Registration is now open for our Online Studio class Mandala Hoop Embroidery with J. Marsha Michler!
In Mandala Hoop Embroidery you will use many different embroidery stitches to create a mandala-style design within a 6″ (15.24cm) circle. Begin the design at the center and allow it to grow by adding on. Observe the design emerge as you add to it!
Each new area starts with an outline; eight different options are given in class materials for creating interesting outlines. Fill an area with the embroidery stitch or stitches of your choice. You will work from a stitch reference to choose and learn new stitches. Using a variety of stitches is key to creating an intricate and lively design.
This design class demonstrates a form of freestyle embroidery. Other mandala-type designs will be presented within the class showing how an endless variety of designs is possible.
You may find this project useful as a stitch sampler- an opportunity to learn new stitches, or to observe the interesting patterns formed as different stitches are brought together, and/or to explore color relationships. You may use many different colors or work within a color scheme of your own.
Registration closes on June 5, 2024. The first PDF lesson will be posted on August 7 and the following lessons will be posted on August 14, and 21, 2024.
Click here to register for Mandala Hoop Embroidery
Here’s a quick rundown of how our online classes work: Students get access to the class content based on the class schedule and to a class discussion forum where the teacher will answer students’ questions and where students can post photos of their progress and communicate with each other. PDF lessons can be downloaded at any time up to two months after the last lesson is posted. Please check the details for each class to see if the class format will include video instruction.
Online Studio Classes coming soon!
Lacy Pin Cushion with Kim Beamish
Lacy Pin Cushion is a Pulled Thread embroidery piece. This pin cushion measures approximately 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch in height when finished. It is stitched on 28 count linen. There is no kit for this project giving students the opportunity to pick a color of their choice. This would be a good stash buster. The thread used for the fillings must match the fabric color choice. Registration: June 5 – July 7, 2024. Class schedule: September 4 – October 2, 2024. Sign up for a reminder!
Moroccan Lanterns with Dr. Valentina Grub
Brighten your own embroidery collection with this course, in which you will stitch seven unique lanterns in blackwork. While the stitches used are relatively simple, backstitch or Holbein stitch, the challenge is in arranging the lanterns, and consistently stitching them with intricate, geometric patterns. Registration: July 3, 2024 – August 7, 2024. Class Schedule: October 2-16, 2024. Sign up for a reminder!
Espalier Bracelet by Laura Smith
Espalier is the ancient horticultural practice of training a tree or shrub to grow flat against a wall or frame to produce more blooms and fruit. In this project, you’ll create a bracelet that emulates an espaliered tree. Learn to work with Painter’s Threads overdyed cord and loop trim to provide a structure like tree branches. It supports beads and sequins in their role as the fruit. Two kinds of water-soluble fabric and water-soluble tape hold the structure in place so that it can be hooped. Embellish the bracelet with your own beads. Registration: August 7-September 4, 2024. Class schedule: November 6-13, 2024. Sign up for a reminder!
Virtual Lecture registration open through May 17!
Finding New Life: Innovative Finishing Techniques for Needlework with Patrick Barron
Searching for inspiration instead of stitching the same projects again? Don’t want to continue spending tons of money on framing and finishing? In “Finding New Life: Innovative Finishing Techniques for Needlework,” Patrick Barron shows you creative and unique ways to show off your stitching skills by repurposing things you have around the house. From stitching on colanders and finials to candy tins and cookie cutters, Patrick will walk you through how you can show off your needlework in a unique and environmentally friendly way. Patrick will go through some of his favorite projects and give you an overview of how he decides what new and exciting thing he will work on next. Come join us to feel inspired and think outside the box! Live Lecture Date: Sunday, May 19, 2024 1PM Eastern Live Lecture Registration: April 23 – May 17, 2024 1PM Eastern Learn more!
Lightning Rounds
We have 5 new GCC Lightning Rounds available for registration through May 31, 2024. These are a selection of our Group Correspondence Courses that have been hand-picked by our Education Department and made available for individual EGA members to register without a group for a limited time. Click the pictures below to learn more about each course.
Fall Colors, A Study in Rozashi with Margaret Kinsey
Fall Colors is a study in traditional Rozashi embroidery. The leaves, the water, the water lines, the sky, background are a study in the stitches that are traditional to Rozashi. All stitches are upright in this technique. Some of the challenges in Rozashi are making points on leaves and curves for the water lines/currents, working the design on a small count ro and maintaining the proper tension on the ro and the silk threads. Learn More and Register!
Mythical Myrtle with Barbara Kershaw
Explore the magnificent stitches of Casalguidi embroidery in our Correspondence Course Mythical Myrtle with teacher Barbara Kershaw.
Casalguidi is a beautiful form of whitework named after the village of Casalguidi near Pistoia in Tuscany where it originated. Sometimes called linen-work, Casalguidi is a unique style of raised embroidery traditionally worked on a background of four-sided stitch.
Mythical Myrtle breaks from tradition a little in that she is not mounted on a background of four-sided stitch, although the four-sided stitch is incorporated into the design. Learn More and Register!
NEW: Pulled Stitches Clover with Marion Scoular
The leaves and blooms of the charming clover design contain twelve pulled fillings in a variety of patterns. There are both linear and diaper patterns in which the emphasis is placed on tension. Tension, of course, creates a significant change in the texture of the fabric. In pulled stitches, the effect is achieved by what the stitches do, not the appearance of the stitches themselves. Learn More and Register!
Star-Spangled Puzzle Ball with Denise Harrington Pratt
Star-Spangled Puzzle Ball offers the stitcher the opportunity to discover the joy of taking counted thread embroidery into three dimensions by creating a “puzzle ball.” The ball is constructed of pentagon and triangle components. The student will experience the art of counted thread embroidery by stitching the components in a variety of counted thread stitches. Learn More and Register!
Thank Goodness It’s Finished with Kim Sanders
Are your beautiful embroideries languishing in a drawer awaiting a trip to the finisher? Finishing the embroidery yourself gives you complete control over the end product and could be less expensive than using professional finishing services. Thank Goodness It’s Finished teaches a variety of skills needed to assemble embroideries into their final form. Read our Interview with Kim Sanders. Learn More and Register!
