The Overlord Embroidery

The Overlord Embroidery is the story of the D-Day invasion of Normandy by Allied Forces on 6 June, 1944. Commissioned by Lord Dulverton in 1968 and completed in 1974,  it was designed by artist Sandra Lawrence. The 34 panels measure 83 metres (272 feet) in length making this one of the largest …

ClipSafari for Hand Embroidery Designs

Stitchers are always looking for images that can be adapted easily and used in a hand embroidery design. ClipSafari is a site that houses images that are free to use. I browsed ClipSafari for hand embroidery designs and picked out a few images to illustrate to my readers what they will …

How to use PicMonkey to create your own embroidery designs

If you like to customise gifts and home decor items with hand embroidery PicMonkey will help you design just the right thing. What is PicMonkey? It is a free easy to use photo editor online. (Since writing this Pic Monkey is no longer free but offers a free trial and …

Using a sketchbook as a thinking tool

Over on A list Apart, Mike Rohde has written a good article about the advantages of using a sketchbook as a thinking tool. The points he makes in Sketching: the Visual Thinking Power Tool can be applied to any creative practice. That includes any creative practice that is associated with textiles. …

Who says you cant do that!

Juan Francisco Casas creates monumental realistic drawings using ball pens. Many people will have had art teachers say to that you cant get tonal values using a ballpoint pen. This artist definitely disproves their words as he magnifies digital photos and creates huge hand-drawn panels. There is no Photoshop involved …