Category: Crewel Embroidery

Upcoming embroidery courses: Canvas & Stumpwork

18/7/2016

Before I'll tell you about two upcoming course possibilities here in Bad Bayersoien, let's take a look at some 'work in progress'. Remember Ellen and Elisabeth who did a crewelwork embroidery course way back in January? They have graciously allowed me to share their progress with you all.

First up is Ellen her piece. The design was made up of all things 'crewel' Ellen came across and liked. Eclectic, colourful, vibrant and fun. Perfect for trying out many different stitches and colour combinations. The shading on the green leaves of the pink and coral flower has been worked very nicely!

Next up is Elisabeth's piece. She used a designer piece of jungle wall paper as her design source. Her piece takes a modern approach on Jacobean crewel as she incorporates stumpwork elements and beads. Below is a detail of the pomegranates.

I love both pieces and think the ladies have made great progress! Five days are too nearly always short to finish a piece of embroidery. This blog is a great way of keeping track of each other's progress; especially as both ladies live 675 kilometres apart.

Want a bit of embroidery bliss yourself? Then why not join me for one of my upcoming courses? From Monday the 5th of September until Friday the 9th of September I'll run a canvas (needlepoint) course. During the course you will create a colourful masterpiece on canvas. You will have the choice between creating an embroidery with different threads, ribbons and pearls using many different stitches. Or would you rather stitch a classical Berlin Wool piece using tent stitch? One way or the other, the result will be a true eye-catcher. Nice too: this course is well suited for newbies!

From Monday the 31st of October until Friday the 4th of November I'll run a stumpwork course. True to the motto: "anything goes", you will create a three-dimensional embroidery with freestanding elements, needle lace and textured stitches. Use unusual materials and be inspired by the naturalistic pieces created by Jane Nicholas from Australia or 17th century originals.

There are many accommodation options available locally. During lunch break, I'll put bread, spreads and a hearty soup on the table. Wouldn't it be lovely to join me and others for a week-long relaxed embroidery adventure? As bookings are coming in and places are limited, do book your place today!

3 Comments

Crewel embroidery course

15/2/2016

13 Comments

Last week saw the launch of my first five-day embroidery courses new-style. Students can either bring their own design, make one up using my extensive library of embroidery books or simply pick a ready-made design from one of those books. Equally, they can choose to work a small design in an embroidery hoop or opt for a more professional approach and use a slate frame. I've also moved away from the very formal approach of my training at the Royal School of Needlework. Good as it was, it has proven not to be suitable for copying one to one for mainland Europe. So, what did we do?

Ellen from the Netherlands decided to create a design out of pictures she had found on the internet. It works really well to copy bits of designs you like, re-group them and amalgamate them into a new design. And then the fun part comes: choosing colours. Although traditional crewel embroidery involves a woollen thread on linen, you can equally use embroidery floss, perle and the like.

Elizabeth from Augsburg had brought with her a magnificent wall paper she wanted to recreate in stitch. An exotic jungle view with nice vivid colours. As both projects were quite big, and will last them well beyond the five days we had, they both opted to work on a slate frame. For larger projects that are not table cloths or the like, this will always be my preferred option to work with. OK, it takes some time to set up, but it will keep your fabric drum tight for a long time and give you a lovely overall stitching experience. Soon you will find a new breed of slate frames in my webshop. I'll keep you posted on that.

The ladies had so much fun experimenting with different stitches and colour combinations. Pomegranates with silver plated spangles and deep red beads added extra interest. As did a magnificently colourful bird with its many feathers.

And these were the results after five days of hard work, yet relaxed stitching. I think they did marvellously, don't you think? We all agreed that we could have added another week. If you would like to join me for a week of stitching, you will find all the details here. The next course is a goldwork course and runs from the 28st of March until the 1st of April. Hurry as there are only two spaces left!

13 Comments

Allgäuer Nadelstiche Oberstdorf 19-20 March

11/1/2016

2 Comments

I am going to have a stand at this year's Allgäuer Nadelstiche needlework fair in Oberstdorf. Apart from selling embroidery supplies, I will also be teaching my four well-loved short workshops. On both days you will have a change to try your hand at crewel embroidery (long and short), stumpwork (needle lace), goldwork with beetle wings and silk ribbon embroidery. Teaching will be at my stand and a maximum of six people can join per workshop. The teaching fee of €20 includes all materials and a detailed instructional booklet so that you will be able to turn your finished embroidery into a handy needlework tool. Further details of the workshops can be found here. Please book early as places are limited!

Thank you all so much for your nice comments on last week's post of the Victorian Mice Etui! It made my day. For those of you wanting to try your hand at box making, you'll now find curved needles ideal for box making in my webshop. I plan to turn the Victorian Mice Etui into a pattern and possibly a kit too. It won't be for a while though as I have some more pressing embroidery business to finish first. But don't worry, thanks to my new and genius mailing list you, dear reader, will be the first to know when the pattern/kit is out! Not on my mailing list yet? No worries. Just fill out the small form to the right of this post and you're in.

2 Comments

Professional Embroidery Course

5/1/2015

2 Comments

First of all: Happy New Year! Me and my husband spent the last day of the year reading, stitching, eating nice food and watching a documentary on Charlemagne (what a nasty guy that was...). And now it is back to business as usual. My students were here on Saturday for another day of stitching fun as part of the professional embroidery course I offer. Lets have a look at their progress!

In fact, there are so many possibilities that it is often hard to make decisions! This first piece is also a practice piece for future course modules. Although hard to imagine for them now, silk shading is so much easier in wool than it is with those finicky silken threads...

Would you like to learn new embroidery techniques in a friendly group? Then why not join us! Feel free to contact me for more information. You can also browse this website for more stunning embroidery pieces of former students. Living further away? I am looking into the possibility of offering an embroidery retreat (after all, I am living in the middle of a popular holiday destination!). Please let me know if you are interested in this possibility.

I am looking forward to your comments on my students' progress. More to come!

Annette and Christiane work on their crewel embroidery pieces. Working with fine woollen yarn on linen twill is called crewel embroidery. It originates in the Anglo-American world and it typically combines exotic floral motives with native wild life. It is a perfect technique to try out colour combinations and stitches.

Speaking of the devil. Luise has very bravely started her silk shading module! A picture from an anemone seed packet will in the next few weeks be transformed into a stunning silk shading piece. Alone the flower petals consist of 13 different colours of Chinese flat silk. The pink shades look stunning on the dark blue dupion silk background, don't you think?

2 Comments

Forward>>

Historical Embroidery News...

Upcoming embroidery courses: Canvas & Stumpwork

Crewel embroidery course

Allgäuer Nadelstiche Oberstdorf 19-20 March

Professional Embroidery Course

Categories

Archives