Embroidered bits and bobs

Today's post is a bit of a round-up of several embroidery related things going on in my life at the moment. It all started with a last minute request for an embroidered wedding ring cushion. The bride had seen ring cushions made as hoop art on the internet. However, they were machine embroidered. A big no-no when you have me living on site :). I immediately loved the idea of using an embroidery hoop for a ring cushion and within hours this little gem was born.

I decided to embroider a Schwalm heart with cotton a broder #25 onto natural coloured Zweigart linen. The ribbons are 4mm silk ribbons by House of Embroidery and they will be cut to the desired length once the rings are tied on. To make the Schwalm pattern stand out more, I backed it with a green cotton fabric. Subsequently I filled the hoop with two pieces of wadding, laced the back and sew on a green backing. That's my gift sorted for Moni and Toni. And yes, long-time followers of my blog do know Toni. Or at least his wardrobe, as I embroidered part of his Bavarian braces and several of his shirts.

Next up is a nice little exhibition in Oberammergau, I am part off. With the Ammergauer Kunsthandwerk people we were allowed to use an empty shop window for a two-month exhibition. We all bought a glass and steel cube with led lighting and a lock. These allow us to quickly put together small scale exhibitions to promote our art. My cube features two designs by Jenny Adin-Christie. I decided to display them as they are small enough to fit the cube, not needed as one of my teaching pieces and have a real 'wow-is-that-embroidery?!' feel. So, next time you are in 'town', do visit our neat little exhibition at Dorfstraße 22.

Over the past couple of days, I've added a few yummy new products to my webshop: silver plated pearl purl, silver coloured Japanese thread and a kit for the goldwork pomegranate! Do check them out.

Last Thursday, a group of ladies from ArtTextil Dachau visited my studio. They admired the embroideries on display and asked lots of questions about my stitching and the Royal School of Needlework. Some of them I knew from previous workshops I gave in Dachau. And who knows, maybe I've converted a few to take up embroidery...

And last but not least, I'd like to draw your attention to a course I've signed up for. Tricia of Thistle Threads runs an encore of the Cabinet of Curiosities course. This is an 18-month self-paced online course on 17th century stumpwork embroidered caskets. As most artisans reproducing the 17th century materials needed in this course are on the brink of retirement, it will unfortunately be the last time this course is offered. And although it is a bit of an investment, this is what made me jump at the change. As there are some other large embroidery projects needing my attention, I won't be able to start immediately, but I am looking forward reading through the excellent course materials!