Needle-art Stash Show n' Tell

When I was little, my father's mother taught me to embroider. She gave me a little hand towel stamped with a water lily sitting on a lily pad. I got to choose my colors and we went to Woolworths to pick out the floss. Of course, the flower had to be pink, the leaves green, and the little water ripples on each side were blue.


She taught me the stem stitch, the satin stitch, and French knots (for the stamens). I had to do the leaves first, and very quickly lost interest. That poor hand towel took literally years to finish and became very grubby! I wish I still had it, because even though my interest was sporadic, that was truly the beginning of my love of needlework.


I promised to show off some of my needlework stash, so here goes! The first piece is cross stitch. It may have been a stamped design.

This one is a hand towel with counted threadwork. How do you like the color choice??

And embroidery: This a sometimes called "redwork," consisting of red thread on a white ground, this time on a tablecloth.

There's pink and orange in there as well. Very bright and cheerful!

Now for some satin stitch embroidery - can you imagine making these tiny eyelets??!!

Some more drawn threadwork,

Next is some beautiful cutwork.

When I look at these pieces, I often think of the woman who made them, maybe for a trousseau, maybe stitching away while her baby slept, or as a wedding gift for a daughter. Each perfect stitch, side by side is a marvel to me.

This is applique, sometimes called "shadow applique."

Not only are the stitches tiny, but the batiste is very light.

The backside if this work is beautiful as well.

We move on to crochet. This placemat is part of a set of four.

An intricate crochet design, part of a tablecloth.

The next few photos are filet crochet. I tried this once, which increases my appreciation of this art form.

A set of coasters.

And tatting - oh my gosh!

Tatting is done using a shuttle and your fingers. I once took a 6 week tatting class; at the end of the class, I was not doing well, so I took it again. At the end of 12 weeks, I had about two inches of tatting! Enough to drive one crazy!

Two crocheted bed covers. Perfect and wonderful!

Below, bobbin lace edging on a napkin.

And knotted filet lace.

Lastly, a pillowcase made by my grandmother, stamped cross stitch with crochet edging.

I hope you have enjoyed this show n' tell with me.

Have a creative day! Love, Linda