Description
January – A Crewel Discussion with Hazel Blomkamp and Phillipa Turnbull – Live Lecture Date: Saturday, January 23, 2027 10AM Eastern
Following the 2026 publication of their book collaboration, Crewelwork Then and Now, Phillipa Turnbull and Hazel Blomkamp will talk about the joy of doing Crewelwork. Discussion will cover traditional techniques and materials, going into how the genre has evolved to include modern materials, and the inclusion of additional, modified needlework stitches and techniques.
February – Humor in the Bayeaux Tapestry with Dr. Gale Owen-Crocker – Live Lecture Date: Sunday, February 21, 2027 1PM Eastern
The subject-matter of the Bayeux Tapestry is extremely serious: the events leading up to the Norman invasion of England in 1066 and its violent conclusion at the Battle of Hastings. Yet the embroidery is not without touches of humour: witticisms, irony, and downright slapstick comedy.
March – The World of Goldwork with Clara Warschauer – Live Lecture Date: Sunday, March 14, 2027 1PM Eastern
The World of Goldwork: Materials, Techniques, and Possibilities is an exploration of the tools and materials used in goldwork embroidery. The lecture will look at a wide range of goldwork supplies and specialist tools, discussing their different characteristics, uses, and the creative possibilities they offer within both traditional and contemporary embroidery.
April – America’s Tapestry: From Idea to Exhibition with Stefan Romero – Live Lecture Date: Sunday, April 18, 2027 1PM Eastern
How does a single idea transform into a national embroidery project? Join us on April 18th as Stefan Romero, founder and director of ‘America’s Tapestry,’ discusses the genesis of this once-in-a-generation needlework project commemorating our nation’s 250th anniversary. Learn how Stefan amassed funding, resources, and institutional support to fabricate 13 hand-embroidered panels alongside nearly 2,000 volunteers.
May – AI in Embroidery – An Update with Anne Oliver – Live Lecture Date: Sunday, May 16, 2027 1PM Eastern
AI has radically changed the landscape of every artistic endeavor, and embroidery is no different. In this lecture, Anne Oliver of Lolli and Grace will discuss the effects of generative AI in 2027 on the embroidery community as a whole – both the stitchers buying patterns or viewing images of embroidery online and the designers creating patterns and kits for stitchers to make.
June – A Look at 18th Century Embroidery Through the Influences of Fashionable Art with Regina Truhart – Live Lecture Date: Saturday, June 12, 2027 1PM Eastern
18th century fashion and art were a prolific era for embroidery. Costume history professor, Regina Truhart’s research focuses on the garments of the 18th century and how the artistic movements influence embroidery design. Starting with the late baroque era embroidery design imitates art using an abundance of goldwork techniques. Later, as the attitudes of the rococo art era takes hold embroidery designs depict silk shaded flowers and nature themes covering the entire garments. Eventually rococo gives way to the delicate embroidery designs that reflect the neo classical era.
July – Tennessee Samplers with Jennifer Core – Live Lecture Date: Sunday, July 18, 2027 1PM Eastern
After twenty years of research, Jennifer C. Core and Janet S. Hasson published _Tennessee Samplers: Female Education and Decorative Arts. 1800–1900_. This massive study, almost 800 pages long, documents all known Tennessee samplers. Co-author Jennifer Core will speak on the connections between female academies and the textile arts, stylistic differences across the state of Tennessee, and the research process.
August – Professional Embroiderers with Tricia Wilson Nguyen – Live Lecture Date: Sunday, August 15, 2027 1PM Eastern (No Recording Available)
Professional embroiderers of the 17th century faced many of the same economic pressures that businesses encounter today—rising labor costs, expensive materials, slow-paying clients, and the constant need to manage operating expenses and cash flow. This emerging research explores how early modern embroidery “brands” developed, employing familiar merchandising tactics to produce goods for clients of varying means. We will also consider how designers exploited principles of visual perception, shedding light on both the artistry and the business acumen behind these exquisite works.
September – American Crewel Embroidery with Barbara Jackson – Live Lecture Date: Saturday, September 4, 2027 1PM Eastern
In this discussion on early American crewel, Barbara Jackson will focus mainly on the late 1700s. Motifs and common stitches will be shared as well as sources for inspiration and common items that were decorated.
October – The History and Mystery of Tambour Beading and Embroidery with Dr. Robert Haven – Live Lecture Date: Saturday, October 16, 2027 1PM Eastern
Tambour beading is perhaps the least documented embroidery technique despite being the back bone of the French Haute Couture Industry. This presentation delves into the history of its development in Asia and Europe and how it still survives in the 21st century fashion industry.
November – Embroidering the Presidency: Dress, Decoration, and American Political Identity, 1776–1865 with Summer Lee – Live Lecture Date: Saturday, November 20, 2027 1PM Eastern
Drawing on surviving garments and documentary evidence, this lecture considers how embroidered presidential dress negotiated the relationship between European sartorial traditions and emerging American ideals of political authority. From the Revolutionary period to Lincoln’s 1865 Brooks Brothers coat, it reveals how embroidery remained embedded within the material culture of the presidency, even while American statesmen increasingly emphasized the “simple dress of an American citizen” as a visual expression of republican ideals.
December – Stitched in Prison and in Freedom: Major Casdagli’s Embroideries with Isabella Rosner and Alexis Casdagli – Live Lecture Date: Sunday, December 12, 2027 1PM Eastern
Major A.T. Casdagli, an Anglo-Greek Prisoner of War and top-secret spy, taught himself how to embroider in PoW camps in Nazi Germany during World War II. ‘Cas’, as he was known, started with a subversive sampler he made in the second of four PoW camps and went on to embroider for the rest of his long life. His daughter, Alexis Penny Casdagli, explores with embroidery historian, Dr. Isabella Rosner, Cas’s radical, thought-provoking, and beautiful embroidery made during times of war and peace.
