We’re getting close! It’s hard to believe that a week from today is Christmas!
Shipping from the Studio
Here at the studio, we’re tying up last minute shipping. From Friday, December 20th through Thursday, January 2nd, the studio will be closed. You can still order from the shop, but we won’t ship again until January 2nd. In fact, we planned on today being our last shipping day, but I’ll pop in on Friday to tie up any orders that might still be lingering.
What’s Coming Up
We have a couple more give-aways in our Here Comes Christmas series, though. Today, I’ll announce the winners from Monday’s give-away and start up a new give-away for two beautiful books from Search Press North America.
On Friday, we will have another give-away, too, because we can, and it’s fun, so why not?
And next week – making a return appearance on Needle ‘n Thread after a slight hiatus – we’ll have an Eye-Spy puzzle for you for Christmas. So still a few fun things to look forward to before we say ta-ta to 2024!
Let us begin by getting the pressing business out of the way – that is, the winners of those stitch decks from Monday’s give-away… and they are:
Julie Anderson, whose favorite stitch is long and short. She says it always looks good, at least from a distance!
And Denise, who (ironically – weird thing about random) also said long and short is her favorite stitch, because you can do so much with it.
Yay! Lucky gals! I will send you both an email today!
RSN Essential Stitch Guide: Crewelwork
Today’s give-away will go to two winners. They will each receive a copy of the RSN Essential Stitch Guide: Crewelwork. I’ve reviewed this book here, but these copies are in the new format. The previous format was a much smaller book.
This is a great reference book and instructional book for crewel embroidery!
You’ll find step-by-step instructions, practice motifs, and more throughout the book!
For all the juicy details about this particular book, please check out my previous review of it. It’s a great book to have in your embroidery library, especially if you’re interested in crewel work or in general surface embroidery, since much of the stitching of crewel work can translate into all kinds of surface embroidery.
Give-Away Guidelines
If you would like to enter this give-away, please follow these guidelines!
This give-away has now ended. The winners were announced on Friday, December 20th.
1. Leave a comment on this blog post (you can follow this link directly to the correct place to leave your comment).
2. In your comment, answer the following question:
What was your favorite needlework project ever, that gave you the most pleasure working on it and / or the greatest sense of satisfaction when it was finished? Tell us about it!
(You must answer the question to be included in the give-away!)
3. No anonymous comments – please leave a recognizable name or nickname – and please make certain that your email address on the comment form is correct. We will contact the winner by email.
4. Leave your comment by Friday, December 20, 2024, 7:00 AM CST. I will draw two random winners on Friday morning and announce them that day, when I post the next Give-Away.
This give-away is open to anyone. We will ship overseas if the winner is outside the US. However, winners are responsible for any customs or duties.
Please note that your comment may not appear immediately. Comments are moderated, to keep the comment area free of spam. It will eventually show up!
My favorite project ever was stitching “Maureen” , the owl, from Hazel Blomkemp’s “Crewel Creatures” book. I had never done a stitching project as complex as this. I am not over fond of beading, so I substituted stitches for most of the beads. I learned a lot of new stitch techniques from this project. It was great fun.
My favorite project was a simple tea towel, one of Yumiko Higuchi’s wreath patterns. It was my first project back after a months-long hiatus due to illness, and the sheer pleasure of the colors and the feel of the thread friction just felt so right.
My favorite embroidery project so far has been Leafy Tree! I had so much fun with that one…I never got tired of those individual leaves. The finished product looks so good I have gotten compliments on it. Thank You Needle n’ Thread!!
My first project with my grandma Edith teaching me. A simple girl design but oh do I remember it! I was 10.
Favorite was Jean’s Jewel – a counted canvas piece by Jean Hilton. I became aware of her in the mid 90’s, when some of her patterns were out of print. This one took me 10 years to finish (not stitching full time). When I 1st moved to Texas and became aware of EGA, I walked into the meeting of a local guild and one of the members said “that looks like a Jean Hilton piece,” I knew I had found my home. It’s now framed on my wall – no glass, stitched in purple and gray.
I did a simple cross stitch of Audrey Hepburn, which turn out so well using sorbello stitch. I got so many wonderful comments from family, friends and strangers.
A sampler that I made for the county fair when I was a child in 4-H I won first prize and $5 whole dollars. I was 7 years old.
Great day!
Crewel designs were the 1st thing I stitched and still love them.
My most wonderful project was a needlepoint witch, quite a large funky witch, that I did over a year during the worst of Covid. I spent hours outdoors on our patio stitching in the sun. Black is easier to see in sunlight!! Merry Christmas!
My project that I enjoyed the most is one I call crewelzilla, because it was so big, almost 3 feet long. It was stitched with Caron Impressions thread which is a pleasure to use.
My favorite was my most challenging – Sue Spargo BOM – forced me to learn stitches I wouldn’t have otherwise!
My fave project EVER has been my crewelwork module for my RSN certificate. I called it El Cid and his Pineapple and featured my dog. Loved learning at the RSN
I love your newsletter! I’ve been doing hand embroidery since Mom gave me hoop, needle/thread and the 1950s iron-on patterns. I was probably 5 and it was 1956. In my later years I have 2 mega Baby Lock embroidery machines that accomplishes in about 2 hours which can take days with my handwork (I’m very picky). But…….ya know, when I’m doing all the foolishness of prep, downloads, positioning (re-positioning repeatedly), bobbin thread nesting, thread breaking etc. I always think — I could have had this mostly finished with needle and floss! Mary, your newsletter brings back all the memories of my Mom guiding my little fingers and kissing away any needle stick. Thank you so much!
Favorite project: my mom and I made an embroidered felt mobile foFr my oldest friend’s new baby using patterns from a women’s magazine from the 1970s!
My favorite needlework project ever was a large sampler I cross-stitched. Cross stitch was all I did for years. Now, I’m ready to learn more stitches.
After reading a children’s picture book, I saw a particular scene that I wanted to recreate in fabrics. I chose 100% felted wool and proceeded to make it all by hand. The construction, patterns and details were all done in various embroidery stitches. The outcome delightfully surprised me and I considered it one of my favorite pieces.
When I was a young girl I got a crewel kit. That was my introduction to needlework. I finished and gave it to my great grandmother. She was so pleased! She put it in a frame and displayed it. It passed to my grandmother and I discovered years ago in my grandmother’s drawer. That kit, and the joy I had in creating and gifting, was the start of a lifetime of stitching.
The embroidery project that brought me the most enjoyment was the “Elizabethan Angel” cross stitch pattern from the Mar-Bek Angels series. It was the most advanced piece I had done to date, it included blended threads — which was new to me at the time, it used Kreinik metallics, and it had LOTS of beads stitched on. A very intricate pattern, and definitely a challenge to stitch, it’s still one of my favorite pieces.
Favorite Project: I am in a Textile Arts group in Williamson County, IL (Little Egypt Arts Association). For the last several months we have all been making our own textile representations of the historic Tri-State Tornado that went through our area 100 years ago, March 2025. Mine includes appliqué, embroidery with 3 kinds of thread/yarn, and quilting. Doing these as a group project has been heartfelt and very satisfying.
An 18th-century Queen’s stitch pocketbook. I completed it when I was a teenager and it was the most ambitious project I had attempted up to that point. I still remember the immense feeling of satisfaction I had upon completing the project.
My favorite project was a cross stitched Halloween piece from a year ago I really enjoyed the whimsical pattern as well as the complexity. It involved a lot of backstitching, which taught me how effective the technique could be used for outlining and providing a background
My most favorite needlework piece so far was a sampler that I designed as part of an EGA class. We were given a set of stitches to use and were required to create our own sampler using all of the required stitches, plus others were selected. Although challenging, it was the best class for really learning new stitches.
I recall making a pillow top with crewel wool, all white, all different surface stitches — Rhodes, scotch, etc. – and I would wake up in the morning thinking about what new stitch was on the plate for that day. I gave it to my mom who, at 95 and in nursing care, still has it.
Merry Christmas, dear Mary.
An easy question! My favorite needlework project is a reproduced Mexican Sampler by The Essamplair – Maria Antoni. The sampler is gorgeous – stitched with many colors of silk which catch the light. I love the variety of motifs – bargello, animals, flowers – and stitches – even a beaded area. I keep hoping to find another sampler as beautiful as Maria. https://www.theessamplaire.com/browse.php/detail/341
Best,
L
My favorite piece in crewlwork was from a class I took In Connecticut in the 1980’s – it was a typical Jacobean design about 8×10 in size. The stitching came out very well done I thought. I gave it to my mother as a gift and now unfortunately do not know its fate. Perhaps it is a rescue by someone at a thrift store
The project I derived the most enjoyment from…. Was a custom piece I made for a co worker leaving. It was a Turkey beautifully embellished and the word Dinde (turkey in french) written repeatedly around. It was a bit of an inside joke.
Oh my goodness, so many projects from crewel to goldwork. My current and newly finished project was a goldwork embroideried Christmas tree. I love adding spangles and beads with metallic and DMC floss or silk threads. Thank you so much for giving the Christmas mitten project to your readers it is lovely.
My favorite project is a C.A. Wells design called Tri-Block Flower Cushion. It has beautiful and bright flowers. The Spirit of Cross Stitch class in 1997 included instructions for putting the cushion together. I have had it on display for 20 years. Still love it.
I love crewel stitches and the work they can produce. I have done 2 of Hazel Blomkemp’s designs and from there have gone on to some of my own. I would love to win one of these books to increase my skills more.
My favorite needlework project is the house portrait that I did of my son’s first house. It was fun to ‘construct’ the house with different stitches and it’s a lasting memento of their house.
The project that is my favorite is a Trish Burr project of a kingfisher. It was my first thread painting project and was challenging. I had to redo some sections to get the results I wanted but it turned out beautifully!
My most satisfying Piece of needlework was a blackwork piece that I did a number of years ago. I haven’t done any large pieces lately, but enjoy doing small things and experimenting with stitches.
Carol bu
My favorite project is the one I am doing right now, but I can’t reveal it because it is a surprise for someone
My favourite project was one that took me 2 years over the covid times. It is a globe I made for my daughter. It’s slightly bigger than a basketball!
Thank you for the wonderful giveaways.
Heather.
My favorite piece of needlework was a set of pillowcases I embroidered early on in my stitching journey. They were simple but I created the design and challenged myself with some of the stitches. It helped me see how far I had come. To this day I am still proud of them and using them makes me happy.
That is a hard question! I’ve done some cross stitch samplers with petit point and all kinds of unique stitches I’m proud of. I think my favorite, though is the Little Blooms snap purse. It was one of the first embroidery projects I had done in years. I bought two kits, and one of my daughters and I worked on it while we were on vacation in Hawaii, so it just holds great memories. She lost hers while on a trip, so I am going to make her another one on black linen!
The project I’m very proud of finishing is the stocking I stitched for my daughter. I finished it around three years ago. I designed it and embroidered it. It is a Christmas tree with embroidered ornaments that we actually have on our Christmas yearly. It was a relief to finish because it took three years to finish. Designing isn’t my forte just because my uncertainty and confidence are shaky.
My favorite needlework project was making a crazy quilt for myself. It took several years to finish and I would bring it with me to the beach to work on. I used sentimental fabrics from my daughters’ clothes that I made them and even had few vintage fabrics that my grandmother gave me. I loved the variety of fabrics, threads and stitches.
I made one of Marys snowflakes into a Christmas card for a lovely old lady I used to look after.She was so pleased with it.
I did a little french boy with ginger hair and a lace collar in a blue jacket is one of the most favorite pieces that I have done. It makes me feel good, as it has a happy mood to it.
I have recently started crewel embroidery. I don’t get around very well anymore, so I am setting a lot. This is relaxing for me, and I can do as much as I feel like doing. My favorite project was an embroidered outfit for my daughter before she was born! It was very satisfying to say that I did it myself. Thank you for all of the wonderful ideas. Betty
Although I am learning so much from you now, one of my first major embroidery projects was from Jennifer Reynolds of Australia. I made her booklet containing the 23rd Psalm. I still treasure it today.
My favorite stitched project ever was cross stitching Christmas stockings for my daughters family.
Favorite project ever was Blackwork Angel designed by Lesley Teare. I worked it in all metallic threads; gold, silver, and black. It won a blue ribbon at the county fair.
I enjoyed working on a stylized Christmas tree that incorporated beeds of various size and texture.
I would love this book. I used to do Crewel work all the time and would like to start back
I stitched Lady Anne’s Flower, a kit from the Crewel Work Company and could easily get hooked on crewel work! Would love to acquire this RSN book to inspire me.
A framed portrait of my beloved American Eskimo Dog Sadie I did in long and short stitch. ❤ She’s still with us at 16 and still vibrant and alert.
The needlework project I am most proud of was an anniversary sampler I made for my in-laws . It was on 32 count linen and was stunning when completed
My greatest pleasure of stitching was when my husband asked me to embroider a country house of his choice..
He showed me the house and l started, l added to the house our little dog and beloved cat and his chickens in the front garden..He was delighted with it..My mother-in-law saw it and she was entering a competition in the local craft fair and insisted l entered the embroidery..it was entered and won first prize. I keep the 1st Prize notice on the back of it and it hangs in our living room . ..Susan Jeffries, Ireland
I enjoy all my projects, but I love the quilt I made from Crabapple Hill’s Hocuspocusville. The wacky buildings are so much fun to embroider. I embroidered the buildings in purple thread on an orange sparkly fabric. Instead of satin stitching the various little round accents on the posts, etc, I used Swarovski crystals. I chuckle every time I look at it.
My favorite needlework project ever was a cross-stitch cushion that I made for my sister as a child. It was the first thing that I had ever designed, and then my mother helped me sew it into a decorative pillow when I was finished, and my sister kept it on display in her bedroom for our entire childhoods.
I made a very large Bargello Needlework for my Mothers 75th Birthday. It is 3 feet by 2 feet…it is the biggest project I have ever finished. I pinned it and framed it, she loved it.
Nannett McDougal
My favorite needlework project will always be my very first piece of needlepoint: a hand painted canvas with a ballerina and my name! My mother taught me to needlepoint almost sixty years ago and I continue to enjoy many types of needlework.
When I was 13 or so I bought a Swedish crewel kit. ( 1960’s) Abstract sailing ships. I made it for my Dad for Christmas. He had it beautifully framed and it hung in the living room in a place of honor. He is gone but of course, I have it still.
My favorite project is the one I’m working on now. It’s the last frame of the Movie Megalopolis. I wrote it in big letters on the back of a lab coat and I’m doing shadow letters (space around the letters are filled in, letters are left blank). It’s a hopeful project going into the new year.
Please enter me in the drawing!!
Happy Holidays Mary & Team!
Thank you for all you do
My favorite project was the Jacobean sampler I learned on. I had such a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when I was done!
About 50 years ago, I bought a Dimensions kit to make 4 felt Wizard of Oz characters that used both sequins (!) and embroidery. I was already sewing my own clothes at the time, but this kit opened up a new world of decorative stitching and creating for me, and I’ve never stopped. I have moved on to more sophisticated needlework. But I still have those ornaments, and they are on our Christmas tree every year. Thanks so much for the wonderful give-away opportunities!
The piece I’ve enjoyed the most in recent years is Elliot the Elephant by Toni Gerdes. So many areas of fun stitches which were always fun and in his bright colorway, a joy to stitch. The use of beads added to the fun of stitching this piece. I also ventured out by using beads to stitch the tusks, padding them for dimension. Quite a reach for me, but most fulfilling.
Please enter me in the giveaway
Happy Holidays
My favourite needlework project, that gave me great satisfaction when I completed it, was a piece taught by Kate Barlow for the Royal School of Needlework. It was a reproduction of the World War I postcards sent home by the soldiers overseas. It was comprised of simple stitches such as stem, satin and straight stitches using silk thread on silk organza. I had never used the silk thread before and I wanted that challenge. I wanted to feel what the women must have felt when they stitched or received these postcards. I have a greater appreciation for all of the WWI cards in my personal collection.
My favorite embroidery: It was a COVID project.
A tenango embroidery.
I don’t remember how I stumbled on it, but seeing one sent me reading what I could find to learn about the tradition.
Finally, I bought a pattern. The repetitive stitching to cover the fabric was soothing. Using so many bright colors was uplifting. And the jumbled disarray of flowers, leaves, animals and birds showed the beauty that can be found even in disorder. Maybe, especially in disorder.
A 3D textile sculpture based on a local legend about 7 troublesome daughters. I spent 5 months creating it, it’s a metre high and I won a prize for it so I m very proud of it.
My favorite project was an embroidered version of Van Gogh’s ” A Starry Night”, that I gifted to my daughter. It is one of her favorite works of art.
I guess I am still working on some that could become favorites, but my favorite completed project is a French Etui in black silk dupioni with pink and green ribbon embroidery and a pink silk lining. It is from Sew Beautiful Magazine designed by Gloria McKinnon of Australia. I love it not only because it is beautiful, but because I was able to successfully use the cartonnage techniques I had learned. It also has lots of ribbon and embroidery techniques in it that look so complicated, but are really fairly simple to learn and execute!
I’m currently working on my first decorative stitch project. My daughter’s Christmas dress. It is simplistic but I’m enjoying it so much!
Well, it’s rather silly but I really liked and felt a sense of accomplishment with my Mill Hill Christmas Canada Goose. I made it for my sister, and it was my first time working with beads. 🙂
My favorite project was a cross stitch biscornu
I love your website I have learned so much and when I forget how to do a stitch I go to your tutorials , they are awesome. Bonnie
In 2009 when our daughter in law Trudi was terminally ill I came across a pattern in a needlework magazine that depicted a young woman with curly dark hair and tipped up nose. She was wearing a luscious red coat and steely blue wide brimmed hat. She looked like Trudi and had a cheeky air about her. I found a tiny count cross stitch linen and just about went cross eyed stitching the very subtle colour changes. It was to be the last birthday present for Trudi. When it was done I found a button from my Mother’s tin and my closest friend gave me a hat pin. It was framed with a triple mat, and Trudi just loved it. It now hangs on my bedroom wall.
After a health crisis in 2023, I returned home wondering what creative activity I could do to brighten my days as I could no longer dress my large floor loom. I started embroidering and beading a series of thirteen floral applique pieces to put in a tri-fold wooden floor screen designed to hold 10″ x 12″ photographs. It took me several months but the final result was lovely and the effect on my physical and emotional health was wonderful.
My favorite project was a cross-stitched biscornu I made to use on one of my bobbin lace pillows! I filled it with crushed walnut shells that I put into a muslin bag I sewed in the shape of the biscornu, and it came out really well. I’m very happy with it!
My most favorite embroidery project ever was a baby quilt I did while pregnant with my second child. The quilt blocks (12×16) have the most adorable patterns of dolls, trains, balls, blocks, rocking horses, clowns and a jack-in-the-box! I did the blocks in various embroidery stitches and bright colors! Everytime I see the quilt, it still makes me smile and remember the happiness I had making it.
(p.s. my son is now 40!)
My most satisfying embroidery project is a t-cap baby bonnet that I designed, from the modified shape of the bonnet, the embroidery design and the tatting that edges it. I was honored and humbled to be published with this design in the closing issue of publication of Classic Sewing Magazine. There is also a baby gown I made to match it with a medallion spot of embroidery on the front and embroidery between each buttonhole on the back.
To date, Late Harvest, by Hazel Blomkamp has been the project I have enjoyed the most. The use of different elements and threads keeps me interested, and I can hardly wait to finish one part of the pattern so I can move on to another part.
My favorite embroidery project was a cross stitched sampler stitched on linen; I stitched this for my daughter’s room and it has been used in both of my granddaughter’s nurseries–so that was a real plus! It took me quite a while to complete but is very pretty in pastels. Now I need to find out where it is being housed!!! I know it is not with my daughter because she has 3 boys!!!
Jane Cely
The needlework project I enjoyed most was doing a cross stitch sampler when my sister was expecting her first baby. I was doing lost of cross stitch at the time and got it complete, except for the baby’s name, date and weight by the time he was born. He was th first baby in my family. Then I just needed to add the information to it and it came out so nice. Wow, that was 35 years ago and he’s getting married this June. Making a quilt for him and his fiance for the wedding.
What was your favorite needlework project ever, that gave you the most pleasure working on it and / or the greatest sense of satisfaction when it was finished? Tell us about it!
Usually, it is the last piece that I just finished. If I look back at everything that I have stitched and finished, it is really heard to choose. Probably the favorite ones are the ones I stitched to celebrate something for family (My parents 50th Anniversary sampler, my brothers (both of them) 25th Anniversary Samplers, my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding sampler and my two grandchildren’s birth samplers.
My favorite needlework project was a realistic, photographic cross stitch portrait I made for my cousin of her great grandson. She loves it!
My most satisfying project was a needlepoint kneeler for my church. 6 other women & I worked over a year making kneelers. I estimated mine took around 500 hours to complete. I worked on it almost daily, putting all of my other needlework aside during the process. It’s very satisfying seeing our beautiful work when I take Communion!
Love your work!
My favorite project was a birth sampler that I made for my best friend’s new baby girl. It was a candle wicking but with ribbon flowers
Happy Holidays
It started with a class with Calgary’s Jeannette Douglas at our national seminar. It was a stitch sampler and rather than doing it as a framed sampler, I designed a box and put various panels with different stitches on each of the 6 sides, top and top inside. It was my ‘ode’ to Prince Edward Island, where Seminar that year was held and where my Mom was born. Truly a labour of love. Sandra
The project that brings a smile to my face every time I look at it is a Kindle case I adapted from notebook cover from Lynette Anderson’s Nautical Quilts book. However, the project that gave me the most satisfaction was “Maureen” the owl from Hazel Blomkamp’s Crewel Creatures as I had never attempted anything remotely like it before, and it took me sooooooo long to complete it that finishing alone was an achievement!
I always enjoy your blog and especially your Christmas give-aways!
I have mostly done canvaswork. I especially like painted canvas because I enjoy using various fibers and stitches to create patterns and texture to enhance the underlying painting and make things more lifelike!
I would like to do more surface embroidery though and would love this RSN book on Crewelwork.
My favourite needlework project was doing family Christmas stockings. Loved them. Not technical nor complicated but the most satisfying.
My favorite project tends to be the one that I am working on currently! But looking back, I really enjoyed Cotton Quartet from Needle and Thread…. there was something meditative about the all white straight lines with the different stitches and different thread types, and I use it ALL the time. During the finishing step I added a little strap to the inside with some of the extra gingham and use it to clip a row of Wonder Clips next to the scissor pouch so I am always reaching for it for needles, scissors or clips. I’m only sad that I rarely close it with the pretty blue ribbon since I have it open so much.
I made my first big project for my great granddaughter. I embroidryed animal print squares then made a quilt! I am working on a pre print quilt for a great grandson that has combination Crossstitch and embroidery! I started 2 years ago at 72y/o with corner bookmarks for friends.
My favorite needlework project that I’ve finished recently was Mary Clayton by HATS. It was my first reproduction crosstitch project worked with silks on linen. I have returned to crosstitch after many years of quilting and am loving thinking about the young girl who originally stitched this, which has also inspired me to learn different stitches in other projects. I’ve seen the reviews of the book you are so generously giving away and really am excited to learn many more stitches from this book.
My crewel work foot stool.
I have lots of favorite projects, but but one of my favorites is The Wizard by Dorothy Lesher. During the class I had problems with the teacher, so had a hard time working on it. With the encouragement of a good friend, who was in the class with me. I finished it twenty years later in April 2021. When I went back to it during Covid, I enjoyed working on it.
I love this book. It colorful and full of good stuff. It’s attractive to newer stitchers who want a current and easily accessible book
Ironically (considering the subject of the give away) was a Jacobean tree of life crewelwork design by Lucy Barter. It was the basic tree comprising trellis, billions, fishbone, van dyke, woven wheels, heavy chain, and many more stitches. It was a great project that advanced my knowledge of surface embroidery. What I loved was the selection of animals for stitching. I chose the squirrel and used turkey stitch for his tail. So fun!
My favorite needlework piece was a hand embroidered label for my “Mother & Daughter Against Breast Cancer” quilt I made. It was the most rewarding because my daughter was in the fight and this was just another special touch to the quilt I made for her to keep her warm during chemotherapy.
My best needlework project ever was a cross stitch baby pillow that I made for my first daughter. It brought me great satisfaction that I could make something for her while I awaited her arrival.
My most favorite needlework project to date was a needlepoint of our house in Haverhill, where we lived when my son was born. I so enjoyed doing it adding the embellishments for the flowering bushes around the home, calculating the number of planks on the siding and working them into the design, generally just putting in all the features, (walkway…roof…shaded porch….into the design). It was a big project for me at that time, but so satisfied with it when it was completed.
Asking about a favorite project is like asking about a favorite child! So many . . . but one which I enjoyed stitching is Jane Austen’s Workdesk, designed by Jackie du Plessis. Inspired by one of my favorite authors, the beautiful handmade work desk contains a set of lovely stitched needlework accessories. It also contains a panel on the bottom, a sampler of stitched patterns that would have been popular during the early 19th century.
Unquestionably: Victoria Laine’s Sweete Bag from Inspirations #99.
My greatest needlework joy is the first goldwork piece using my own design. I was lucky during the Covid era to get a boot camp in goldwork from world famous teachers who had begun to teach online. In doing a piece based on my own design I felt I moved from “craft” to “art.”
My favorite project was my first pillow with crewelwork. I was so proud of that pillow. I gave it away to a dear friend for her birthday.
I had embroidered items for birthday gifts for my three daughters and wanted to do something for my son. What to do for a 50 year son? I decided to stitch the face of Fea his Sphinx cat (hairless), on a shirt pocket It was the most fun embroidery! It gave me a lot of satisfaction and pleasure. And son Jeffery wore it to work A LOT when he still had to wear white shirts. I worked from a photo.
I have tried to copy photos in here but can’t. which I think is wise on your part – you would have more photos than you ever need! but, if you’d like to see them, I will send them
My most proud accomplishment as a stitcher is a a Jacobean Crewel Embroidery sampler I completed for my certification at the Royal School of Needlework. It has over 25 unique stitches and I received full marks in the critique.
My favorite needlework piece ever is kind of hard to pin down. When you have been stitching for 50+ years you have many favorites! As the book is all about crewel (my favorite technique…) I would have to say that my favorite crewel piece is a basket of roses I completed as a gift in 1983. It had about 10 different shades of pink! Separating out those colors was difficult as so many of them were so very close in shade!
My favorite project that I ever did had to be an Elmo I made for my granddaughter who was a baby at the time, who is now a freshman in high school. Elmo was entirely done in French knots. How “knotty” is that? My fingers were hurting by the time I got done but it was worth seeing her little face so happy about Elmo. I should have counted the knots!
My favorite crewel project is a birth sampler I did for each of my kids. Not only sentimental but I really enjoyed making them.
My favourite piece I ever made was a Peace for Ukraine floral design, in 2022. It was a design by a Ukrainian artist and I found it meaningful to stitch, and beautiful in the finish. There were a wide variety of stitches included so it was just the right level of challenge and so relevant to spend time working on.
I embroidered a baby blanket for my son 22 years ago, and now it is being passed down to my grandchild, which gives me great joy!
I do reproduction crewel embroidery. Initially it was to keep my hands busy in a period-appropriate way when volunteering at historical sites. My longtime fellow history nerd and matron of honor at my wedding years ago does demos of 18th-early 19th century natural dying techniques at these historical sites, and she provides most of my wool crewel embroidery thread.
My very favorite embroidery project to date was to design and stitch (with thread she had dyed) a valence for a window in her house. It took me almost a year to do it, since it was very densely covered with period-appropriate figures, most of which were references to things that were meaningful to us. I even put together a little picture book for her on the making of the valence showing the work in progress and the inspiration for specific figures.
Favorite project was Tanja Berlin’s Burrowing Owl. I learned Thread painting and was extremely happy with the result.
Hi Mary! Gosh, how can Christmas be only a week away? Yikes! The embroidery project that gave me the most satisfaction was actually a cross-stitch project. I did the 23rd Psalm and every time I read “He Restoreth My Soul”, I felt like I could breathe a happy sigh of contentment!
Last year I embroidered the yokes and cuffs of a western cut shirt for my son, who is a board game enthusiast. He plays a Star Wars themed game and at tournaments he plays as General Grievous. I used Geievous’s mask and insignia to create what, at first glance looks like a typical embroidered western shirt, but his gaming buddies really appreciated the Star Wars arcana. Wish I could post a picture. The colors really looked good on the dark teal colored shirt.
My faavorite work a canvaswork that had many new stitches for me. That favorite stitch was Bargello. It was centered with a bee in the middle and was quite challenging. It was given too friends who are bee keepers and it hangs nicely in their living room.
My favorite needlework project was an embroidery book I made for my niece. It had several pages and incorporated beads, felt and appliqué, it was a lot of fun and I felt bereft when it was done.
My COVID isolation gave me the opportunity to complete a project I often dreamed of doing, making a new white vestment set for my church. This was a larger project than I have ever done
I designed, embroidered, and sewed
the set. It was presented to my parish for Easter a couple of years ago.
I took up embroidery about 10 years before and have been working with a marvellous group of volunteer Needleworkers since 2003 and I still love going to meet with them every week.
I always think it is the last project I did which was a hedgehog with Autumn leaves on it. It is still sitting on my sewing cabinet even though it is no longer the season for it.
thank you for the opportunity to receive this beautiful book
Hi!
my favorite one is actually my very first one!..I did a cushion for my 1st grand daughter Charlotte , embroidered her name on it with 3 rabbits which was her room’s theme. It turned out really good and I was so proud to be able to do this for her!
Merry Christmas to you!
A tiger swallowtail butterfly, completed decades (don’t ask how many!) ago. It was done mostly in long and short stitch with satin stitch for the body and eyes, about 4×6 inches, on a white cotton background. It was the very first project that I completed all the way through framing and hanging. What makes it so special to me is that it proved to me that I *could* be an artistic person, and encouraged me to continue on this incredibly amazing and satisfying journey.
I completed a landscape picture of a Scottish croft using needle painting . It’s a small picture and I’m still in awe with the fact I did this.
My favorite needlework project was when I embroidered my rendition of a GPR (greater pacific region) seminar logo. I used fabric and threads of different weights/ textures, figured out how to stitch in sequence and make it look realistic (forest w/ mountain scene and river), and yet simply enough to be used as a patch. I am to this day very proud of it.
My favourite piece that I ever stitched was a $20 pattern kit I picked up at Michael’s that was a Santa holding 3 teddy bears. My sister at that time had a whole Christmas tree that was Boyd’s Bears and I thought at that price this will be a great gift for her!
Well it took me close to 2 years to cross stitch it and it looks absolutely lovely hanging on a wall in my home! lol
My favorite project was Cynthia Jackson’s Astrolabe. It is an intense goldwork project. I can’t tell you how long it took me to make a circle of cut gold pieces around a padded form all placed at a 45 degree angle! It is so easy to lose the angle, backing up often to find the error and start again. That was only a small portion of the actual project. I persevered and it is my favorite project and biggest accomplishment!
I made a hand embroidered rabbit wall hanging 18 by 38. It is so sweet.
Gee, this should be an easy one! But it is NOT!! I have been sitting here thinking about it for about 20 minutes! (It did make me think back over projects!!) I was proud of the stomacher I embroidered for my 18th century ballgown. I was proud of the3 stumpwork pieces I did under the guidance of Jane Nicholas. I was proud of a near-finished Chatelaine design (Edwardian Flower Garden) that was a 12-installment project. And proud of a near-finished 17th century totally beaded piece under the guidance of Rachael Kinneson. All of these pieces were intense and out of my comfort range (at the time). I was proud because I persevered and I like looking at them!! Onward and Upward!!
My favorite work so far is the thread painting I did of my cat based on a photo I took. I transferred the outline and facial details to create a general pattern. Then I just stitched from the photo. The stitched cat has received rave reviews from my fellow (local) stitchers and neighbors. It is framed and hanging on the wall of my work room. It looks just like him, and so I feel like I accomplished something good with that effort.
my first surface embroidery dish cloth
My favorite project was a jewel box where I incorporated little crystals and embroidered treasures inside a wooden box.
My favorite needlework project is a Jacobean design in DMC cotton including some DMC Variations by Alice Okon in July 2010 Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine. It was my first surface embroidery project (except for a pincushion I did as a child) and it turned out beautifully. It took a lot of hours as I did it with a single strand instead of two but that resulted in smooth satin stitch that with the shine of DMC floss almost looks like silk. It gives me great satisfaction seeing it framed for many reasons but some are – it is finished, I did at least one hour every day and did not get distracted by other projects and it only cost me about $20. It is the only time I have bought a magazine without hesitation and started a project right away – and finished it. I didn’t even need to buy any supplies.
I did a small cross-stitch portrait of my husband. I was happy with how it turned out and how well it depicted him on such a small canvas.
This is a tough one because so many needlework projects have given me joy and a sense of satisfaction when finished, but I think a canvaswork project I did in high school may qualify. I found and fell in love with the pattern while browsing in a needlework shop on a visit to my grandmother and the shop owner was convinced it was too difficult for me and that my skills would not be sufficient for the job. I finished the piece with its many different stitches in blue and white wool (easily) and we made it into a pillow that my mother displayed proudly in her bedroom for over 30 years. The inner satisfaction of knowing that I had judged my own capabilities correctly in the face of such skepticism from the experienced adult shop owner was a seminal moment in my young life.
My favorite project is my current one. My nephew was married in a circle of standing stones on the moors last year. It was a very romantic setting. Just lovely.
This project began long before the event. My nephew and his partner met with my dear friend who card wove a handfast for them . They picked out patterns. That held meaning for them and joan and i picked out the threads. It took months for the weaving . Once done i did a wrapped fringe on the piece. I commissioned a beautiful sherry box to store this heirloom. I lined the inside with a dark natural linen embroidered with oak leaves and acorns. The whole project was magical . I designed the embroidery and even dyed some of the thread with natural dyes. My intention now is to make a small book to go with the piece that introduces the participants and talks about the processes and the meaning of the symbols used.
My favorite needlework project of the hundreds that I have completed over the years was the advent calendar that I cross stitched 50+ years ago and the 30+mini -cross-stitched ornaments for the advent calendar and small artificial tree where each day one was taken from the advent calendar and placed on the tree. My daughter has the calendar and ornaments (minus the one that I kept to wear on a chain that I wear during the Christmas season).
My absolute favorite project I ever worked on was a sampler I had designed to look very old, stitched on antique linen and using vintage floss. I was so happy when it was done and loved how it looked!
It wasn’t the most enjoyable but certainly the most satisfying project I’ve finished was Dorcas Haynes Sampler by Scarlet Letter. This was because at the time I stitched it, I found it technically more difficult than my normal projects and I was so pleased with how it looked when finished. Thank you for the opportunity.
Following the death of my father, I stitched a picture/motif featuring grapes on vine, olive branches in the 4 quadrants of a cross. The cross was gold and I used the lovely matte of flower threads. It was such a grieving come healing process. I added the names of my Dad and Mum following her death and then donated the framed item to be hung in the chapel of the church they attended. My Dad had made much of the items (altar, candle holders) for the chapel. It seemed so complete to honour my parents doing a craft so dear to my heart.
I made wool applique wall
Hanging a few years ago and I always look at your stitching for ideas
My favorite so far was a vintage crewel kit of daisies and other flowers. Nice variety of stitches and colors without being overwhelming!
My favoeite piece is a sampler of the Goveners Palace in Williamsbiurg, Va. It is a “stamped” piece that I received for Christmas. I spent many hours in my friends backyard stitching away. It is less than perfect but, I feel it started my path of embroidery for the next seventy years. It still hangs in my livingroom today.
My favor tie ever, at least so far, was a blouse that I embroidered a peacock on the back of. It was totally freehand, with no pattern and just grew from inspiration. The tail ended up covering the whole back of the blouse.
I think my favourite crewel work was a Style of Deerfield Embroidery by Peggy Kimble. That was the start of my journey. The next one I did was Poppies by Luan Callery because I love poppies. Peonies and Pear Blossoms by Creative Circle is almost done and I have Owlfred by Hazel Blomkamp waiting in the wings.
My favorite needlework projects are practical items that can be use/worn, and not just displayed. So satisfying to have an object used in daily life.
I am working on my favorite embroidery project now. It is a Halloween wool applique quilt. Pattern is a P3 design. I have enjoyed doing this pattern in wool with embroidery enhancing the pattern. Lots of hand work but I am enjoying the journey.
My favorite project ever was a cross stitch I made and framed for my sister-in-law, Ruth. She collected black and white cow things — anything. So the cross stitch I made for her was a beautiful pattern that was a take on the Grant Woods’ American Gothic painting. The two faces in the painting became cows in the cross stitch — it was the best one of that type that I had ever seen and it kept me smiling the entire time I was working on it. I was smiling because it was for Ruth and I knew she would love it and because it was so darned good. It cost me many times more to frame it than to stitch it but that did not matter — it was a beautiful thing. I made it around 1988 and it still hangs in a place of honor today — I feel very good when I see or think of it.
My favorite piece was a cross stitch design from the 90’s. It was Floral Finesse. The designer did it as a tribute to DMC and it used (at the time) all 290 DMC colors. I stitched it on black over one and it is gorgeous. It hangs in a place of honor in my living room where I can appreciate it every day.
My favorite piece I did for my nephew and his wife for their wedding. It was large 20×20. It had their initial in the middle very styalized. At the top was their names. At the bottom the wedding date. Since then I had a request for three more which I have finished. Not as large!
I think my most favourite project to stitch and gave me the most enjoyment was The Wren from Jenny Adin-Christie. When I look at the little wren I remember what a joy it was to stitch each segment .
Sue Thomas.
I designed and completed an 8X8 bead embroidery piece with thousands of beads in many shapes, patterns, and colors. It took about six months to complete. I did it just to prove to myself that I could. It serves no purpose except to be pretty. I keep it in my curio cabinet on top of a crystal bowl.
There have been many but I embroider vintage handmade children’s clothing which a friend sells. I love thinking about how long these items will be kept and how many generations will have the opportunity to enjoy real hand embroidery. It’s especially nice when a design is requested that I have never done before. It’s challenging and a little scary but when the buyer loves it , I am thrilled.
The project I’m most satisfied with is the sew along bejeweled pincushion project we did last year. I altered it by lining the box and putting a hinge on the lid. I made one for each granddaughter and the boxes are now their prized possessions. (They love the little honey bee charm!
I love learning new stitches so my fav project is constantly changing to be the last one I did where I learned something new! Right now that is the Meadow Medley embroidery from EGA where I learned a lot more about long/short stitch
I had the opportunity to learn from Susan OConnor . I stitched her Partridge learning thread painting with long and short stitches, and did so in silk threads for the first time ever. So rewarding!
I loved stitching the crewelwork piece Glamis Dog
My favorite needlework project was completing a hardanger and cross stitched piece for a jewelry box. It was a birthday present for my best friends 60th birthday and 2 weeks before it was to be finished I had eye surgery. I ended up stitching mostly by feel (only had about 40% of vision after the surgery) and got it done! The amazing part was after I could see again, one couldn’t really tell where I stitched with full vision and where i had almost none.
It was definitely a miracle!
I have really enjoyed doing embroidery on The Gingerbread Village buildings. I have one more to do thank you. Janis
Inspired by the inner cover pages of a book I did an embroidery piece showing life along the Nile – fish, hippos, reeds, people, buildings, boats, but no pyramids!
I found this embroidery Call for submissions from the San Francisco school of needle art. They gave you metallic thread bits and bobs courtesy of Kreinik. 🙂 I loved that project because I hadn’t used metallic threads before.
The other satisfying thing I did was a thread painting of a penguin named Timmy from the New Zealand Aquarium (for a friend named Tim.) I just made it up! All I could do was to apply my regular painting knowledge. It was so much fun.
Xo to all –
I stitched the reproduction sampler “Laura Standish” years ago. It was a real challenge, but ai loved it.
I have to say the most memorable for me was waaaay back in the mists of time, when I was a teenager… (I just turned 71 Dec. 13th). I had purchased a black satin fabric embroidery design to make for my mother for Christmas. I started it in spring colors, and then wasn’t happy with it. So ripped it out and began with fall colors (it was 2 deer in a woodsy setting.) I’ve never seen anything like it/them again in all my years. (I also bought one of a peacock for me on the black satin). I found it in a Woolworth’s store, when they had an aisle of that sort of thing. (Oh, for those days again). Then, after all that, I set it aside and sort of “forgot” about it- until Dec. 23rd. I literally did not go to bed that night, but sat thru that day, night, and a good portion of the next day frantically trying to finish it! I made it! Sadly, years later moths got into the frame she had it in on the wall and ate the fabric to bits. 🙁 So, that’s my sad/goofy memory. Everything else afterward has just been “normal”. LOL.
My favorite was the portrait I did of my niece’s dog, a Boston Terrier named Layla. It came out very well, and it was delightful to see her come alive with needle and thread. They just love it, and want me do do more pet portraits. They just love their dear girl, so this was done with lots of love for her and for them.
My favourite needlework project was a cross stitch peacock design by Theresa Wentzler. It’s about 12 x 18 inches and it took about 2 years to complete and I loved the details in the pattern. It now proudly hangs in my dining room.
My favorite project was “Roses” by Di Von Niekerk. It was my 2nd class in sil ribbon work and I had to beg to get into it. I was persistent as I really loved it ! I succeeded !!! It has already started with rework so I hustled to catch up. To shorten the story – I loved working on it – and learned so much. I ended up entering it in the Orange County Faire and !!!!! I won 1st place for Silk Ribbon, 1st in Division, and Best of Show for needle arts. What a thrill. (For the record, I haven’t won a Best of Show since, and by winning then, I am placed in “Master Class” which means judging is even more picky !! Meanwhile I smile every time I look at it.
It’s hard to pick a favorite! A project that gave me great satisfaction was a piece a cross stitched for my parent’s wedding anniversary that was part of a clock. They loved it!
My favorite needlework piece was a present I made for my mother probably 40 – 50 years ago. It is a a bouquet of violets in a lace edged hanky with a sewn double lace pseudo-lace border around it. It came out just beautiful and wonder of wonders my mother liked it! She was very hard to please and whatever you gave her was never quite right. But this one she did like, kept it until her death, and I have it hanging in my bedroom
My favorite was a needlepoint of bird of parades that took a blue ribbon at our local fair
I enjoy your blog so much. I was really into embroidery and crewel many years ago. Then I tried quilting and really enjoyed EPP. However, when I found your blog during Covid isolation I really dug back into embroidery again. You have wonderful directions & projects. Thank you for all the time you spend putting this together
My favorite Needlework of all time is a cross-stitch project. My favorite type of embroidery is crewel but I saw this crossstitch pattern and just had to make it. It’s The Last Supper, designed by Leisure Arts. It took me 4 years to finish it primarily because I got sick. It’s done and hangs on the wall next to our dining table.
My favorite project ever was from an EGA seminar class taught by Terri Bay. It was a square piece of Ukrainian Whitework embroidery. It changed every day I stitched it due to the light playing across the different stitches. It’s beautiful
Other than a crystal rosary that I never got to use because my mother kept it, I never won anything. How nice it would be to win once, for Christmas…lol
My favorite piece was a Trish Burr pattern of an Owl on a branch. I purchase her book when I started to embroider, and with the help of UTube and the book, I manage to create a very well done embroidery. With this first work of embroidery, I learned a lot from reproducing the pattern of fabric to splitting threads, and using a magnifier. I just love her work. And mine, most of the time.
Happy Holidays to you and your closed ones.
Carole From Canada.
My most favorite stitch in the Holbein stitch. It is relaxing and can be a challenge at the same time.. one summer I started and finished a piece called Spanish Wine (I believe) which is about 90% blackwork. I was so intrigued with the stitch, I finished the piece in about 2 months.
In 2014 I stitched a Victorian Posey collection that I really enjoyed making and had framed for our bathroom, I love it and it is large. I had taken a class the year previously with a Royal .school of Needlework teacher at Mawai in BC and was very inspired
My favorite mixed media embroidery project (so far) was the one I did that was inspired by screen shots from Alfred Hitchcock movies, including “Psycho”; “Vertigo”; “The Birds”; “Rebecca”; and “Dial M for Murder.”
By far the Chase Sampler from the Examplarey. The colors, the counted work and then the embroidered scene. This year the original is on exhibit at the DeWitt in Colonial Williamsburg. I’ve been to see it twice
I think it may be Teresa Kogut’s “Halloween” which has 1930s Halloween artwork vibes. I may like the “Holland Springtime” chatelaine by Martina Rosenberg that I’m working on now the most when it is done.
My favorite piece was a canvaswork picture of a chair that I designed and stitched in a design course. I enjoyed going from idea to finished product and getting a good final result!
My most favorite piece of needlework which truly gave me such pride was a 25th anniversary sampler I made for my husband (that was 25 years ago, time does fly). I designed the band sampler by adapting and re-charting designs from some of the most amazing artists. The bands include cross stitch, pulled thread, cut work and some gold work. I had hoped to complete a special 50th anniversary this year but I am trying to learn more embroidery to be included in the piece; it is still only in my mind’s eye at this time. But I hope to take it further in the year ahead. It’s never too late to celebrate a golden anniversary!!
I stitched a snowman with snow flakes falling. scarf, and mittens. The border is red berries on a vine. He looks like he’s excited that it is snowing. Under it says let it snow. It was a Christmas present for my sister who loves snowmen.
My favorite needlework project was a dandelion with a turkey stitch for fluff. I had never done this before and it seemed to take forever. It was satisfying to trim the fluff evenly.
Frank the Zebra designed by Hazel Blomkamp. I learned how to be comfortable going from wool to cotton in Crewel Embroidery.
Probably the most satisfying project was a simple one and my first one. It was a set of stamped embroidery pillowcases I completed at an early age! Nothing outstanding, but when I had finished I felt a great sense of accomplishment and it made me feel like needlework was something I could really enjoy and learn more about. It also made me reflect on all of the wonderful pieces my mother and grandmother had done, and when I had completed that project, I felt like I now shared one more connection with them.
I have a wall hanging in my kitchen which shows pots of rosemary, lavender and dill on a shelf, along with a trowel and fork plus a little beehive and a bee flying. It used a variety of stitches. The border is a green tone on tone butterfly print and I hand stitched around the butterflies. I have it hanging next to my spice rack and I love the look of it. The pattern is called Herbs and Spices by Bird Brain Designs.
A set of alphabet blocks for my first great grandchild. I really enjoyed designing them and it was with great satisfaction when I finished them. Unfortunately due to family break up I never got to give them to him. I had to pass them on to another family member to give to him and I never heard back wether he got them or enjoyed them.
I love doing crewel work and I love reading your posts.
My first wool piece I ever made was a full sized quilt. I had no idea what I was doing or getting into. It is all handstitched blocks. I learned so much as I went along and then I was hooked.
I loved stitching the Aesops Fables from the Crewel Work company. It was magical, see all the animals developl.
My favorite project ever was a yearly sampler each month we got patterns with different stitches so all year long stitching this sampler I was learning stitches I never heard or did before,,,,,it’s the biggest I ever did so far….
I did a really large crosstitch picture with a cottage,blooming trees etc. I love it and it’s still hanging in my bedroom!
My favorite project was the stocking I made for my son.
For all friends and family who have babies, I purchase a welcome-baby embroidery kit and personalize it for the newest member of the family.
I actually have two favorites: the two I created for my own grandchildren. Our grandson was born in 2019 and granddaughter born three years later. The patterns I created and stitched are similar (per my daughter’s suggestion) but the floss colors are a nod to gender, nursery theme, and other favorites.
What fun!
Several years ago, I did a 36 x 48 wool applique with ten houses decorated with 40+ different embroidery stitches, plus a lighthouse, lots of whimsical trees with bead embellishments, and flowers made of buttons and beads. I was proud that it won first place in needlework at the NC State Fair.
My very first needlepoint canvas was purchased from a shop I was visiting with a friend. There were several ladies sitting around the table stitching the most amazing stitches on painted canvas. I was just watching and one said, “Do you do needlepoint?” I said I didn’t and she said, “We’ll fix that, and all of them helped me in one way or another first by helping me select a canvas that I liked, not one they thought I should like. Then another showed me a book of stitches and made notes about what stitches I should do in each area of the canvas. Next up was the “colorist” as they called her and she took me around the shop to get the most beautiful threads. It took me several months to stitch the canvas, but the same store and ladies said I should have it framed and enter it into the Woodlawn Needlepoint show in 2010…I won a 3rd. place ribbon! It is my favorite of all the many, many canvases I’ve stitched since then!
One of my favorite pieces (there can’t be just one, can there) is Samplings of Stitches. This was a distance class for the design by Betty Chen Louis and Gay Ann Rogers. The colors were beautiful and the array of stitches wonderful and fun to do. It took awhile—the class was in 2007—and it suffered a long time out, but it was a very satisfying finish last year!
I love crewel work! My favourite piece was one I bought off an auction site that was a kit from the 1940’s!
My favorite needlework project was a christmas tree skirt for my neice.
My favorite needlework project was my first sampler, completed as a grandmother! I have done handwork for 50 years, but never a sampler. New stitches and techniques were used in all the elements; it isn’t perfect but continues to give me a sense of satisfaction. It’s fun remembering and makes me feel the same joy as when it was first completed.
Merry Christmas
I need to learn to do crewelwork, it´s in my to do list for 2025
Cynthia Jackson taught a goldwork project: The Mariner’s Compass. My hands down favourite EVER for the beautiful and intriguing piece I ended up with and the excellent teaching.
I made each of my three grandsons an appliqued, embroidered wool blanket based on Inspirations’ Worlds Most Beautiful Blankets publications and the magazine itself. Each was my own riff on the presented pattern and I loved each, but my favorite was monkeys to which I added more vines and tails for the monkeys to hang from, and found color matched flannel for the back with a banana print. The “baby” is now 11 and I still smile every time it comes to mind.
Blue and brown wren by Jenny Adin-Christie. The pair was challenging and involved learning new techniques. Proudly displayed
Whilst there have been many projects that I have really really enjoyed working, the one that sticks out at the top of the pile is a free standing, very 3D beetle stitched with lots of various gold threads with plenty of help and attention from Georgina Bellamy, I really love my beetle.
I think the project that gave me the most satisfaction at the time and still makes me smile when I see it is a small needlepainting of some orange-red poppies. I bought it as a kit in the UK while working on my PhD at Cambridge, and I learned a TON about long-and-short stitch; I even adjusted the pattern a bit to make things more realistic. My mom still has it in its small frame hanging by the sink in her kitchen.
But really my favorite project is whichever one I’m doing at the moment. Now, specifically, it’s Mary’s Leafy Tree.
Peggy’s floral fancy by Pat Armour. It’s a beautiful crewel piece that I did years ago at a guild year end workshop. It is now a pillow in my art studio.
My favorite project is the Coastal Banksia from Julie Kniedl. It won a blue ribbon at our fair but I love the expressions and statements when they realize it is stitched.
I would love to do more crewel work and this book is an inspiration!!!
My favourite project is a counted thread sampler (called Elizabethan Garden, designed by Di Fisher from Adelaide) which uses over 50 different stitches – some easy and some very tricky. It took a fair while to complete but was so interesting with all the different stitches and it uses lovely colours (and a little bit of gold).
I faviote piece is my Blue Feather of Happiness. I designed it myself. One side is surface embroidery stitches and the other is Blackwork. It was a challenge to myself to see if I could do it and include shading.
Wish I could post a picture.
I think my favourite project was a dress I smocked, front and back, to my own design.
Blessings
Maxine
My favorite project is one I’m working on to finish for my Mom. She started it back in the 70’s and it is a beautiful vase filled with flowers on pink linen. I’ve never done crewl work before this but am determined to finish this project for my Mom who turns 84 in January 25. I found it in her closet last year when I was helping her clean out some stuff after my step father passed away. I instantly fell in love with it and told her I would get it done. There is a legend included to show me the stitches but it’s really old and ragged. Mom suffered a hand/arm injury years ago and is unable to finish it. It would mean so much to me to have this book as a guide to help me finish this project. I promise to share a picture when I’m done! Thanks so much for your consideration. I love getting your e-mails. I love crewel work now and find it so meditative as well. I want to continue down the path and keep this art form alive!!
My favorite recent needlework project has been the stumpwork that I have done thanks to the wonderful book by Megan Zaniewski “Stumpwork Embroidery & Thread Painting: Stitch 3-D Nature” .
My results were wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed the process…enough that I was able to step out and try my own designs.
My favorite needlework project has been the fall tea towels I embroidered using Needle&Thread designs. Sometimes I look at them and can’t believe I made them!
My favorite needlework project was a cross stitch mystery stitch by Tiny Modernist in 2018. It was my first mystery stitch-a-long. It was called “The Haunted Mansion”. I love her style. It is my favorite b/c it was the first time I changed a number of the called for threads and really made it my own.
My favorite project was a portrait of my grandson. I took a photograph, copied it into my computer changing it into a cross stitch pattern that was 18 by 25 inches. Took me 3 months to complete and it still hangs in a place of honor in my daughter’s house 15 years after it was finished.
My favorite needlework project was a hardanger needle case based on a design by Janet Love. I was a member of the Sandia Mountain Chapter of the Embroidery Guild. Every time I look at it, I am amazed at the beautiful outcome.
My favorite stitching project was a sashiko throw. It’s was a very meditating stitching it.
I think one of my most satisfying projects has been translating a trio of my daughters’ designs into a embroidered eyeglass case for my mother.
It has stretched my ability to choose stitches and threads as well as my ability to stitch tiny figures.
Favorite ever, wow that’s a hard one. My aunt‘s daughter died when she was a young woman, and my aunt asked me to finish her projects. That started me on a lifelong passion to finish work others began. I found a cross stitch my grandmother started in 1965 and I finished it in 1994! It sat untouched for almost 30 years. When I finish other people‘s projects, I always feel like they’re stitching with me, but it was really special stitching my grandmother’s.❤️ Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone
Years ago I followed a Celtic cross stitch pattern for glasses cases. I made one for my mum and my mother in law. I was so proud of them. I’d never done anything so complicated (they had a lining). I think I was still finishing the last one on Christmas Eve. I don’t think I’ve ever been so proud but unfortunately it was before the days of iPhones so I don’t have a photo of my efforts. My mother in law is sadly no longer with us but I’m absolutely sure my mum will have hers in a drawer somewhere (of course she will , she’s my mum. :))
My favorite was a christmas ornament. I learned finishing details that encouraged me to continue the journey!
I just posted that but I put in website space Google should have left it blanked. I hope it got to you. I enjoyed giving my comment for it! I hope you find it! Teresa Cain
I think I have two favorite needlepoint projects I am looking at right now— both of which were a “joy” to complete! One is a leaping rabbit and the other is a dog that looks so very similar To a blonde colored Whippet dog named “Henry” who belonged to my son. Henry” I guess would HAVE to be my. Favorite…because that “fellow” had more personality and more experiences in life than most dogs have in a lifetime!
My favorite needlework project ever that is giving me the most pleasure working on it and sense of satisfaction is the one I’m working on now. It is a counted and pulled thread pattern of geometric motifs that is very specific to the the Greek island of Lefkada. It is usually done with silk thread of white on white or beige on beige. I’m using DMC floss because I’m just learning this stitch and a pale green/gold on white. It is very precise and very satisfying as the various squares, diamonds and diagonals come together in perfect harmony.
My favorite needlework project is actually the one I’m working on right now. He’s an owl. I call him Oliver. He’s unlike any project I’ve ever worked on before as his body i carved out of wood & all needlework components will be freestanding Stumpwork. Shis face, his feathers, his feet are all worked separately on ground fabric and will attach separately to his body. This far the process has been both educational & super fun.
My favourite stitching piece was a sampler that I designed for my daughter. It is a 6 generational piece, showing names of daughters and life dates. Each maternal generation has one mother with one daughter. It is hopefully will be saved for generations to come. The shared history was fun to stitch with bars of a variety stitches in between.
The first piece of Goldwork that I ever did was s-o-o-o satisfying. Using the different metal threads in different techniques showed the beauty and wow! factor that has lasted, and it’s still my ‘go to’ after many years of stitching. I’m not solely a Goldwork tragic however, as I happily embrace other styles as well… on occasion.
My favourite Crewel project was a rose bouquet that challenged my long and short stitch!
I played with the single thread colour a bit from the einstructions and the rose seemed to breathe life. 🙂
My favorite needlework project ever and the one that gave me the most pleasure while working on it was Primitive Gatherings Flower Garden Crazy Tablemat. I started and stopped it many times over a long period of time. Mostly because I did not know what I was doing. When I finally got the appliques done then I had to do crazy stitches between each block. I looked up stitches, ordered threads and started stitching. It brought the whole table mat to life. I am very satisfed with my finished table mat. I do believe it is the reason I try so many different things now.
My favorite needlework project was doing a Goldwork interpretation of my poodle, Jean Pierre, for my RSN certificate program. Helen McCook took away the terror of Goldwork and I fell in love with the technique. Jean Pierre died 18 months ago and this is a wonderful memory of him.
Darcy Walker
My most favorite piece that really enjoyed stitching was the Frances Eden reproduction sampler. It was a long time bucket list piece, and I finally stitched it this year. Started on January 1st and finished April 30th. I usually don’t finish large pieces that quickly, but it was a joy to stitch.
I think my favorite project was embroidered valences for a bedroom. They had embroidered flowers and a nice buttonhole edge and Hardanger lace areas. One was for a double window so the embroidery seemed to go on for miles. It was just wonderful when they were done and could hang in our guest room. We have since moved so I now have to rework them to fit a new room!
My favorite project was a Butterfy panel from Craftsy. It introduced me to a lot of more difficult stitches. It, also, challenged me to create each butterfy using different combinations of fabrics, stitches, threads and colors. The piece forced me to invest myself and stretch beyond following a set pattern. It taught me to not be afraid to change something in a pattern.
I’ve done a miriad of designs and techniques over the years but a favorite is a basket of flowers about 30×40” done in Persian yarns about 40 years ago. It still hangs above my bed.
In 1981, yes back in the ’80s, I made my very first crewel work, it was/is “Merry Christmas” lettering, in which each letter is portrayed by a different Christmas theme pattern. I STILL, take it out, and hang it for the Christmas season, enjoy looking at it and remembering all the fun & joy creating it gave me, all those years ago
My greatest needlework was making my great granddaughter bday quilt all hand stitched and embroidered with rabbits from Jenny Mcwinney embroidery and the other hand made whimsical embroidered quilt for my second great granddaughter who came soon after so I was very busy doing these two lovey quilts for them
I embroidered a quilt named over the river and thru the woods. All in black. Took a long time but it was not a race. First project as an adult after being away from embroidery since I was about 12
Have done a couple more since but that one is my most treasured
I think what gave me the most pleasure working on AND gave me the greatest sense of satisfaction when it was finished was a quilt I designed for my daughter based on the book Little Women. It contained a variety of different techniques such as surface embroidery, ribbon work, stumpwork, and even included an embroidered sketch of my daughter.
A smallish cross stitch of a child wading in a small pool with a boat is the piece that gives me the warmest of hearts. I actually completed a piece when I had little children and embroidery time was very limited. It is the nicest cross stitch. And it also reminds me that some embroidery errors are really improvements! I used 3 strands of thread instead of 2 and the shading in the piece turned out great.
My most favorite and satisfying piece of needlework is the 3-D Cauliflower originally designed by Julie Kniedl whose design and kit was featured several years ago in INSPIRATIONS MAGAZINE. I finished it during the Covid lockdown making many hours so very rewarding.
I am doing an intermediate surface stitchery course next year the embroiders guild and a metallic thread set would put some real bling into my work
I think I’m going to go with the ridiculous but lovely tiny Cluny tapestry (the sound one) in tent stitch on silk gauze. It took me forever and it’s framed in my entry! I loved doing it.
My favourite was a pop art style portrait of Freddie Mercury mostly long n short stitch. Have stitched it twice. Getting the eyes right was such an achievement. He follows you round the room!
I’m still working on my favourite project. I started it over ten years ago after knee surgery as a way to teach myself embroidery, and I have fallen in love with the art. It’s my zen place.
It began as an appliqué quilt And then I have embroidered over the appliqué pieces. Your website has been an amazing resource that I continue to refer back to and I thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge with us all.
I think it would be the wool applique Fresh Cut by Sue Spargo. All the colors of wool and thread plus lots of embroidery. I did not use a kit.
My favorite project, at least in recent memory, was your purple posy tape measure cosy!
I’ve taken it with me to classes and everyone always comments on how beautiful it is!
I think my favorite project set was Jim Wurth’s dodecagon ornaments. Each was different yet the same and kept me busy for quite a while with a great result.
It was the first project that I completed when I got back into embroidery. It was two pieces, one for my parents and the other for my in-laws. I hadn’t even thought about sewing in more than 20 years so it was very significant to me.
Thank you for the giveaway fun. It is good to see what other people are doing.
I think my most satisfying project was one I intended to do for years. It was from a missionary collection of early Chinese pottery, and I immediately recognised it would make a great cross stitch.
The finished piece is 16 inches in diameter and octagonal. I did it in one shade of cobalt blue on white and the picture includes a bowl of pomegranates with a bat sitting on it, a vase of chrysanthemums, a pair of butterflies and other flowers.
It was most satisfying because I had been badly injured in an accident and persisting with this helped me through the pain and recovery time. It is in my bedroom where I can see it as soon as I wake.
My favorite project is a Christmas tablecover. It is in various stitches with silver thread highlights. Even though I embroidered it over 30 years ago, I never tire of looking at it.
Recently finished the Parham Owl. It is a favorite of mine and loved the challenges! I thought I bit off more than I could chew but it was an absolute delight with some nerves!!
I did a needlework badge for Girl Scouts when I was just eight years old. It was a sampler, with 20 different stitches. Just found it two weeks ago, and it made me smile to see that the little sash badge I was aiming to earn ended up opening the door to a lifetime of projects and joy. Now, the traffic-light yellow of the scratchy canvas and my thick yarn color choices still make me happy that I have sharpened my skills and color sense!
Newly married, my husband was away for a week in training. Every night, I madly stitched a crewel thread steam engine picture, changing the station name to his home town. It was back in 1975 and I think I got close to finishing it while he was gone. But it was the first of many favorite pieces in a variety of needlework styles.
My favorite needlework project ever was the embroidered sheet set that I made for my mom. It featured her initials at the center of the top hem with a swags of wildflowers down the hem to the left and the right, and smaller versions of similar motifs on the pillowcase edges. My mom has become my best friend over the years, and it was a pleasure to stitch a special heirloom just for her.
My favorite needlework project was a guest towel that I helped a granddaughter embroider. She stitched three intersecting hearts, using three different stitches. (It took us for-ever-to-stitch!) Seeing that sweet 8-year-old stitching, just about made me cry. She was so proud of her end product and she did a pretty-good job. I’m already planning the next project for us (her) to work on.
My favourite needlework project I have ever made was my God Daughters christening towel, it was my first using drawn threads and crochet. No machine sewing was used, all done using the old methods.
It has to be a Jane Greenoff box I stitched. There were lots of extra bits and pieces with it, but I added even more, including a little bag for an antique silver thimble. Not that I would ever use the thimble of course. 🙂
My favorite needlework project was a thread painting of a pelican in a nest feeding her babies. It comes from the legend of a pelican who puts wounds in her chest so she can save her babies from starvation by feeding them her blood. It was a piece of work that was put on the back a priest’s chasuble. I liked “painting” and choosing the right colors that blended well, just as if I was using paint instead of embroidery floss.
When I was about 9 years old (50+yrs ago), my mother taught me to embroider. I stitched everything I could get my hands on. Then there was this crewel embroidery piece. It said something like ‘If you love something, let it go…’. I don’t remember where she bought it, maybe Woolworth’s or Gibsons or TG&Y. Anywho, when I was 12yrs old I started it. Mother was very patient with me and helped, but this was mine lol. It took like nine months to complete it, and I loved every stitch of it. I still have this piece somewhere put up, but I do still think about us stitching it.❤️
My favorite ever was a kit I got from the Broderie Bayeux shop in Bayeux, France. It was a detail of two birds (“Les Deux Oiseaux”) from the nearby Bayeux tapestry, which is not a tapestry at all but a 270 ft. long embroidery in wool on linen, completed somewhere around 1090 A.D. in England. There are several such replica kits available. The one I chose was one of the simplest but very satisfying. The framing cost me a small fortune but it looks terrific!
My favourite project has been “Schwalm conversations “ inspired by my grandson.
I love Schwalm white work as it combines so many fun techniques
I made a crewel ‘picture’ of a cat sitting on an afghan in front of a window filled with houseplants and flowers. It involved dimensional stitches, netting for the window screen, and lots of color and a variety of stitches (including turkey work, which is fun by itself) to complete. It was complicated and time consuming but very satisfying.
My “favorite” project was probably the first thread painting I designed myself – a portrait of my collie. This was challenging to do as I was fairly new to the technique, but had a great groundwork from Tanja Berlin! My efforts have paid off, with several awards won for this piece.
I don’t have a favorite because all my projects are my favorite! Every one is a joy to work on and see come together with great satisfaction at the finishing. My latest favorite is the cornflower scissor case. One of my favorite colors and I use it every day. So lovely!
After years of doing hand embroidery, I did my first crewel this summer, when I purchased a kit from the Crewel Work Company. What a lovely project. Definitely different than floss or silk. I really enjoyed working this new (to me) material and I look forward to doing another project again.
I first want to thank you Mary for your wonderful blog and newsletter that are so instructive. They are a reference for so many embroiderers. I keep going back to it whenever I need info. The tutorials are so helpful.
Now the answer to your question. I guess it is the project I found in an old issue of Inspiration magazine with which I made and embroidered a lovely dress for one of my granddaughters. It was white cotton with embroidered mushrooms done in needle painting. There were also butterflies and numerous tiny flowers all of those at the bottom of the front of the dress. It was a gorgeous design. It took me several months to do the embroidery and then I had to sew the dress. I was really glad of the result.
I am a very amateur needle worker. Probably my most detailed project was a set of embroidered handkerchiefs for a French fashion doll.
My favorite project was a crazy quilt that was centered around a large antique black beaded needlework piece that I found at a garage sale. I covered the border with needle painted forest animals.
My favorite project, at least for today, is finishing my grandson’s Christmas Stocking earlier this week! It’s a customized Shephard’s Bush stocking. I’ve now completed 6 of these, and I hope to do a couple more for grandchildren over the next few years.
I’ve got so many other favorites…a stumpwork piece from a class with Jane Nicholas comes to mind, plus the Dunollie Rose taught by Deborah Wilding for the Crewel Work Company….
Favorite project has been Christmas stockings for my growing family – excited to be able to put out these beautiful, personalized items each year!
Hmmm .. that is a tough question as I have been stitching for over 40 years. I think a project that I got great joy from was The Prince’s Thistle by Kathy Andrews. I finally learned how to do the Turkey stitch and enjoyed crewel work for the first time. The wool that Kathy uses was lovely to work with (I don’t like Appleton’s wool) and every step was enjoyable.
My favorite project is a recent one. It is the Stitch Along Scissors case. I learned a lot making it and I use it every time I embroidery. I just love it!
My longest-running project took me 14 years to complete – my Elizabethan casket, designed and taught by Maree Talbot here in Australia. The box itself is a work of art, made of Jarrah and especially designed to fit the embroidered panels. Although it took ‘forever’ to finish, I really enjoyed stitching each panel so much, and have a great sense of achievement whenever I look at the completed box.
The embroidery project that I loved the most was, well, 2 of them. Goldwork medallions, each one different, that I made for my sons and their families for Christmas one year. They still hang in a place of honor in their homes. What they don’t know is that before I framed them, I put a note in telling them how much I loved them. My little secret
My favorite needlework project was a bird I put on the pocket of a purse I was making. I felted and embroidered the bird, using roving and pearl cotton. The base fabric was a thrifted red wool skirt.
My favorite project is a tree-top angel that we have used every year since I finished it. It was designed by GayAnn Rogers. I almost had two of them. My mother-in-law didn’t finish hers before she died, so I asked my granddaughter to help finish it. That one is now on my granddaughter’s tree. They are the same design in slightly different colors.
My favorite needlework project was the first big crossstitch. It was a house that showed all the rooms. My second was a sunflower that I needlepointed with seed beads for the center.
Thanks
Melinda
My favorite project is a tie between two Lavender and Lace designs: I don’t remember the formal name of the designs but one was a Fairy Godmother as an older woman with white hair and the other was a Fairy Godmother young woman dressed in pink. Just loved them. Unfortunately, neither one ever got framed as couldn’t afford it at the time (or even now) but I know that I have them tucked away.
That is very hard as it is usually whatever I’m currently working on/finished; but I guess I’ll go with my very 1st sampler that I designed and stitched before giving it to my grandmother and great grandmother to get my Cross Stitch badge in Girl Scouts eons ago.
The Leafy Tree was my favorite. Loved the colors, stitches and conquering the pesky battlement couching.
My favorite project is a cross stitch I did a couple of years ago. It’s a Christmas-themed design by Susan Ache, called “Joyeux Noel”. It’s big and it’s gorgeous, with a 12 days of Christmas theme. It just flowed, and was joyous (pun intended) to work on. I still look at it with pride, for how pretty it is. I’d attach a pic, but I don’t think I’m allowed.
Link to the free pattern here – https://www.dropbox.com/s/bayqvfvpwh2lqac/JoyeuxNoel-SusanAche.pdf?dl=0
I have a pattern for a zippered pouch that has become my friend through thick and thin. It’s my go to project in a crisis. Everything I need for hours upon hours of company all within its own case. It has kept me awake when I needed to be, it has kept me calm when that was needed and it kept me sane, or as close as I could be at the time when that has was called for. The cross stitching is geometric figures all in one colour. I think I am on my fifth one, while none have yet been turned into a zippered pouch. On these projects the journey is all that matters.
One of my most satisfying needlework projects goes way back to age 8 when I completed my first small sampler using 5 different stitches: blanket, stem, back, running and chain. My sampler is a treasured keepsake, and helped me earn a Girl Scout badge then called “Needlework” – it’s also a treasure!
My favorite needlework piece was a hankie I made for my new son-in-law who joined our family this past May, 2024. I included his name as well as my daughters and a line from their favorite song – Dream a Little Dream of Me.
He pulled it out during the exchange of vows when my daughter got teary during her reading. Perfect timing and meant just for that purpose.
It was a Kate Greenaway children’s’ alphabet. I was happy to finish it but oddly felt such a strange sense of loss when I finished it. I loved it so much I even marked the remaining DMC skeins so I will always know I used them on this piece.
A crewel work embroidery pillow kit by Erica Wilson. It was finished 48 years ago and still looks great.
Hi Mary, about 45 years ago I embroidered the neckline of a blouse I was making from a Vogue pattern. Strong reds, yellows, greens and purples made up the flowers and leaves, all done in a continuous chain stitch, closely spaced to fill the shapes. It was fun to stitch, and I was pleased with how it turned out, wore it a lot, and still have it! Thank you
My all time favorite embroidery project to date is working the “Lattice Jumble” sampler project. It fits the bill: favorite project to date, gave me loads of satisfaction. I learned a lot. There was enough time and variation for numerous stitches that I started gaining comfort and confidence in it, and started realizing I could incorporate them into some future projects I’d like to do. Thank you!
My most satisfying needlework project was Long Dog sampler “Pandemic”. I waited until after the pandemic was over to start this cross stitch project. It took 1 1/2 years. I worked red thread over white linen. It is stunning! It was very large and I loved every stitch.
One of my favourite projects was my first blackwork/goldwork kit by Tanya Berlin,
https://berlinembroidery.com/product/blackwork-flight-of-a-butterfly/ enjoyed it so much I went on to to be challenged by the peacock 🙂
https://berlinembroidery.com/product/blackwork-peacock/
The bagpiper made into a bookmark for my son. It was hard to embroider because of the size. Good experience and definitely satisfying when completed!
My favorite needlework project was my embroidery quilt that I did on one of my cruises. The embroidery blocks were of cats in various settings and I used hand dyed threads in fall colors. I incorporated the embroidery squares with a Sawtooth Star quilting block in brownish colored batik fabric. I have it hanging from a walnut quilt hanger where I can see it daily and my guests can see it also.
A piece of stumpwork I designed and stitched from some cape gooseberry (physallis) I picked from my garden. After many attempts to get the dry husks right it was very satisfying to complete and insert in the top of a Blackwood box.
I would be happy to send a photo if you would like to see it.
So many favourite projects…….which one to write about here……
I think because it’s Christmas I will choose
Betsy Morgan’s “Christmas Spirit”.
What a pleasure it was to stitch and the result was wonderful. Betsy’s stitch instructions are very clear and the construction method is not too hard.
I created a crewel design that incorporated a pomegranate, fig, and several flowers. It felt like a final exam of studying crewel embroidery.
My most favourite needlework project, out of many that I have enjoyed, is a part of the Bayeux Tapestry, done in crewel weight wool. It is large, all done in bayeux stitch and back stitch, with a limited colour palette. It is a panel from the beginning of the Tapestry, with Harold and his knights journeying, with a falcon and hunting dogs, with the completion of the episode shown by a fantastical tree.
I am planning to do a crewel piece in early 2024 and this book will be an excellent resource
My favorite needlework project has got to be the wedding cross stitch piece I did for my son & DIL years ago. After it was framed it was stunning. I wanted to keep it. Thought about doing it again with some changes for myself. Too many other stitches to do so it never got done. All of my most beautiful pieces have been for others to enjoy. As it should be!
A piece I call “The Watcher in the Woods” is the most satisfying project I’ve ever made because it began as a serendipitous observation. I was looking at a floral fabric and all of a sudden the flowers and leaves looked like face parts. So, I cut it up and appliquéd them. Then I embellished with embroidery stitches. I did a little trapunto on the face and then with metallic embroidery thread running-stitched the background in a random swirl pattern. Some think the face looks like a monkey, others a lion. The eyes follow you. It’s a very intriguing needlework project that came from thin air. And it was a one off as it has yet to happen again!
My favorite project so far and one that I often refer to is a candle mat of easter eggs with each egg having a variety of stitches. When I want to add some different stitches to a new project I can always look back at it to remember stitches that I may have forgotten. It also has a cheery spring look!
In 1977 I came across an advertisement in a fabric shop for a live-in Needlework week at a local TAFE College.
I had never done anything like this before but I signed up for a Goldwork course and my lovely husband took a week off work to look after the children.
I was amazed and my eyes were opened to a whole new world. We had to design the picture as well as work it. I met so many wonderful creative people, I learnt so many new techniques, I joined the local Embroiderers Guild and started a wonderful journey which I am still enjoying today.
I loved my picture, I loved working on it and needlework has become an enduring passion.
My favorite project is every crewel project that I have ever done. My first project was crewel and I have loved it since completing that project.
A friend asked me to make a scapular for a sister who had her 50th anniversary. I checked the religious order’s website and found that they love the lamb of God so I got to teach myself new embroidery techn
My favorite needlework project has been a piece that is yet to be attached to a denim jacket. It’s of a tiger with floral surroundings. It took quite a bit of time, but was fun to see it come together!
What a great book to win. I have been wanting to try crewel embroidery and this would be so much help. I had a lot of satisfaction with a row of woodland animals I copied from an old book. Even with their crammed with food cheeks they were so cute. Ariel
My favorite and/or most satisfying needlework project was embroidering some small quilt blocks. I also came up with my own setting pattern and it was the first project I quilted on my second longarm. (Long-time longarmer. First project on my Innova.)
Another favorite is a small 12×12” hand quilted miniature quilt with a 4” embroidered center. The embroidery was done with one strand of floss.
My favorite project was Bird Dance by Sue Spargo. When I made that quilt, it started the whole embroidery experience which hasn’t stopped. I love Sue Spargo’s patterns because they offer many different kinds of stitches in one project. My second favorite was the Leafy Tree by Mary Corbet.
Back in the day I did a lot of cross stitch kits from Creative Circle. One was a lovely scene of a snowy Christmas cottage – with about a gazillion french knots on the roof, all in white, for snow! I was so satisfied (maybe just relieved?) when it was finished and was eager to display it. However… we were a military family, we moved before the next Christmas, and that container of household goods somehow got saturated with water, then sat (I guess) in a warehouse for a while, and yep, that piece was mildewed when I got it back. Today I would just google it and try the recommendations. Back then, I tried a variety of things but none worked. I kept it for a while, but finally realized: keep the memory, not the thing. And so I cherish the memory of the lovely kit that taught me how to do french knots with confidence, but was never displayed!
My favourite needlework project ever was a needlepoint pillow kit that I picked up in Bath England to commemorate my first overseas trip ever. It was an Elizabeth Bradley pattern and I still adore this pillow.
My favorite needlework project was Jean Hilton’s Glen Eagle. It’s a canvaswork piece with loads of different stitches and I loved every minute of working it and am so proud of how it turned out.
Hello Merry,
I enjoy all the embroidery that I do. The one that I enjoyed most was the Ballerina from Di van Niekerk.
Thank you for your blogs I enjoy reading them and learning from you.
Best regards,
Sophia
My mum gave me money for my 30th birthday and I bought a cross stitch book – needless to say it became a sampler with everyone in the family picking a picture to go in it. Eventually it came back to me and is on the dining room wall were during family diners it became the alphabet guessing game and finally the hidden find game. I get to see it every day and I think of my beautiful mum
I really like the long and short stitch and made a decent lavender pansy after many failed attempts! I also like the French Knot because it was so easy once I got the hang of it
My favorite needlework project ever was a project that took me almost a year and a half to complete. In Gold thread I embroidered a rose motif that was lightly printed on a black satin that I used as the puffy sleaves on an Elizabethan dress. My mantra threw the project was “small stitches, small stitches”. I was so proud of the finished project.
Repairing the appliques of my great-grandmother’s butterfly quilt
I embroidered a flower bouquet in a vase for my sister-in-law. It was bright and cheery.
Hi Mary,
I found your website a while ago, and am inspired by your beautiful embroidery. So glad to have you back! I enjoy your videos on stitches which I find very easy to follow. I am intrigued by your giveaways this year! I just found the Royal School of Needlework website and the intricate embroidery they do.
My favorite needlework project was crewel work picture of a mother Siamese cat with three kittens laying on an embroidered table cloth. My mom worked the embroidered table cloth and gave it to me to work the detailed cat and kittens. I think it took several years to work all the layers and fine details, like the noses, eyes and whiskers. It turned out beautifully and I still LOVE it!
Have a restful Christmas break!
Ann Adams
Idaho
Hard to pick a favorite needlepoint project since they are so varied, however
I would place my ribbon embroidery flower bouquet at the top of the list.
It is a very interesting piece, colorful, and delicate and the framing only emphasized it’s elegance.
I love the drawn thread work in linen and how with patience and skill I can make baby clothing pieces from fabric and thread. I am passionate about embroidery And I love learning new embroidery techniques.
My most favorite needlework piece ever was a needlepoint Dahlia that I got while in France. It was probably 3-4’ x 2’. Sadly I don’t have it any more.
My first stump work project was the most fun maybe because it was all new and I learned so much. It was satisfying to frame it and keep it for myself. I just have to add a note that the snowflake ornaments of yours from a couple of years ago, was also fun. I stitch all 12 of the snowflakes and used them as napkin holders. My table was so pretty with one at each place setting. I used regency fabric, a combination of cotton and silk, and piper silks for the thread. Love, love, love them.
A most difficult Elizabethan piece by Maree Talbot! Microscopic needlelace and stitches of a colourful Australian scene featuring a numbat! Eventually finished and will become the top of a beautiful wooden box. So thrilled to have achieved this
My favorite needlework project: a SAL from Lolly & Grace called Kaleidoscope. It used variegated threads exclusively and I learned so many anew and very interesting stitches! And, I love designs that are not landscapes or flowers. This one was perfect!
My favorite project so far is a Hardanger wall art piece that I designed the pattern for and then stitched, many years ago.
I have done four separate embroideries of the Blue Wren depicting each season of the year.
Huge amount of thought and work went into this project. Wonderful achievement I felt as it is unique.
Displayed at the Embroiderer’s Guild in Melbourne for its annual show. Very proud.
My favourite project was a cross stitch sampler pattern I picked up many years ago in Holland. It was a quite varied design that looked symmetrical until you looked at it closely. It took a long time to finish but now is framed and hanging on the wall.
Crewelwork is my favorite needlework to pass time with on snowy days. Looking forward to a new inspiration source.
It is hard to choose my favorite needlework project but I love making wool applique pieces because I can try out several new stitches for embellishing and the wool is easy to work with.
About 20 years ago, my cousin’s wife was very sick, and she had to stay in hospital for a while, and then a long recovery at home. Even if I couldn’t go see her, I decided to teach her simple embroidery. I took step by step photos of small embroidered motifs, made a little embroidery book. I then sewed a bag, which fit the book and embroidery supplies. The bag was navy, and the lining fabric was light blue with daisies, so I embroidered daisies on the bag. I braided the bag’s ties in kumihimo, which, of course, had daisies. I absolutely loved this project!
My favorite work was the first Holly Hobby picture. It was the first time I used a mixture of stitches to creat the texture of fabric. The apron was patch work and each little section was created with a textured stitch bringing the patch work fabric to life. It was made for my first daughter’s room and now (50 some odd years later) it hangs in her home.
Dear Mary:
So kind of you to play Santa Claus and do these lovely gifts. My favourite stitched piece is Moonlight in the Faeries’ Garden by Forget-me-nots in Stitches. The pattern used dark blue, dark green and sand linens, hand stitched together to represent sky, grass and garden walkway. The garden flowers were done in various stitches and the border was a pulled satin stitch using variegated Caron perle. The pattern used DMC floss and flower threads, beads, metallics, and Glissen Gloss which looks fantastic as the Faery’s wings. It’s a magical, whimsical pattern and still warms my heart when I look at it.
Wishing you a very happy, healthy and merry Christmas, and the best in 2025,
Mel
What was your favorite needlework project ever, that gave you the most pleasure working on it and / or the greatest sense of satisfaction when it was finished – Last year I stitched a Scarlett House sampler called Heartland in remembrance of my father. I changed some things to refleck my father’s animals and put his name on it. I miss my father.
My favorite needle work project every was turkey stitch hair on my half hand stitched and half painted lady cushion. I have picture of her if you want to see how i did her hair.. cheers
I like the stitch variations.
Some years ago I.made a box which is a log cabin with a roof done in a buttonhole stitch, walls in a variety of stitches and trees against two corners. I still admire it and am surprised at my lively trees after all this time.
My favorite needlework project that I completed was a gold work and appliqué hot air balloon. It was my first attempt at gold work and was so cheerful and a lot of fun.
My favorite piece I stitched is a Lavender&Lace angel many moons ago. My Mom and I were in a Needlework store and Mom saw the stitched piece on the wall. She said it looked like my daughter, who was 5 years old. I told her I would stitch it for her. She laughed and said I never finish anything. I promised I would and she bought all the items for it. I did finish it and gave it to her. She was so excited! I even entered it in the county fair and won 1st place! I love looking at it and remembering how happy she was when she received. It has now returned to me as Mom has passed away, but it always brings me joy seeing it on my wall.
Mary you are such an inspiration. I love to do any type of needlework. The books are always so helpful when trying to learn a stitch or decide on a particular stitch to help on a project. Again, thanks for your beautiful pictures and helpful hints and instructions!
Certainly hard to pick an absolute favorite needlework project, but I’m going with one done early on. While pregnant, I embroidered a 10 x 14 Sampler for my mom. Had never done one, hadn’t done much embroidery all told, but it came out well (tho I neglected to initial and date it), and mom hung it prominently on their front entry wall. It’s now hanging in my home.
My favorite embroidery that I have completed is your own Humming birds. It was the first time that I had ever used a single strand and was a big learning curve. I know it was many years ago but I have followed your site ever since. Thank you for your advice and great site.
My favorite project has to be a tote bag I made as a ten year old 4H kid. The embroidered front used covered buttons as daisy flowers with rickrack petals stitched on. The stems and leaves were satin stitch and the whole effect was so cute! I was hooked for life.
Favorite needlework project was a Christmas count down project that I did last year with my daughter! After 24 days we had a lovely little Christmas cottage!
I think my favorite project was one of my very first projects – embroidered buttons for an 18th century dress I sewed entirely by hand! (no machines, Mom!) I tend to jump into the deep end and start hard and learn as I go, so I did silk stem stitch around the edges and pailettes and teeny, tiny leaves. Really added to the overall look of the dress.
Love crewel projects so much. Last winter I fully embroidered the surface of a small stuffed stegosaurus for my friends’ preschooler. It was really satisfying to make, and he loved it. I used a crewel wool/silk blend on felt and stuffed it with wool.
I made pin cushions for me, my sister and my daughter. The centers were all embroidered with small miniature scenes with flowers and who couldn’t use another pin cushion!
I love specialty stitches (as long as I have good instructions!!) and loved stitching Liz Turner Diehl’s Irish garden, even had some cats in it hiding in the shrubbery! I even inspired one of my internet friends to purchase the same chart! And it looks better “live” rather than a photo!!
I have only tried one crewel work kit decades ago, but I love the stitches and need to revisit this lovely technique
Julie
The fairy tales quilt by Sue Spargo. A 60 x80” piece of felt appliqué with tons of embroidery. I would’ve never been able to finish it without your brilliant stitch instructions and videos!
The project I worked on was a white double knit polyester tunic. I had never done crewel work before and I didn’t have a pattern, but I had DMC threads and some sew on rhinestones. By the time it was done it was perfect. I wore it often until it didn’t fit anymore. But I still couldn’t part with it. The work on it was just so good. That was back in the 60’s. I think I still have it.
Tumbleweed 1 designed by Hazelblomkamp was a extreme challenge for me but I learned so much from doing the piece. Every flower in the design had a different stitch and all were a challenge. The needle lace is beautiful but oh so difficult.
My project took over 20 years from start to finish.
Step 1. My daughter was quite the artist when she was little. For whatever reason, I managed to save some of her drawings that I particularly liked … or laughed at. 🙂
Step 2. That same daughter grew up and was pregnant for her first child. I was thrilled and mulled what kind of special gift I could give her. I finally figured it out!
Step 3. I picked out nine pictures I liked the best. I bought different pastel color cottons. I embroidered each of her drawings onto a different color square. (One of them got chewed on by the puppy named Sugar while it was still in the hoop, so was missing a small piece on the edge of the square. So I embroidered over the rough edge and labeled it “by Sugar.”
Step 4. I sewed them into a square and made a child’s quilt out of it … for my first granddaughter.
This is my favorite because it incorporates three generations (plus a dog!) into one quilt.
I had heart surgery in April this year and decided to pick up my stitching projects again well recovering. I did a garden scene with ferns , flowers A butterfly dragonfly and some earthly critters. It was the medicine I needed and thus my favourite project .
One of my favorites is the goldwork dragon I did as part of an RSN course with Helen McCook! Took a while, but I finished it!
My favorite needlework project is actually a quilted wall hanging that I made that has LOTS AND LOTS of embellishments with ribbon embroidery and various embroidery stitches!!! It was entitled Village Green Amongst several housing moves, it has hung in stairwells and walls! It doesn’t have crewel work but some pillows on a bench beneath the wall hanging would certainly look GRAND!
Thanks for this opportunity and Merry Christmas!!!!!
My favorite project to date is The Scottish Play by The Crewel Work Company. It was a wedding gift for my niece who married into a Scottish family. When she was a little girl I added hand embroidery to dresses I made for her dolls. She doesn’t see any of the imperfections and was so excited to get “a grown-up” piece for their home. She is my biggest fan and always wants to know what I am making next. Thinking of her as I struggled through learning so many new design elements made me stick it out and push through!
I completed a cross stitch project that took me over 10 years. But once completed and framed it was a work of art.
My most memorable needlework project was a needlepoint I did for my husband many years ago. His beloved dog Champ (with him long before we met and married) had just passed away. That Christmas I made a needlepoint ornament in the likeness of Champ. I sewed Champ’s dog tag, that I had secretly kept, onto the back of the ornament. 15 years later it is still one of the first ornaments placed on the tree each year. Champ will always be remembered and treasured.
What was your favorite needlework project ever, that gave you the most pleasure working on it and / or the greatest sense of satisfaction when it was finished?
I cross-stitched an 11/13″ sloth hanging from a tree branch, which had split leaves on it. Some think cross-stitch is simple and mindless, but this project took concentration because of all the shades of brown and green, and a long amount of time. I look at it every day with enjoyment and pride in my accomplishment.
My favorite project was a crewel sampler, similar to a late 18t century sampler. I started it and then it “disappeared” for nearly 20 years! When I found it again and finished it, I realized that my skills were better and I redid a few small areas, but most of the sampler was fine and it now hangs in my living room.
My favorite embroidery project was a Texas themed bouquet that I freehanded. I started with some yellow roses, then added a bunch of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush, and then filled in with other Texas wildflowers. It came out really well. I’ve got it hanging in my kitchen now.
My favorite project was a hardanger bookmark that I made to give to my aunt for Christmas a couple years ago. It was the first hardanger project I ever did and I love how intricate it looks despite the stitches in it being very simple.
My favorite project was a mermaid for my then unborn daughter. She’s now 2y old. Looking at it always makes me think of being pregnant with her and the anticipation of finally meeting her.
My work with the most satisfaction is an evening coat, it is made on silk with the “Luneville” technique.
Madgy
My favourite project so far is Jenny Adin-Christie’s ‘Owl and Pussycat’ kit. It was so intricate and tested my ability, patience and skill to the very end but the sense of achievement on finishing was incredible.
I stitched a kitchen theme counted cross stitch project for my sister. It turned out so beautiful that I almost kept it. But I did frame it and gave it to her as planned. Now when I visit her and see it in her kitchen it is such a joy. It is a connection that will always be between us!
My favorite needlework project was the ring bearer’s pillow I made for my son’s wedding. I had no pattern, using silk dupioni, Raj Mahal Art Silk, beadwork, and a variety of hand stitches from my Inspirations magazines. It was a complete joy to work on, and it turned out beautifully.
My favorite project was a sort of mandala with a Scottish theme. I did it on the back of a thrifted jean jacket. Then added a thistle stitched on the sleeve. Turned out great. My absolute favorite bit was the bag piper and his sporran
My favorite project was a tiny little 2”x3” embroidery of an urn with ivy and flowers. I designed it and stitched so many French knots. The edging was my young teen attempt to create the finish I had seen in family heirloom linens. I still have it but I never trimmed the background. My mother taught home economics and always gave me the treat of seeing sample embroidery or projects for her class.
My very favourite piece of embroidery I’ve worked is my first… my RSN crewelwork. I learnt so much, but most especially that there is so much more to learn!! I have become a stitch sponge!
Earlier this year I finished with 3 other threaders a crewel work door curtain for Ford Green Hall in Stoke on Trent, England,which is celebrating 400years
I just felt so proud that my work will be there along side the other needleworkers, the group is over 40years old .
My favorite embroidery project was a quilt I embroidered Kansas City Royals things on for my husband. You couldn’t find KC Royals fabric anywhere.
I made a stole, for morning service, and a storage bag for the stole. Lots of French knots, couching, contour stitch and much more. Very beautiful and appreciated by the clergyman who it was for. It is white with some gold embroidery. It is the color for celebrating
And I just love it.
My favorite embroidery project was a gift for a friend’s new backyard arts & crafts studio. It was the negative-space initial of her first name surrounded by flowers, buds and leaves. She loved it, and I had such fun making a surprise for her!
My Favorite Needlework Project
Hi Mary! What a fun question to answer. I’d say my favorite project, in my relatively short career, has been the design I stitched with varigated red sock yarn on heavy loden wool, for the top of a jumper I made for myself. I traced the basic outline of various Jacobean motifs from a piece of decorator fabric; arranged them in a pleasing pattern on the prepped wool, then had the fun of deciding which stitches would be best to fill them in, and where would a bead or two make a difference. Using only one yarn made it so much EASIER! No color decisions — just stitch decisions!
June
I made a thread painted hedge hog pendant and it is fun to wear and a great conversation starter
That’s a really tough one, but I would probably have to say the very first sampler that I stitched. It was a free pattern from a magazine and still means a lot to me because it represented a new married life and new home in Tennessee.
Thanks for the chance to win a beautiful book.
I did a red frontal for my church altar on handwoven silk/wool fabric. The embroidery was flames done with handspun silk using split stitch and bordered with gold twist. It was fun to work on
My favourite was one of my very first crewel projects. We lived in a military base without much shopping nearby. After much deliberation I ordered from the USA a kit for a sunflower project. Could we afford it? Could I do it?
We do, I did. That was in 1965 and it hung in our house until it was given away last week in anticipation of a downsizing move.
My favorite project has to be the cross stitch magnolia picture I did for my mother. It had approximately 12 different shades of whites and creams, plus almost as many variations of greens and teals. I did it on black Lugana and it is stunning, if I say so myself. When my mother passed my sister suggested that anything we had given to my mother should return to the giver, so my magnolia piece is in the living room where I can see it much of the time. It warms my heart to see it as I think of her.
my favorite stitching project was a wool embroidery bunny with a snowflake
I have completed many projects in my lifetime. The only one that truly stands out is a throw I knitted. I hope knitting is ok. I was relatively new knitter and saw a pattern of sampler design. I believe it was a Nicky Epstein pattern. The skill level was suicidal. Knitting it was a challenge but it was beautiful when finished. The throw was a wedding present for my sister.
Hmmm. My favorite needlework project ever. Most are so much fun – otherwise we wouldn’t do them! The one I enjoyed working on, was somewhat frustrating in that I had never worked with beads, and gives me so much satisfied pleasure each day is the Bee Jeweled pin cushion. I love all the sparkles around it and, oh! the pleasure of almost perfect Palestrina stitching along the seam lines! Thanks, Mary!
I am just starting this journey but found great joy in making some handstitched Christmas ornaments. I used them as part of gift wrapping for giving to special friends. I am learning various stitches and just found this website. It will be of great help in my education!
The project I am most proud of is the Trish Burr GATSBY girl whitework with color kit I stitched for my daughter. It was the most challenging and most satisfying project I have stitched to date. It is also the one I found to be the most pleasing to the eye. I think of it as my masterpiece.
I embroidered state blocks with state birds and flowers. I tried to do it all in crewel work. It took me a year and a half to finish before I could put it together and quilt the
blocks. I now have it hanging on a on the wall quilt hanger. It was the most laborious and sometimes tedious work I have done. But in the end, I’m so proud of it and hopefully when I’m gone, my daughter in law, who is an avid seamstress will want it for her home.
As a person who didn’t want to applique, I went along to be with friends to do a class at Patches quilt shop in Mt Airy. I ended up loving the process and completing several more quilts.
I love all crewel, but bullion knots are my favorite as they can be fancy fancy or just and accent point. Great for embellishing. Merry Christmas to all.
Lovely giveaway
My favorite project remains my Tree of Life crewel embroidery. It was a stamped linen canvas and I got to pick all my stitches and colors. It was an Elsa Williams pattern.
My favorite needlework project was creating a chart from a historical sampler & then stitching it. I created the chart manually, on graph paper. I belong to a Sampler Guild & this was the result of a project we did with the local historical society.
I had been doing various types of embroidery for years but had never even stitched a sampler. As usual, I jumped in with both feet. I am at the point of creating the chart on the computer but am having difficulty navigating PC Stitch 11. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there a manual for PC Stitch 11? If so, how do I find it? Is there another stitching program that may be easier to use? If so, what is it? I am stuck at this point.
My favorite project is a Christmas cross stitch I sewed 40 yrs. ago at a beginner class. It is part of my Christmas decor every year. The first project of many needlework items.
I haven’t finished many projects because I’m very slow due to fatigue, but I think my favorite so far is a landscape of a bluebell wood for my mum. Technically it still needs framing, but I’m so happy to have finally finished stitching it this year (after many, many years!). It’s not perfect by any means, but I designed it myself and I’m proud of it!
I make hearts for all the women in our family each year for Valentines. I plot or think about what I will make each year. So far the veleveteen and silk ribbons are my favorite.
My favorite needlework project is a set of cross stitch Christmas ornaments I made right after I graduated college. I still have them to put on my tree. I was so bored at my first job, I did some of the needlework at work, so glad my boss never caught me stitching!
My most favorite project so far has been personalized canvas bags for each relative with your stitched alphabets. It was fun to learn new stitches and variations.
Random Thoughts by The Drawn Thread. So many beautiful specialty stitches. First time I did a cross stitch piece mingled with specialty stitches. I completed it over 20 years ago and I still admire it to this day.
My favorite needlework is not necessarily my most complicated or the hardest, but it brings me the most joy. Seven years ago I started a 12 days of Christmas ornament series from mmmcrafts on Etsy. Every year I make an ornament for each of my grandchildren. This year it is Swans a swimming. I do my own thing with the embroidery, so each one is a different color scheme and different stitch designs. The joy comes when they put up their tree. It’s a small tree and there are over 40 of my hand stitched ornaments on it. The problem? Well, when I started this my daughter had three children; she now has seven and number eight is due in March. Since this is a series, I now have catch up ornaments to fill in all the missing ornaments in the series that the younger ones don’t have.
I think the project that gave me the most satisfaction was a pattern I got from Etsy. It was a bit Scandinavian in nature. There was only 5 colors. It was done on black 14 count Aida cloth. The pattern had a fox, a deer, a squirrel, an owl, a cabin and lots of trees. I had never cross stitched on black fabric before so it was a bit challenging. I learned a trick about stitching on dark fabric – put something white under it when you are stitching. It came out beautiful, I love it. It was a lot of work but truly worth the hours I spent doing it and I learned a few things along the way.
My favorite piece is a band sampler I did fifteen years ago. It was my first large piece that was mot solely cross stitch. It was one of a four part seasonal series with a house and a tree at the center and the bands were the garden. It is the Winter piece. I don’t remember the name. Unfortunately I had been naive about availability for the rest of the series so it was the only one I got to make. I really enjoyed the challenge of learning the new stitches and of working on linen. I learned a lot and it turned out beautifully.
Love books on surface embroidery as that is where I need to strengthen my skills. Both books sound delectable. Thank you for sharing treats Mary!
In 1995, I completed a 30” bell pull in cross stitch on very fine, dark grey, evenweave fabric. I love the pattern, which is a formal flower garden surrounded by a white fence. The tiny stitches on dark fabric were a challenge! In those days I did a lot of complex cross stitch, and this bell pull, from the stitching to the finishing, is the piece that gives me the most satisfaction and pleasure!
The most gratifying project is always the most recently finished, of course. But that’s always a very brief thrill ’cause the next project up has so much potential!
St. Basil’s by Carol Lake is my favorite project that I recently had framed. I loved changing the stitches used for the domes as I didn’t think they looked like the dome did and I changed some other areas of the building to give them better perspective. Love having it on my wall.
The piece I am more proud of, that was time consuming and beautifully done (It was used as the cover image for a juried show by a local artist group, so I know it’s not just me thinking that, was a piece showing Anne Boylan going through traitors gate, a one way trip to her execution, Many images have been made of her daughter following in her path, who eventually went to other way, but the idea that she *knew* her mother had gone the same way to never be returned but have had her in tumoil.
It was made in opus anglicanum, and was silk and gold on velvet.
My favorite needlework project was a crewel kit of sunflowers that I made for my mother. I loved doing but was challenged by all the French knots in the sunflower center, in the beginning I wasn’t good at doing French knots and I disliked it but after hundreds of repetition I saw my skill improve and actually started liking them a little bit so it is a good example of practice, practice, practice.
My favorite piece of needlework hang on the wall right now. At some point I framed it, even though the edges were never finished. I think I might have been around 10 when I embroidered it is a sort of sampler, with a drawing of a house, and below, the words “The house may be small but the welcome is big, with a frame around it all. It was cross stitch (my first one, I suspect), and I didn’t divide my embroidery thread. I used the whole bundle. Needless to say it is a bit “bolder” than it was meant to be. I remember being very proud of it, and I still am. I love it because mirrors my personality ie. I’ll do it my way, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. I have carried that piece of embroidery with me throughout my life. It still makes me smile, even when nothing else does.
My favourite project – so far – was finishing up the canvaswork piece taught by Gail Sirna in a workshop for our guild in 1997. It was titled “Christmas in the City”. I had put my piece – still on the frame – away , unfinished, and got it back out during the Covid lockdown. A group of guild members – with the same unfinished project hiding in their closets – and I worked on the piece via Zoom meetings. I wrote weekly updates for the zoom group as to how I was changing the project to make it mine, adding buttons, charms and generally changing some things (like painting the sky instead of stitching it).
The piece is now framed and hanging proudly in my home.
A lavender and lace x-stitch Bride picture that I gave my sister for her bridal shower. Second place would be two tiny embroidered pincushions I gave my mom and Aunt for Christmas one year. They were made using two tiny cups from their play dishes when they were kids. They are both in their 80s.
My favorite project to work on was the round ornaments last year with embroidery and beads. I made several last year as well as some for this year.
I put the directions in my dropbox so I could easily obtain them again this year.
Favorite (finished!) project? A wall hanging of 35 4″ squares, sashed like a quilt, for my mom’s birthday. Each square depicts, in cross stitch, a person, place, or event in her life from her birth to her 65th birthday. She loved it. So do I.
My favorite unfinished project?! A crewel embroidery kit, for a small purse, I bought as a teenager in the 60s. I finished the stitching last winter! Still not a purse. I think it’s going to be something else . . . but what? I don’t yet know. T his book might actually help me figure that out! The irony of this is that the look of crewel embroidery is my favorite.
I loved working on a wool appliqué with embroidery peacock. I used a different combination of stitches on every feather. I look at it and wonder how I could have done That.
I loved a thanksgiving piece I did back in late 1989. Two pilgrims sitting at their table in front of fireplace and their heads bowed, and hands in prayer. Loved the color and seeing them being grateful for their bounty.
Years ago (well, maybe decades!) I made a large reproduction Danish cross stitch sampler that had a very long border all the way around. I was never so pleased with myself as when I worked my way all around and finished exactly where it was supposed to be – I hadn’t mis-counted anywhere. But in general everything I finish gives me great pleasure to look at a few months later. All the little things at the time I thought weren’t good enough are never even noticeable.
When I was a teenager, I designed and stitched an embroidered “sampler” for my green-thumbed grandma that included the poem, “Kiss of the sun for pardon, Song of the birds for mirth, One is nearer God’s heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.” That was a long time ago, but it was a labor of love from start to finish.
Interesting questions. I got the notion recently to embroider a cross for a lady at church who lost her husband not long ago. They were very close. I have always admired her for her great attitude, but we have not been more than church acquaintances.
So it was about 10 x 12″, on a gray to cream ombre crepe with a cotton backing. The cross had kind of a complicated fill of purples and silver grays, a plant twining around it, corners and a border.
I gave it to her just mounted on a stiff heavy matboard, since I had no idea what she might do with it.
She was very happy. She said she had taken all the photos off her wall because it saddened her to look at them, but she would put them back up and put the cross in the middle of her family photo wall. She had it framed, a silver frame with purplish blue matting, which suited it perfectly. She said she cried at Hobby Lobby when the framer brought it out finished. She said once she gets her photos up she’ll have me over for lunch to show me the wall and how the cross fits in.
So I was happy she was so pleased, and am happy that we may become friends. I’m a bit shy, so a new friend means a lot to me.
My favorite is called Fancy Threads. It’s basically a fancy needlepoint that my friend recruited me to take in a class with her. I’d never done needlepoint before and it turned out great. Even had pulled work in it. I still have it framed and hanging in my house.
My favourite project was a pulled thread chessboard. The reason it is my favourite is that it was my design and every other square was a different pulled thread stitch
I think my most satisfying project was a large (18″ X 18″) surface embroidery heart, called “Krista’s Heart”, designed by Karen Phillips-Schwallen. I embroidered it in all neutrals, with beads, some 3D embroidery stitches, and lots of love. Gave it to my daughter and son-in-law for their 7th wedding anniversary!
The project that, so far, has given me the most pleasure was a set of cocktail napkins given to a hunter and his bride-to-be at a shower in their honor. I made the napkins, then cross stitched a mallard duck on each. There were to be eight of them, but alas, only six survived. One of my young daughters, thinking to be helpful, trimmed the fringe on two of the napkins. They looked much like a child’s bangs after a three year old trims her own locks. Well, not everything has to be a set of eight.!
A few years ago I was part of a fiber arts group at my UU church and we were creating a stole for our intern minister, and I did the hand embroidery part. It has a caterpillar, a cocoon, and butterflies to show her evolving, and a quote from a song we’d sing before Wednesday night suppers.
“From you I receive, to you I give, together we share, and from this I live”
We gave it to her as a gift on her final Sunday. She’s since become our settled minister and wears it often during services
My favorite needlework project was the Fuller Craft Museum’s Calico Dress in connection with the Red Dress Project Exhibition. this dress was made up of 9 panels of muslim which I helped organize to be finished and then put together. the front panel was designed by Giulia Manfredini of Giulia Punta Antichi. I transferred it onto the muslin (Calico is used for this material in Britain) I embroidered approximately 70% of the front panel of the dress and members of the Mayflower Sampler Guild stitched the rest. the other panels were either done by Community events or individual artists. And the dress has been exhibited at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA. and the Morse Institute Library in Natick, MA. I wish I could include a photo. But I am not sure how. You can see a photo of it on the Fuller Craft Museum website or on Instagram. It was a fabulous Community effort and I enjoyed being a part of the entire organizing of it not only the embroidery part.
A set of small pictures of. Fruit and vegetables that hung in my kitchen for years
My favourite stitching project ever was the Tiffany project, Iris and Magnolia, which the Winnipeg Embroiderers’ Guild did as a group project. One member took the picture and divided it into 10 different sections. We each stitched all 10 pieces, having been given the fabric, a thread colour guide and the backing pieces cut to shape. It was a much larger undertaking that we had anticipated, but in the end, we traded around so that each of us had one piece that we had stitched and nine pieces from other members of the guild. The pieces were then set into a “frame” and the seams were covered with black cord to give the stained glass effect. It was a real relationship building project as we compared stitches and worked together!
My favorite needlework project was a series of ornaments I made for friends and family last Christmas. It made me so happy to be able to make my own gifts. They were simple, but I was fairly new at embroidery, and they gave me a greats sense of confidence, and practice with some basic stitches.
I’ve only done a few embroidery projects, but my favorite was my first project, a bouquet of lavender. My daughter loves lavender, so I made it for her so she can enjoy always. And to my delight, she loved it!
My favourite piece is a box designed by Faby Reilly which she calls “Zoe Box” but I have named “Seasonal wonders box” It depicts a season on each side with a motif – completed in a combination of stitches including cross stitch and other embroidery. What is more the inside is embroidered to match and the lid features a tiny biscornu knob! This project brought so much joy whilst actually stitching as the motifs were so delightful- such as the Autumn squirrel and Winter Robin. There was a glorious variety of colours to enjoy and mini lessons were learned along the way such as how to do a biscornu and how to successfully construct the box itself. This project also brought me great satisfaction when completed as I entered it in our Sydney Royal Easter Show in 2022 and not only was it awarded a first place blue ribbon but was selected for the Standard of Excellence Cabinet earning an additional silver medallion and rosette! This achievement inspired me to join the Embroiderer’s Guild of NSW which has become an even greater source of joy and inspiration- attending their meetings and I am in the process of doing their Creatives Course- learning to create my own designs!
My project from the Royal school of needle work. It was designed by Helen McCook.
My firstwool applique class was making an ovel crazy -style flower garden – one type of flower per section. Its not that my stitching could have been better of fancier. It’s because my mother took one look at it and said, “You’ll never finish that”! So i did and it is one of prized pieces
I study Japanese embroidery (Shishu). My favorite piece is Phase 7, Pansies. I love working with silk thread on solk fabric. This piece focused on long and short stitch. I just loved how it turned out and especially the color composition I chose. The technique studied helped a lot with my interest in crewel.
One of my favorite stitching projects was a flowery monogram that I worked on with my mom. It was the litter R from Mary’s Monogram series. It had simple stitches; lazy daisies and French knots but it is special because it was a combined effort with my mom.
7th grade home-ec. class my very, very first embroidery project ever. I wanted my Mom’s approval so much. It was extremely important to me that she would be proud of me. I come from a strongly artistic Mom and a Grandma who has made a gazillion eye candy quilts. No pressure there. Ha…… Because I could only draw “beautiful”, stick people, this girl was the odd one out. My cousins including the boys used to look at me sideways. Well I took charge of my banana split embroidery project, I worked hard at it. All hunched up on the end of Mom and Dad’s bed where the best light came through the window during the winter. Great way to stay out of the snow.
I have to admit there are a few projects that I really loved, but the one that I consider my best work and most satisfying upon completion is my bluebird in silk . The pattern in an issue of Inspirations was from Nicola Jarvis. I have it hanging all year long, especially in late spring when the mountain bluebirds make their appearance here on our farm!
My fairy crazy quilt! One of my friend daughter drew me a fairy house. It was just what I needed for the center. She now is drawing for people as a side business.
Squash squad by Sue Spargo which was a free project offered at the beginning of COVID. I had not used most of the stitches included in hat project but with Mary Corbet’s stitch videos I was able to complete it. Very satisfying!
My favorite was the autumn leaves embroidery kit and on completion i then embellished my denim jacket with them as well as adding autumn embroidered leaves to two sides of the jacket.
My favorite piece was stand up set of love birds over a bird house. The colors were so vibrant and it just said happiness and love to me. 🙂
Unfortunately, I often have major upheavals in my life which means that I can’t finish my projects. Now I am too discouraged to try.
The project that was the most pleasurable to do was working on my goldwork piece. The different types of goldwork threads and techniques was very interesting and fun to learn. However, it is still not done because I need to buy some spangles/sequins. So for most satisfaction for finishing would be the Leafy Tree kit. I love the color gradient and almost all of the different style leaves came out really nice.
The most pleasurable and satisfying project I have ever worked on is the ongoing Plymouth Tapestry. A group of stitchers meet weekly to embroider 6 foot long panels telling the story of native Massachusetts Wampanoags, and the journey of the Pilgrims from the time they left England the first time through their first harvest celebration in the fall of 1621. The 20 panels will be displayed together upon completion. It has been a truly rewarding and educational experience.
My favorite needle work project was stitching the twelve Christmas trees from Mary Corbet. I was able to learn many different stitches and hang the trees on my tree
I loved doing “Wheels of Color”by Genny Morrow. It is a counted canvas piece, absolutely fantastic. I learned a ton of stitches and how to compensate. I did it with a friend and we kept each other motivated. If one of us wasn’t sure how to do a stitch the other knew how to do it, or we figured it out together. It had a lot of different colors from very pale yellow to very dark green and grey. It was a lot of fun.
In the 80’s I used to do Crewel work. My best piece was of a Cat sitting in front of a wicker chair. There were so many beautiful flowers surrounding the main focus. I was so thrilled! I couldn’t believe that I actually created such a beautiful piece! Still fresh in my mind even 40 years later!
My favorite project was a crewel embroidery ornament for the Christmas tree. It was heart shaped and had the word LOVE on it. I was probably a young teen when I did it, and because that was in the 70s it is a GROOVY design. I loved doing it, and gifted it to my mother, who taught me how to embroider. She still has that and it is on our tree now.
I made embroidered blocks of a year with my two girls and incorporated them into a quilt. Each month has one of my daughters doing an activity that corresponds with the month Interesting how something I started making just for the fun of it has turned into a family heirloom.
My favorite project is a crewel embroidery using elements from the William Morris Golden Lily design. I rearranged things to make a composition rather than a repeat, and I used a thick-weaved navy fabric to give it a millefleurs tapestry feel. Although it was rather too thick to get the needle in and out comfortably. I’m happy with the result. It inspired me to build a loom and try my hand at tapestry weaving, but it didn’t take. I prefer to be able to work any part of the image and any time, spontaneously, like painting. So all the wool I bought for that can now be used for crewel!
I actually have two counted cross stitch projects that vie for the favorite title. One is the very first counted cross I did back in 1974 while I was stationed in Germany with the military. It is a rendition of a Hummel figurine “Retreat to Safety”. This one started me on a 50 year path (so far) of numerous counted projects. The second is a rendition of Hogwarts castle with the train in the foreground. It was a monster of a project that sent me on a one year love/hate relationship with it and made me swear off giant projects in favor of making smaller “greeting card” sized counted cross projects that my friends and family benefit from.
I used your swirly heart pattern & stitched a heart for hospice. The swirls were stitched using variegated size 80 tatting thread. A backwards chain stitch defined the swirls, seed stitch filled in the areas, and it was stitched on unbleached muslin. It was about 5″ tall.
I kept that heart, entered it in the state fair & won my first blue ribbon. Just when I was going to donate it, my cousin was struck down with cancer, for the 3rd time, & I sent it to her instead. I wrote her that her smile had always been so warm & loving, it made my heart dance & swirl. She died not long after, but her memories still make my heart dance & swirl.
My needlepoint project that will give me the greatest sense of satisfaction when finished is my niece’s cross stitch Christmas stocking because I haven’t finished it yet! But when I do it’s it’s going to feel amazing. ((Sorry it’s not finished yet dear niece, but thankfully you are only 3 and are only just understanding what the holidays are!!))
My biggest excitement was my first counted cross stitch almost 50 years ago in college. I bought a kit (on sale) after my last exam and when I opened it at home –
I was faced with linen, Danish flower thread and a chart. I had no idea. Later that summer I went to visit a friend and she was cross stitching! She had been to Pawley’s Island, taken a class and passed the technique on to me. It’s still my favorite piece of counted cross stitch!
Happy Holidays to all!
My most memorable needlework project was a large (3’x 22”) crewel embroidered picture featuring animals by water (raccoon, duck, chipmunk, rabbit, grouse, and more). It was given to me by my husband soon after we were married about 40 years ago. I remember being excited yet hesitant to start on it because I didn’t want to mess anything up on it. After many years I did finish it and think it turned out pretty good. I’ve since been trying to find a kit that size but unable to find one and one that would interest me. I did start working on a large wool project.
My daughter started a cross stitch of the Lord’s Prayer on black fabric. She put it aside and about twenty years later I finished it with wool appliqué to cover the unfinished part. It has a lot of sentimental value because of her discard and my added work.
J’ai fait une petite pièce d’or nué avec une artiste de chez nous “Marie Renée Otis”. Petite mais très jolie et je l’aime beaucoup.
Oooo. That’s a hard one. So many favorites. But for sentimentality’s sake, I have to say embroidered bookmarks I gave as Christmas gifts in 2020. With shopping still limited and my budget even more so, I looked around the house for something I could make. I had tons of thread, but not fabric for embroidery . So, I repurposed my great grandmother’s linen napkins (only the stained ones), and cut them into bookmark size. (She lived thru the Depression, so I prayed she’d understand about making do.) I then designed each bookmark based on the recipient. They turned out lovely and even brought some people to tears.