Embroidery is not for those who like instant gratification! Some projects take just a darn long time to finish. This piece is the perfect example – it sat for 4 years in my stash because I didn’t know what crewelwork even was (other than I really liked the style). THEN, after I figured it out and practiced on other projects I was ready to get started!

The Mellerstain Firescreen kit by The Crewelwork Company was purchased in 2014, I started stitching in February 2018 and finished January 9, 2022. A long term project finally, finally completed. There’s still some work to do – blocking and mounting, and then finally framing.

This project is very important to me. It became my inspiration to explore hand embroidery as a whole – the history, the techniques, the materials.

I purchased the kit from the RSN Store at Hampton Court in February 2014. The kit is from the Crewelwork Company. At the time, I new next to nothing about crewelwork, but I LOVED the design! I recall looking through the kit while sitting on the train on our way back into London and thinking – “OMG – I have no idea how to actually stitch this piece!)”. When we returned home, I promptly put the kit in my stash and decided that I needed to learn more about embroidery as a whole. You see, up until this point, I had only ever done cross stitch.

I needed to learn more and so I started to explore my home town (Calgary) to see if I could find a tutor to help me learn more. I am so happy to have found our local embroidery guild – Calgary Guild of Needle and Fibre Arts – and a wonderful group of ladies that introduced me to the world of embroidery beyond cross stitch! And boy did I learn a lot! Canvaswork, goldwork, blackwork, crochet, knitting, sewing, quilting ….. and so much more. All of the different threads and floss, linens and evenweave…. heavenly!

And this is why this piece took so long for me to complete – so many stitchy things to learn and so many other AWESOME stitchy things to stitch!

And so I’ve been in “spongy-learn mode” ever since. I continue to explore new techniques, designers and finishing ideas and methods. AND I still love to cross stitch (as I write this post, I have three on my project list).

For a long time now, I’ve been searching for an antique wooden firescreen for this piece, but alas, I have not been able to find one that a) will fit the piece; b) that I like; c) that is reasonably priced and d) that won’t cost a fortune to ship. SO, I think this piece will be framed for my wall. The framing will need to be special though!

Stay tuned for more – how will it be finished??????