Handmade Aficots from Devon

Jenny Adin-Christie sells aficots handmade in Devon, England.   These are used to smooth satin stitches, particularly in whitework.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DNV1RD6Mcve/?img_index=1

Some are acrylic and some are wooden.  Jenny points out that the acrylic ones can be washed to remove the oils from your hands, which is great if you are doing whitework or stitching with other very light colored threads.  You can shop Jenny's website if you are interested.

https://jennyadin-christieembroidery.com/product/acrylic-aficots?v=0b3b97fa6688

https://jennyadin-christieembroidery.com/product/aficots-in-exotic-woods?v=0b3b97fa6688

Heck, even if you aren't interested you should look at her site.  The embroidery is out of this world!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright August 15, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Thimbles from the Mary Rose

The Mary Rose was Henry VIII's favorite ship.  Sadly, she sank in 1545.

https://maryrose.org/

The wreck was discovered in 1971 and raised in 1982.  Guess what they found onboard?  Thimbles!

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1178680860969808&set=a.559825776188656

The thimbles were used to mend sails and perhaps clothing as well.  It's fascinating to think how much we stitchers have in common with the Tudor sailors.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright June 5, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Jubilee Pillow

Ehrman's latest newsletter showed off the Jubilee Celebration pillow kit that Candace Bahouth created to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's fifty years ruling the United Kingdom.  

https://www.ehrmantapestry.com/queen-elizabeth-ii/

It's not a brand new design but it's a lovely one and I thought today you might enjoy seeing it.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright April 16, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

"Coronation Inspired" Needlepoint

I just realized the Royal School of Needlework has a section of their website with "coronation inspired" needlework kits and items.

https://royal-needlework.org.uk/product-category/shop/coronation-inspired/

The Coronation Pillow kit is from One Off Needlework while the Jubilee Crown kit is from the Flanders Tapestry Collection.  Like most British needlepoint, these are kits on larger count canvas (often Interlock) meant to be stitched with tapestry wool.  I believe the designs are printed on the canvas, not painted.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright April 7, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Chelsea Pensioners and Needlepoint

Elizabeth Bradley has posted a bit about the inspiration behind their Chelsea Pensioners line of small designs on their blog.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NeedlepointNation/permalink/5097844086959375/

You can see the three Pensioners designs plus the poppy here--

https://needlepoint.com/pages/search-results-page?q=chelsea+pensioner

The Kirk and Bradley "garden" kits are here--

https://elizabethbradley.com/collections/kirk-and-bradley-for-elizabeth-bradley-needlepoint-kits

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright May 18, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Making A Pearl Flower

Ever wanted to make a pearl flower?  Tanya has a lovely video on her website.

https://opusanglicanum.wordpress.com/2021/04/23/pearl-flower/

She is a specialist in Opus Angelicanum, which is Medieval embroidery essentially.  She's working on velvet (I think) but the process is the same if you are working on needlepoint canvas and couching Kreinik instead of the very stiff metallic British twist.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright April 24, 2021 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Reproducing Little Bottles for the Cabinet of Curiosities UPDATED

Tricia Nguyen has posted a video about the long road to figuring out how to make reproduction scent bottles for her Cabinet of Curiosities classes.  I cried at the end.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuMlUTmGeaU&feature=youtu.be

A little background—Tricia's a materials engineer with a specialty in fabrics.  She became fascinated with 17th Century stumpwork caskets and has been on a long journey to figure out how they were made and to have reproductions of the caskets, their hinges, paper, threads, inkwells and now bottles made for the historical classes she is teaching on stumpwork.

By the way, the little bottles and the ink pots for the stumpwork caskets are sold out.  There is still a little room in the last class she's teaching on her historical exploration of these items.
https://thistle-threads.myshopify.com

UPDATE:  The paper lining for these things was equally difficult to research and source.

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2020/12/12-days-of-christmas-day-10.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 26, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Ehrman Has a New Website

Ehrman Tapestry in England has updated their website.  They always have spectacular designs for their kits (printed canvas shipped with the wool needed to complete) which are usually on 10 or 12 count canvas. 
https://www.ehrmantapestry.com

If you have a favorite Ehrman designer, you can see just their work, or you can browse their collections to look at florals, birds, seaside, Asian, etc. themes.  The website is set up to filter canvases by overall size, too, just in case you only want pillows or rugs, etc.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 9, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Queen Mary's Carpet

Queen Mary's carpet has been the subject of discussion on Needlepoint Nation recently, so I did a little searching to find this information about Queen Mary herself and her famous needlepoint rug.  Queen Mary is the grandmother of the current Queen Elizabeth II.  The rug itself was sold to raise money to pay off Britain's national debt after World War II.  It is currently in Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau but I can't find it on their website.  (Thanks for that, Christine!)

Ann Bernard's blog has a great factual article about the rug itself.
https://annbernard.com/embroideries-that-record-historyqueen-marys-carpet/?fbclid=IwAR3pk6rWxahuj9FzJpwiePmN8dwO9oz0-Vnlz7U1TS5ODKk7Th3g1HLETTg

This news reel footage shows off the rug nicely.  It took eight years and was started during World War II.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZL8ICT-V2E&fbclid=IwAR1OAIXH4LIkmN5VPf96jP9A9hYZiDXCA0JNNv1mpnGlyKQyXEKmR7FsRp4

More news reel footage.
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/queen-mary-makes-a-carpet-for-dollars

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 21, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Thoughts on Creativity and Home

This morning I have a short essay from Anna Pearson about creativity and our homes, with lots of photos of her work over the years and how she displays it in her own house.
http://anna-pearson-needlepoint.blogspot.com/2019/08/working-in-creative-room.html

Anna is an English needlepoint teacher and designer.  You can see more of her work and check out her current classes on her website.
https://www.anna-needlepoint-pearson.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright  August 19, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Anna's Guide to Beginning Needlepoint Tools

The English designer Anna Pearson just posted a guide to the tools useful for needlepoint on her blog.  The article also explains needlepoint for those who are new to it, and uses a lot of British language versus what we Americans might say.  She calls Zweigart type needlepoint canvas even weave, for example, and talks about power points (electrical outlets) and flat headed drawing pins (thumb tacks).  She also prefers Appleton crewel but then many of her designs are pillows or for footstools or other items that get wear.
http://anna-pearson-needlepoint.blogspot.com/2019/07/introduction-to-needlepoint-and.html

It's a good orientation for folks who are in the United Kingdom and very interesting for those of us who are not to read.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright July 2, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Ecclesiastical Embroidery in England

Reed is in Oxford, England where he discovered a huge range of needlepoint pillows and kneelers in the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin.  Use the right side arrow to see all the photographs he took.  Sadly, he says there was no information as to the designer(s) or stitchers of these beauties.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10160622236195153&set=pcb.1857561487654334&type=3&theater

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 8, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Queen Mary's Needlepoint Rug

Thanks to David I have a link to an interesting article on Queen Mary's stitching (and a bit about the Duke of Windsor's needlepoint).
https://hands-across-the-sea-samplers.com/the-queen-stitched/

Here's the URL for the black and white video of the huge rug.
http://streaming.britishpathe.com/hls-vod/flash/00000000/00047000/00047404.mp4.m3u8

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright June 17, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Georgian Needlepoint Slippers

I thought you'd love seeing these beautiful needlepoint slippers, dated 1730-40 A.D.   They are English, stitched with wool on linen needlepoint canvas, and are from the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection.
http://www.silkdamask.org/2017/08/two-views-of-same-georgian-shoes-c-1730.html

You can see more about the shoes here.
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O74390/pair-of-shoes-unknown/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 4, 2017 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Kneelers for the Fulham Palace Chapel

The Royal School of Needlework is designing kneelers for Fulham Palace's chapel.  The designs are based on the bishops' coats of arms.
http://www.fulhampalace.org/kneelers-for-our-chapel/?platform=hootsuite

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 23, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Embroiderers to the Royal Family

I fought you'd enjoy watching this video profile of Hand and Lock that Susan Elliott of Plays with Needles fame posted the link to.  The company is famous for their gold work, couture embroidery and military insignia.  Amazing to think that hand embroidery is still a viable profession in the 21st Century!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iitj3ipEvk&feature=youtu.be

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 30, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The UK Casket Tour, Part One

Tricia Nguyen of Thistle Threads talks about the tour of the United Kingdom she organized to see various 17th Century caskets in castles and museums all over England and Scotland.  If you are interested in reproduction embroidery, history or just travel, you'll want to read this.  Thanks, Tricia!
http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-travel-log-uk-casket-tour-day-1.html

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/11/uk-casket-tour-day-2.html

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-burrell-collection-day-3-part-1.html

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-burrell-collection-day-3-part-2.html

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-burrell-collection-day-3-part-3.html

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/11/driving-to-england-day-4-part-1.html

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/11/driving-to-england-day-4-part-2.html

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/11/uk-casket-tour-day-5-york-workshop.html

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/11/us-casket-tour-day-6-lady-lever-gallery.html

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/12/enjoying-bath-day-7.html

http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2015/12/fashion-museum-day-7.html

Tricia is taking a break for Christmas but will return with more about this fabulous tour shortly.  I'll summarize everything in Part Two once she posts all about the trip.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright  November 7, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Magna Carta (embroidery)

I didn't know that the Magna Carta's Wikipedia entry was embroidered last year in honor of the 799th anniversary of the signing of this important document.  You can read a bit more about it here and watch the short video here.
http://www.bl.uk/events/cornelia-parker-magna-carta-an-embroidery

Tracy Franklin worked on some of the illustrations along with other embroiders from Great Britain.  You can read a bit about their contributions here.
http://tracyafranklin.blogspot.com/2015/07/magna-carta.html

It's always fascinating to read about stitching that commemorates important parts of our history, then and now.  I hope you enjoy learning a bit about the philosophy behind this needle art piece.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright July 16, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Needlepoint Unwelcome for Jury Duty

Thanks to Jo Christensen who mentioned this on Facebook, I have a story that will amaze you from England.   (The needlework pictured appears to be cross stitch but that might be what she was working on when the photograph was taken.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3174777/Former-aide-Charles-barred-taking-needlepoint-jury-service-case-uses-weapon.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright July 26, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Embroidery Across the "Pond"

Kreinik's blog highlights the work of the English designer Yvonne Close who runs West End Embroidery this morning.  Like cupcakes?  Like counted canvaswork?  Then check our Yvonne's full range of charts in the second link below.
http://www.kreinikthread.blogspot.com/2014/03/everlasting-cupcakes.html

http://www.westendembroidery.com/West_End_Designs.html

If counted canvaswork isn't your thing, then you might like Mary Whelan's art embroidery from Ireland.  She incorporates beads and stumpwork techniques into her pieces, some of which are for sale.  Mary's style is very restrained and very very beautiful.  I don't think I've seen anything exactly like it before. She also does mosaics, which you can see if you click on Portfolio and then choose the Mosaic section of her site.  The greeting cards are in the Store area.
http://www.marywhelanart.com/embroidery.html

It's inspiring to see needlework from Great Britain that's totally unlike American needlework.  Keep up the good work, ladies!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 10, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.