I decided yesterday if the weather was really bad, I was going to take a personal day today. Why? I hate to drive in deep snow or on ice. My car is only a few months old and I'd like to go a little longer without bashing something. If you know you're not going to work next day, you can stay up later the night before--so I was able to do a few things. And a quiet, calm day would really do me good right now.

I actually spent the night at my mother's house. She lives just a few miles away in Loveland, Ohio. She's very able and active at 75, but I worry when this kind of storm front moves in. She's too afraid of ice to venture out on the slick walkways, so that's not a concern; but I get paranoid about power outtages and an elderly woman and her dog by themselves in a house with no heat. So I schlepped my overnight bag and my needlework project bag to my mom's before the snow started falling.

There's something so amazingly comfortable about snuggling in on a winter's night with your needlework. I'm trying to finish my first attempt at a quilted wall hanging (I know, this is cross-stitch and needlearts, but I cross genres), so I had a lovely time hand quilting the hanging. (When it's done, I'll post a photo.) I've been learning needle-turned applique and reverse applique--those along with hand quilting are very close cousins to the embroidery I love so much.

Today has been busier. I've been looking over quilting books to learn more about my job as editor, and going over one of the manuscripts I've been assigned, to work out a number of things. At some point I need to go back outside and let my car run so the ice will loosen enough to get it chipped off. Everyone else went in to work today, so I feel a little guilty taking my personal day. However, it's also been productive from a work standpoint (and on my time). It's hard to resist just plopping down in my mom's recliner and working on my wall hanging all day, ignoring the gray, frozen world outside (and the book manuscript spread all over the kitchen table). That's okay. I'll head home early in the evening, and I'll give myself the rest of the night to cuddle up on the couch, needle and thread in hand. I figure I'll have earned it!

--Nancy  

I have a passion for embroidery, of course. I also have a passion for the little enamel boxes produced in England in the 18th and early 19th centuries. I especially love the ones with mottos and/or motifs of birds and urns or country houses and pastoral scenes. (Go here for examples of these treasures).

Unfortunately, these patch and snuff boxes (the former for carrying the small leather patches worn as beauty marks, the latter for snuff) go for more money than I can manage, even those that aren't in great condition. Last spring I attempted to assuage my desire for Battersea boxes, as they're known, by copying designs and creating embroidery patterns from them.

The picture above shows a finished example of one of these copied box designs. My technique: I digitally saved a copy of a photo of a box and used my photo software to clean up the image. I removed everything from the photo except the design itself, removed any cracks and spots, and sharpened the image as much as possible so I could identify clean lines. I printed this design out on plain 8 1/2 x 11 paper. If the image wasn't dark enough, I went over the design on the right side with a fine Sharpie. Once the design showed on the back dark enough that I could follow all the detail, I went over every line with a fine-pointed black transfer pen. Then it was simply a matter of ironing the transfer onto a piece of fabric and going to work.

Since I was just experimenting, I only used a finely woven muslin as my fabric. I chose bone-colored or natural muslin instead of bleached white because I liked the aged effect. For some designs I simply used one strand of whatever black floss I had in my stash. On the design above, I experimented with using one of the hand-dyed flosses, using a "mascara" shade for the main lines and a dark charcoal for the details (like the folds in the cuffs).

Either a stem stitch or an outline stitch works overall, plus some details call for French knots, long and short stitches, and daisy stitches. Some of the patterns I tried even required touches of satin stitch. I enjoyed experimenting with every aspect, from the fabric to the floss to the stitches. I have several of these made, but haven't quite figured out what I want to do with them. Of course, they'd be fine framed, and they don't have to be worked in black. I was trying, literally, to recreate the look of the enamel box lids.

One problem I ran into is the pattern can be skewed depending on how the lid is photographed. Sometimes I had to do a little repair sketching to even out the proportions on the designs.

This approach would work if you have a scanner and an interesting china pattern you'd like to recreate. A plate would probably work best. If you're planning a piece of redwork (or trying for an black-and-white line drawing effect ), don't try to reproduce every detail in the illustration; you want a crisp effect, not one that's too busy, with elements that are competing with themselves. If you would rather approach the design as the basis for colored embroidery, crewel, or punchneedle, of course, you can take it wherever you want to go. Be sure to use the appropriate fabrics and fibers for those techniques.

I have a beloved Homer Laughlin bowl that features a transfer design of Abraham Lincoln giving the Gettysburg Address. Someday I've going to borrow my mother's scanner and see what I come up with. I'll keep you posted.

--Nancy

Everyone around here is very excited about the launch of MyCraftivity.com. Me, I'm thrilled to be moderator for the Cross Stitch + Needle Art section.

First, a little about me. I'm a newly minted editor for KP Craft at F+W Publications, but my needlework background goes back forty years (guess that tells you plenty about my age--although I was just a child when I started). I do all kinds of embroidery--including cross stitch, redwork, crewel, punchneedle, hardanger, pulled and drawn thread, and probably others I'm forgetting about--as well as crocheting (mostly doilies and lace), tatting, and rug hooking. I've tried my hand at knitting (small, uncomplicated items), bobbin lace, and hand quilting; and I'm learning to do needle-turned applique.

Now, about you: I want to invite you personally to help us build the Web's best crafting/needlework community here at MyCraftivity. Look around, get to know folks, join in on the forums. Use this community as an opportunity to explore needework and crafting areas and learn some new techniques. Send us your ideas and feedback. We really do want to make this the kind of place you just have to return to again and again.

Over coming weeks, I'll be joined by two team members who will contribute their own experience and perspectives to this blog and other areas of our little corner of MyCraftivity. From projects to needle arts news to chatting with fellow stitchers, there will be a lot to learn from and enjoy.

So, welcome! It's great to have you here.

--Nancy

P.S. The detail in the photo above is from one the many samplers I've made. The whole team will be sharing work in the future, but I want to encourage YOU to post your projects in the gallery. We're all needlework fans here, right? And what could be greater than a terrific online show-and-tell--so don't be shy!