WWII Sampler

Every now and then I come across a blog that makes for good reading. The blog posts on Hands Across The Sea Samplers is my latest find. The daily posts include the history behind the samplers and there are sometimes video links to the topic of the day that one would normally not come across.

Yesterday's post focuses on a sampler stitched by Major Alexis Casdagli, a WWII prisoner of war. The daring of the man is not immediately apparent in the sampler. Read more about this sampler on Hands Across The Sea Samplers here and more about the Major in the Telegraph here.

Major Casdagli's sampler (Hands Across The Sea Samplers)

And Jane Austen fans will enjoy this post here.

Space Embroidery

Do you remember the photographs the first astronauts took of earth from space? It was the rich blues of our planet that remain imprinted on my mind's eye.

Earth by Navid Baraty

If you would like to capture images of space with needle and thread you will find a small selection of cross stitch patterns by Navid Baraty in the Etsy shop SpaceNavid. I love how the colours pop out against the black background of space.

Mars by Navid Baraty

As a child I had visions of becoming an astronaut and travelling through space, all fueled by the space missions of the great space race between the USA and Russia. We can but dream.

Ighali 2016 - Dresden Lace Pulled Thread Lily

This year the Ighali Embroidery Convention is in August. It promises to be a lovely event, set in beautiful Knysna, and with some noteworthy teachers and classes. You can find out more about it on the Embroidery Network South Africa website here.

At Ighali I hope to be teaching a pulled thread course, "A Glimpse of Dresden Lace - Pulled Thread Lily", using traditional Dresden Lace stitches and techniques - that is if there are enough embroiderers who would like to join us to learn about 18th century embroidery methods and some challenging stitches. All the details of the class are in the class brochure which you can download from the ENSA website.

Dresden Lily on linen - Lyn Warner

Originally, I experimented with using a very fine cotton muslin for teaching these techniques and although the results were good, I found that in a class situation, working on such fine fabric presented extra challenges for students.

Dresden Lily on cotton muslin - Lyn Warner

As a result, the class kits for the Dresden Lily at Ighali will contain linen which is both easier to work on and more forgiving of any hasty unpicking. I will also have a small quantity of muslin available for anyone that wants to try it out on their own at a later date.

Bookings for all classes are via ENSA but if you have any questions about my course email me directly at lynette[dot]warner[at]gmail[dot]com. Apologies for the cryptic address. It's to avoid spammers picking it up with their webcrawlers.

In the meantime, happy stitching!

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Design adapted with permission of Heather Toomer, Embroidered in White: 18th century