Happy Monday, from a snow-covered Kansas!

Today’s give-away for A Stitcher’s Christmas #7 is very timely! Just when the weather is perfect for pulling out my wool mittens (these felted wool mittens that I embroidered and showed you here), we get to chat all about gorgeous hand-dyed wool threads from Renaissance Dyeing.

And I’ll announce the three recipients of last Wednesday’s gifts – the yearly subscriptions to Inspirations Magazine.

Ready?

There is something absolutely fabulous about having a complete collection of any kind of embroidery thread!

But what makes Renaissance Dyeing’s Elizabethan Collection special are two things: 1. the crewel-weight wool from Renaissance Dyeing is hand-dyed using traditional, historical methods that have been around for centuries; and the color range is particularly suitable to Elizabethan-era embroidery.

Take a moment to read about the historical background of the colors and dyes used in the listing for the Elizabethan Collection. It’s quite interesting to read the whole approach to dyeing in the 16th & 17th centuries!

Note that if you’re a knitter, the crewel weight thread can also be used for lace-weight knitting. There’s a fantastic shawl design on the website that uses 67 colors of the main range of the Renaissance line of crewel-weight yarn, knitted into a design called Renaissance stripes. Check it out here.

When I see something like this, I yearn to be a knitter. But alas, I’ve never quite gone beyond clunky rows of knits and purls filled with dropped stitches and miscounted rows and backwards rows and… yeah. You get the idea!

I cannot fathom having the magical fingers that can produce something like that shawl. It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?

If you happen to be in the market for a wide range of naturally dyed wools for some project or another you already have in mind, their main range of crewel wools features 75 glorious shades! You can find them here.

Today’s give-away, thanks to Andie at Renaissance Dyeing, is for two winners, each of whom will receive one Elizabethan collection of crewel wools.

The Elizabethan collection is 27 shades of wool altogether – enough for you to embroider something fantastic in beautiful wool!

Years ago, I used some of the Renaissance Dyeing wools on my Crewel Rooster project. They are soft and buttery smooth, with a nice spread to them.

You will find them most delightful to stitch with!

Give-Away Guidelines

To enter today’s give-away for one of the book collections listed above, please follow these guidelines:

1. Leave a comment on the comment form below. If you’re not sure how to get to the comment form, click on this link – it will take you straight there. Your comment must be left on the website on today’s article, not on any other article. Comments submitted via email are not eligible and I am not able to reply to them due to time constraints. Please do not comment as a reply to another comment. Replies are not counted.

2. Be sure that your comment has a name on it that is recognizable as yours. You might include a last name, nickname, or the place you live.

The reason I particularly mention this one is that it reduces confusion when the winner is announced. It’s always hard to disappoint people if they mistake the name for their own!

3. Make certain your email address on the comment form is entered correctly, so that I can email you if you win. Leave the “website” line of the comment form empty. Do Not leave your personal contact information in the comment box itself. In other words, don’t sign your comment with your email address or your mailing address! That’s just an invitation for spam.

4. In your comment, answer the following question:

If you were to win the Elizabethan range from Renaissance Dyeing, what do you imagine you might embroider (or maybe knit? or something else?) with it? Tell us a little about your “creative dream” for this line of thread!

5. Leave your comment before 5:00 AM central time (Kansas, USA) Wednesday, December 18th. The winners will be randomly drawn that morning and will be announced at the end of that day’s give-away.

So go forth and comment, and in 2020, perhaps you’ll have a beautiful new range of crewel wool to use however your little heart desires!

The give-aways for A Stitcher’s Christmas are open to everyone, but please be aware that, if you are subject to customs or duty fees, they are your responsibility.

Inspirations Winners!

And now, for the winners of last Wednesday’s give-away, for three one-year subscriptions to Inspirations Magazine!

Here they are: Cynthia W., Linda H., and Carol Todd!

If you didn’t win the subscription for Inspirations this year, I highly encourage you to visit their website and add a subscription for yourself to your Christmas prezzies! You’ll anticipate it and enjoy it all through the New Year!