Does anyone use and recommend the Ultimate Needlework System 4?

Dear Diannne:

I have sparked an interest in crewel embroidery for you, have I?? :-)
I guess the greens in traditional Jacobean account for the "Jacobean
Green" Shade group in the Appleton crewel threads?? :-)

I was sidetracked by another project yesterday (how often does that
happen?) I finally picked up one of the Vogue patterns of
Mission-style embroidered pillows, these were pulled from their
archives and are authentic 1920s designs. (Near the end of the arts &
crafts period.) I started one for my sister immediately, the one with
the butterfly motif - but I am using Appleton Crewel fibers instead of
DMC floss. The stitches are only chain and padded satin, so it's not
all that challenging of a stitching project.

The desire to make pillows from the arts & crafts period is what
sparked my interest in crewel embroidery in the first place.

I am presenting my mother with my first embroidery project as a gift
today.
:-) Ever since starting a family 11 years ago I have not been able to
afford gifts for my family which are as - well, expensive - as what
they give me. Now that I am doing embroidery I feel I can make them
items which are more valuable because of the time I have put into
them.

My sister is going to get the mission-style pillow I started
yesterday. I am working on an Elsa Williams pillow for my mother...
and I still am aiming to make that "Fish Sampler" from the RSN
Embroidery Techniques for my cousin for next Christmas.

I received the needles - thank you. I will email you privately about
them. But I will say here that it seems to me that the John James
brand needles have more "weight" somehow than the DMC needles I was
using. Chenille 22s are fine with Appletons, but I think I could go
to 24. the 20s work well with one strand of Pateryan tapestry, which
I use for some crewelwork since I can get it by the strand at a local
needlepoint store. Jane Rainbow recommends Pateryan in her book "A
Beginner's Guide to Crewel Embroidery", but I think I prefer Appleton
for this type of work.

Blessings,
Susan

Dianne Lewandowski wrote:
Well, you're a glutton for punishment. :-) That's pretty fine work! Go
girl!
Dianne

In the 1980's I was working on #72 gauze bare-eyed. Now I need glasses
for reading and have a stronger pair for the fine work. I don't believe
I'd choose the #72 for anything but a 1:12 scale display nowadays.

When I picked up the 48-count a few months ago I needed *both* a
magnifying light and glasses. Now I just need a strong pair of glasses
from Dollar Tree and normal room light.

Diane Hare

sewingsusan wrote:
I have sparked an interest in crewel embroidery for you, have I?? :-)
I guess the greens in traditional Jacobean account for the "Jacobean
Green" Shade group in the Appleton crewel threads?? :-)

Appleton has tried to maintain the same shades for eons - in keeping
with what went on long before we got the bug to do crewel.

They are beloved yarns to some . . . disliked by others. Disliked
because they are often "thick/thin". But this is part of their charm,
as well.

The stitches are only chain and padded satin, so it's not
all that challenging of a stitching project.

Doing padded satin well is pretty challenging. That's normally not
thought of as "beginner". Kudos to you!!

The desire to make pillows from the arts & crafts period is what
sparked my interest in crewel embroidery in the first place.

People keep referring to this period, and I'm not at all sure what is
its style. I'm sure I'd know it if I saw it, but wouldn't know what
it's called. I could look it up, but I'm too busy writing up directions
for a new sampler.

Ever since starting a family 11 years ago I have not been able to
afford gifts for my family which are as - well, expensive - as what
they give me. Now that I am doing embroidery I feel I can make them
items which are more valuable because of the time I have put into
them.

This has been discussed often here. Unfortunately, not everyone
appreciates these gifts. You may get a nose in the air - or worse. Be
prepared for that. It will hurt deeply the first time. You learn when
and when not.

I received the needles . . . I will say here that it seems to me that the John James
brand needles have more "weight" somehow than the DMC needles I was
using.

I have some DMC, and yes - they are slightly less hefty. Not sure why .
.. . since needle sizes are supposed to be standardized. I just got out
my package of 20's and noticed there was a difference. I hadn't opened it.

Chenille 22s are fine with Appletons, but I think I could go
to 24.

I found the eye of a 24 too snug for the Appleton. You may feel
differently. Use what works. :-)

Dianne

Dianne wrote, regarding Appletons - They are beloved yarns to some . .
.. disliked by others. Disliked
because they are often "thick/thin". But this is part of their charm,
as well.

Yes, I have noticed the "thick/thin" aspect of the appletons - perhaps
that is why at times a 24 needle and at other times a 22 chenille
needle would work. I am pretty sure that William Morris, a designer
from the arts & crafts movement, was instrumental in adding certain
colors to the Appletons around the turn of the last century. I think
it was primarily blues for which he developed a dye process. Perhaps
my memory is failing me here, but that what I think I read about Wm
Morris (more on WM Morris' influence below).

I wrote:
The stitches are only chain and padded satin, so it's not
all that challenging of a stitching project.
Then Dianne wrote:
Doing padded satin well is pretty challenging. That's normally not
thought of as "beginner". Kudos to you!!

I meant to say "outline" rather than chain... as for the padded
satin, I have been practicing it on my "doodle cloth" and yes, it's
taken a bit of work to get looking decent, and I am ripping 1/2 the
time yet... BUT it is looking good, sometimes really good now. As I
see it I am not practicing 20 different stitches, I am only perfecting
this one stitch (outline is not at all difficult, I think we would
agree, so the ONLY learning curve work on these pillows is with
regards to the "padded satin stitch". The Vogue Pattern is called
"mission-style pillows", they have 3 such patterns, one with applique
and two with embroidery. I am making the butterfly embroidered pillow
right now.


The desire to make pillows from the arts & crafts period & studying that period of interior design history is what
sparked my interest in crewel embroidery in the first place.

People keep referring to this period, and I'm not at all sure what is
its style. I'm sure I'd know it if I saw it, but wouldn't know what
it's called. I could look it up, but I'm too busy writing up directions
for a new sampler.

OH YES - you would recognize it... since you are busy with your
sampler I will give you a short course of MY UNDERSTANDING of the arts
& crafts period (Note to others - don't blast me if I didn't get every
tidbit right, but please point out my error!)

Thee "arts & crafts period" is from approximately the late 1880s - the
1920s and included designers such as FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, ROYCROFT,
STICKLEY, GREENE & GREENE, WILLIAM MORRIS & others. While these
designer were diverse - each had their own style, they all had a
common theme of simplicity, nature-inspired designs, respect and
appreciation for furniture pieces which were not "fussy" in design,
but rather had bold & simple lines which highlighted the grain of the
wood (Think "pottery barn") and in general wanted to create spaces
which were functionally and appealed to the inhabitant's spirit &
soul.

The Arts & Crafts style for the most part honored hand-craftmanship
over industrialization (Frank Lloyd Wright was probably the first to
embrace industrialization to some extent).

STickley's mission-style Furniture is just one (perhaps the best
knows) style of this period. I think it's important to remember that
MISSION-STYLE is just one sub-category of the entire arts & crafts
movement.

For example, Frank Lloyd Wright's designs were often inspired by the
praires surrounding his hometown of Chicago, and his influence is
often called "Praire-style".

Items were often designed to be easy for the homeowner to make for
himself. Books and magazines sold plans for furniture and for entire
homes... "The Craftsman" is one such magazine. The simplicity of
design for the furniture in this period also meant that it was also
extremely easy for others to steal the designs, often by making very
small changes. SEARS catalog was soon selling mission-style
furniture.

The arts & crafts era designs will look very familiar to you should
you have the opportunity to flip through a book with arts & crafts era
motifs. They were often very simple and stylized nature-inspired
designs. Pillows were often large and scall and featured a motif,
either embroidered or (often) done in applique pillows. The three
pinecones in the center applique design, with lines radiating out, is
an arts & crafts motif.

William Morris, from England, was a leader in the arts & crafts
movement and introduced the fundamental principals of A&C to the US.
The Arts & Crafts Movement was not just decorating, it was an entire
LIFESTYLE emphasis. The leaders of the arts & crafts movement were
very much into women's sufferage, socialism, ect. William Morris
wrote extensively on topics of politics and philosophy, as did many
other arts & crafts leaders. Mottos were very popular in the arts &
crafts era and were often carved into mantels, on doors, OR
embroidered onto pillows....

This movement was a backlash on the Victorian way of living on all
levels. Home design was a major part of the arts & crafts movement -
especially in the U.S. (less so in Europe where less home building was
taking place). Think of tudor-style and bungalow-style homes. I am
sure your little town in Wisconsin is full of this style! Frank Lloyd
Wright, from Chicago, also influenced much of the Midwestern arts &
crafts movement. Different regions of the country had a little
different twist, different designers influencing them, - but they all
had an overall theme of simplicity and respect for handcraftmanship
and/or nature-inspired themes.

The MANY elements of the arts & crafts movement interior decorating
design include pottery (think "roseworks") stained glass ("tiffany's),
oil paintings of nature scenes, wrought iron .... many "craftsman
guilds" were established - many of these guilds folded with the shift
in economy in the 1930s and now their works are collector's pieces.

William Morris was in England and his style of design for interior
decorating was often more "busy" than the restrained motifs used by
many of the US designers. William Morris included a lot of
medieval/jacobean influence in his designs. He is especially known
for his textiles and wallpaper designs. (Wallpaper he considered to
be the average person's "tapestries".)

GETTING TO WHAT SPARKED MY INTEREST:
William Morris designed crewel embroidery pillows kits, his wife and
daughter would start the design for instructional purposes, and then
(if I got this correctly) they would sell these kits through
magazines. By exalting hand craftmanship in needlearts some of the
arts & crafts movement hoped this would provide for a means of support
for women beyond having to do factory work. Thus needlework was
included in the "guildes" which sprung up in various areas of arts &
crafts (pottery, stained glass, ect.) WILLIAM MORRIS helped found the
"Royal School of Needlework" along this same vein.

I find it fun to keep an eye on the pillows which are genuine
antiques from the arts & crafts era which come up for sale on ebay. I
don't buy them, but keep photos of them on my computer for
inspiration. Books on design motifs from the era. I am rather
confused as to what is still under copyright and what is not. I am
sure that all of Frank Lloyd Wright's material is still under
copyright, as is William Morris'. I am not so sure about other
designeres.

EMBROIDERY was only a small part of the arts & crafts movement... but
an area I would like to explore more in-depth.


This has been discussed often here. Unfortunately, not everyone
appreciates these gifts. You may get a nose in the air - or worse. Be
prepared for that. It will hurt deeply the first time. You learn when
and when not.

With my family (at least 1/2 of it) I don't ever expect any appreciate
- LOL ... as for the gift I am making for my brother's wedding gift, I
went over patterns with my future SIL - so she picked out something
she liked. I didn't want her to stuff the pillow in the closet until
I came over for a visit!!

I think they often don't understand the amount of work & skill that
goes into handcrafted pieces. My sister looked at something I was
working on and said "that will look pretty good once all the threads
are put in..." I was confused at first "threads are put in"??? I
GUESS that's one way to "put it"! LOL

The latest "Pottery Barn" catalog includes crewel-embroidered pillows
- done by machine of course. But I did think it was interesting that
they are offering these pillows because so much of the "Pottery
Barn's" so-called "trademark" style are actually slightly modernized
arts & crafts era designs.

Many people are renovating their craftsman-style, bungalow or tudor
homes from the early 1900s. For those who seek to re-create authentic
arts & crafts period interiors, they are paying out top dollars for
hand-crafted, embroidered, reproduction pillows.

Blessings,
Sewing Susan

WOW - great piece. Thanks, I hope you don't mind that I saved it off for
future reference.
Cheryl

On 5/11/04 12:10 AM, in article
, "sewingsusan"
wrote:

Dianne wrote, regarding Appletons - They are beloved yarns to some . .
. disliked by others. Disliked
because they are often "thick/thin". But this is part of their charm,
as well.

Yes, I have noticed the "thick/thin" aspect of the appletons - perhaps
that is why at times a 24 needle and at other times a 22 chenille
needle would work. I am pretty sure that William Morris, a designer
from the arts & crafts movement, was instrumental in adding certain
colors to the Appletons around the turn of the last century. I think
it was primarily blues for which he developed a dye process. Perhaps
my memory is failing me here, but that what I think I read about Wm
Morris (more on WM Morris' influence below).

I wrote:
The stitches are only chain and padded satin, so it's not
all that challenging of a stitching project.
Then Dianne wrote:
Doing padded satin well is pretty challenging. That's normally not
thought of as "beginner". Kudos to you!!

I meant to say "outline" rather than chain... as for the padded
satin, I have been practicing it on my "doodle cloth" and yes, it's
taken a bit of work to get looking decent, and I am ripping 1/2 the
time yet... BUT it is looking good, sometimes really good now. As I
see it I am not practicing 20 different stitches, I am only perfecting
this one stitch (outline is not at all difficult, I think we would
agree, so the ONLY learning curve work on these pillows is with
regards to the "padded satin stitch". The Vogue Pattern is called
"mission-style pillows", they have 3 such patterns, one with applique
and two with embroidery. I am making the butterfly embroidered pillow
right now.


The desire to make pillows from the arts & crafts period & studying that
period of interior design history is what
sparked my interest in crewel embroidery in the first place.

People keep referring to this period, and I'm not at all sure what is
its style. I'm sure I'd know it if I saw it, but wouldn't know what
it's called. I could look it up, but I'm too busy writing up directions
for a new sampler.

OH YES - you would recognize it... since you are busy with your
sampler I will give you a short course of MY UNDERSTANDING of the arts
& crafts period (Note to others - don't blast me if I didn't get every
tidbit right, but please point out my error!)

Thee "arts & crafts period" is from approximately the late 1880s - the
1920s and included designers such as FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, ROYCROFT,
STICKLEY, GREENE & GREENE, WILLIAM MORRIS & others. While these
designer were diverse - each had their own style, they all had a
common theme of simplicity, nature-inspired designs, respect and
appreciation for furniture pieces which were not "fussy" in design,
but rather had bold & simple lines which highlighted the grain of the
wood (Think "pottery barn") and in general wanted to create spaces
which were functionally and appealed to the inhabitant's spirit &
soul.

The Arts & Crafts style for the most part honored hand-craftmanship
over industrialization (Frank Lloyd Wright was probably the first to
embrace industrialization to some extent).

STickley's mission-style Furniture is just one (perhaps the best
knows) style of this period. I think it's important to remember that
MISSION-STYLE is just one sub-category of the entire arts & crafts
movement.

For example, Frank Lloyd Wright's designs were often inspired by the
praires surrounding his hometown of Chicago, and his influence is
often called "Praire-style".

Items were often designed to be easy for the homeowner to make for
himself. Books and magazines sold plans for furniture and for entire
homes... "The Craftsman" is one such magazine. The simplicity of
design for the furniture in this period also meant that it was also
extremely easy for others to steal the designs, often by making very
small changes. SEARS catalog was soon selling mission-style
furniture.

The arts & crafts era designs will look very familiar to you should
you have the opportunity to flip through a book with arts & crafts era
motifs. They were often very simple and stylized nature-inspired
designs. Pillows were often large and scall and featured a motif,
either embroidered or (often) done in applique pillows. The three
pinecones in the center applique design, with lines radiating out, is
an arts & crafts motif.

William Morris, from England, was a leader in the arts & crafts
movement and introduced the fundamental principals of A&C to the US.
The Arts & Crafts Movement was not just decorating, it was an entire
LIFESTYLE emphasis. The leaders of the arts & crafts movement were
very much into women's sufferage, socialism, ect. William Morris
wrote extensively on topics of politics and philosophy, as did many
other arts & crafts leaders. Mottos were very popular in the arts &
crafts era and were often carved into mantels, on doors, OR
embroidered onto pillows....

This movement was a backlash on the Victorian way of living on all
levels. Home design was a major part of the arts & crafts movement -
especially in the U.S. (less so in Europe where less home building was
taking place). Think of tudor-style and bungalow-style homes. I am
sure your little town in Wisconsin is full of this style! Frank Lloyd
Wright, from Chicago, also influenced much of the Midwestern arts &
crafts movement. Different regions of the country had a little
different twist, different designers influencing them, - but they all
had an overall theme of simplicity and respect for handcraftmanship
and/or nature-inspired themes.

The MANY elements of the arts & crafts movement interior decorating
design include pottery (think "roseworks") stained glass ("tiffany's),
oil paintings of nature scenes, wrought iron .... many "craftsman
guilds" were established - many of these guilds folded with the shift
in economy in the 1930s and now their works are collector's pieces.

William Morris was in England and his style of design for interior
decorating was often more "busy" than the restrained motifs used by
many of the US designers. William Morris included a lot of
medieval/jacobean influence in his designs. He is especially known
for his textiles and wallpaper designs. (Wallpaper he considered to
be the average person's "tapestries".)

GETTING TO WHAT SPARKED MY INTEREST:
William Morris designed crewel embroidery pillows kits, his wife and
daughter would start the design for instructional purposes, and then
(if I got this correctly) they would sell these kits through
magazines. By exalting hand craftmanship in needlearts some of the
arts & crafts movement hoped this would provide for a means of support
for women beyond having to do factory work. Thus needlework was
included in the "guildes" which sprung up in various areas of arts &
crafts (pottery, stained glass, ect.) WILLIAM MORRIS helped found the
"Royal School of Needlework" along this same vein.

I find it fun to keep an eye on the pillows which are genuine
antiques from the arts & crafts era which come up for sale on ebay. I
don't buy them, but keep photos of them on my computer for
inspiration. Books on design motifs from the era. I am rather
confused as to what is still under copyright and what is not. I am
sure that all of Frank Lloyd Wright's material is still under
copyright, as is William Morris'. I am not so sure about other
designeres.

EMBROIDERY was only a small part of the arts & crafts movement... but
an area I would like to explore more in-depth.


This has been discussed often here. Unfortunately, not everyone
appreciates these gifts. You may get a nose in the air - or worse. Be
prepared for that. It will hurt deeply the first time. You learn when
and when not.

With my family (at least 1/2 of it) I don't ever expect any appreciate
- LOL ... as for the gift I am making for my brother's wedding gift, I
went over patterns with my future SIL - so she picked out something
she liked. I didn't want her to stuff the pillow in the closet until
I came over for a visit!!

I think they often don't understand the amount of work & skill that
goes into handcrafted pieces. My sister looked at something I was
working on and said "that will look pretty good once all the threads
are put in..." I was confused at first "threads are put in"??? I
GUESS that's one way to "put it"! LOL

The latest "Pottery Barn" catalog includes crewel-embroidered pillows
- done by machine of course. But I did think it was interesting that
they are offering these pillows because so much of the "Pottery
Barn's" so-called "trademark" style are actually slightly modernized
arts & crafts era designs.

Many people are renovating their craftsman-style, bungalow or tudor
homes from the early 1900s. For those who seek to re-create authentic
arts & crafts period interiors, they are paying out top dollars for
hand-crafted, embroidered, reproduction pillows.

Blessings,
Sewing Susan