The Embroideress

Spell with flickr is a fun place. The creator, Erik Kastner, cleverly uses images available on flickr sites to make interesting graphics of any word you choose.

The British Museum has increased its digital online presence lately with more and more images available through their Compass site.

Try some searches for textile, needle, embroidery, needlework, weave, etc. and you will turn up all sorts of odd bits including images of an Eliz I seal burse, a Byzantine embroidery very evocative of the Cuthbert embroideries, ethnic embroideries, an Opus Anglicanum piece, neolithic needles and loom weights, etc.

Don't be amazed if your searches pull up what seem to be very unrelated objects. I'm not sure what their indexing method entails, but it can make for some "interesting" search results.

Another designer has fallen under our spell and has begun to blog. Catch Teresa Wentzler's new blog Artistic License. And three guesses what her theme color is?

Rare Books and Special Collections Home Page - University Libraries - USC of the University of South Carolina has several examples of early manuscripts and a look at current and previous exhibits. One interesting exhibit is their History of Tennis presentation. I've always been fascinated with the tennis court at Hampton Court and it was pleasant to have a little look at the history of this sport.

Oh gosh, not much to show in tangible progress but I've been keeping my nose to the grindstone. Sorting those pesky boxes out after the move and finding all sorts of stuff I didn't even know I owned.

Working on getting more of my needlework library into the database program and generally doing thankless but necessary tasks.

I did take a break this past Saturday though and pay a brief visit to our local Ren Fair. A very nice production as fests go. Lots of staff and organized well. Of course the costumes as usual at these events ranged from sumptious period to what I call WalMart Gypsy. Lots of Celtic music groups and lots of leatherworkers.

And what other fest is held on the grounds of a family who are building their own castle?

I can see some of these Origami Tessellations as quilts.

Interesting design knows no boundaries.

I rustle up a complimentary design from time to time and give them out at shows, pop them in orders, give them to shops to copy and hand out as well as give them to guilds with permission for use in their newsletters.

A few years ago (long before the current DaVinci Code furor), I designed a wee sampler using the Fibonacci sequence. This is a sequence found in nature and adapted by artists forever. Anything designed using that sequence WORKS. It looks pleasant to the eye and just seem right. You can't go wrong as a designer if you make friends with medieval Msr. Fibonacci.

Now it seems that Dan Brown has made mention of the sequence in his book The DaVinci Code and I'm getting little flurries of requests for the design.

For a look at what I'm talking about see the archive entry in this blog with my rendition of the design and Gytha's much more elegant interpretation.

Some of my favorite things to stitch are miniature rugs. I found a work in progress the other day and maybe I'll have time to stitch on it again soon.

I really appreciate Frank Cooper's book Oriental Carpets in Miniature. Although his models are stitched in wool on 18 ct. canvas, I have been stitching them on 40ct silk gauze with DMC (single strand). I've finished one and have the camel rug about half finished. I have to stitch a border of camels around the entire center section and then finish it off with a little geometric border. I have no idea what on earth I will ever do with them, but I do enjoy stroking these little rugs.

Etsy is a site that calls itself "Your Place to Buy & Sell All Things Handmade". A really refreshing site and far too tempting. The number of artists notebooks is far to tempting.

A great looking site to stock up for holiday giving. It's never too early.