A Little Stitching for FNSI

Good Morning Everyone. Last night, despite my body still readjusting to WA time, I joined in with Wendy of Sugarlane Designs for this month's Friday Night Sew-In. Thanks Wendy for a great night!

I worked on my Jacobean needle case which I started last month at my embroidery group. It was my first night back in a group since 2002 and I was lucky that they had just started this workshop. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it before our next meeting next week.



Chain stitch, whipped chain stitch, stem stitch

Jacobean embroidery is also known as crewel embroidery. Worked in 2 ply wool threads, most existing examples of crewel work are from the 16th century onwards. However, the oldest example of crewel work is around 900 years old.

What we know as Jacobean style designs were based on coloured textiles brought to England by traders in the 16th & early 17th centuries. Embroiderer's embellished these textiles, often depicting the tree of life designs that included exotic birds and animals, with simple, monochromatic stitches such as chain stitch, stem stitch, back stitch and seeding.

William Morris and Edward Burnes-Jones revived interest in crewel work in the mid-19th century when they started incorporating it into their designs. If you would like to see some examples of crewel work take a look at the Embroiderer's Guild of WA's website here. (Information from 'Royal School of Needlework Embroidery Techniques', text by Sally Saunders, designs by Anne Butcher & Debra Barrett.)

Now, to wrap up our lovely but quick visit to Adelaide. I did manage to get to Cotton Stitches although it was a bit more tricky to find than the other stores. Here's what we bought. Once again, the ladies were very helpful & friendly.

 



Young Miss M was fascinated with 2 lion statues at the front of our hotel, The Stamford Plaza. Here she is saying farewell.

Well, I'm off to check out what everyone else got up to for FNSI last night. Have a great weekend!

Cheers,
Tracy xx