I was fortunate enough to see the "Betwixt Art and Nature" exhibit of English embroidery when it was at the Bard Center in New York. Getting to see all that spectacular embroidery up close and personal was mindblowing. One of the pieces that stood out for me was a seat cushion done in long-arm and regular cross-stitch, the sister to this piece of which I found a picture of on the web (happily, there's also an excellent full page photo of the piece I saw in the exhibit book).


From: http://rjohnhowe.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/what-is-a-weaving-what-is-not-and-why-part-1/
Eventually, I'd like to make a copy of the whole piece for a cushion for the period chair that bytchearse commissioned for me.  But as a intermediate step, I'm going to chart two of the flowers and make (yet another) sweete bag.  I'd like to have that phase of the project done for an entry to this year's St. Eligius competition.  I've already picked out some really fabulous wool-silk blend floss with the help of the kind staff (pushers) at Thistle Needleworks and got advice about availble colorways in needlpoint wool when the time comes to work up the full cushion.  

I'm really happy to find this photo on the web.  Comparing this one with the one in the exhibit book will help me chart in the areas where the stitches are worn or pulled. 

At Glen Linn there was an embroidery challenge.  They supplied the basic pattern and materials and we had until 4pm on Saturday to complete them.  I was happy as a clam, and quite pleased with my first experiment with blackwork on linen (or something like it).  Having a hoop would have made for more even work, but I'm happy with the result.  So were the judges, I got an honorable mention! :-)