Thistle Threads

Some of the past projects are:

Just Cross Stitch 2004 Special Christmas Issue		A Tiny German Folk Slipper
A Tiny German Folk Slipper is inspired by my family's many trips to Germany over the last year. It can be worked as a companion to the French Monogram Series of needlework accessories. The slipper can be used to hold candy and hung on your tree by a loop on the back and used to hold scissors in the non-Christmas season. Visit the Web Projects page on this website to see detailed photos on the finishing of this piece. The die-cut finishing kits is also available on the same page.

Fine Lines Fall 2003 Vol. 8 - No. 2		Queen's Turtle Etui
Fall 2003 issue of Fine Lines containing instructions - ~~$8.00~~ SOLD OUT In the past animal forms have been used for needlework accessories. There are some notable frog purses and bird thimble holders in museum collections from the early 17th century. I hope that you enjoy this project which uses a spot motif from a 17th century sampler to cover the turtle shell.

Fine Lines Fall 2003 Vol. 8 - No. 2		Vintage Purse and Toile Boxes
Fall 2003 issue of Fine Lines containing instructions - ~~$8.00~~ SOLD OUT The motto on this piece is certainly contemporary: "If All Mankind Would Live in Mutual Love, This World Would Much Resemble That Above". The piece is designed to match the two lovely vintage toile wallpaper boxes made for us by Marilyn Krebiel of Hannah's Treasures. The purse has areas to hold needles, threads, and two extra pockets for your needlework necessities. The kits for this piece and a limited number of vintage toile boxes are available for purchase on our What's New page.

Fine Lines Fall 2002 Vol. 7 - No. 2 & Fine Lines Winter 2003 Vol. 7 - No. 3		Victorian Lipstick Case
Fall 2002 & Winter 2003 issues of Fine Lines containing instructions - ~~$16.00~~ SOLD OUT The Victorian Lipstick Case was designed to be an additional accessory for the Limited Edition Kit 2002, Victorian Pocket Purse. When we were putting the Limited Edition Kit together, we found that there would be a corner of linen leftover and additional thread so I designed a coordinating piece to use up these extra materials in the kit. If you want to sample the piece before working the Purse project, this piece is a good introduction. It can be used as intended for lipstick or to place spools of thread inside. The piece is designed on 40 count hand dyed linen and was worked using Au Ver a Soie 100/3 silk but can be worked on another fabric with threads of your choice if preferred. A number of counted thread stitches are used in the piece to highlight areas with both texture and color.

Fine Lines Fall 2001 Vol 6. - No 2		Small Wonder
Fall 2001 issue of Fine Lines containing instructions - ~~$8.00~~ SOLD OUT Small Wonder is inspired by the many miniature marking samplers made in the 19th century as part of a girl's education, often a little girl being prepared to enter into service. Like the miniature samplers of old, this piece is quick to work up and can be adapted to any colors you wish. When the piece is worked on 40 count fabric, it fits into any Tiny Frame in the collection from Old Colonial Designs.

Fine Lines Summer 2001 Vol. 6 - No. 1		Carnation Candy Cone
Summer 2001 issue of Fine Lines containing instructions - ~~$8.00~~ SOLD OUT This piece was designed after a visit to the Sampler A to Z exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston a few years ago. On display was a Mexican sampler which had a set of flowers, like carnations, which had been embroidered in long and short stitch. What was unique about this piece was that the flowers were stitched with a two color twisted silk thread. Having studied Japanese embroidery, I knew that the stitcher must have made her own thread to achieve the unique "candy cane" effect. This piece incorporates 'candy cane' silks in a traditional sampler band. The instructions teach you how to take two colors of Au Ver a Soie Soie Platte and twist it by hand to make a two color thread for your satin stitches. If you are interested in something different, try this technique.

Fine Lines Winter 2001 Vol. 5 - No. 3		Dutch Sampler Trilogy
Winter 2001 issue of Fine Lines containing instructions - ~~$8.00~~ SOLD OUT The Dutch Trilogy was designed to be a miniature series of samplers which highlight many typical aspects of Dutch pieces. Each sampler was designed to work alone or to be hung together as a set that coordinated vertically. I have mounted my model on a beautiful wide ribbon so that they can be hung vertically as a set on my wall. Several wonderfully ornate Dutch letters are coordinated with a tree of life motif and typical borders. This project uses a number of counted thread stitches to give contrasting stitch texture to the pieces and look wonderful when stitched in the recommended Au Ver A Soie 100/3 silk thread. When worked on 40 count fabric, the pieces fit into a series of premade walnut burl frames available through the Historic Needlework Guild or Old Colonial Designs. If the stitcher wishes to stitch the pieces on a different count fabric, Old Colonial will fabricate frames from the same moldings to fit.

Fine Lines Fall 2000 Vol 5. - No. 2		Winter Stocking
Fall 2000 issue of Fine Lines containing instructions - ~~$8.00~~ SOLD OUT This design was inspired by a series of photos I took on a visit to the sampler collection at the V&A Museum in London. The sampler collection contains many long band samplers with section of beautiful whitework. These bands are often made up of multiple stitches such as satin stitch, faggotting, and bullion. When I designed this piece, I chose to use several lovely silks to let the light play off both filament and spun silks in my choice of stitches. The resulting cuff is the same on both sides and is applied as a French cuff to a six inch velvet stocking. This design coordinates with the stocking series called Winter Roses found on the Chart Page.

Fine Lines Summer 2000 Vol. 5 - No. 1 & Fine Lines Fall 2000 Vol. 5 - No. 2 & Fine Lines Winter 2001 Vol. 5 - No. 3 & Fine Lines Spring 2001 Vol. 5 - No. 4		Elizabeth's Sweet Bag
Four issue set of Fine Lines containing instructions - ~~$32.00~~ SOLD OUT The Elizabeth's Sweet Bag was the continuing project for Fine Lines Volume 5. The instructions are incorporated into all four issues. It is designed based on stitches and designs commonly used on 17th century coifs, purses, cushions, and jackets. I took inspiration from a cushion cover in polychrome silks from the Embroiderer's Guild collection and created this piece to appeal to those stitchers who would like to produce a challenging, historically styled piece. A kit for this piece is available on the Kits page. Also, while the instructions are comprehensive, some groups like to have me come and teach this piece in person. One guild also commissioned me to design a matching set of accessories, which can be found on the Teaching page, entitled Elizabeth's Accessories.

Fine Lines Winter 2000		Victorian Card Case
Winter 2000 issue of Fine Lines containing instructions - SOLD OUT The Victorian Card Case was designed to hold business cards in your purse. It can be equally adapted to hold credit cards and a bit of money when at a seminar! Of course, if you prefer to place scissors in the piece, it can hold these as well. I was inspired by a very unusual Victorian beaded piece that was shown in a very old magazine at my grandmother's home. The bold geometric flowers formed by the beads seemed that they could be translated into cross stitch and served as a fantastic way to use overdyed floss. The piece is worked on Champagne 32 count linen with Weeks Dye Works threads. A number of stitchers have adapted the colors to different pallets successfully and I am always thrilled to get pictures of adaptations which show how they have made the piece reflect their own personality.

Fine Lines Winter 2000		Celtic Scissors Fob
Winter 2000 issue of Fine Lines containing instructions - SOLD OUT The Celtic Scissors Fob is an adaptation of a queen stitch motif from a spot sampler from the 16th century. The piece is worked on 36 count linen and uses a chain stitch with #1 gold thread to fill in areas between the queen stitches. The piece is very rich when stitched and can be used as a fob, ornament or translated into a beautiful pin cushion to hold your pins or an expensive jewelry pin on your boudoir table.