The more I embroider, the more I love to learn about where embroidery has come from.  The following article added to my embroidery awareness.  These designs (and others of the same genre) are available at Initial Impressions - just ask!

The blackwork that inspires the designs for this week offers us the opportunity to connect with our roots. Almost every culture has produced embroidery evolving  from simple stitches like these.  Blackwork may be many centuries old, but it is textile art that has been freshened and enlivened by every generation and culture since it was born.      Blackwork is a counted thread method of embroidery that uses straight stitches worked on an “evenweave” fabric. Linen was and still is a first choice for this hand needlework. When we look at the geometric patterns in this thread art today, we can see how every design is built on the squares and diagonals these stitches create.
The origin of blackwork designs may be the formal arabesques and geometric patterns developed by the Moors and used in Spain for centuries. The Spanish princess, Katherine of Aragon, brought her love of embroidery and her trousseau with “Spanish work of black silk.” to England in 1501, and as a member of the Royal family, influenced the rise in the popularity of her Spanish, or black, work.       The sleuths among us will find it fun to trace embroidery designs back to their many historical forms. Next time you are in an art museum, pay special attention to the detail recorded by portrait artists as they painted their “royal” or patron subjects in the clothing of their day. You can see how fashions evolve through the ages.
In the hands of the English — courtiers and commoners alike — the geometric embroidery patterns of the 16th century evolved to scrolling, more naturalistic designs. Embroiderers added variations in texture — stitches such as coral, herringbone, plaited braid — herbs and flowers of the Tudor knot garden, animals from Aesop’s Fables, and fantasy animals like the griffin.      To record each new design and pattern she made, an embroiderer would sew them on a sampler that she could roll up and carry in a work bag or take with her to share with friends. Some of these “band samplers” from the 16th and 17 centuries have survived, while embroidery pattern books, first printed in England in 1548, have not faired as well.
The popularity of embroidered blackwork is in evidence in the traditions every European country, each culture developing it in their own traditions. In America blue thread was substituted, probably as an influence of the popular Delft tiles from Holland. Eastern European countries favored red thread, and all over the world, variations on blackwork were influenced by local customs and traditions.      During the Stuart and Victorian eras in England, color and shading replaced the stark contrasts of blackwork, and the exuberance of Jacobean embroidery was a powerful  influence on fashion everywhere.
It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that blackwork regained popularity. Credit the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States with reviving blackwork among the traditional crafts it fostered. By the 1920s and ’30s pattern books were published and classes were teaching blackwork patterns, still evolving today.      We love the simplicity of the designs, and even as we develop new methods for creating them, we feel the connection to this age-old art form and revel in its charm.

Source:  Kenny’s Korner, www.embroiderylibrary.com

In September of 1978, I had my second child, Kate.  At a time that would normally have been such a blessed time, we also finally got the diagnosis for the strange symptoms my mother had been experiencing for several months.  After a barrage of tests at Stanford Hospital, they finally came up with a diagnosis of a disease that I had never heard of – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig Disease for the famous baseball player who succumbed to it). 

My mother was only 48.  The prognosis was dire and we were shocked and devastated.  Mom fought the disease valiantly, but it got the best of her in December of 1980.  To this day, there is no clear cause and no real treatment.

Fast forward about eight years and our existence in Colorado.  We have some wonderful neighbors who moved to this area of Boulder in 1988 - just about the same time we did.  Fortunately enough, Jay happens to be an EMT and a horse lover.  One one Colorado blizzard night our daughters’ horse Fancy was blinded by the snow, panicked and broke a huge plate glass window, cutting herself badly in the process.  I have never seen so much blood and in the white snow, it looked pretty gruesome.  We managed to get Fancy into Jay’s care and he was able to save her.

The girls grew up and moved to other areas of the country.  Arrangements were made to have Fancy leased by a local girl whose family was supposed to take proper care for her.  Alas, they did not and Fancy became severely malnourished.  Again, Jay came to the rescue - performing a horse rescue.  Fancy is now in the care of one daughter and her extended family and is thriving to this day.

What does all this have to do with embroidery you ask….

Recently Jay and his wife Judy moved to California.  They wanted a lot of new personalized towels for their new home.  I was happy they wanted me to do the embroidery, but I did not feel comfortable charging them for my work after all they had done for us.  Sooo, I suggested that they make a donation to Project ALS in my mother’s honor.  Jay and Judy thought that was a terrific idea and that is what they did.

In case you have been touched by ALS or know someone who has, Project ALS is located in New York City.  Their website is www.projectals.org, with email at info@projectals.org.  Project ALS is funding every aspect of a gene therapy pilot investigation in collaboration with Johns Hopkins, Harvard University and the Salk Institute.  If successful, gene therapy will make a difference for those living with ALS and many other neurological diseases including Alzeimer’s, Parkinsons, Multiple Sclerosis and spinal cord injury.

If at this year end, you are looking for a meaningful charity and have even a little disposable income left, this is one to carefully consider.

These needed to be the same because both girls are going to want this apron.  As I embroidered them, I was transported back to 1980 when I made my first real tutu for daughter Charlotte’s first ballet recital.  It too was purple and turquoise and was made under the direction of a ballet mistress who knew how to make American Ballet Theater tutus.  An army of moms made 18 tutus for that recital - all of them the real thing.

by Peg’s 31 year-old married daughter

The Initial Impressions two-sided flannel blanket is my favorite baby gift to celebrate the arrival of my friends’ babies for both intrinsic and sentimental reasons. Intrinsically, they’re just well-made custom baby blankets out of 100% cotton high-quality flannel which is then personalized for the new baby. Nothing could be simpler. Sentimentally it’s more complex.

Two Sided Flannel Blanket Personalized

When I was younger my mother would let me play in her hope chest. She had tucked away all her pretty things there, including many of the things she was holding onto as mementos of us children. In there she has a worn-out yellow and pink flannel baby blanket or receiving blanket, which she explained to me was hand-made for my arrival by my godmother Paula. Mom showed me the stitches in the hem which demonstrated that this blanket really was sewn with love by someone who was thinking about me as she made it. Mom gets a little teary-eyed when she thinks about things like this, so I know that it’s really special.

My mother hand-makes each of these two-sided baby blankets out of natural 100% cotton flannel. In so doing she’s created both an object that will last (my blanket’s over 31 years old now!) but also something even more timeless. I would wager that ever since brushed cotton flannel was invented, women have been using it to keep their babies warm and snuggly. I recognize that tiny pink rosebud print because I had a nightgown made of that, and most of my girlfriends did too. I appreciate high-tech fabrics as much as the next athlete, but for a new baby I want to go back to basics.

There’s something outside of time when life perpetuates and my friends have babies. I appreciate the timelessness of a hand-made old-fashioned gift. For a practical yet sentimental memento that will last, I always turn to my mother’s two-sided flannel blankets and heartily recommend them to anyone.

I love nautical - I always have.  It reminds me of lazy summers spent at the beach in Massachusetts as a child.  At the time I complained that it was dull.  Now I would love to endulge in that time and place with the salty air, the gentle breeze and not a care in the world.  Children have it all!

We created this sweet pillow in the early years of Initial Impressions.  It was commissioned as a pillow to commemorate a little girl’s ballet recital.  It is an example of the kind of project that I love to do.  It calls for close consultation with the customer and a little extra creativity.  It also takes a little more time. The oohs and aahs make it all worthwhile.

My youngest daughter tells me that if I relate my grandmother’s catch phrase again she’ll get mad, or at least roll her eyes (something she’s good at doing lately). I’m pretty sure she doesn’t read this blog, so I’ll tell you and then I’ll tell you what I think of it.

“When I found the dishrag in the refrigerator, I wondered where I had hung the butter.”

Makes me smile every time…
Busy moms know that sometimes you’re hard pressed to even take the step back and *notice* the dishcloth in the fridge. Our lives are so hectic and keeping up with the kid’s schedules is darn near impossible. I haven’t decided whether I’m going to embroider “Breathe” or “Where’s the butter?” on my next dishtowel, but either of those embroidery options conveys to me, personally, the same idea - step back and relax, remember to laugh and enjoy your life.That’s a personal message I need to remember!

I like the kitchen towel for this sort of reminder because it’s an item which is just so ordinary, so common, that you see it all the time, and everyone always needs one. Which just made me think - I wonder if my sister remembers grandma’s saying. I wonder if she’d laugh if I gave her a kitchen towel embroidered with “where’s the butter?”

What would you want to remind yourself of every day on a kitchen towel?