Photo Album

Grinling Gibbons wood carving housed at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

My first stumpwork creation from a workshop with Barbara Hirst. My faces are not perfect and I omitted to leave sufficient space between their head and shoulders, resulting in neither child having a neck! Background painted by my husband Roy.

3-D Peapods - Inspired by a Grinling Gibbons wood carving, worked in 1989. Working instructions can be found in 'Needlelace Designs & Techniques.

3-D Strawberries designed and worked 1989 - Featured on the front cover of 'Needlelace Designs & Techniques'

Detail of bee

First two editions were hardback copies printed 1993, re-printed 1995

Paperback re-prints 2001, 2002

3-D Iris designed and worked in 1986

Sweet Peas designd and worked in 1987. Students have worked them in Sweet Pea colours and they do look beautiful!

'The Promise of Spring' - Designed and worked in 1988 and featured in 'Needlelace Designs & Techniques'

Swan with raised wings designed and worked 1986. Working instructions can be found in Needlelace Designs & Techniques'

3-D butterfly designed and worked in 2012

Tissue purse and ballet pumps for a young bridesmaid. Working instructions can be found in 'Needlelace Designs & Techniques'

Bridal shoe rose on back cover of 'Needlace Designs & Techniques'

Hair comb for Bridesmaid with 3-D flowers

Bridal Coronet & Veil. Working instructions in 'Needlelace Designs & Techniques'.

Japanese lady with the almond blossom still in process of being embroidered with French knots.

'The Little Meraid' for an exhibition staged by The Westhope Group

'Grandpa's Garden' Inspired by a Victorian painting

Detail

Detail

'The Blushing Bride' inspired by a Victorian painting - background painted by my husband Roy

'First Born' Inspired by a Victorian Painting - Background painted by my husband Roy, then machine stitched before adding figures.

'The age of Innocence'

'Three Little Swans'

Detail

'La Petite Danseuse'

Castle designed and worked for my students at the OIDFA Convention at Nottingham University 2002

Thread samples tried

3-D Flower - Instructions can be found in The Guild of Needlace instruction book.

'Butterfly For Jennifer' - Designed for a very promising student.

NOW BACK IN PRINT as a print on demand spiral bound edition. See 'Sales/Orders' or read 'Book Reviews'.

STUMPWORK/RAISED EMBROIDERY & 3-DIMENSIONAL WORKS

Embroidery was an essential part of a young girl's education during the middle to late 1600's and many examples of Raised Embroidery or 'Stumpwork' have survived this period.  We are given to understand that the majority of the works were carried out by young girls, who naturally enough would have had excellent eyesight and very nimble fingers, enabling them to stitch the minute raised areas on caskets, mirror frames etc. and there is evidence to substantiate that Hannah Smith completed a casket at the tender age of 14 and even a Martha Edlin who was a mere ll years of age!

It is believed that these young girls probably worked from kits which contained all they would need to stitch their panels, which would be sent to a cabinet maker on completion, to be mounted onto perhaps a mirror frame or casket.

Stumpwork/Raised Embroidery does not really come under the category of 'Lace' but the two mediums certainly become united with the use of Needlelace 'slips' incorporated into these embroideries in the form of clothing, extra petals on flowers and the tiny pre-formed pieces of wood in the shape of fruits etc, which were subsequently covered with detached buttonhole stitiches.

I had the good fortune to live close to Barbara & Roy Hirst who have been largely responsible for the revival of this fascinating form of embroidery, and have enjoyed workshops at their home here in the UK where we have learned from each other, exchanging information on our respective forms of expertise. The sepia picture of a young boy and girl sitting in front of a thatched cottage, was my first piece of stumpwork and of course created under the tutelage of Babara Hirst.  As one might have guessed, I was eager to progress the work and couldn't wait until the next lesson to ask Barbara for guidance, and made the mistake of not allowing sufficient space between their head and shoulders, resulting in  neither of these two little characters having a neck!

I am extremely fortunate that my husband Roy is a fine artist who creates vey detailed still life paintings and has painted some of the background scenes for several of my works.  I don't claim to be an embroiderer and don't have the skill, time or knowledge to embroider these large areas myself, but Roy has been happy to do this for me using his painting skills.

I have always greatly admired the wood carvings of Grinling Gibbons and whilst on a visit to an Arboretum with my City & Guild students in the 1980's, I saw a wonderful mirror surround depicting an arrow, quiver, sheet music, fruit, peas in a pod etc.  I thought that if someone could carve such realistic creations from a solid piece of wood, I surely could create something in needlelace - hence my peapods with butterfly worked in Gutermann 100/3 silks, which in turn led onto the strawberries!

I hope you will enjoy seeing some of these works.