I've never actually been to an embroidery shop! There isn't one in the Western Suburbs, and I'm principally housebound anyway. So I buy Everything Embroidery on-line. So you can ask anyone for the best shops. Hedgehog Handiworks, NeedleinaHaystack, those sort of places.
The link to the FB HHE group (Facebook Historic Hand Embroidery group) is https://www.facebook.com/groups/HistoricHandEmbroidery/ You need to ask to join but anyone can approve it. It's just to try and avoid spammers as we've had a few commercial embroiderers try to sell things in the group.
It is a distraction but then - you get to learn - sometimes unexpected things, and see other people's work.
It's funny hanging out with the Victorian Guild members now - most of them are decidedly not on-line people, so it's like two entirely different groups. I've always been very much an on-line person until I discovered the Guild when I went to Embroidery House for the last Casketeers meeting last year. I never knew about it- I'd looked up the website but it really doesn't give much information, let alone that the guild runs Masterclasses in various techniques and there were so many people doing traditional techniques! I'm lucky enough (very very lucky) to have been invited to Lesley Uren's Guidance Group. Lesley has been teaching embroidery for 50 years. She was awarded an Order of Australia for Services to Art and Craft in January. It's a guidance group, not a class - a casual sit and chat, and show and tell of work, books and stash, and ask questions in a free form sort of way if you have any (I always have lots and lots). It's at Lesley's house in Avondale Heights - her house is like a museum with so many of her beautiful, beautiful pieces displayed, even in the Guest Loo! The group is actually meeting this morning - I have yet to bake brownies for the High Tea that follows the meeting. I've discovered that they are all suckers for chocolate. But none of them hang out on-line at all.
Oh, I just love Mary's dissection of the chausable. It's great to see the building pieces - the various layers of padding used on the grapes, for example, and those little helmets on top.
You're right about the members being the real life of Stitchin Fingers. What I am hoping is that when Mary takes over. there will be new interest in the group and everyone will be inspired to participate as they did when it first started.
Do you know the Facebook Historic Hand Embroidery group? That's where a lot the on-line community contribute to now. It started October or so, 2010. The differences are that there is only one group of all historical embroidery interests (which is a pro and a con, I guess), there are a lot of SCA (Society Creative Anachronism) members who do some pretty serious historical research and always good to be tapped for really obscure questions (pro) it's a bit of a horror maintaining photos on the site (con) and finding information again because it's by individual post followed by comments, not by discussion, is very difficult/impossible unless you have a fairly unique keyword to search on, which doesn't happen a lot.(total con). So, writing this list out, it really makes more sense that everyone uses SF, doesn't it? :-) I guess groups come in and out of favour. I'm easy either way, as long as I get to hang out in the historical embroidery community.
Yes I receive regular posts from Mary Corbett. I love her sight and have learnt so much. I always recommend her to friends who want to know how to do "a stitch" as her videos are so clear. I have enjoyed her discoveries as she is in the process of pulling the gold chasuble to pieces.
I suppose Stitchin Fingers is also up to its members and if we don't contribute it doesn't grow. All about time and energy. I joined to learn and then went back to Mary!!
I don't know what do without Pinterest. Actually, I do - go back to my old method of saving the pics into a Word document along with the originating link. Pinterest is sooo much easier.
The historical fine embroidery Stitchin Fingers groups (Goldwork, Stumpwork, Jacobean etc) are pretty dead atm but Mary Corbet (of the NeedleNThread blog - do you read it?) is taking over from Sharon Boggins, and I'm hoping for more life.
Comments
Mary recommends all the good shops and talks about the types of linens. Perhaps some Legacy?
I've never actually been to an embroidery shop! There isn't one in the Western Suburbs, and I'm principally housebound anyway. So I buy Everything Embroidery on-line. So you can ask anyone for the best shops. Hedgehog Handiworks, NeedleinaHaystack, those sort of places.
The link to the FB HHE group (Facebook Historic Hand Embroidery group) is https://www.facebook.com/groups/HistoricHandEmbroidery/ You need to ask to join but anyone can approve it. It's just to try and avoid spammers as we've had a few commercial embroiderers try to sell things in the group.
It is a distraction but then - you get to learn - sometimes unexpected things, and see other people's work.
It's funny hanging out with the Victorian Guild members now - most of them are decidedly not on-line people, so it's like two entirely different groups. I've always been very much an on-line person until I discovered the Guild when I went to Embroidery House for the last Casketeers meeting last year. I never knew about it- I'd looked up the website but it really doesn't give much information, let alone that the guild runs Masterclasses in various techniques and there were so many people doing traditional techniques! I'm lucky enough (very very lucky) to have been invited to Lesley Uren's Guidance Group. Lesley has been teaching embroidery for 50 years. She was awarded an Order of Australia for Services to Art and Craft in January. It's a guidance group, not a class - a casual sit and chat, and show and tell of work, books and stash, and ask questions in a free form sort of way if you have any (I always have lots and lots). It's at Lesley's house in Avondale Heights - her house is like a museum with so many of her beautiful, beautiful pieces displayed, even in the Guest Loo! The group is actually meeting this morning - I have yet to bake brownies for the High Tea that follows the meeting. I've discovered that they are all suckers for chocolate. But none of them hang out on-line at all.
Oh, I just love Mary's dissection of the chausable. It's great to see the building pieces - the various layers of padding used on the grapes, for example, and those little helmets on top.
You're right about the members being the real life of Stitchin Fingers. What I am hoping is that when Mary takes over. there will be new interest in the group and everyone will be inspired to participate as they did when it first started.
Do you know the Facebook Historic Hand Embroidery group? That's where a lot the on-line community contribute to now. It started October or so, 2010. The differences are that there is only one group of all historical embroidery interests (which is a pro and a con, I guess), there are a lot of SCA (Society Creative Anachronism) members who do some pretty serious historical research and always good to be tapped for really obscure questions (pro) it's a bit of a horror maintaining photos on the site (con) and finding information again because it's by individual post followed by comments, not by discussion, is very difficult/impossible unless you have a fairly unique keyword to search on, which doesn't happen a lot.(total con). So, writing this list out, it really makes more sense that everyone uses SF, doesn't it? :-) I guess groups come in and out of favour. I'm easy either way, as long as I get to hang out in the historical embroidery community.
Yes I receive regular posts from Mary Corbett. I love her sight and have learnt so much. I always recommend her to friends who want to know how to do "a stitch" as her videos are so clear. I have enjoyed her discoveries as she is in the process of pulling the gold chasuble to pieces.
I suppose Stitchin Fingers is also up to its members and if we don't contribute it doesn't grow. All about time and energy. I joined to learn and then went back to Mary!!
Hey MaryAnn,
I don't know what do without Pinterest. Actually, I do - go back to my old method of saving the pics into a Word document along with the originating link. Pinterest is sooo much easier.
The historical fine embroidery Stitchin Fingers groups (Goldwork, Stumpwork, Jacobean etc) are pretty dead atm but Mary Corbet (of the NeedleNThread blog - do you read it?) is taking over from Sharon Boggins, and I'm hoping for more life.
Welcome Maryann,
You will enjoy this course!