The project list is about to grow – exponentially! I’ve done a crazy thing and have signed up for yet another event in May (in addition to the Natalie Dupuis workshop and EAC Seminar). The Crewelwork Company is holding their Lady Anne’s Retreat virtually this year and – well – I just couldn’t help myself. There are daily talks, live online zoom workshops and also pre-recorded workshops. If you are interested in learning more – here’s the link: https://ladyannesneedlework.com
SO – April is a month for me to get some finishes across the line! My list is not too long which is very nice – but there are a couple of large projects that are still not nearly far enough along. And, of course, I do the “look, squirrel” thing quite a lot and have added a few, smaller projects (darn those Inspirations magazines) – none of which are going to become journal pages!
“Getting it out of my system” journal has a new potential name – “My Stitching Story”
I have been having so much fun with this project! It is exciting to search for and plan designs to create pages for this journal. I now have 4 pages completed and am working on creating the story for my book. I really like the “story book” format and am going to weave “My Stitching Story” into this book and onto the pages. So now I am becoming a writer and poet!
A small crewelwork piece is planned, and also a very fun architectural piece by Charles and Elin Embroidery (more on them below) in the works.
I’m also very tempted to try out Mary Corbett’s strawberries 5 ways project (links below) – firstly because they are red, and secondly because I love strawberries, and lastly because it’s a great way to explore new stitches!!
There are two things I really like about this journal project: many of these pieces are small and don’t take more than a few sittings to complete (which gives me some instant gratification being able to finish smaller pieces between larger ones) and that this is a long term project (so I have time to plan and think about the size and content of the journal).
Trish Burr Journal – sometimes you just need to call it… I’ve given myself permission to abandon this project! There are just so MANY new projects, workshops and courses that I am interested in. So I asked myself “what projects do I really want to focus my time on?” and it was a pretty easy answer! So the Trish Burr journal is now abandoned and I am perfectly fine with that. I’ve learned a lot from the two pages I did complete and can officially say that I’ve stitched a Trish Burr piece. These two pages are being saved for another journal project idea – more on that later.
Goldwork Journal This journal will be completely finished by the end of April. The front and back covers are finished and I have a concrete plan on how to attach the cover to the rest of the pages. Stay tuned for a new video on that!!
Amina – Stitch Floral After a long absence, Amina is back (YAY!!) and is creating more of her amazing journal pages and journals. She’s continuing with her blog and is expanding into Youtube. Here are the links to her first two videos – it’s so nice to hear her voice and she’s done an amazing job with these two videos! If you haven’t already, sign up for her newsletter – they are always very inspirational and enjoyable to read.
https://mailchi.mp/7f6bda8d5db0/stitch-floral-signupform
https://youtu.be/PCnOX8RIUSEhttps://youtu.be/xPD_i3eZ0ec
Charles and Elin Embroidery ArtistsCharles and Elin are a married couple that live in Paris, France, who are full time embroidery artists – and they make the most beautiful architectural embroideries! I’ve been following them on Instagram for quite some time and have finally taken the plunge and have purchased a couple of their patterns (thank goodness for downloadable PDF’s)! They have a wonderful YouTube channel with lots of instructional videos on the embroidery techniques they use to create their pieces. Their website is wonderful – and much expanded since I first started following them – lots of patterns, great instructional videos and more.
https://www.charlesandelin.com
They also have a free introductory course on Teachable called “Going Knots” that is well worth the time to view. This is a great opportunity to check out the Teachable online platform. I have used it with Natalie Dupuis’ class on couching and found it very easy to use. It pulls together all of the different teaching media and makes it seamless to use (documents, links, text, videos, chat function, lesson layouts, etc)
https://charlesandelinacademy.com/p/embroidery-library-going-knots
Mary Corbett – Embroidering Strawberries 5 Ways Mary is continuing to develop multi-part tutorials and they are just wonderful. Her first one was on stitching wheat 5 ways and her newest one focuses on strawberries. Her tutorials are excellent! Here are the links to the first 6 parts, and there is one more coming.
Part 1 – https://www.needlenthread.com/2021/03/how-to-stitch-strawberries-part-i-design-materials.html
Part 3 – https://www.needlenthread.com/2021/03/embroider-strawberries-burden-stitch-leaves.html
Part 4 – https://www.needlenthread.com/2021/03/embroidered-strawberries-lattice-work.html
Part 5 – https://www.needlenthread.com/2021/03/embroidered-strawberries-battlement-couching.html
Part 6 – https://www.needlenthread.com/2021/04/embroidered-strawberries-and-blossoms.html
Mary has set up a dedicated project index page on her website where she is posting all of these tutorials. She has quite a bit planned for 2021! https://www.needlenthread.com/2021/03/how-to-embroider-blank-project-index.html
School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org
Here’s another opportunity to explore the realm of online embroidery classes. The School of Stitched Textiles (they are located in the UK offers many self-paced online beginner classes (that are self paced) as well as a series of accredited distance-learning courses on a variety of textile craft courses (hand embroidery, knitting, crocheting, felting, etc). If you are interested in hearing more about this school based on personal experience, please touch base with Ann Alcorn – she has taken many of their courses!
The online learning platform that SST uses is called “Creative Classroom” which is the same Teachable platform that I mention above (rebranded a little differently for the UK). The are offering a FREE short project based course to help you de-stress and help relieve anxiety. Another great way to check out the platform to see if online learning is for you.
https://creativeclassroom.sofst.org/p/mindfulstitchfree
As you can see, the world of online learning in embroidery has exploded. Although I would rather take classes in person, online learning has opened up many new opportunities in education in embroidery. International teachers have never been more accessible! Prices are reasonable and you can do it all from the comfort of your own home. Another very large rabbit hole has opened up (and I jumped right in)!
The Needlesmith 