The Embroidery Artisan welcomes you to the start of something new!

With the launch of the Embroidery Artisan blog, I invite you to journey with me as I complete my Master Craftsman Crewel Program, offered through the Embroiderers’ Guild of America. In the months ahead, I will be researching the history of crewel embroidery and related needle arts. I plan to study color and design and try my hand at assorted techniques as I work toward my master craftsman certification.

Curator and Creator

During the course of my program, I will be sharing my works in progress (like the picture you see above — my first project approved by the EGA judges earlier this spring). I will be learning about and creating designs based on 18th century New England crewel embroidery. As well, I will be researching and working an adaptation of a Jacobean or Elizabethan crewel design. And finally, I will be creating two of my own designs to demonstrate a mastery of stitching, color, and design.

But the Embroidery Artisan blog won’t be limited to my Master Craftsman endeavor. I look forward to sharing other stories about fine needle arts that I glean from my research. For example, it may not surprise you to know that Mary Queen of Scots was an accomplished (and prolific) embroiderer. (After all, how else does a girl under house arrest for nearly two decades fill her days?) But did you know that contemporary notables such as Gwen Stefani, Julia Roberts and Ryan Gosling also shared her passion for needle and thread?

Follow Along

I invite you to subscribe to the Embroidery Artisan blog. When you do, you will receive new articles in your email automatically, so you’ll never miss a post. Besides, I would enjoy the company, and along the way we can discover how embroidery has shaped our culture — yesterday and today.