Embroidery

Embroidery is a rather vague term that encompasses just about all needle and thread on fabric techniques. I truly enjoy sitting and talking with my friends or watching a movie while my hands are busy with fabric and thread.

I found a charming little sewing shop in Minneapolis when I was visiting a friend. I couldn't decide on a kit to do, so I picked a blind grab bag that contained an Irish stumpwork sampler. I'd done many forms of needle work, but never heard of stumpwork. The cream flowers on the top are the stumpwork, and the rest is in petit point, pulled thread and other embroidery techniques.

Petit point is a lot like cross stitch, but rather than going over 4 cloth threads, the design goes over only two, making it much smaller than normal. If you look at the letters, you can see the super tiny x's.

I also enjoy needlepoint. This design is actually done with only 3 different skeins of thread, but two are variegated, making the  rainbow pattern. The primary stitch throughout this quilt-like design is the long stitch.

Hardanger is another type of embroidery. It falls into the category of "cut-work". As you embroider, you also cut out threads from the cloth. This gives the appearance of lace. Although I strive for perfection in all forms of needle work, in hardanger, it is a requirement. Cutting and pulling out even one wrong thread can ruin the entire piece.

At the center of this last hardanger is another needlecraft I enjoy- ribbon embroidery. Rather than using a needle and thread, silk ribbons of varying thickness are used. Some ribbon embroidery will also use traditional threads to complete the design or to provide a foundation for weaving the ribbons. I think of ribbon embroidery as one of the fastest methods of needle work. I finish most projects in a few hours rather than the months it takes for something like counted cross stitch.

My first introduction to embroidery, and likely the one most people think of when talking about embroidery, was the iron-on transfers type that grandma used to embroider tea towels and pillow cases. I've always wanted to do a set of towels, but I always seem to start but not finish. Perhaps I change my kitchen colors too often. Here is a bunny I started something like 8 years ago. I really would like to finish, so perhaps I just need to sit and do it.