This piece was a total experiment, stitched freehand as a challenge to break free of the normal boundaries of graphed smocking pieces/designs. Download pattern. Read more in our Issue 58. Designed by Judith Marquis Amberlane & Amberpetites www.amberlane.ca
I am an artist from Quebec and my medium of creation is embroidery art that I have been practicing professionally for 20 years. In this feature I highlight ten medallion embroideries based on a single theme: two mountains and a bay connecting to the St. Lawrence River, which is the landscape I see through my […]
The pandemic came unexpectedly and changed the whole world around us. When I saw the theme of this issue, in my mind were so many images of the one- and-a-half-year lockdown and all its challenges. My answer to the pandemic was meditating, and creating, and understanding that I need less goods, less stress, and less […]
What better story to highlight for the trees theme than the folktale of Baba Yaga? It’s a Belarusan folktale, set deep in the massive forest, that has been used to spook children over dozens of centuries in an attempt to get them to behave! Among the snaggy trees lives the ferocious witch Baba Yaga in […]
The inspiration for the design of this little project was a window grate in a photo of an old door in Morocco. When I saw the photo so many ideas for ways to create with the design began popping into my head. Now, the window grate was distorted by the angle of the picture, so […]
The dress was worn by my maternal grandmother on her wedding day. Florence Emily (Flossie) Vint (daughter of Joseph and Charlotte (Campbell) Vint married George Middleton Donaldson (son of Isaac and Margaret (Shewan Donaldson) on December 26th, 1911 in Nesbitt, Manitoba and had 4 children: Hubert, Greta, Bremner and Fae. Read more in our Issue […]
Last year I read about a new challenge from the San Francisco School of Needlework and Design. Entitled Healing and Reflection, the challenge was to produce a stitching exploring the concepts of healing and one’s experience with embroidery. I was enticed to participate, as I have found much benefit in my own health journey, once […]
There comes a time in most children’s lives when they’ll no longer want to wear smocking. But do not despair if you’re a mom or grandmother who loves to smock and still want to do so for your little ones. There are other things you can create which they don’t have to wear – like […]
I made this Talisman for my son who is an athlete. He takes this good luck charm to all cycling races, keeping it in his pocket. I taught him how to use it. Within the Talisman, there are three ancient magic symbols. The main one is the burdock plant. The burdock itself is a symbol […]
My Hramavik – Thunder Spirit design is the result of three sources of inspiration: a Belarusan motif pattern, the Trianglepoint stitch technique and the colour palette proposed by A Needle Pulling Thread. A few years ago, I came across a book from our Toronto Guild of Stitchery Library entitled Trianglepoint by Sher- lee Lantz1 . […]