Here’s a real treat! Margaret Cobleigh, who has become a really good online embroidery friend, is an excellent stitcher. She strives for perfection in all her embroidery, and everything she touches with her needle and thread turns out beautiful! Her approach is a lot like mine – she troubleshoots her way through her projects, making adjustments and corrections as she goes, and the results are outstanding. I count myself lucky to be privy to her progress notes on the various things she stitches. She was happy to let me show off the following finish, and since it is, after all, Spring, it’s mighty appropriate!
The piece that Margaret recently finished is titled “Spring,” designed by Helen Stevens.
Margaret ordered the four seasons kits from Helen Stevens, and launched into Spring first. The kits are stitched with Piper’s Silk, which Helen sells under the name of TESS (True Embroideries Sleave Silk). It is a flat silk – very fine and with no discernible twist.
The thread has a wonderful sheen to it! You can see it especially in the leaves and flowers on this piece. And don’t you like the initials on the left, where Margaret signed her work? I usually forget to sign my needlework, but Margaret makes her signature a little work of art!
Here’s the whole piece for your enjoyment. If you click on it, you’ll get a larger version.
Doesn’t it make you happy just to look at it? It does me! I love the bird perched up there in a semi-be-fluffed state, the flowers, the leaves, the vines, the bugs, and the shoots of grass. It is a piece that really cheers me, and I love the way Margaret stitched it.
If you’re looking for resources on Helen Stevens’s designs and kits, you’ll find them at her website, Fritillary, where Helen supplies all her kits and her threads and her books and other neat stuff, including her own Masterclass lessons online.
Thanks, Margaret, for sharing Spring! I can’t wait to see the other seasons!
So, dear readers, what are you stitching on? Any big projects (or little) going right now? Have you finished anything lately that you’d like to share? Leave a comment below and tell us what you’re up to – and if you have a blog or a flickr account you can link to, we’ll come visit! If you’re interested in sharing your work here on Needle ‘n Thread under Reader’s Embroidery, you’re welcome to drop me a line and I’ll tell you how!
Enjoy your Monday – I hope it’s a good start to a good week!
