Embroidery Projects

While I've done embroidery in the past, in fact it's the first craft I ever did. I can remember as a 9-year old stitching butterflies all over a denim shirt.  There was also the Christmas that I decided to make both of my Grandmothers a calendar tea towel.  In the spirit of start as you mean to go on, I had my little epiphany in late October and had to design and stitch the picture at the top of each of them and I made the fateful decision to stitch every single month name and date on the whole thing.  All 12+365 little characters.... I was stitching way into Christmas Eve but got them both done and both were loved and used and treasured.  As you can see, nothing has changed for me.  I'm still deciding at the last minute that I can make elaborate thing at the last minute or adding on elaborate detail upon elaborate detail!  It's just always been in me and there's no point in trying to change now!!!

This first project embodies this concept.  This was just a basic butterfly in a frame.  But then I decided that I needed beads and details on the frame and just kept going.  I would show you a better picture of this project but there's a bit of a mystery.  When I moved, it got packed.  I even saw it during the unpacking when I arrived but somehow, it has disappeared.  It's still in a box somewhere and I will find it again someday.  

The second project here was born out of my love for the city of Glasgow.  The coat of arms of the city, as described here, is framed around a little poem.

There's the tree that never grew,
There's the bird that never flew,
There's the fish that never swam,
There's the bell that never rang.

The image has been adapted into light pole headers, which is where I took the pattern for this project from.  Using a variety of embroidery techniques, including stem stitch, satin stitch, silk shading, needlelace and couching, I tried to replicate the design.  It's not great, it was done in the early days of my return to embroidery but it makes me happy because it reminds me of Glasgow, my favorite city in the world.

As I was first practicing various embroidery techniques, the challenge was, do I just keep them as samples or make them into something useful.  I happened to come across a pattern for a quilted tea cosy and these samples worked perfectly to spruce up the tea cosies and they made great gifts for some special friends.

The blue version was made for a friend of mine who is blind.  I wanted something really textural that she could enjoy.  Mission accomplished.  The fall-themed one didn't start out to be anything other than my attempt at a stumpwork project I found on YouTube. 

The channel of Malina GM is amazing and is my #1 recommendation for anyone who wants to learn to embroider or who wants to experiment with various techniques.  She has an amazing selection of instructional videos.  Here's the video for the stumpwork pumpkin.  Quite a few of my projects come from her channel so I'll link them as I go along.  Stumpwork, by the way, is an embroidery technique that gives a very textured, 3D effect to embroidery.  It's definitely something to explore if you've never seen it.  Have a quick look here and here for some ideas of how it can be used.

I found this little embroidered pincushion that you wear around your neck in an issue of Godey's Lady's Work from around the 1860's, I believe.  I loved the pattern and the uniqueness of being able to wear it around the neck so I just had to do it. It was a really sweet pattern and it hangs in pride of place in my living room.  I haven't used it yet for sewing but I will do someday. 

Blackwork is one of the oldest forms of embroidery, said to have been taught to her ladies in waiting by Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, which introduced it into England from her native Spain.  I've always loved the graphic look of it but had never really done any.  I had an instructional book in my library found during some of my travels just waiting for the day when I could experiment with it.  I definitely want to do more of it but this was my plunge into the pool.  The design was from that book, Beginner's Guide to Blackwork by Lesley Wilkins.  It's the perfect book to get started from.

I love a good monogram.  When I first moved back, I had a temp job that was only occasionally busy.  I spent down time doodling out some designs for monograms and these are a few of the samples.  I loved the way the L came out so decided to make it into a sweet little pincushion as a present for a friend.  It just goes to show that you can practice these things and make use of the ones that work!

This project came from another of Malina GM's YouTube channel.  It was great practice for a number of stitches and so worth a try.  The only thing I regret is that I did it on a practice piece of material that isn't easily used for a project.  But still, it was a fun project and definitely big bang for the buck.  The video is here.

For me, pincushions are like purses.  They make a great palette for  embroidery projects.  One book I've used for numerous projects, including this pincushion and the Kindle cover following is Diana Lampe's Embroidery for all Seasons.  This is the Kardinal Rose Garden pattern.  I knew I wanted to use it for a pincushion but it wasn't until I finished it that the design suggested the shape.  It just naturally wanted to be this 6-sided shape.  I covered the seams with a beaded border and added the little tassels at each corner.  I never could have planned the shape and finishing before I started so I just went with it as I progressed.  It is so charming, don't you think?

When I got my Kindle Paperwhite, I decided, instead of buying a case, to make my own.  Using, patterns from the book mentioned above (and the flower basket from Malina GM's channel), I made this cover.  For the back, I took the Wisteria pattern from the Spring Garden and added a matching tatted bottom border and a piece of bobbin lace for the top.  I thought the clear drop beads looked like a spring shower to finish it off.  I added pieces of cut plastic between the case and the lining just to add a bit of added protection for the device.  The flower basket ended up not being very well centered on the flap but I had some restrictions with the size of the embroidery fabric.  A little bobbin lace edging for the flap just set it off.  I love being able to incorporate my bobbin lace into other projects and this was a great example.

  

I have a friend who plays the harp.  I'm always on the lookout for harp-related things to stitch for her and for a long time, I've wanted to embroider a harp to match hers.  I finally found a picture that would work and felt my skills were up to completing it with long and short stitch pattern.  It's only about 3 inches tall but it came out just like I'd hoped and she loved it!

This was another experiment to try a new style of embroidery.  If you want a book that will help you explore a wide variety of lacemaking techniques, my go-to book is Ann Collier's book, The Art of Lacemaking.  I've done 5-6 projects from this book, including this one using Richelieu or Italian Cutwork.  I found this process so interesting and really so much easier than it looks.  If you've never tried it, I encourage you to get hold of this book and give it a go.  I used a batik fabric for the backing because it reminded me of a tropical night sky with the bird sitting in the tree. It's now a tea cosy used often in my kitchen.  I have another Richelieu project from a 1956 magazine on standby.  Can't wait to get it started.

One of the most thrilling new skills I've gained the past year is goldwork embroidery.  I didn't know anything about it until I took the London Embroidery School class.  From there I just couldn't stop!  This charming beetle was my favorite project using goldwork and stumpwork techniques.  It's not for the beginner but having taken the LES class, I felt able to handle it.  

When I finished the beetle and decided to frame it, I decided to add a stitched border instead of using a cardboard matting.  I started with the corner motifs using the leftover blue leather and gold pearl purl.  Then I beaded panels using seed beads that matched the colors of the beetle.  It took several tries to get the pattern right.  Once I had these elements, I mounted them on gold fabric that I could stitch to the backing material.  I absolutely love how it came out, although I could never get a picture that really shows it off well enough.  

This was a fun little project to make a needle case.  I embroidered the outside and then used sheets of cut felt for the pages.  I really need to go back and mark the pages as to the type of needle held there but I haven't done it yet.

My mother loves birds.  She's a wonderful artist and draws and paints all kinds of birds in various media.  I wanted to try my hand at embroidering a little hummer using black silk organza for the stumpwork wings.  I just used a photo online for the pattern and then worked it out myself.  It's only about 2 inches long but it makes a lovely pin for her to wear.  It's another thing I need to work more on and try with different birds or other animals.

So that's a little wind up of the embroidery journey I've been on the past 18 months and so much more ahead!