Making a Needle Lace Leaf: The Movie

Tricia Nguyen of Thistle Threads has posted a video on how to make a needle lace leaf using a metal thread called Silk Scallop Trim.
http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2020/05/using-new-frostings-threads.html

You can buy Silk Scallop Trim from Tricia, but note she is shipping only every two months right now since she's overwhelmed with orders and cannot get any help to manage all the orders that are flowing in.  She also has to limit visits to the post office for safety's sake.
https://thistle-threads.myshopify.com/products/silk-scallop-trim

She's using one of her specialty threads but you could do this with probably any metal thread that can be stretched like bullions.  Tanja Berlin sells a wide selection of bullions.  They are typically cut to length and then attached like a bead but bullions can be stretched out and couched into position.
https://berlinembroidery.com/product-category/hand-embroidery-supplies/goldwork-supplies/metal-threads/

You might also try this with the gimp from Painters Threads.  No idea how it will turn out but I like experimenting!
https://threadnuts.com/shop/ols/categories/single-loop-rayon-trim-5m-length-41

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 11, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Stumpwork Embroidery (A Book Review)

Mary Corbet is back with a new book review, this time of Kay and Michael Dennis' new book, Stumpwork Embroidery. Kay Dennis and her husband have been publishing books on stumpwork for quite a while now and this big book is a sort of compilation of all their others.  (So if you own other books by this talented pair, you probably can skip this one unless you are a Major Fan of their work.)
http://www.needlenthread.com/2015/03/stumpwork-embroidery-book-review.html

Here is their website.  You can buy their books here or just gaze at the wonderful stumpwork embroidery.  Don't miss the Amazon Adventure jungle piece!  If you happen to be in England, you can sign up for classes, too.
http://www.kaydennis.co.uk

If you are thinking of getting a stumpwork book and don't know which one, here is Mary's review of Jane Nichols' Stumpwork Embroidery.  You can see how her style is more formal than the Dennis couple's.  I own several of Jane Nichols' books and they are fabulous but I think Kay Dennis does better people. Jane is more interested in insects and flowers.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2009/03/book-review-stumpwork-embroidery-by.html

Jane's Butterflies and Moths book will blow your socks off! (second link)
http://www.needlenthread.com/2014/02/stumpwork-butterflies-moths-by-jane-nicholas-a-book-review.html

I guess Jane Nichols' work is more reminiscent of 17th Century stumpwork while Kay Dennis' designs are more modern in feel.  It's up to you which book you pick for stumpwork but anything by either author will be a great addition to your library.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 31, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Greetings from the 17th Century

If any stitch guide writer or needlepoint teacher is on your Christmas list, I know what to buy them.

If you have a lot of money to spend, enroll them in the Cabinet of Curiosities class from Thistle Threads so they can learn 17th Century needlelace and stumpwork techniques, all of which are totally new to me.
http://thistle-threads.blogspot.com/2014/02/needlelace.html

Thistle Threads also has done a class on the tiny beaded baskets that often were made to go in those fabulous caskets.  Here is a taste of stumpwork for one of those baskets.
http://ladysrepositorymuseum.blogspot.com/2014/02/making-up-beaded-stumpwork-figure.html

http://ladysrepositorymuseum.blogspot.com/2014/02/beaded-stumpwork-angel-continued.html

If you have a limited budget, get this book from Jacqui Carey for them.  It covers stitches popular in the 16th and 17th Centuries.  It astounds me what our stitching ancestors have to teach us if we listen.
http://www.careycompany.com/elizabethan-stitches.html

Can you imagine what Tony Minieri would do if he got his hands on this stuff?!!?!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright Feb. 18, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.