some fabulous designs and this is yet another lovely one. The colours are amongst my favourites. I have not done much crewel work but feel that I could tackle this beautiful project.
The colors drew me in first, then the delicate pattern is just beautiful. It has a touch of modern to it. I just love it.
My Grandmother and Mother both enjoyed creating beautiful works with crewel, and passed it on to me. Thank you for your website, you rekindled my love of needlework. Colors and texture are what draw me to it and it makes me try to be perfect!
Hello Mary!
I love your blog and I have learned of so many embroidery styles from it! I have not done crewel embroidery but I have done “standard” embroidery, Brazilian embroidery and needle/thread painting; adding some crewel embroidery would be fun!
Thank you for the opportunity to learn these different techniques!
As a child, crewel was my first venture into needlework. I love the way you can create such wonderful textures in a piece!
I love the bold designs in crewel work. I love that you can use very traditional designs and pair them with bright color schemes for a modern look. I love the colors and textures you can create. It’s so fun seeing a pattern come to live and I love wool! I guess it’s the same things I love about embroidery in general…the possibilities! The same pattern can look so different depending on the colors you choose and the stitches. You can also add embellishments galore!
Thank you for this awesome giveaway. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
I LOVE crewel embroidery. So did my little grandmother. Oh, my, what she could do with a needle. I am fortunate to have several of her pieces, all of which are Elsa Williams designs. After doing a little cross stitch as a girl, I launched into crewel work, again with Elsa Williams designs. Attended a workshop with Judy Jeroy and completed a lovely piece of her design. The La Serenissima pieces are fabulous!
I love crewel embroidery as it is a link to history and enjoy the colours, textures and stitches of it, and l can lose myself in it.
What attracts me most to crewel embroidery? Your website
I remember browsing the web looking for a website that would teach me how to embroider. I stumbled across your website and I was hooked immediately. Thank you so much for sharing your gift with us.
Crewel to me is family. Growing up watching the beautiful crewel that my mother did, it brings back memories. I love the texture and the richness of the wool. I like pink. This design is calling to me. Thank you for this opportunity to make someone smile.
I adore crewel – the reason is that my Icelandic grandmother (born 1893) made beutiful crewel work, pillows, tablecloths and framed artwork. I really, really want to learn to do it as well as she did. Thanks for your website and the giveaway.
I love challenge and crewel embroidery is a new art form for me. It is like thread painting. I love learning new embroidery stitches and watch the design unfold into a picture as I stitch. The colours and softness of the threads! What a wonderful give-away! Thank you!
Crewel embroidery appeals to me because so many
of the designs are botanical and consist of
curved or flowing lines, as opposed to cross
stitch which seems quite regimented. I also like
the texture of working with wool.
Pat S. from Lebanon
I love the dimensionality of crewel work. It’s something I’ve always wanted to try, ever since working at Michaels in high school, but I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet.
What I love about crewel embroidery is 1) The Wool: the texture of it, the colors and the look when used in crewel work. it has a beautiful weight to it, yet it can create such a soft (or strong) look depending on how it is used. 2) I love the look of traditional crewel; the shapes, the stylistic designs, the variety of stitches use and the ease of leaning the stitches. When I think embroidery, crewel is what comes first to my mind. Almost every design I am drawn to is a form of crewel work. I bookmarked the La Serenissima webpage as I was smitten with it the day you posted it, Its simply stunning!
I love Crewel embroidery and what attracts me the most are the variety of stitches used and the beautiful colours like olive green, mustard yellow and the burgundies. It reminds me of the tradition of embroidery and our connection with it. It ties us to our ancestors and gives us a hobby that helps with our daily stresses. Thank you for your column and for the generosity you show to all of us in giving us so much of your time.
As a member of EGA I have learned so much with crewel having become one of my favorites. There are so many different stitches and combinations and the textures it gives with the soft yarns attracts me. This La Serenissima design is the most beautiful I have ever seen. It would be challenging and such fun to stitch. Thank you for the offer and also for showing this beautiful piece.
I love the colours of crewel embroidery. I also really like the stitch combinations, especially with lattice.
My favorite thing about crewel work is the gorgeous patterns and natural forms mixed with whimsy. Modern kits that play with these forms are some of my favorites!
I love this different kind of embroidery, I love the colors that changes slightly as we do the embroidery.
Thank you for helping and sharing
I think I’m drawn to crewel embroidery because of how it’s helped Jacobean and other historical styles stay alive and we’ll today. I love motifs and symbols from the past, and crewel work embodies those ideas for me.
Thanks for doing a give away, Mary. And hope your health challenges are feeling conquerable!
Crewel embroidery really is a work of art and I need to push myself to embrace it. I have been a cross stitcher since my teen years. Now that I am a retired senior I plan to try this beautiful Serenissima style of shading.
Crewel has a richness that is enhanced by the depth of color and the variety of stitches and effects. It also presents a stitching challenge in the shading that is inviting.
I love the diversity of the stitches in crewel work. Miss having Eric Wilson’s kits from years ago. Think they look so pretty when they are completed, and learned so many various stitches when I was doing crewel work.
What an awesome giveaway! My first memory of embroidery was crewel. My grandmother taught me. And I was always so happy to get a new kit. (That was about all I could get my hands on back then.) When you did your review of La Serenissima I went and looked at Anna’s website. What beautiful projects! It would be a real honor to win this beautiful design. Thanks to you and Anna for the opportunity!
Dear Mary
I have been enjoying your many tutorials and newsletters. As a member of EGA I, myself, and my stitching buddies are always on the hunt for new designs and techniques. This Crewl design is one of the best I have seen, both in the design and color. Would love to have the instructions for La Serenissima. This design presents new colors for crewel and also some intriguing new stitches.
The crewel embroideries are so beautiful and are so much fun to stitch. The design style has remained through the years and yet we see beautiful pieces done with a gorgeous contemporary flare. Ana-Maria from Cambridge
One of the first needle arts my mother taught me was crewel embroidery. Probably not the best place for a beginner to start but I loved creating the graceful lines and dimensional look of a crewel design. One of my first was a large picture of 5 Japanese ladies, which taught me how to perfect satin stitch and it’s still as pretty as it ever was. Recent designs with beads and thread painting just make it even more exciting. I can’t wait to see what designers will come up with next!
What attracts me to crewel embroidery? while I have done a little crewel embroidery most of my experience is in other forms. But when I saw this designer’s work I was captivated! They are just beautiful and they make me want to do more of this style of handwork!
karen
Since discovering Crewel Embroidery on Needle ‘n Thread, I have fallen in love with the variety of stitches used; by using a couple of stitches to fill in an area the texture alone makes me want to explore more and learn more and then if you also play with various colors that adds even more excitement. I would love to win this prize and discover and learn more about shading; it is a very beautiful project!
I love crewel because ou the great variety of stitches and I allways find the pattern beautiful, and this one particularly….
What attracts me most with crewel embroidery are the Jacobean designs. I love the fanciful, lush leaves and flowers. They are so imaginative. The give away project is a wonderful example of this design style.
Mary – I have followed you for years and truly love your information. I’d love to try this kit!
I haven’t done crewel work in 25 years. Reading your blog and instructions has made me want to make this lovely project!
I like the fuzzy threads, and I love the design/look of a lot of crewel embroidery, the Jacobean designs.
I have been embroidering for a very long time, and one of the things I need more practice with is shading in large spaces. I’ve never been confident with that, so this kit would be a wonderful way to learn that.
I would love to be included in the giveaway opportunity for the La Serenissima. I love crewel embroidery for this splendid colors and textures. Making something so beautiful by hand is a truly wonderful experience.
Blessings for a wonderful day!
Well i love the texture of course, and the wide range of stitches. I also love the jacobean designs which traditionally use crewel
Hi Mary.. I have been embroidering for 50 years and for several years have been attracted to crewel work. I love the old world style of home decor and find the crewel embroidery fits perfectly in that scheme. I have designed a bedspread that I am working on that is all tints of purple and green and includes the lattice work on many of the leaves. I wish I had known your tip on spacing the lattice before I started, it would have made things so much easier. I would be delighted to win this particular design as it would work perfectly with my bedspread, and I would enjoy learning new techniques in this style of embroidery.
Hi Mary,
There is a lot in crewel to like (love) – the colours, gradations, shading, stitches that provide even more textureseven more than the wool, the flowing designs and oh did I say the colours!?
What a beautiful piece to work on! Have come to appreciate this form and designs after working with Hazel.
I think it would be the lovely curved lines in most in so many of the patterns. Thank you for the giveaway – it is beautiful
Crewel embroidery is so heavy in texture that it gives that extra depth to the subject being embroidered. It is a real beauty to behold.
My love for crewel embroidery is sentimental. I was about ten years old and rummaging around in my mom’s needlework box. I pulled out her crewel yarns and some linen that she probably had destined for a project. Without asking I created and stitched my own design…I still remember it was a tree in the four seasons. I was so proud of that thing. Mom never said a word about me using her supplies, and she had the piece framed for a spot in our hallway that “needed” the wall space filled. I felt like I had really “arrived,” because it was entirely my own design, not from a kit as all my previous endeavors had been. Looking back I realize just how much I learned by that experience and how it shaped my love of needlework for the last 45 years.
What a lovely pattern! I love crewel because of the colours and the textures that can be achieved when working with wool.
I love the texture of crewel embroidery and its history! I also love how the yarn is created.
Thank you for the giveaway!
Wow, this is so a lovely and beautiful Project :-). I really love it. Even more because last year I finished my first class in Crewel work and I would like to improve my knowledge :-). This Project would be perfect.
I am Annette from Munich/ Germany. :-))
The colors and shading of crewel work plus the elegance of the designs just entice me.
Crewel is my favorite type of embroidery. The colors with the dimension you can work with the different types of materials bring everything to life!
Crewl designs, particularly Jacobean are eciting to look at-and exciting to do..the wealth of detail, the amazing fill patterns available..it is a sort of full spectrum embroidery activity—i love the twirly leaves, the vines, and the(often) out of the norm depictions of perspecive and scale….teeny catterpillars, a rabbit or a fox under a flowering viney leafy thing…it’s just all rewarding.
I fell in love with crewel embroidery many years ago. It’s hard to explain the way it feels when it is coming to life. I get this warm fuzzy feeling,it is like magic when I look at the finished work. Thank you for this opportunity.Patti in Chico Ca.
This beautiful piece has prompted me to want to take the plung and try crewel embroidery. This fabulous flower is speaks to this florist’s heart.
Diane B
La Serenissima is stunning. I feel like crewel is my own little time machine – I could be doing the same stitches at all different times in history – though I do have better lighting than those who did it long ago!
Crewel takes me back to the best part of my childhood, it allows me to indulge in colour colour colour, and it gives me wonderful hours of contemplative quiet. AllisinTVan
What attracts me most to crewel embroidery is the tapestry of visual and sometimes very physical texture that is the finished result of time spent playing with needle, thread and color.
I am from New England and have long admired the Deerfield ladies and their needlework designs, which make lovely crewel motifs. But the real No. 1 reason I love crewel is because the wool fibers feel wonderful!
This style of crewel work is in itself a work of art and colour. It is like comparing a paint by number kit to a Picaso. So much ove, determination and style.
The challenge of creating a gorgeous, colorful design with needle and tread, attracts me most to crewel embroidery.
This is an absolute gorgeous piece. I love the life and texture that crewel embroidery brings to a piece.
What a lovely giveaway! My favorite thing about crewel is the density of stitch and color and texture you can achieve!
Crewel is the embroidery that I feel a real kinship with. I think it’s because my grandma loved crewel work and taught me. The crewel embroidered envelope style evening bag that I keep my supplies in like scissors, needles, etc was embroidered by my grandma. Like me she did other sorts of embroidery but crewel is where our hearts lie. When I am working a crewel piece I feel like she’s just over my shoulder watching me. I also love the lines, graceful curves and delicious colors of this piece. This is the most exceptional piece I’ve seen for a long while.
I love the curving lines. The ability to build up dimension. The dream-like quality and fantastical designs.
Hello, I love the look of Crewel Embroidery, the beautiful colors, the large number of stitches and how they play off of each other. I love the way an old art form is evolving and changing with modern design. I enjoy the way Crewel Embroidery can make one’s home unique and one of a kind. Thanks.
Crewel was the first kit I bought for myself. It was of forest animals. I loved the textures and layers of color which come to light while working. Ahh the colors.
Crewel was the first type of embroidery I learned. My Father had embroidered (all surface embroidery) to relax for all of my life, and I fell in love with the beautiful shading of crewel. No-one ever told me that soft shading with long and short was difficult, so that is what I have been mostly attracted to. My first picture was a row of purple irises entirely stitched in long and short, and I still love it.
Just love this! My husband’s grandmother did crewel work! It was beautiful. Told her someday I would love to own one of her works. Sadly that day never came. This would be fun, while working the project would think of her.
I love the crewel project – it is simply gorgeous.
The beautiful stitches and dimension of crewel is what I like, it gives the finished piece a look of elegance.
I first discovered crewel embroidery about 40 years ago. I love the texture of wool yarn and silk thread, I love the history of crewel and traditional patterns (like Jacobean crewel)that are now getting a modern twist. It’s just a beautiful, beautiful art form. Thanks for the giveaway!
The beautiful shading is what attracts me to crewel embroidery – it can look so much like a photograph.
I think what draws me to crewel embroidery is the texture of the threads and the patterns. Especially the old fashioned ones.
-Heather in Chicago
For me it’s the thrill of watching simple stitches and a combination of colours transform a design, stitches on stitch changes the look of the whole design you look at the picture printed on your linen and you cannot imagine how it will come to life once you begin the process of stitches and colour on colour ……I just cannot say enough about my love for it. …
I’m looking for a new challenge in my creative quest. I would like to tackle this beautiful piece!
What draws me to crewel embroidery is the variety of stitches available..I enjoy being able to shade the subject with the different stitches.
I LOVE ABOUT CREWEL IS THE ELEGANT LOOK OF THE COMPLETED MOTIFFS.
The feel of the crewel thread passing through my fingers— the look of the gentle curves of the patterns and the delicate hues of the colors– the the satisfaction of keeping a time-honored tradition alive and being able to pass it on to the next generation–
My goodness, that is simply gorgeous! I love the idea of Crewel Embroidery because of how unique it is, and the history of it. I love studying history through fashion, and embroidery is no exception. It’s fascinating to work with styles that were once used by people in generations past. It makes me feel connected.
Hi Mary!
I learned crewel after doing 2 small cross stitch projects. I love the textures and doing lots of different stitches. I get bored with other techniques that use the same stitches.
Also l love floral designs and crewel has such beautiful flowing lines.
Thanks!
I love the richness and depth of crewel. There is a complexity in the is type of work that is so beautiful.
I love the colorful, stylized nature of most crewel work designs. There’s just something elegant about La Serenissima’s flowing, stylized motif!
Crewel affords us the opportunity to slow down, unplug, and sink into creativity. Needlework focuses and calms the mind. Love it!
I would love to tackle this project!
Color is what attracts me to everything and the pinks are stunning. Looks like an incredible project! Thanks for the offer.
I have been enamored with Anna Garris Goiser’s Talliferro designs since first reading about them on Needle ‘n’ Thread almost five years ago. I have not actually tried my hand at crewel, mostly due to lack of supplies. Crewel appeals to me for its texture and shading, as well as its historic roots.
I would call myself a determined beginner and I’d love to start with the beautiful La Serenissima. Thank you Anna and Mary for this generous give-away.
Crewel is the absolute antithesis of much of the in-your-face colors that exist in advertising today. The shading and colors and textures take me back to a peaceful and joyful state of mind. I need to spend part of each day in the historical and thoughtful world of fiber arts.
I love doing crewel because of the wide variety of stitches you can use. It seems to allow more individual creativity than some other types of needlework and I really like the connection to historical needlework. It also seems to work up more quickly than some other types of needlework.
I have been doing crewel work for about thirty years. i have done the Royal Persian Blossom by Talliafero and enjoyed it very much. I am an EGA Mastercraftsman in Crewel, and it is the type of embroidery that I truly enjoy.
What I like most about crewel embroidery is the fillings! I mean, there’s no reason they couldn’t be used in other forms of embroidery, but it seems like they end up front and center in crewel and there are so many subtle color and texture changes that can happen. Plus the way the wool takes dye and ends up all those soft gorgeous shades makes it a pleasure to work with.
I like crewel embroidery because of the variety of stitches. Through doing crewel embroidery I have learnt to do a variety of stitches that can be used in other surface embroidery.
I love crewel work for the variety of stitches, beautiful colors. It is like painting with thread.
The array of color used in crewel embroidery is the first thing that attracts me. Variety of stitches is the second. After reading Hazel Blomkamp’s book Crewel Intentions, I was inspired by her stitch selection and the different textures she achieved using those stitches. Thank-you for doing a giveaway and the great information you pass on.
Hi! What is attracting me to crewel now in my life is that it reminds me of my mother who would stitch crewel pieces for me. Now, as I am close to retirement I am searching other hobbies and I feel that the beautiful threads and stitches are something I would like to pursue as well as add to my quilting ability. Thank you very much.
I have enjoyed crewel embroidery since I was a teen. It is fun to watch the colors blend together and become a piece of art. . Thank you for the chance to win.
What attracts me most to crewel embroidery? WOOL. I love stitching with wool. It is soft, springy and covers well. These aspects of the wool makes the act of stitching with it more relaxing, contemplative– and truly enjoyable. Maybe it is the knitter in me–but crewel embroidery is all about the wool. Thanks Mary!
I have always liked crewel embroidery, even in the times when “crewel wasn’t
Cool!” I like the graceful lines of it It was one of the first techniques I ever
Did and I usually have a crewel project on the go. currently I am working on
My second Bloomkamp project. Thank you for a chance to win this, oh so
Beautiful instruction pack. It is a project I would take on in a snap!
Stitch happy, Sue in Bermuda.
Hi Mary
I’ve recently retired and have once again taken up needle and thread. I’ve been looking for some inspiration and would be thrilled to receive the instructional guide for La Serenissima. It is such a beautiful piece and the colours are so soothing. My Mother produced beautiful crewel work and this would be something I could do in memory of her.
What I love about crewel embroidery is its historical significance. We are continuing a great needlework tradition, and adapting it in new ways. Anna has given us beautiful inspired new designs.
I have loved Crewel embroidery since doing my first piece in the 70’s. I most love the great designs that go along with crewel work but I also like the different textures you can get using wools and floss. This looks like a wonderful piece to make and would love to give it a go.
Thanks you so much for sharing.
April
I think what I love about crewel embroidery is its ability to seem both modern and old world at the same time. It makes me feel connected to my UK roots. I love how wool is the thread for stitching and I romanticize the idea of farm women spinning and dying the threads for their embroideries and for their knitting.
I love the challenge and thinking that’s required for Crewel work. All the different stitch combinations provide great variety and options to alter the way a piece is worked.
I enjoy the grace of crewel designs and the stylized interpretation of the motif.
The modern shading only adds to the allure. Other textures created by the stitches create a total feast of visual delights.
Because Crewel is beautiful!! And fascinating to see all the different mediums joined to create a true work of art.
This piece is spectacular! I love how handwork, particularly crewel embroidery, connects us to the past. I have been sewing all my life, but have newly discovered how embroidery speaks to my soul.
I find crewel embroidery beautiful because there’s always such a mix of textures and colors. It’s also very geometric, which generally appeals to me because I’m more comfortable with stylized representations than with lifelike ones.
I’ve been taking some classes from craftsy and want to try the tips on this project. I haven’t done crewel embroidery in many years and want to start again. This project is so pretty. Thank you
It’s all about the texture. I love crewel.
Thanks so much for this opportunity.
Cindi
I am interrested in crewel. I am doing embroidery since many years, but mainli counted thread embroidery. I would really like now ro try crewel.
This pattern is so beautiful. I would love to stitch it!
I like making beautiful things and I find crewel work relaxing. I feel a connection with the history of this craft.
I think it’s the textures. The fibers have such a different texture than normal thread. And the textures you can create in the embroidery are gorgeous! This one is probably a little bit out of my comfort zone, but I very much identify with your determined beginner. I fell in love with this piece when you posted it the other day! Thanks for the opportunity!
I love crewel because of the textures and variety of stitches; couple that with crewel’s colors of wool, thread, ornaments, and fabrics…….what more could a Stitcher ask for. Crewel Heaven. Kate Miller. Colonial Beach, Va
In crewel embroidery, I I love the feel of the wool yarn and the way the stitches lay so perfectly. I also love that it remains beautiful and fresh for years. I have pieces I completed 40 years ago and they are like new. I really love everything about crewel embroidery, the designs, the materials and the stitches. La Serenissima is an exquisite pattern. Thank you for this opportunity.
Crewel Embroidery is one of my favorite types of embroidery. It allows me to get into my creative mode. So different from cross stitch and other modes of stithing. It is somewhat like painting a picture, but with thread instead of watercolors and acrylic which I have also explored.
Since the age of 23 I have created many crewel pieces. Now at the age of 70 I have won many fair ribbons for the correspondence courses that have offered from my local EGA group.
While I have learned many other types of stitchery through EGA, Crewel remains my favorite.
I love crewel embroidery for wide variety of colors and textures it uses. It is also fun to work! please, please, pick me!
Elina in Gig Harbor
I love crewel embroidery because it reminds me of my grandmother who did a lot of it. It was she who taught me to embroider, and it would be delightful to do this piece as a remembrance of her. Thanks for all your wonderful articles.
There are many reason’s for why I’m attracted to crewel embroidery.
The history and tradition behind the technique makes me in a very real sense feel connected to the times and people long past; our daily circumstances may have changed unimaginably since then but we’re all still members of the same tribe – that of people making beauty by the work of our hands.
I love the boldness of traditional crewel designs, I always think of it as not necessarily attempting to capture the exact image of the natural world, but rather to extract its spirit and re-imagine it in a more abstract form.
I adore the multitude of stitches and techniques used in crewel, airy lattices combining with solid fillings, with soft shadings and textural knots and bullion stitches. Crewel designs have it all: softness and rigidness, heavy outlines and subtle shading, colour and texture – all harmoniously brought together. Working on a crewel design is never boring or monotonous, it’s always a pleasure.
I love the softness of the wool thread, and how different working with it feels and looks, how effortlessly the shades blend into one another.But I’m also an experimenter at heart and like to see the effects I can create in traditional crewel designs by combining different threads – wool, varieties of cotton and silk – to enhance the textural feel of the piece even more.
Serenissima is a wonderful pattern and I’d love to be able to try my hand at it. Thank you for the wonderful opportunity, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
I love the look of crewel. It always looks more intimidating than it is. Once I get started on a piece it all comes together very nicely. I appreciate you sharing this design it is absolutely gorgeous!
I love this design! I have done some crewel work and greatly enjoyed it. But I have only recently had the time to stitch (recently retired) and I am now exploring some of those forms of needlework that call to me. I love the colors of the wool and the texture of crewel. Winning the drawing would jump start my crewel ambition!
I know this particular project is above my abilities, but it is just gorgeous. The thing I love about crewel is the shading of colors and the texture you can create with the threads.
Mary, Thanks again for a fantastic giveaway! I think what attracts me to crewel is the vibrancy and feel of the threads. They always make for beautiful projects!
It makes me happy! I would say: it is limoncello. Soft, fresh, full of taste, it takes you into the moment.
I would love to learn more about this!
I love crewel because of the beauty in shading, color, and texture that can together create great dimension in a work. La Serenissima wants to enfold you into the blossom!
As a young girl, I admired the beautiful crewel work completed by my grandmother. She passed shortly after I was born, but I was fortunate my mother kept her work and later handed it on to me. I began my own love of needlework with a crewel pattern, and was instantly smitten with the textures, the shading, and found I loved to feel the wool in my hand. I remember being amazed at range of topics and patterns I could work from or adapt, and time has only enhanced this true needle art. This is creative needlework at it’s finest! Please consider me for this lovely work of art; I already know where I would display it.
Because of its whimsy and elegance, I am attracted to crewel embroidery. The first time I opened the book “Crewel Embroidery in England,” in 1975–the year it was published, the year my older sister bought it for me when I was 15 years old–I was overwhelmed, and I knew I couldn’t wait to watch my fingers recreate and reinterpret those elaborate patterns. I had been embroidering since I was eight years old, mostly on my jeans, stitching suns, moons, flowers, rainbows, and yin-yang signs, primarily using stem, split stem, long and short, detached chain, French knots, and satin. But the pages of this book held so many other stitches I had never heard of that I knew I had to learn, like fly, bullion, and herring bone. I had never thought of using geometric shapes, like those formed in a trellis or stars to fill large spaces and add texture and playfulness to my linen canvas. I am a storyteller by nature, and crewel embroidery seems to tell endless stories and engender stories as well: Who was I embroidering for? What was my process? Finally, it is the fluidity and rhythm of the forms and the charm and gracefulness of the designs that draw me over and over again to crewel embroidery, the truest activity I know for meditation, relaxation, and joy.
I am fairly new to embroidery and love how I can get lost in it due to how relaxing it is while still challenging me. The crewel gilds the Lily with a fantastic luxurious texture with wonderfully yummy colours
I love crewel embroidery because of the texture. To me, texture is a combination of colour (shading and contrast, and the soft tones from natural wool threads) and feel, from combinations of different stitches. Texture makes crewel embroidery a satisfying sensual experience whether it is a work in progress or a finished piece.
I love crewel because of the individual artistry that can be expressed, if so desired, with various shading and fibers. Wool is a great thing, whether you’re knitting, sewing garments, or doing crewel embroidery. It can be bent to suit the whims of the user as no other fiber can. This particular designer just thrills me. I have my eye on another of her designs, but this one is also very nifty.
With a background in various counted stitches -needlepoint, pulled thread, blackwork – I love the glorious curves in crewel. I also enjoy that it takes me so far outside my comfort zone.
What I like about crewel is that it seems to go faster than counted x stitch especially if a wool thread is used. You get to see your finished project sooner than with other hand work.
I started doing hand work when I was quiet young, mostly cross stitch. I have kept up with my hand work over the years and now at 70 I think it is time to take on a new challenge. I have also done crewel work over the years but not to this extent. I would really like the book along with the challenge. Since discovering your website last year I have renewed my love of the needle and thread. Today’s threads are so much nicer than they were when I was young and finished projects can be breath taking. thank you for considering me. Ann G of New Almaden
I love all forms of hand needle work, I find it to be a beautiful medium to enjoy and work with, crewel is especially beautiful because of the mellow tones and soft textures. I would be thrilled to recieve La Serenissima instruction packet. Thank you for the opportunity to win this give-a-way.
Thank you,
Jolene B.
I began my journey as a stitcher with crewel embroidery. Back in the 1970’s a lot of kits were readily available. As I married and had kids I found that counted cross stitch suited my lifestyle and attention span. Now that our nest is empty I would love to get back to more crewelwork.
What attracts me to crewel embroidery? I love the natural fibres and the feel of the wool and the richness of the designs. I have never done any crewel embroidery, having concentrated solely on cotton floss but I am ready now to stretch my skills and build on what I have learnt and was thinking about buying this deign as it is so beautiful. If I could win – aahh, what a treat that would be!
The attractiveness of crewel work. The gradient value change in hue that can be achieved. Similar to a painting. And the fact it can be applied to functional items.
What I love most about crewel embroidery is knowing I am carrying on an historic tradition of women across the world who have created the same stitches I am doing now. The colors, patterns, textures and freedom of design are endless. La Serenissima is one such gorgeous example.
What draws me to crewel – its one type of embroidery that I haven’t tried yet and want to! That and this design is gorgeous! Thanks for offering up a chance to win this.
I can’t even begin to tell you how exciting it would be to win these crewel instructions. I have been seriously thinking about whether I want to order it. I love crewel. I love the challenge of shading. I love the way wool blends yet distinguishes itself from the element next to it by using different stitches. The challenge of this piece is tremendous and I really want to try it. Thank you so much. I have quit putting my name on the endless lists of people wanting a chance to win, but this piece is worth it.
Hello Mary,
I’ve been following your emails for a few months and look forward to receiving them. I did some basic embroidery as a young girl and got busy with life and just never seemed to pick it up again. Well, im now 72 and retired with some time on my hands. So about a year ago I got myself some supplies and dove in head first again. I feel bad I lost all those years if enjoying this wonderful needlework hobby. I find it relaxing and kinda of meditative like…my husband says “you know there are machines that do that”! But I like working with my hands. I’ve completed some beautiful pieces and consider myself a “determined” beginner or intermediate level.
I’m interested in crewel as its so beautiful to the eye. The luxurious blending of the wool has a look of such softness. I would love to be the lucky one picked to win this beautiful La Serenissima piece. Pick me! Pick me! Please …,
Either way, I have and will continue to enjoy your website and learn from your letters as well.
Thanks for offering all the advise and interesting articles.
Crewel embroidery, for me, is a spiritual connection with all the women who have stitched their love, happiness, and even anger and anguish onto a piece of fabric to create beauty.
Hi Mary,
I just placed an order for linen twill from The Crewel Work Company. Crewel embroidery is my passion for many reasons. I treasure the history, the feel of wool yarn being pulled through linen, and each beautiful result from shading and texture.
I am drawn to crewel embroidery mainly because of the designs. The original designs are based on flora and fauna, but with imaginative embellishments, which make them fascinating to work. These new patterns maintain many of the traditional features with a wonderful contemporary twist in design and colour palette, and are even more appealing because of this.
The designs are what attract me to crewel. So beautiful! The threads and colors and stitches are also lovely, but even line drawings of crewel designs pull at my heartstrings.
This is easy…texture, texture, texture!!!
I love the different interpretations that crewel embroidery offers with the myriad of stitches, textures and shading.
Alison of Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
I bought the Royal Persian Crewel Design and although it took time I gradually learned cresel, and the result was amazing! I love the new design and would love to also dothis pattern. What I really love about crewel is the unique and forgiving stitches and for me as a Norwegian it relate so much to the embroidery designs in our folk costume: bunad.
Brage in Norway
Beautiful crewel embroidery and Beautiful stitches combinations!!!
Have renewed love of crewel work since your review of
Crewel intentions and have been eagerly following your
progress with Late Harvest.
Would just love the opportunity to try some of the
amazing selection of threads available on La Serenissima, an absolutely glorious piece.Followed your link to Anna’s gallery and was blown away by her
work. Lee H.
I am just home from the ‘Pomegranates and Peacocks’ exhibition at RSN, Hampton Court Palace, and feel so inspired to start a new crewel project. The examples on show, some very old and of unknown origin as well as modern work, were very varied as well as beautiful. The endless ways colours, shading and stitches can be combined is what attracts me to this style. It is impossible to get bored as you can always move on to something different. I love it, and I love the gorgeous, swirl of pinks in the design we are all fighting for. Sue, London
What attracts me most to crewel embroidery is its richness- of history, of color, of design. I love eveything about it from the background linen to the feel of working with sumtuous threads.
Hello
Crewel work is the epitome of hand sewing. The colours are wonderful,warm rich full of life. I only wish mine will look the same one day.
Janet
Crewel embroidery is particularly wonderful because of its curving, flowing lines and colors. It can be a struggle to get counted work to curve and flow but surface embroidery excels at this. The soft yarns/wools also enhance the flowing feeling. Crewel embroidery can also feature a wonderful array of colors, making it a treat for the eyes. Currently my favorite embroidery is surface embroidery.
Thanks again for this opportunity. The piece is just beautiful.
Judy
Crewel embroidery is just so beautiful but the the La Serenissima design and colour is just delicious and inspires me to want to get on stitch it. I have not stitched with wool before and would love to have a go.
I’m mesmerized with the artistry that comes from crewel embroidery. Since I first discovered this I have been in love with the way the designs come alive. The colors, textures and the dimensions are beautiful. Thank you for the opportunity and for continuing to bring this form of beauty to others.
I love the rich textures of crewel embroidery, plus the gorgeous colors of this particular piece. It would be a wonderful opportunity to practice some new stitching skills. Thank you for giving us the chance to win this incredible guide.
I love that although the designs are elegant with sweeping curves, they are also so controlled thanks for the give-away
What attracts me most to crewel embroidery is its surprisingly impressionistic form. Although centuries old, crewel embroidery feels very modern to me. Fantastic, living images are created thru the skilled use of color, shading, texture and placement of wool. I feel connected to women before me who enjoyed needle arts. Thank you for the opportunity to receive La Serenissima as a giveaway.
Would love a chance to do that crewel project. I do so enjoy working with the wool threads. I love the way they lie on the fabric and next to each other – creating a beautiful effect. After your last posting, I went to the Talliaferro web site to check out the patterns, etc and decided I would be buying one in the near future. I am almost finished a Trish Burr project and was planning on a Talliaferro as my next one. Boy, oh boy would I love that Jacobean-ish one! Hope you pick me!
I love crewel work’s textures and colors–I admire the beauty of its patterns. Also, I love the smell of the thread and feel of the threads to the hand.
I have not done crawl in some time but I love the threads and the fact that it works up with such dimension and usually faster. I am buying a millinum frame and would love to break it in with something special.
I love the way that crewel embroidery is like painting with wool. It is addictive how the shading and simple placement of stitches can bring a design to life.
Crewel provides a visual delight of both warmth and elegance at once. I love this splendid dual delight!
I enjoy the variety of textures and stitches.
I love the way that crewel embroidery offers me the opportunity to use many different stitches to create texture which, most importantly, achieves a unified design. The magical use of colour is almost as important to me. Thank you for organising this give away. La Serenissima is truly a beautiful design.
I am attracted to this project, because I want to learn some new stitches and your comments about the instructions made me feel like I could tackle it.
Many thanks to you and Anna, Mary, for this lovely opportunity. I only recently did my first crewel project and enjoyed it immensely. What I liked most is that not only was it fairly fast to complete, the variety of stitches kept it interesting from beginning to end. I suspect that La Serenissima will require a greater level of concentration and probably take longer to complete, but I would love to work on this beautiful design.
What attracts you most to crewel embroidery?
Crewel was my first introduction to stitching when I was a teenager. I love the colors and textures. There was a gap of about 20 years before I decided to try it again.
What attracts me most about crewel is the variety of stitches used and the beads that I see in some. I also just love the looks of it! This year one of my goals is to learn crewel and do some pieces in this art form.
I would LOVE to win this instructional guide/kit and do this pattern! I fell in love with it when I first saw it. Gail J. in Calif.
Choosing fibers for texture and color will be so much fun. It is like taking baby steps into design. With a name like La Serenissima, how can this be anything other than a wonderful experience?
What attracts me to crewel embroidery? Everything from the colors available to the flowing lines of the designs! It’s all beautiful!
Aside from the beautiful shapes, I think I most like the sheer variety of stitches!
What I love is about crewel embroidery is the way the wool threads blend so well when stitching long and short stitch, and I really love the various lattice fillings make the embroidery so interesting. What a lovely giveaway, Thank you so much for this.
I love the texture! As one who paints when given space and time, I like the way thread and needle can offer even more precision and detail than paint. And the gold work fascinates me. I’m currently taking the Trevelyon Cap class with Kathy at With Threaded Needle. It’s exciting to do something new!
I love most the Crewel patterns.
Thanks, Mary
The best part? Learning all the new stitches. The cherry on top? Adding sparkle with beads to all the beautiful embroidery!
What attracts me most about crewel embroidery?
It is so beautiful.
At age 65 I’m rediscovering this genre of embroidery that I loved as a preteen. I love the texture and the softness of the yarn. Contemporary crewel still has that connection to early textile history, but with some extra added attractions: gorgeous designs and beautiful yarns in so many colors that are available today. The five and dime store in the small town where I grew up did not have these fine beautiful yarns. Katrina M
The attraction to crewel are the beautiful designs and the glorious colors that can be used. What’s not to love about this piece, La Serenissima is graceful and a bit romantic with rich colors. Makes my fingers itch to stitch.
What a wonderful giveaway…good luck to all.
Shading, coloring, textures, and pattern flow make crewel magnificent to my eye.
I love the shading and variety of textures.
I love holding the colors and feeling the textures of different stitches. Thank you for the opportunity of winning this beautiful kit. Crewel is like painting with wool.
I think the intricacy of the stitches and their combinations are what I like most about crewel embroidery. The wool lets you do so much more than stranded cotton thread does, and the traditional designs lend themselves to that. I especially like to see them worked in today’s fresher colors; the contrast on the old world design and the newer colors is a wonderful contrast. And that way, you get the best of both worlds.
What attracts me most to Crewel embroidery is the potential for colours to change / blend and how there are so many stitches that you can use, and the variations that are possible to make each piece unique. Thank you.
Crewel work is a work of art, and each piece is unique because of the person that puts each stitch in with care and precision. It is a painting with threads, each beautiful and unique. I still treasure my very first large crewel piece that hung in my first home. I would venture to guess that each new pattern is done by a person that has a painting background.
I just love everything about crewel embroidery – the texture you can achieve, the different stitches you can experiment wish in most areas of the design, it works up fairly quickly and is very forgiving when little mistakes may be made.
I love the timelessness of crewel; it can look traditional or contemporary, depending on the design and color choices. Second, I love the texture of the stitches. Thank you for having this give-away for the tutorial!
I was drawn to crewel embroidery by the flow of the designs. Following the lines you come to really interesting areas. There is no ‘pattern’. All areas uniquely individual. Such a wonderful form of stitched art!
I love the different stitches, the designs of crewel embroidery. Le Serenissima is such a beautiful design. Exciting stuff thanks so much
Softness, depth of color and variety are ever interesting in crewel work. The perfect gift to finish for my first grandchild’s upcoming wedding. Connie from Forest, Va.
I have wanted to do one of these pieces since I first saw the patterns. They are absolutely stunning. What I love most about crewel work is the sheer scope of techniques that can be learned and used. It is so much fun to learn a new technique and to see if you can make your own work look as amazing as the artist who originally created it. When I want a challenge I always turn to this form of needlework.
I love the colors and texture of the wool embroidery thread. The designs are intricate and the stitching is never boring.
Dear Mary,
Thanks you Anna& Mary for this offering.
I love working on historical needlework, Crewel work with wool is forgiving and allows a novice to have a go.
I bought Royal Persian Blossom after drooling over Kathy Andrews postings.
I learnt a lot on this project, to transfer onto Linen twill, using the prick and pounce method.
Working on this piece, I am constantly learning with so many varied stitches, it is so interesting, challenging and exciting.
I love La Serenissima, as pinks and greens are my favourite colours.
Even though I am using Appleton, in my humble opinion, think that Heathway threads would do this piece the justice it deserves.
With kind regards,
Anna-Maria in Sydney.
Being relatively new to your blog, this designer and her gorgeous works were new to me when you posted your last article. I immediately went to her site and read every page several times. Her designs are beyond anything I’ve ever seen in crewel, both in beauty and intricacy, and I’ve been doing crewel since the 70s!
What attracts me most to crewel? I love the scale allowed by the yarns. I’ve done huge pieces at fairly advanced levels, but I know it would have taken me SO much longer to achieve the same piece using any other embroidery technique – cross stitch, for example, would take me years to finish just one of the pieces I’ve done in crewel in much less time.
I also love the yarns themselves. I’m not sure how to explain it other than the colors and shading, the way the light makes them come to life… it takes my breath away and I have to touch them! Stitching them into lovely pictures is SO satisfying.
I really like the way the colors in crewel blend together — reminds me of an early version of thread painting. I would love to win one of these beautiful designs. Thank you for offering them.
What I love about crewel embroidery is the lovely soft “painterly” look. It’s so much fun to challenge yourself creatively with different stitches and threads and use techniques that have been used for centuries.
I learned basic embordery very young. Now I am a lot older I have been trying to learn more and branch out. When viewing embordered pictures it is crewl embordery that appeals to me. The colors and floral of this work is beautiful and works with the colors in my home.
Crewel embroidery has wonderful variety in shapes, stitches and colours. I love the organic designs and the way it can be adapted to a wide variety of design styles. Using so many different stitches in one project means you never get bored.
Crewel embroidery takes me back to times past, but La Serenissima not only has that affect but also a modern twist, which also takes the design into the future. Thank you for this opportunity.
Crewel is actually my favorite type of embroidery. The stitching is so rich and it gives me a chance to play with color combinations, whether subtle or vibrant. I’ve been working on my own projects in crewel all winter. I just LOVE it and enjoy having something beautiful to work on when its too cold to do anything else. I look forward to my crewel every day to help me relax after teaching school all day.
I think it was all the designs….then the thread, so many things you can do with it.
I have been stitching all my life, just having a needle and thread in my hand makes me happy….thanks for all the great ideas…
It’s just so pretty and touchable.
Crewel embroidery scares the “beep” out of me! I am a cross stitcher; afraid to venture into crewel embroidery. I wanted to venture out of my comfort zone, but
lacked the confidence. Mary I went to La Serenissima’s website, and perused her site. I was Gobsmacked with her beautiful designs. I felt so inspired, saying to myself- “I think I can, I think I can….” I was naughty, I purchased an embroidery kit on eBay and happy days, I won! Now I am embarassed to say what I purchased. This kit was out of print from The Scarlet Letter. My parcel arrived this week. I am afraid to open the kit, I think I was too over zealous with my confidence. What attracts me to crewel embroidery? When I look at the finished crewel work, I feel inspired to stitch. I have to open my embroidery kit, and just stitch- one stitch at a time!
Thank you for such a wonderful opportunity! I have another of these designs which I just live.
What attracts me to crewel embroidery? I love the use of stitches and the combinations they are used in to give such a wondeful, interesting piece embroidery to not just work but also look at!
I started my adventure with embroidery 40 plus years ago when I purchased a crewel embroidery kit designed by Elsa Williams. It was the first of many. I them moved to cross stitch and them back to embroidery with cotton, then silk floss and then into gold and stump work. This looks like an beautiful and challenging project to return to the beginning of my journey and work with wool fibers. Thanks for keeping me motivated with your posts!
The main thing that attracts me to crewel embroidery is the variety of stitches and how they are used together to create depth and dimension to the piece.
I love the feeling of history and being connected to the generations of needleworkers who came before me. And I love the huge variety of stitches, there’s no chance of getting bored repeating one stitch a million times. But honestly, the thing I love most about crewel is the same thing that draws me to All the other styles of stitchery: the COLORS!
My Grandmother taught me to embroider when I was about eight years old. I loved those moments with her and to this day, some sixty years later, I never pick up a hoop or admire some piece of work that I don’t think of her. Much later, after my own children were born, I purchased a Jacobean crewel pillow kit. Wow! Not only were the depths of colors coming to life before my eyes, but the textures were simply incredible. I must have adored working on it because I still have it, moth eaten and threadbare as it is. I still love working in crewel because it does come to life right in my hands. It’s a connection between the piece and me.
Thank you for always sharing your beatiful work with the rest of us.
Deborah Palladino
Henderson, Nevada.
I have always liked crewel embroidery from the first time I stitched a piece at 18. I love the variety of stitches one can do along with the beautiful threads that are available for such work. I really like the appearance of a pice when it is completed. Overall, I guess crewel just talks to me.
I am attracted to crewel embroidery because the basic stitches are the ones I learned from my mother and grandmother as a small child. I still find them soothing. I also love color and stitch variety and crewel work supplies both of those. The flowing lines of the designs appeal to me as well.
ArleenDale Kirtland
Adjunct Faculty, SAGE Fiber Arts
Prince Georges Community College, Maryland
The ability to paint with thread is why I love this form of art.
Sandra Drouin
This is beautiful. As a novice I can see that the instructions are easy to read and follow. You have left choices of material and thread up to my choice. When can I begin?
Thank you.
I’m drawn to the colours and textures of crewel embroidery. Plus, I’ve never tried it and would love to have a go!
Crewel Embroidery has a rich history and can be used to decorate so many different items. I love the variety of stitches used and how they’re combined to form beautiful flowers, etc. A lovely form of embroidery.
Hi Mary, Crewel designs have the nicest flow to them, followed by the colors used. I had to mention two things that really draw me to crewel. Thanks for a lovely giveaway.
What attracts you most to crewel embroidery? The feel of the thread and what is possible when you combine different stitches. To paint a picture in fiber that makes one sigh, now that is truly an art!
I love every thing about crewel work, the gentle swirls of leaves and trunks, the colours, the way its out of proportion, insects as big as flowers etc, the variety of stitches and the shading, all go to make stitching crewel work thoroughly enjoyable. I am always looking forward to the next section and watching it grow and come together.
I enjoy the wool textures, and how nicely the wools can be combined with silks, and other fibers. I also find that the wools cover areas faster than other threads. I appreciate that your give away is for the instructions rather than a kit. Over the years I have become allergic to commercially prepared wools, so this will be a good excuse to dye some of my raw wools spun into threads.
What attracts me most to crewel embroidery is the designs themselves. I was attracted to Jacobean designs long before I knew what crewel embroidery was. I remember desiring those designs when I was in elementary school.
I purchased a few kits when I was in high school and thought they were easier and prettier that the pillow cases I had done up to that time. I kept up with crewel until I discovered counted cross stitch in the mid-1970’s. And, I stuck with counted work until about ten years ago when I moved on to knitting.
I would love to go back and rediscover crewel, but I’ll need some guidance. This book sounds like exactly what I need.
What attracts me to crewel? It’s classic–my earliest experience with embroidery was watching my mom do crewel work. This is a beautiful project and as a “determined beginner” I’d love to get my hands on it!
The firs thing I think about is the ability to create texture.
I apply a lot of the stitches to needlepoint for that reason.
Wool, Wool, Wool….that is what I love about Crewel. I always love that this is an ancient fiber used for several thousand years. I also love the colors and various dyes from which to choose. Crewel embroidery was my first stitching endeavor.
What I love the most about crewel embroidery is that I can use my stitches like a paintbrush, creating ranges of color and textures with fiber from delicate to lush. I also enjoy using beads in my designs too. It is a very expressive form of needlework and like many others who have commented, crewel connects me to my childhood. I learned how to do crewelwork from my mom and grew up with beautiful embroidery in our home.
Brenda L. Santa Fe, NM
I have loved crewel work since high school. That has been 40 years ago! I love the variety of stitches.
I admire all those that are artistic, I,m just learning embroidery, only done small projects but the crewel work fasinates me with the vibrant colours and depth of the piece. I,m currently and patiently learning shading, practice and more practice . It’s gorgeous and I,m envious! Thank you !
I love crewel because of the colors – no, the variety of techniques you get to use – no, the elegant whimsy of the designs – umm- how about because it’s just so yummy. Yeah. that’s why.
I’m a busy seamstress, needle pointer, beader, knitter, embroiderer and owner of 16 polo ponies. I’ve recently come back to embroidery completing my first gold work project and my first luneville project. I’m interested in this crewel work because it’s not my mothers crewel work! The colors, the design, and I’m thinking even the threads have changed a great deal! It’s exciting to see these changes and I love being a part of the art!
I began my adult love affair with stitching doing Crewel Work and did many pieces and loved the work. In the 50 years since then I have almost never been without needle and thread in my hand. The difference is that over time I began using thinner and thinner fibers rather than the wool with which I began.
I now love doing all my work with the finest fiber I can find and use. This would be beautiful in any fiber.
Thanks for the opportunity. I hope you are feeling well.
Floss
I love the detailing of crewel, the different stitch textures which certainly prevent “embroidery boredom” and the richness of colour that can be achieved.
I have always loved the beauty of the Jacobean designs which were extensively done in crewel yarn. I have done a number of pieces in these designs using crewel yarn, including my first when I was in junior high. From the cover
As a 1770’s reenactor I share my love of embroidery by demonstrating same to the public at events. Jacobean designs worked in crewel yarn are a feature of what I demonstrate. I am currently working on a reproduction seat cushion which is crewel yarn as well as silk and cotton floss. I plan on making myself a pair of pockets and would love to have instruction such as this to help design and create them – working in front of the public.
While from the cover I presume that the book mostly covers working in crewel yarn in Jacobean designs, I also enjoy working in crewel yarn in contemporary designs.
Thrilled to win La Serenissima would be an understatement.!!!I enjoy crewel embroidery for the soft feel of the wool, the subtle colored shading techniques and the dimensional effects that lift the flat pattern off the linen twill into an exciting embroidered project.
Carolyn S., Freehold,NJ
I just love the feel, look and depth of crewel work. I did Royal Persian Blossom as a Fire Place screen and it looks really rich and beautiful. Would love to get my paws on La Serenissima.
I love crewel embroidery because you never get a chance to get bored, iyour always doing a different stitch and it gives the pie e so much texture and movement. Oh and it’s so beautiful as well. Rma from Adelaide
I love the design elements in crewel embroidery, the beautiful colors of wool threads, and the texture of the fiber in the finished project as well as the tactile texture of the fiber while embroidering. I particularly love the design of theTalliaferro pattern. It is so beautiful!
I would love to win this design. I love the gracefulness of crewel embroideries and the old yet “modern” feeling of this design. I’ve been embroidering with wool for about a year now and would love to try something new. A special shout out to you for a fabulous and inspirational website.
What I like about crewel embroidery is the beauty and the way it feels. Thank You
Nelda Justice ,
The beauty of the combined colors and stitches.
I’ve never been good at creating with paint and brush, but with crewel I can create a beautiful piece of art with needle and yarn.
I enjoy watching the piece unfold as I stitch.
Mary, I have been enjoying your blog so much! Thank you for sharing your gifts and talents with us.
I love the colours, the bold designs, the variety of stitches. It’s the wow factor!
I love crewel – probably because I love wool! I just love the substantialness, sturdiness, color and texture of wool. It has a strong presence. It invites touch. It seems very friendly and down to earth.
I like the variety of the crewel stitches, particularly the laid filling stitches. They add so much texture and interest to the designs. Thank you for introducing me to the Talliaferro designs. I see several of their designs in my future.
Judy the knitter in Longmont
Have loved crewel work for many years and am really liking the option of using,not only the beautiful wool
threads, but also the wonderful silks,cottons and
bead work incorporated in crewel embroidery today It is a whole new world of exciting possibilities.
La Serenissima is such a gorgeous piece and I would be thrilled to attempt it.
Thank-you,
Lee H.
This question really made me think just why I like crewel embroidery so much. There are several reasons. The beautiful colors of the threads, The beauty of the stiches whether they are simple or complex. And finally, when I look at a piece of crewel needlework, it makes me happy just to see it. Thank you for the opportunity to win the La Serenissima guidelines and thank you for featuring items like this in Needle ‘n Thread.
I love the texture of crewel and the fillings used! The colors of the Talliaferro pieces are eye candy for sure!
Love the colors and the variety of stitches!
I love the way crewel offers rich colour and texture and a special dimension to embroidery.
What a fantastic design. It has all of what I love in Crewel embroidery: the wonderful colors of yarn; the textures; the variety of stitches. Thanks for the wonderful reviews and everything else you do Mary. I hope you are feeling better.
I love the depth and colours and textures of crewel embroidery and that it can be large or small very busy and intricate or small and very simple . But the lovely thing about it is that you are aware of all the generations of needlewomen who have sat and pondered their colours and stitches and final outcomes in exactly the same way that I/we are all doing. Thank you Mary for all your effort to help keep the passion alive Best wishes Chris from Australia
I like the softness of crewel wool – it seems like a more forgiving medium than silk or even cotton shading.
What attracts me to crewel embroidery are the endless creative possibilities of each project, the use of colour traditional or ,way out, but most of all the portability of the work. Thank you for this opportunity Mary!
The flow of the work. When you really examine this art, it always tells a story, like the perfect painting. It shows love, patience and an open heart. The threads and the stitching are an added blessing.
The is a beautiful piece done by one who loves what they are doing.
Thank you for your giveaway. It will make someone very happy.
Hi Mary! I think what I like the most about crewel embroidery is working with wool threads. Thank you!
What a wonderful opportunity to win a beautiful crewel instructional guide. The reason that I like crewel pieces is the dimension and realistic appearance they have. In addition, I really like the texture of wools. Crewel projects are so much fun to work on as they come to life Thank you for this great give-a-way.
I love the yarns and the affects it produces. But most of all that it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an expert in Crewel embroidery, the results of a completed piece are stunning.
What draws me most to crewel embroidery is the richness in texture and color. It is a beautiful form of surface embroidery to enjoy
I have loved crewel since I first started stitching as a teenager more than 60 years ago, but over time, I drifted more toward needlepoint because of the wonderful new threads available. In the past year or so, though, I have fallen in love again. I just finished Hazel Bohencamp’s masterful footstool cover from Inspirations magazine using a single strand of DMC. I only discovered the Talliaferro website a few weeks ago, and am still mulling which pattern to indipulge in! Thanks for the chance to get one of these beautiful patterns for free!
Crewel just looks so fancy! These are pieces that are meant to be framed and admired.
hi mary, we have just completed a crewel project at our local guild and i thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. Ready to take on another one and this one looks spectacular to stitch….thank you for the opportunity marilyn
Love the patterns of crewel embroidery, the way a combination of stitches, colors,beads and directional techniques go together to make the whole picture. I have been looking for really good instructions on how to proceed with learning more about crewel work. On your recommendation this seems to be the author and designer to follow and learn from. Would love to give it a go.
I think crewel embroidery is just like art: a masterpiece, just like music, every stitch has its place and its exact function in the sinfony. Ciao from Italy Manuela
I absolutely love the La Serenissima embroidery. I love doing hand work and especially love the colors and shading. I also love the texture and would love to try some of the advanced techniques. I have been doing crewel, needlepoint and counted cross stitch since I was 8 and always have several projects going at one time. I have been reading Needle and Thread for about a year and have gotten so much wonderful information. Thank You Mary.
Dear Mary,
Thank you for organizing this give away. I do hope things are looking up for you.
This particular pattern is so opulent and elegant and has a wonderful timelessness about it.
I love the historical tradition, the combination of stitches and texture these create in crewel embroidery. The luxury of the wonderfully coloured wool threads and the intensity and depth of colour that can be achieved in crewel work makes this an exciting form of embroidery for me.
Thanks again Mary for all you do for the embroidery world.
Cheers Judy
S E Queensland
Australia
What I love the most about crewel embroidery is the dazzling range of effects one can achieve. I love seeing different techniques, fibers, and even beads. A crewel project can be elegant and formal,or more relaxed and simple and still look amazing. Thank you for the chance to win the instructional guide! I would love to be so lucky!
La Serenissima is breathtakingly beautiful. What’s not to love about crewel — the designs, the colors, the stitches — all are inviting. I am re-entering the world of crewel work again after a long absence. My reentry project is the Talliaferio Pomegranate Tree so I will not be a rank beginner, but definitely a determined one. Would so love to progress to this piece. Thank you for the opportunity to win and thank you for your site. I learn something new with every article.
Crewel embroidery is great because it uses so many stitches to create a range of textures.
The beauty and traditional look.
Oh my CREWEL! My first love in embroidery. Wool on linen is so satisfying and so fulfilling. Wool is textural and soft and blendable. Linen (especially linen twill) is simple, yet elegant. Putting the two – wool and linen – together brings out the best in both. Wool and linen allow for a certain creativity in color and stitch without going overboard in stitching rules. I love CREWEL – and it loves me!
I really love this design. Crewel work is such a beautiful use of yarns and textures you can’t get any other way. I would be delighted to work this piece.
Gosh, would I love to be the lucky winner of this as I have just put it in my list of embroidery patterns to buy. Crewel embroidery is my favourite. I love the texture and feel of it. I love the fact that the birds and flowers often depicted in crewel work (I am thinking Jacobean crewel here) are highly stylised. And I love adding jewel colours to older Jacobean crewel styles to bring them into this century. All in all, I will just keep my fingers crossed on this one.
Lucy
What I love most about it are the designs. Especially the leaves in crewel embroidery. I love how large and ornate they can be.
Ren Mondragon
Taos NM
Hello from Kiwi Lynn. My mother who died 3 years ago aged 94 was a brilliant stitcher and my brothers, sister and I divided up her pieces between us and treasure them. Most loved is a framed crewel design of pinks and greens on my family room wall. I always admired her wide knowledge but until I joined the Embroiderers Guild on retirement 2 years ago, my own endeavours were limited to canvas work. I have hugely branched out into different kinds of stitching and am about to attend a crewel class with one of NZ’s finest tutors, Sarah Hooker. How exciting it would be to have this pattern ready and waiting for me in a few months time. Thank you for the opportunity to be in to win.
My love of Crewel work number one it is service embroidery and I do not have to count threads. I love the flow of the work is wonderful and if you want to experiment with stitches or colour it is very adaptable. Hard wearing when it comes to be used as a house hold item
Thank you for this competition
Linda McCrae
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
The detail and beauty that I can still make my own. Timeless! I love to think someone might be admiring the pieces we make now 100 years from now. Thank you for all you do to inspire and teach us all. Sue in Puyallup.
Hi Mary
I have been attracted to crewel work via Hazel Blomkamp’s fantastic . I have completed 2 footstools using her patterns in embroidery thread but would love to try crewel work in wool or thread. I love the patterns the various stitches and thread laying can produce. I guess I love the order of it!
What I like about crewel is the texture of the work. A long history with amazing examples.
This is a beautiful design! What I particularly like about crewel embroidery is that it lends itself so well to both ancient and modern designs. So many possibilities!
I love crewel work because of the flowing, abstracted designs and variety of stitches and the historical background. I like knowing I am carrying on a centuries-old traditional art.
Jan from Michigan
I love the texture of crewel yarns and the fact that many of the same stitches are used in surface embroidery! I personally also like it that crewel is NOT counted!
I love the colours and textures of crewel work as well as the seemingly infinite variety of stitches. Most of all though I love that it has endured through centuries, both as it existed back then and as it is still worked today.
This is an absolutely gorgeous work and I would be honoured to work it.
I enjoy crewel embroidery because it encompasses many different stitches and even though traditionally only wool is used, other threads can be substituted to give a different look. When you mentioned this piece earlier I immediately went to her web site and was in awe of all her pieces. Thank you Mary for keeping us all connected to the beautiful stitching out there! Hope you are doing well. I think of you often and am sending you strength.
What I really like about crewel embroidery are the rich, luscious colors and the remarkably organic feel of the embroidery! This is particularly true of the piece La Serenissima. You can almost feel the breeze blowing and bending that beautiful flower.
Beautiful
Mollie in Miami
I have done many kinds of embroidery. I even have a degree in embroidery but, I have never done crewel work. I do however own a large, beautiful piece of linen twill just waiting for a project that is worth the price. I think this would make a wonderful crewel course for me.
I’ve knit in wool, I’ve sewn in wool, but I’ve never embroidered in wool. Seems like a logical next step!
I always loved the curviness of the designs and working with crewel yarn. I started doing crewel when I was a kid with Erica Wilson kits.
Hi Mary. I love crewel embroidery because that how I started to know about embroidery, even thought what embroidery was all about. It’s also how my mom and my sister embroidered.
Best wishes to you. I love your site.
Crewel embroidery just takes me back to the seventies! I am a kid again just learning how to embroidery.
What attracts me most to crewel embroidery is the various colors and the variety of stitches. I would like to try a project like this one. Thank you Mary for everything you do to make embroidery alive.
Crewel embroidery just takes me back to the seventies! I am a kid again just learning how to embroidery.
I do hope that your health is holding up. I do enjoy your blog. Thank-you for all you do.
Crewel embroidery is like painting with thread. Like painting the colors are so beautiful but with the added benefit of texture. I like the use of different embroidery stitches and I love loosing myself when stitching.
Thank you for this opportunity
all the best
Carole K from Canada
My mother does lovely crewel work and I have been practising lately and have enjoyed it immensely. Have been doing parts of Hazel’s patterns to see if I can come up to Mum’s standards. I think I have passed and would like to continue in this vein. The pattern on offer is stunning. Thank you Mary for your daily newsletters I really appreciate them.
Crewel is such a textural form of embroidery. It’s got depth and substance and it’s just much fun to stitch!
I love the soft wool textures, colors, and traditional designs.
I love to stitch with the crewel wools and see the beauty and texture they create. I have been a fan of crewel embroidery since the 1970’s. I have done many pieces and continue to love doing them.
This project reminds me of my college days, 30+ years ago, when I had a roommate from Thailand. She gave me a beautiful book on watercolors painted by a famous Thai artist. I took one of those pictures of a lady dancing in Thai costuming and turned it into a crewel needlework project. I guessed at what stitches to use. I had no experience but for some reason the paintings just begged me to do them in needlework. I wish I could have had some instruction back then and maybe my project wouldn’t have had to have been reworked so many times! lol
I love the texture the most but color is a close second.
What attracts me is the flow of the line in the design and the colours used.
Just to sit and be transported when each little section is finish…..just do be ‘away’.
What I love about Crewel work is the speed it covers the cloth! I love long and short and the works just goes so quickly.
I have always had an appreciation for crewel embroidery because no machine can duplicate the craftsmanship that goes into hand embroidery. I started learning about a year ago because I am a quilter that works full-time and I can’t take my sewing machine to work. Everything about a small to medium embroidery project is portable, and now I’m hooked!
I enjoy the changing textures of crewel embroidery and the color choices. The Serenissima website is an inspiration.
I just love crewel embroidery. It’s the artistic use of embroidery using wool that attracts me to this craft.
Doing crewel handwork makes me dream that I am a Victorian lady of leisure. La Serenissima would truly make that dream a reality.
I enjoyed crewel work for many years during early married and childbearing times. It was fun and easy to do as a mother. My two sisters and I would share our thoughts and ideas while stitching one similar projects. It made us closer to be doing this while miles separated us.
I love the soft fibers used in crewel and would love to do this project.
Kathy in Brea
On the visual and tactile side, I am attracted to the color, shading, and texture of crewel embroidery. Appreciating the work that goes into a piece. On the mental side, I am attracted to the historical and regional aspects of crewel embroidery. I love looking at crewel embroidery designs/patterns and learning about the time period and region it was made, or if a current piece has attracted my attention, I like to find out what time period the design was reproduced from and what area of the world does it represent. So if I win…What story will my completed crewel embroidery tell to those in the future…
This embroidery is truly beautiful and I would love to win this
I love the beauty and history.
Crewel embroidery was not part of my culture. It was actually introduced to me by needlenthread.com. I’m attracted to its richness in texture and color, as well as its fun and interesting stitches.
I love the adventure that each piece of crewel work takes you on. Piece by piece stitch by stitch the designs of flower and leaf, stem and vine combine to make a beautiful piece of art.
what I like about crewel is the combinations of a variety of stitches and textures and colours, so different from the counted work that I mostly do.
Crewel embroidery was the first form of needlework that captured my interest. I love the richness of texture that lends to color depth and stitch definition. My imagination is turned on just getting close to wool thread!!!
I’ve just recently fallen in love with crewel patterns. I think my love of paisley had attributed to this. The flow of the designs mesmerizes me. Would love to stitch this.
Crewel embroidery is appealing because of the flowing nature of the designs, the variety in the textures that are created, the link to a very old form of surface decoration and the fact that it allows me to use a great variety of interesting stitches. I also like the fact that it can be created with a limited colour palette or a rainbow of colours and still look wonderful.
I think I like Crewel embroidery because of the rich colors of wool fibers. Jacobean embroidery is so historical but becomes even more beautiful when modern adaptations are in corporated into the designs. Talliafferro is beautiful in it’s use of non-tradional pinks and a very fluid design.
I’m drawn to crewel work because of the vibrant colors and versatile designs. The colors are so bright and subtlety shaded and the variety and co mingling of cultures in the designs is intriguing.
I’ve always enjoyed learning and using crewel stitches — I like variety in my projects. This pattern is simply gorgeous! Thank you for sharing it with us.
I don’t know how to explain it but when I see a beautiful crewel design I get goosebumps and a peaceful feeling inside. That’s it I guess.
Crewel is new to me – I love trying new things, and feeling that I have gained some insight into new ways of embroidery. Crewel is so varied, and so satisfying. I have never used wool, but love the silks, and the needle-weaving. Such a challenge.
I find it very rewarding to see the play of colors and shading when I do my crewel work. I love the feel of the textures of thread between my fingers. I love how relaxing stitching is to my mind and soul.
I love the beautiful shading and luscious combination of stitches! And this is a gorgeous piece!! Thanks for the chance to win this project.
Traditional crewel embroidery has a lovely flow to it – it makes me think of William Morris and my grandmother, Liberty prints and the smell of roses! Crewel works up surprisingly quickly as the wool is so much thicker than silks I use for other techniques. I have also done a modern crewel design with Tanya Berlin, a crewel design on silk with one strand of DMC; that is also lovely but gives a very different feel from traditional crewel. I’d love to try La Serenissima; it is beautiful!
This is beautiful, delicate and very refined needlework. The color offset,light to dark, creates great visual movement and artistic fulfillment. This is an especially delicate piece.
I absolutely love the rich colors, ornate stitches, intricacies of the design, as well as the feeling of continuing an art form that has been passed on for many, many years. I mean, look at my email address! I’ve many years of explaining…:)
How funny. When I posted just now, I saw your comment right before mine. I’m also a Beth, our comments are similar, and our city names rhyme. I promise I didn’t read yours before I wrote mine! 🙂
What I love about Crewel embroidery? My grandmother made so many pieces of art, beautiful embroidery that was such a part of my childhood home. Crewel embroidery brings back a lot of happy memories.
I LOVE Crewel Embroidery because of its 3 dimensional realistic replication of the stitchers work. The depth and layers bring such life to the stitching. I find it challenging and thrilling. La Serrisima Is a beautiful piece that I would be honored to delve into. Thank you for presenting this opportunity.
Hi Mary,
What I love about crewel embroidery is the texture and sense of movement that can be created with a few relatively simple stitches. La Serenissima is a perfect example. I would love to make this piece.
This is amazing. I love the different types of fibres used in crewel embroidery and the resulting textures and depth that the finished piece has. I would be so excited to win this beautiful piece.
Please let me have this guide. For me this is the most beautiful and enjoyable form of stitching and I do want to learn how to do it.
I absolutely enjoy cross stitch; I think ribbon embroidery is beautiful; nothing can surpass the beauty of the art of crewel embroidery. Lynne Brown. Gold Coast, Australia xxx
Thanks for the gorgeous giveaway!! Like others who have commented, I’m most attracted to the endless textures in crewel embroidery. I’m also fascinated by the history of all the textures, the evolution of the stitches, and the many patient hands who have practiced them over time.
My first crewel embroidery piece was a wool floral pillow for my sister’s wedding. We still have that piece. What I love about crewel embroidery, like the Serenissima piece is the beauty and smoothness of the stitches…the realism of it. It’s just lovely!
I am a professional quilter. Quilting is my life but embroidery… It’s my love. As many have written before me, the colors, the stitches, the textures, the designs… all true… but for me… it goes further than that. It’s the challenge… I see a pattern or a design… Do I know if I can do it justice? I have no idea but I’m certainly going to try… Each and every single stitch, its placement… the needle coming through in just the right spot, the sound of the thread following suit… Ahhh! The satisfaction of the perfect stitch… one after another… until finally the last stitch is placed, the piece blocked and framed. Completion… A labor of love… a challenge met. Was it the best I could do? Did I learn anything? How can I do better?
Will some one someday look at this piece in the far distant future and wonder about the the hand that worked this piece just as I have wondered about beautiful pieces from past generations before me. Is not embroidery but a time capsule in thread?
Michele Z, Missouri
I have always admired crewel because of the gorgeous blending of colors and textures. This design is truly breathtaking! I have always been intimidated by crewel but would love to give it a try using one of these guides. I do so many other types of needlework and it is time I try crewel!
Crewelwork has movement and life. I love the shading and the form. I love the fact that it has been worked over centuries and we can still make it fit in to our modern world. Thank you for the opportunity to receive such a wonderful pattern. We are building a new home and the colours in Serenissima are those that I have chosen for our decor.
Crewel embroidery attracts me because it is beautiful, challenging, encourages creativity and timeless. The feel of the wool, the colours, the complexity all add to its appeal. Linda D.
What I love about crewel embroidery is the huge variety of stitches used, giving it so much scope for exploration with colour, texture and design. I love that I can use cotton or silk threads when I wish to, rather than just the traditional wool, and add beads, crystals, stumpwork etc as well.
Hi Mary,
I’m new to this site. But it is my favorite. After being forced into retirement by cancer, I cleaned and organized my sewing room and picked up my needles again, opening an alteration business. I do love crewel as n alternative to all the.other hand stitching I do. It’s interesting, historical, challenging. It keeps my head going and my fingers limber. And that doesn’t even go into the blending of color and creativeness that every craftier has. Plus, music to my ears when I hear, “Gramma teach me! ” what could be better in this world?
Marla H in MN
I have loved doing crewel work – I feel this wonderful connection to
Women throughout history – whether doing tapestry to warm drafty castles
Or Arts& Crafts England and William Morris bedhangings or the blue crewel
Work of early American settlers – there is a history of patterns and threads that connect us as we stitch for our homes and love ones. The pull of wool and silk through linen weaves, the muted colors, the ever evolving rendition of nature.
I love the shading and the filling stitches. I find it the most peaceful of all
The needlework arts. I would love to take on the Challenge of this piece for a
New fire screen I want to do. Thank you,
Darcy Walker
The wonderful flowing designs combined with texture and colour of the threads.
I would love to be included in the draw for this. I’m attracted to crewel work because of the opportunity to try a wide range so stitches in a single piece with the restricted colour palette drawing the work into a harmonious whole. The typically slightly muted shades you get from crewel wools and the great coverage also mean that it’s a great way to work on long and short shading which I really need to improve on.
Alison in Godalming, UK.
I love the challenge of crewel work. I have to work harder to get my stitches to “flow” and I enjoy that challenge. Crewel work gives me a lot of freedom to use a great variety of stitches, and I like the fun of adapting some of those stitches and colours to express my own individuality.
I love the challenge of crewel (I’m still new to it) and the variety of stitches… not to mention all the lovely colours and just simply producing something with a needle and thread.
Thanks for the opportunity to win.
My favourite thing about Crewel work is the designs. The stylized floral motifs that remind me of a bygone era.
I’m not actually sure what attracted me to crewel; I think it’s something about the forms and shapes, which seem elegant but also vibrant, alive even if the shapes are abstract. Then I learned about the stitches used and that attracted my needling fingers 😉
Thank you for your hard work and dedication, and thank you for the giveaway!
Tessa in JHB
Crewel work is another area of needlework that I have always wanted to try. I love the vibrancy of the colours the stitching and I now realize the speed of which it comes together. Thank you for a great giveaway. Pippa
I love all forms of needle art, however, I have not done much crewel. I like how the shading brings flowers to life. Thanks Mary for introducing and reviewing the many designers in your articles.
I love Crewel for long and short stitch and the myriad of filling options for all those curvaceous shapes. It reminds me of the Jacobean era, William Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement and the Elsa Williams and Erica Wilson revival from the 1960s. Proving Crewel might go out of fashion but it never goes out of style.
I would love to win the La Serenissima give a way. I saw the design last week on your review Mary and fell in love with it. The design and the colours are just gorgeous.
I am most attracted to Crewel Embroidery because of its beautiful designs representing nature, flora and fauna. I love the way the traditional Crewel designs and colours have inspired contemporary designers to create their own equally beautiful interpretations and different colour ways, such as
La Serenissima.
This very lovely and I would love to learn this.
Dear Mary,
The sheer gentle beauty of the crewel designs and the feeling of tranquility that it imparts when I look at it. Crewel surely is the most serene of all the embroideries. Beth.
I love the distinct quirky designs and shapes of Crewel embroidery, there is a certain freedom in the embroidery unlike counted work. Its colors and design makes me feel happy.
Cheers Flora
I used to do alot of crewel embroidery when my children were young, then left because of time restraints with all their activities. They are all grown and gone now and I have picked up the crewel needle again. I love the texture, and colors. Even pprojects that are half stamped and half embroidered pop.
As a teenager I began to embroider as I was drawn to all the colors and shades of embroidery and wool threads. I also cherish and feel a connection to the older pieces that family members have stitched. This kit is gorgeous and would be a welcome challenge. Thanks for offering this contest.
Hello, this is a wonderfull opportunity. Many thanks for it, I’d like so much to win it as I’m practising crewel and goldwork embroidery for several years now. In crewel embroidery, I like everything : the stitches, the colors used, the type of thread, the design,… as I said, everything. And it has been a long time now that I’d like to stitch some Talliaferro design.
So again thanks for this generous give away.
And also sorry, I post 2 mesages because I made a mistake on the first one and it was sent before I finished it !!
Anne-Marie
I’m attracted to crewel embroidery because I haven’t tried it yet. I’m currently finishing a stump work project that has gotten me hooked on surface embroidery. I’d love to try something new.
I love crewel. One because of the colours. There are so many vibrant colours in crewel and two (and most of all) are the trellis work bits. There are so many variations and I can say I’ve never seen a trellis worked area I didn’t like. Sometimes I just stick one in the area weather it’s called for or not!
I have always loved the look and texture of crewel embroidery. There is just somethig unique about it. I’ve never actually done crewel so I’m not sure what it is, but would love to learn!
The flow of the color formed by stitches in creating the finished design. Every since the first crewel kit I saw in McCall’s Needlework & Crafts magazine (and ordered and finished) until today, I have loved the beauty of these pieces.
Barbara
I love crewel work, the colors are so rich and the shading makes such beautiful pieces. Working on a piece actually lowers my blood pressure. I appreciate so much you bringing these pieces to our attention. If I should win I have just the spot in our home.
What attracts me most to Crewel Embroidery are the stitches. My ‘go-to’ embroidery stitch is the chain stitch. With Crewel Embroidery it is a chance to ‘step-up’ my game 🙂
Thanks for the chance,
Elaine Gregory
I was very excited to see this give away. I was just looking at this website, for a great, heart stopping project for this year. Eye candy is right. It’s absolutely beautiful work!
Hi Mary,
It was exciting to see the lovely Talliaferro designs, thank you for always guiding your readers to the “good stuff”. What most attracts me to crewel is the way using color and variety of stitches something beautiful just “blossoms” from what began as a basic line drawing on the fabric. I now love all forms of embroidery, but Crewel was my “first love”.
Helen in Tucson
Hello Mary!
I absolutely love this type of crewel embroidery! My mom was an amazing woman who was an excellent embroidery works hand expert! Unfortunately she lost most of her eye sight before she was able to teach me how to do this type of embroidery. I have taken up where she left off, making lovely projects along with finishing up the ones she was not able to compete before she passed. Except for this type of hand embroidery ( others also – won’t get into this now).
Thank you for all you do for this site and all “us” embroidery ladies!
Michelle B from Arkansas Keeps me connected with Mom!!!
The flowing lines and colours of La Serenissima are stunning. They bring the eye in to follow through and round the design. The depth and richness of crewel work always entices me to explore all the textures of the wonderful stitches. Thank you for introducing me to Talliaferro and their wonderful designs.
An absolutely beautiful piece. Would love to be able to do this design. It would be a wonderful and relaxing way to de-stress from a day at work. Crewel embroidery has not been a part of my stitching for awhile and it is past time to get back up to speed with it.
The combination of colors and textures crewel embroidery always draw me in.
Jane
What a great giveaway! I like crewel work because my eyesight is limited and the larger elements are easier for me to see. Besides, it has a great look with the wool.
I find that crewel embroidery is very easy on the eye. The flowing patterns and design style are beautiful and the varied stitches make it interesting and surprising! Serenissima is gorgeous and sophisticated.
I love crewel embroidery. I think it’s the many stitches that attract me to it and the textures and patters within the motifs that are created with the various stitches. I also love the wools in traditional crewel work, That said, I love that more “modern” crewel can simply use all threads.
Hi Mary,
I have recently discovered your amazing site and am loving all the different posts, tips and videos. Embroidery of whatever type can be creative and fun, however, I think that crewel embroidery is my favourite because one can take any pattern or even sketch one out, and make it a unique art piece by the choice of threads and stitches used. I was in Venice a couple of years ago, and it’s true! The light there IS amazing. This beautiful prize reminds of that light, and I would be so excited if I were to win. What a wonderful piece it would be to work up.
Thanks for the opportunity to enter this great competition. I really hope I win, but even if I don’t, I’m sure I’ll find inspiration right here on your site fo my crewel work.
What I love about crewel is the interplay between realism and interpretation. The shapes and shading can be very realistic, but a lot of it is highly stylized, like the lattice-worked leaf. The colours are typically very punchy (which I love); it has strong, well-defined shapes; and the end result is pieces that are beautiful in a way that only embroidery can be.
The diversity of the stitches is amazing. Then you add color, embellishment and beads and the effect is stunning.
Linda T.
Hi, I like the texture of the wool and how the color mix together. I also like the type of design. this design is really pretty.
Excuse the way I write in English.
Nicole
I think it is the thread. I love traditional crewel colors and the texture of wool thread. Thanks for the give away btw.
i drawn towards reproduction stitching more than 30 yrs ago. shortly after starting to stitch i noticed crewel work and was drawn o it right away. i enjoy the different stitches, shading and the wonderful fufillment i get when i finish a piece! i lost my dominate arm almost 18 yrs ago and taught myself how to thread my needle and continue stitching. nothing was going to stop me!
I am impressed by the Crewel work because I am painting on canvas and each time I do a crewel embroidery I feel like painting. I wish to win that work.
Thank you for your nice site.
I’ve inherited my love of crewel embroidery from my mother (sadly no longer with us) who was a passionate stitcher and from whom I have inherited several beautiful examples of the style – a firescreen and a stool most notably. I looked at this beautiful design when you blogged about it a few days ago and would really love to be able to do it the same amount of justice as my mother would have. I’m in the UK and so hope this won’t exclude me from the competition.
I love the historical forms of crewel that extend far back into history. I also love the textures and filling patterns. The Jacobean period is my favorite!!!
Thank you for offering a give away of this beautiful pattern.
I love the variety of colors and thickness of the thread.
I love the texture most of all!
I like crewel because of wide variety of stitches used in creating different textures. Also I love designs, often historically inspired.
I am most attracted to the stitches and the feel of the finished work. Crewel work has a presence about it that is lacking in other types of embroidery.
Crewel embroidery has recaptured my heart after years with cross stitch. I love the feel of the threads the freedom in designs and the different stitch choices I can choose create beautiful texture.
To be honest, I don’t know If im in love with crewel yet, but i adore its swedish cousin påsöm with its traditional patterns and rich colours in wool and its strength to connect history with the designs of today. I think, Maybe Crewel would be a Nice aquintance and a Nice way to learn to know the relatives a little better!
This piece makes me want to move from needlepoint to crewel. I love the classical design, the colors and the shading. It is timeless. The instructions look to be excellent.
I love the challenge of the stitches, and the different textures. Shirley from Mi.
What attracts me most to crewel embroidery? The designs generally have the eyecatching ‘I want one’ appeal but permit the opportunity to either follow a set design or trawl through my stitch books and show a bit of inventiveness by choosing my own stitches and colours.I have given crewel embroidery packs (printed cloth and a selection of wools) as presents to friends who have not ‘done’ needlework before,no two ever turn out the same but its a great way to share my enthusiasm.Heather from Yorkshire, England but coming to raid your craft stores of Michigan for the month of March!
I am an avid knitter, so any form of stitching that embraces wool as a material is for me! I began with needlepoint, but grew weary of the repetition. Crewel embraces organic and botanical forms, and is full of endless texture and variations.
I love fibers and crewel embroidery allows you to use so many differetn fibers.
Cindy from Houston,Texas. I saw the beautiful
La Serenissma and have to respond to the give away. The thing I like about Crewel Embroidery is the rich colors and total fantasy of the pieces. Nothing like that appears in nature, but it is so beautiful you wish that it would. Stitching these beauties is the closest you can come to their reality.
Hi, Mary,
Crewel, whether done with fine wool or with cotton, is my favourite embroidery technique. One could use the same motif over and over and stil achieve an infinite variety of looks changing up the colour scheme and the stitches used. And variety is my middle name! Thanks for offering this lovely pattern.
What I love best about crewel embroidery are the lovely sweeping lines of the florals in the traditional styles. The different textures and combination of materials such as beads, threads and fabrics make it a very rich finished technique.
I love the fantastical designs of crewel work that can be created with just the right textures, creative stitches and wonderful color combinations. I would love to win this design – it’s one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. Now if I could also grow it in my Hawaii garden, I’d be set. Aloha.
In years past, I completed crewel embroidery with a kit that had the yarns, etc included; it was a gift for my sister-in-law. I am so thrilled to see the “new” crewel with glorious threads and colors that I felt were missing in years past. I think what I love the most about this art form is the wonderful colors and specialty stitches that allow you to accomplish such beautiful detail; they come to life right before your eyes. I would love to have a chance to win this beautiful pattern! Thank you for this opportunity. Pam L in Kansas, USA
Crewel embroidery was one of my first pieces. I am attracted to its bold designs and its flexible applications such as on clothing, furniture and framed. I especially love its versatility. It can show its more traditional side in Jacobean embroidery or reveal itself as perfectly modern, as Anna’s design so wonderfully demonstrates.
What I love the most about crewel is all the beautiful colors and the texture. It makes a picture come to life
Very distinctive patterns.
Crewel embroidery feels like growing flowers in the yard. They start small, new leafs grow with new techniques, flowers open as a reward for pain of creation
I have always loved crewel work. I love the softness of the finished project. I have always used kits and would love the creativity of using my own colors.
I love dimensional aspect of crewel embroidery. I remember using wool to stitch way back probably about 40 years ago but unfortunately haven’t touched it since. I’d love to win the instruction booklet and get back to my crewel roots
I love the unlimited stitches and effects one can make with just a needle and thread. Beautiful!
Crewel embroidery is attractive for its tactility, its permanence (to think your colors could still be bright even 400 years later!) and I feel like the designs are still things you can still have in your house and use without looking dated or fussy.
I am not good with design, and really hopeless in selecting colours. I just can’t get it when choosing threads with which to stitch.
Crewel embroidery gives me wonderful designs, tells me what stitch to use, and tells me which colour embroidery thread to use. I end up with an exquisite piece of needlework, and all I have done, is do what I am told!
Pauline
I am addicted to crewel embroidery, the diversity of stitches and affects that can be achieved; from very fine work through to the traditional wool finish. It offers so many practical end uses as well, thus far: door stop, drinks tray, cushion centers and a side table centre piece. I attended a lecture in Auckland by Phillipa Turnbull recently on the history and development of crewel embroidery that has added to my interest and ‘addiction’. I recently completed a piece you are working on, Late Harvest, a Hazel Blomkamp design which also incorporates stumpwork. I have named mine ‘Hammered’as it saved my sanity while constrained for 7 weeks with a broken toe; without my crewel stitching I would have been very grumpy! The great end to the story is that the piece won the annual viewers’ choice trophy at our local stitch group. I was very thrilled. I am currently working on the final stages of a piece worked in blue and white, ‘First Sip’, so am almost ready for a new crewel challenge and the one you have featured for a give-away, La Serenissima, is very reminiscent to some of the pieces Phillipa illustrated in her talk. Regards Gail H
The art of Crewel Embroidery reaches both back in time and to many corners of the world. The designs, stitches and color schemes can be very intricate or quite modest. There is history and culture to inform us, yet this technique is always open to modern interpretations.
I love the flowing lines and the blends of colours and patterns In crewel work. Stitching this beautiful design would be a great pleasure.
Thank you Mary and Anna from Talliaferro for the chance to win this lovely pattern.
The colours of these projects are magnificent!!! The shading is something I really need to practice, I do have a project with shading…..but there weren’t any instructions. I need some help here!!!! 🙂
Julie N
I love all types of embroidery and stitching, but crewel is the jewel of them all!
What a beautiful piece! I should love to try my hand at crewel embroidery – the textures, the colours… I have a firescreen of crewel work embroidered by my grandmother 100 years ago and I should so much like to try my hand at it.
I love crewel embroidery! It’s the Jacobean design, the variety of stitches, and the luscious colours and texture of the wool which attracts me. And this piece is gorgeous. Thank you for offering the opportunity to win it.
I have completely loved my journey in stitching with Needle’n Thread. I love crewel because it makes me feel like I am part of a fairy tale. A story waiting to unfold.
Stunning design and colour ways. Crewel work is so magical and relaxing to complete .Great therapy and all while you are completing a fantastic design. Just hope this combo is open to those abroad i.e. England?
The luxurious feeling of embroidering with wool on a larger surface to bring out the richness of the colour combination, is what attracts me most to Crewel embroidery. I also find it a more “user friendlier” medium to work with
Lucretia – South Africa
I love the detailed and intertwined designs, as well as their vintage look. I’ve never tried crewel embroidery, but I’d definitely love to!
One of my first attempts at stitching anything was crewel, pansies. I framed it, looked at for years and then “retired” the piece for years. In looking at this piece of art (La Serenissima), it is time to come out of retirement and revisit crewel, this is GORGEOUS. Think my pansies will make a comeback as well.
Thank you,
Mary Kay from Montana
Hi Mary:
First many blessings on you. 🙂
Thinking what I like most about crewel embroidery conjures wonderful memories of sitting next to my aunt as she taught me how to embroider. She was a true needle artist. Her crewel work was amazing. I learned to appreciate dept and variety of color and all the different stitches because of her.
In crewel embroidery I love the variety of the stitches & how fluffy they appear.it’s a very beautiful appearance & texture!
thanks for your give away & forgive me for my difficulty of expression in your language.lots of love.Béa from France
Hi Mary,
Its a wonderful give away. Thank u. I don’t know if I can participate in this coz I’m from India. Anyway, I like crewel embroidery coz I came to know about it in 2009 only through
Ur website. I love the designs used for crewel embroidery, its very intricate. Every detail is worked so delicately. I still remember ur jecobean embroidery design. And I love the colours used in this give away. Crewel embroidery gives a lot of scope to improve and learn more embroidery techniques. As a beginner that’s t best I can say.
Love u, Take care & God bless u for all t teachings u have done for us through this blog.
I tried crewel work years ago, over 40 to be more correct. Then I found you web page and a kit at a yard sale that I could not give up and now I am hooked. I can not put this project down and have plans to find the first project that I had put down so long ago. Mary, thank you so much for your wonderful web page. Ashley
I like the colors! and the threads!
I think what attracts me most to crewel is the use of wool thread. I like many other things about it as well–the traditional designs, it’s use mostly on practical household objects, the motifs drawn from nature and the way the designs can be modernized but retain the flavour of their traditional roots. And I do needlework with a variety of fabrics and fibres. But somehow I always seem to gravitate to crafts that involve working with wool. There’s something about its smooth/soft/fuzziness or association with warmth or the feel of the stitching that gets me every time.
What a beautiful piece of work. I am attracted to crewel embroidery because of the dimension that is achieved with the simple medium of using gorgeous threads and needles.
Thank you for offering this as a give a way.
Jane in Arlington
Crewel work seems such an old style of needlework and I love that it is still done today. It has so much texture.
This piece of crewel is exquisite,the colours create a softness to the pattern. I enjoy crewel embroidery because you can put your own interpretation to the patterns or creaste your own.
I love crewel embroidery because of the beautiful use of color and wool. The design are timeless and elegant
Crewel embroidery is exquisite in the use of color and patterns. The designs are timeless, never go out of style and are immensely satisfying to execute. . It is an extremely satisfying and enjoyable craft. I love choosing the patterns and colors or following an established design.
The use of pattern and color in crewel is unsurpassing. I’m attracted to the intricacy of the designs and the use of color to execute the pattern. It is immensely satisfying and almost meditative when working a piece. Mary from Michigan
I am attracted to crewel embroidery as I love historical embroidery plus the textures and gentle shading that can be achieved. I have thoroughly enjoyed following your progress on your Late Harvest project and have learned so much. Tackling a piece of crewel embroidery is on my bucket list for this year. Thank you for all you do for fellow embroiderers.
Although I have not tried Crewel yet it has been on my to-do list for a while. What an incentive this would be.
Eileen from Australia.
Different textures…..changing colors to match your decor….learning new stitches…watching a piece come to life…..admiring the finished product…..love it all….thanks to both of you for this!
Lucious looking piece, reminiscent of the best
Venetian fabric designs. Crewel has the attraction for me, of rich texture and smooth satin.
Muchas gracias !!
Soy mexicana y admiro todo aquello que podamos hacer a mano! Me encanta ver terminados los trabajos y pensar que yo lo he hecho!! Es sentir !! Es emocionarme desde el momento mismo cuando veo algo que me gusta …lo imagino y luego sigo con pensar…crear…hacer y terminar!
Me encanta tu blog …gracias por compartir tanta experiencia!
Besos y abrazos !
Cecilia
I love any embroidery with wool especially crewel.
Just had a class with Phillipa Turnball as she was visiting down under NZ. So very exciting and rewarding. Finishing one of her kits ” Lady Anne’s Flowers”
My great grandmother had a framed crewel embroidery piece hanging in her living room. It was of a 3 story dollhouse. I always loved the picture and really wanted to learn an art that my great grandmother enjoyed.
I love this design, the colours are wonderful. Crewel embroidery utilises wonderful fibres in gorgeous designs, and I love the variety of stitches used in the designs.
I like how lush and textural it is. My primary needlework craft is counted cross stitch, and I love it (usually. it depends on whether or not I can count that day). But running my fingers over it is nobbly and bumpy and there’s none of the satiny smoothness or the rhythmic tick of lattice stitches.
Ilove crewelwork for many reasons. I love the textures,colors,contrasts and freedom to learn,experment, and relax. Everytime i take a needle in my hand i remember my grandmother. She had me sitting by her with needle,thread,and button jar before i was three. She tought me chain, lazy daisy, stem, and backstitch for my first piece. It was a pillowcase that she had drawn a flower garden on. She let me pick the colors. Years later i realized that it was an old pillowcase that she saved. I hope my grands will remember me with a needle in hand and hugs.
Really enjoy my emails from you Mary and heavily depended on your tutorials as I taught/teach myself embroidery. It was my love for crewel design , texture,technique that inspired me to take it up in the first instance. To see your post on la-serenissima crewel embroidery opened yet another door of wonder and inspiration to keep up my work. Thank you.
Hi Mary, I would love to win this pattern , it is just beautiful and I have been spending time on shading and this would give the perfect opportunity to work with wool and shading. thank you, Jeanette in Bowmanville
I like crewel embroidery as there are so many varieties of designs, colours and stitches. The colours of ‘La Serenissima’ are very beautiful. It would be a delight to stitch.
Hi Mary!
I am attracted to the design, colors and texture of crewel work. I’m familiar with a few embroidery tecniques but I’ve never tried crewel. It will be a new challenge.
Elegance and style. The beautiful lines and sophisticated look. What more could one ask?
Barbara N
Stanthorpe
Aust
c’est simplement superbe
et ce doit être très agréable à réaliser
Hi Mary,
what an inspiring design and a lovely give away. I love crewel embroidery mainly because I love using wool and quality linen.There are so many stunning designs available to day, I already have two Talliaferro designs on my to do list.
Melissa B
The truth is that I do not count well. Embroidery without holes is my favorite. I love creating beautiful art with a needle and thread. Seeing the image emerge as I am “painting” is so exciting. I would love to do this project and hope I am selected!
Crewel embroidery to me is color, color, color. I love watching a piece go together as the colors are mixed. Every new color brings joy!
What attracts me most to crewel embroidery is that I remember enjoying the kits I would stitch as a kid in the ’70s. And due to the gorgeous colors in this design, I love the opportunity to win this instructional guide. Thanks for the opportunity!
What attracts me to crewelwork? I love the voluptuous shapes, but most of all it’s the sense of history; the direct link with the embroiderers who have worked the same stitches for generations.
I love the stylized designs in crewel embroidery, and it is also fun to work in wool. It stitches up quickly, and can be forgiving when things don’t go exactly as planned. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!
I am in love with this piece. It is so elegant and a wonderful variety of stitches, which is always what draws me in! Can’t wait to find out who the lucky person is. keeping my fingers crossed!!!
Elena in Miami
I have been stitching with crewel yarns since I was a child when my favorite pieces were animals– which because of being in crewel, really looked furry! Today I do a lot of historical stitching with crewel and enjoy every moment. The yarns provide such texture, rich color, and depth to anything created.
Plus I love wool. I love the feel of the yarn. It has a calming effect, warm & fuzzy, yet at the same time crewel challenges us in design and skill. A very affirming experience in every respect.
When I was about twelve, I started spending my babysitting money on crewel kits. Crewel projects were the first needlework I ever did and they developed into a lifelong fulfilling needlepoint and crewel hobby. Many pieces that I made in my teens are hanging in my daughter’s home in places of honor.
My favorite crewel piece, which hung in my home, was destroyed in a flood. I love this piece and would be really excited to reproduce it for my own home. Thanks for the chance to win it! – TitleMom
I love the richness of the colors and textures achieved in crewel embroidery. Thanks for this fabulous opportunity!
I love the history of crewel work. I feel that it links me with all the other women since the 17th Century that practiced crewel embroidery.
I especially love the crewel work from Talliaferro. I went to Venice once. It was a life changing experience.
Thank you Anna for donating this.
What attracts me most to crewel embroidery is the variety of stitches and the textures that can be achieved. Also, it’s the first type of real embroidery I learned; I completed my first project that was nice enough for framing by the time I was 10. I’ve been away from crewel for years and I’m ready to dive back in with a gorgeous project.
I like the freedom of crewel embroidery and the ability to create a variety of textures in my work. You also have freedom to change up stitches as you please and not be too rigid about what you are doing. La Serenissima is a gorgeous piece and I would love the challenge of doing it.
What a gorgous design. I would love to stitch that. I have not done any crewel embroidery but what attracts me is the variation of stitches.
Tania
What i love most about crewel is the endless possibilities for creativity at a sophisticated level.
Elegance and grace combine to make memorable heirlooms for future viewing joy.
Thank you for this opportunity!
The first major project I ever did was a crewel throw pillow case and I loved all the flowers and bees and butterflies on it. (I was about ten, I think.) I really love the nature-inspired designs, and crewel can make me feel like an artist! (I can’t draw worth beans. Hmmm….beans in crewel….)
I just love all the different stitches, I love getting into the “zone” when I am stitching and I just love the way a finished piece looks
I like the feel of the wool. Also with wool thread you are able to get the look of a by gone era, that no other type of embroidery is able to capture.
Mary in Oregon
Simply gorgeous. I would be thrilled to get a chance to work it. Thanks!
I’ve been studying your posts for a year in preparation for a HUGE project. I am Norwegian. My grandmother was an exquisite stitcher and knitter. On my dream trip to Norway I was able to buy a kit to make a bunad, the traditional dress in Norway. Since this kit was OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive I’ve been studying and trying stitches before I actually touch the precious wool kit. Thanks so much for sharing your immense knowledge so freely.
The beautiful shadings that are possible to achieve and the infinite variations of design ranging from the simplistic to the intricate.
I love crewel embroidery because of the simplicity of the designs plus I love the colors used; especially the sage green and muted purple/lavenders. I especially like the paisley’s and the gorgeous vines and grapes. They are not difficult to do. I began crewel embroidery when I was a young girl in my early 20’s; now I’m a young 74. I bought & did a crewel black. bag kit from the Avon company and have never looked back. Doing crewel is fun and relaxing. I give away most of my crewel needlework. My problem is finding the time even though I am now a widow and am retired.
I do love wool thread to embroidery with. It has a lovely, dull sheen to it. While it does pill if your thread is too long, still worth working with. Love it.
I fell in love with a crewel piece a few years ago and HAD to do it immediately! It was the first embroidery project I had done since samplers when I was a kid. It started a now constant stream of embroidery projects and inspirations. I love that crewel can be so poppy and whimsical with the 3-d texture and the bright colors. This crewel piece looks like it would be just delightful to stitch!
Bonsoir,
vous avez raison de trouver la Sérénissima ,un projet
magnifique je ne connaissais pas ce site, mais quand je l’ai vu tout suite ,je l’ai trouvé superbe ,légère coloris doux , la forme est surprenante .Oui,j’aime Sérénissima ,j’aime travaux de tapisserie ,oui j’aime
Amitiés
Generally the muted earthy tones of the colours used for crewel tend to put me off. But I’m seeing better colour choices and then designs like this attract me. I think colour triggers me more than design or technique a lot of the time.
My mother dabbled in crewl when I was growing up and I have a framed piece in my bedroom. It is often the last thing I see before I go to sleep. Now that I am retired, I plan on adding crewl to my embriodery projects.
I enjoy embroidery especially crewel, as it is very rich looking and just fun to do.
I am attracted to crewel as I have never done it and from reading your newsletter and seeing examples of what can be achieved with gorgeous threads and obviously lots of patience with some aspects :-)I feel confident enough to approach this beautiful pattern. Oh..and would also be so proud to rock up to my volunteer day at our local Artisans Gallery, sporting my current project in action and hopefully inspire more folk to take interest in this form of stitching.
I love the fantasy look of crewel embroidery. The stitches and fullness of the designs are so forfilling. I would love to receive this patten. It is beautiful. Thanks for the opportunity.
I love the textures, the symbolism.
The soft wool in beautiful colors. The free flowing designs. Endless creativity.
What attracts me to Crewel Embroidery is the color blending
And shading techniques that can make some designs,
Especially floral, come to life as though REAL! Crewel
Embroidery also gives opportunities for different textures and
Depth of threads which, also, is fascinating to watch “come
Alive” as it is being stitched!
Mary, I so enjoy your tutorials and emails. I’m taken with your attaching the flat back crystals – ingenious!i I’ve been wanting to decorate a tshirt or two with some stones, like in the stores. I may utilize this! Thanks again.
When I was 13-14 yrs old a friend of my mother gave me a Paragon crewel embroidery kit – with Birch trees as the focus of the design. I am thankful this was my introduction to needlework because it allowed me to appreciate the fluidity of the vast offering of stitches (compared to cross-stitch)
This piqued my curiosity, since it was destroyed in a 2012 house fire, I did a quick search – voila “Crewel: Birch Tree Lane, by Paragon, stitched in the 1970’s.” Thank you
So in answer to your question – texture – design – variety
“What attracts you most to crewel embroidery?”
I am a total beginner, just started about a month or so ago. There are two types of embroidery that I want to focus on. (well, maybe 3, I don’t know if just plain old cotton floss on a good quality ground fabric is a “type”, if so, then 3 types) Those are crewel embroidery and needle painting! I love wool. I used to raise sheep and during fairs I was in a competition called “Ladies Lead” and what you have to do is come up with a coordinating outfits, for both yourself and the sheep you were showing (usually just a blanket for the sheep). That was the a lot of fun and the outfits had to be 80% wool. What really draws me to crewel embroidery are the deep rich colors that are used, much like the sample in the above photo. Those are the hues and shades that I love. When I crochet, I love a good wool yarn to work with as it is some of the softest yarn out on the market! Just something about your hands feeling the yarn go through your fingers is just one of the most relaxing and pleasant experiences I have found in my life. I haven’t tried crewel embroidery yet, I am working stitches in floss, as it’s least expensive, and once I become better, I will splurge and purchase high quality wool for my embroidery.
Good luck to all who are entering! Someone is going to be an awfully lucky person to win such a prize!!!
Hi, Mary, and thanks for this opportunity. Crewel embroidery is fascinating to me for several many reasons, but here are just a few. It’s attainable because each individual stitch is something one can master relatively easily; it becomes familiar but not boring. And, unlike more regimented techniques, there is room for artistic license and creativity. The fluid, organic shapes are just my cup of tea and Talliaferro designs make me swoon!
I think it’s a beautiful piece. I’ve been doing some needle painting and would love to try this gorgeous crewel embroidery.
Waouh this pattern is so beautiful in design and colors ! I love it !
As a beginner embroiderer I love crewel work It is relaxingi and the variation in stitches makes it fascinating and entertaining . I love it . The colours in La Serenissima are fabukous
I like crewel work as it is one of the most tactile of all embroidery techniques, and embroiderers have used crewel work for hundreds of years to embellish and adorn soft furnishings. However, it hasn’t remained static and has reflected the designs, stitches and concepts of whichever time it has been embraced. Talliaferro’s La Serenissima is another reincarnation of crewel work and it is so pretty it will be welcomed in homes for many years to come.
The design and the colors is this piece are superb – like the modern twist to it.
Like the variety of stitches in crewel embroidery and working with wool. Would so love to be the recipient of this give away.
I love the gorgeous colors, the soft wooly feel and the traditional, old-fashioned patterns. Transfers one right into a 17th century british drawing room!
I love the way crewel work looks so 3 dimensional. You can see and feel the stitches rise up above the fabric in a crewel work piece.
I love the traditional element of crewel, in addition to the fact that it is carried out with materials that are simple and easy to obtain.
Hi Mary,
Thank you for this opportunity!! What draws me most to crewel embroidery is the texture. Though with this project (La Serenissima) besides the texture, the colors and how the flower flows are what capture my fancy!
Once again thank you.
Jean B
Kent WA
Crewel work, wools on linen, in the past made such beautiful and practical wall hangings, curtains, and bed draperies. Different light through the day, and imagining lamp or candle lights, give the textures and colours very different looks from moment to moment. While I have never considered such a huge project for myself, I have often pondered the craftspeople who did that work hundreds of years ago, it was their way to make a living, and consider how lucky we are to have it for a hobby. (Sally-Ann Hoyne, Sanquhar, Scotland)
I love crewel work. This is most unusual and very creative. I would love to work on it. Thanks for the giveaways. You give your readers a chance to try new methods and designs.
When I stitched my first crewel piece it was like a door had opened wide and I was absolutely enchanted with the new stitches I learned. There were laid stitches, filling stitches, fancy stitches. I had no idea I could accomplish these new and exciting techniques. Up until that point I had only stitched cross stitch so this was an amazing revelation to see how to use other stitches and there are many more to learn. Crewel work kind of makes me go weak at the knees with the beauty of bringing it all together and the endless possibility of ideas to stitch whether you use crewel wool or thread. It’s an amazing technique with lots of opportunity to bring in your own colour, design and imagination. Ok I have to stop now because I’m slobbering on my iPad.!!
I, too,did crewel work years ago, typical floral patterns, fun but not exciting. Thhis takes crewel into the realm of needle art. I love the sensuousness of the flowing lines and would like to again take up this beautiful crewel piece.
I have always been attracted to the shapes and designs in crewel embroidery. Each and every design that is created is unique because no two people ever stitch the same way — most people won’t even stitch a design the same way twice! When I started working with crewel embroidery (many, many years ago) we were limited to fairly simple threads. I just love the design possibilities inherent in the new threads, fibers, beads and other things that can be incorporated.
I love different stitches and great result which can be created using wool. Also I like the feeling stitching with wool very much. Also I like the pictures very much. No matter if they are traditional or modern, they have something in common what attracts me very much.
I have loved the designs from Talliaferro for years!
What attracts me to crewel embroidery is the variety of stitches, the fact that the traditional fiber—wool—is fairly inexpensive, and that the designs are usually fantastical.
I just love the way it looks when it is well done… the colors, the texture, everything.
Elizabeth at Ordinary Time
What asked me to crewel?
I love the colors of the wool, it can be died so many wonderful colors.and The chance to get to use the sumptuous threads is exciting to me.
Thank you
Lisa
I love 3 things about crewel embroidery: the flowing forms, the many geometric filling stitches, it can be interpreted in many color schemes.
I learned crewel embroidery as a child from my mother. I have always loved using the colorful wool yarns, learning all the different stitches, and the wonderful designs. It provides so much texture. Thank you for the give-away chance.
I love the immense freedom that crewelwork techniques provide. It’s like textured painting.
I love the soft yarn ans the texture that can be created. It also reminds me of the crewel work I did as a child.
The first embroidery class I took as a young adult was in crewel embroidery. The teacher was excellent, very encouraging of my ability and she opened a whole new world to me. I love working with the wool threads, the shading and textures of the stitches. This design is beautiful and done in my favorite colors. Thank you Mary for your great blog.
Just looking at the pattern makes me want to stitch it. I have been doing a “certain” amount of cross stitch which I love, but the variety of stitches in crewel is something have haven’t done since . . .
The variety of stitches in crewel embroidery looks really really fun. I haven’t done any since I was a kid.
It is the beautiful combination of colours that combine to imitate movement and which makes this type of embroidery so pleasing to the eye.