In my last post, I wrote about a fascinating group of embroideries that I found from Asia in the 1300s which exhibit a "needle looping" technique. Of course, I decided to attempt to replicate this lotus flower. I began by purchasing some threads in like colors. I chose Vinyard Silk, because its fluffy and fun,… Continue reading To Needleloop, or not to Needleloop?
Tag: historic embroidery
The Crown of Love
In April of 2021 I planned out a rather large embroidery project reproducing a panel of the 14th Century Embroidered Wall Hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I am happy to say, that after nearly two years the project is complete: I wrote a bit about the project in a blog post called German… Continue reading The Crown of Love
The Last Needle Case: Open Work
Last year when I finished my needle cases I finished with 10 out of my intended 12. As the project progressed, I found that some of the needle cases were more time consuming than others so I combined a few categories to finish the project in my time frame. The first combo was Free embroidery… Continue reading The Last Needle Case: Open Work
White Work Apron
A secret project for John Marshall. The day I became an Apprentice, John Marshall, husband of Elizabet, my Laurel, received his Writ to join the Order of the Laurel for his excellence in historic food, including cheese making (Mmm Cheese). To this, I volunteered to make the cook an apron trimmed with Laurel leaves for… Continue reading White Work Apron
Musing on Progress
When folks ask me how long I've been embroidering, I often say, "oh a long time" or "since I was a kid" but, my Facebook memories have recently reminded me, this is not exactly true. When I was a child, I did some stitching and worked on some kits but I never actually finished any… Continue reading Musing on Progress
Long and Short Butterfly
This summer I needed a short project for a road trip and a cup cover for M'Lord Taichleach seemed the perfect project. He requested something similar to this butterfly: Blue Morpho I chose to use the Long and Short stitch to create the best transition from dark to light on the butterfly wings. To begin,… Continue reading Long and Short Butterfly
A Rainbow Pelican
Its been a while since I've posted. Last year at the end of the year I was the deputy event steward for a big event that took place right before the shut down events (yet again). The days/weeks/months leading up to the event were stressful and coupled with mundane problems, I felt burnt out afterward.… Continue reading A Rainbow Pelican
10 Little Needle Cases
This post is the culmination of a year long project of embroidering a needle case each month in 12 different styles. Due to time constraints and the complexity of a few of the embroidery styles, in the end I have 10 finished needle cases! The Embroidery Styles include: Applique, black work, German brick stitch, Bayeau… Continue reading 10 Little Needle Cases
December: Embroidery over Pleats
This piece is part of a larger project that I started this year to explore different styles of embroidery. To read more about it click here. To read about how I came up with this specific pattern and design, click here. The Last Needle Case! When I started this project and allotted the last month… Continue reading December: Embroidery over Pleats
December: Smocking
We have entered the final stretch, the final month of needle cases! The last one is smocking. Smocking was a popular decorative way to decorate pleats in chemises and other linen garments like aprons in the 16th century (the last half of the year has been full of 16th century, huh!). The best extant example… Continue reading December: Smocking
The Inevitable Scadian 