New Erica Wilson Crewel Embroidery

May 20, 2020 horsenettle No Comments

When I bought this off EBay, I neglected to check the size. This wall hanging is 20”x24!

Who’s that, you ask? A fierce-looking owl, peering out of my 1978 Erica Wilson crewel embroidery kit. Yes, another kit. I just finished the wheat and flowers pillow, so I started another. I have hopes of doing my own design at some point, but these kits offer a lot as far as learning the ropes, or in this case a modified herringbone stitch that is really strange. I keep thinking it will start to look normal, but after many, many hours of stitching, it still looks very odd.

Categories: Embroidery Vintage

Tags: crewel, embroidery, Erica Wilson, owl, vintage

Finished: Erica Wilson Crewel Embroidery

May 16, 2020 horsenettle No Comments

I did it! I finished this project, a 1973 crewel embroidery kit designed by Erica Wilson. And it wasn’t just a kit, it was a pillow kit. And I made a pillow!

It took many, many hours. I learned a lot about embroidery, and I remembered how much I love working with wool. And I figured how how to sew, kind of.

So the question now is will I be able to use this kind of groovy, vintagey, textured pillow? Yes, I love that 1970’s style. But I don’t imagine it will be at all a nap-able pillow. All those French knots and bullion stitches made out of scratchy wool would leave an interesting imprint on the side of your face.

Categories: Embroidery Finished Object Vintage

Tags: crewel, embroidery, Erica Wilson, pillow, sewing, vintage, wool

Erica Wilson Embroidery III

May 13, 2020 horsenettle No Comments

It’s a rumpled mess. Can I turn it into a pillow?

I’ve nearly finished my vintage, 1973 Erica Wilson embroidery kit. It’s an amazing display of rusty- and mustard-colored wools in a wide range of stitches from French knots to satin stitch to the ever-so-cute bullion stitch, a great stand-in for wheat kernels.

I’ve only stitched a few small projects in the past, so I’m nearly starting from scratch with embroidery but I’m very taken with crewel embroidery. Perhaps I kept the tension too high on this as it’s full of hills and valleys once off the frame. But maybe it’ll smooth out after being blocked.

I loved working on the flowers.

Of course, I can’t be content with one little kit, so I gave myself a birthday present, a variety of Appleton crewel wool, some linen fabric, and a little package of needles. Aren’t the colors lovely?

I purchased all these lovely supplies from Kristin Nicholas, and I must say that everything was packed so nicely. I’m already sketching some ideas for my first design.