It’s nice to know really talented people! This needlework piece was designed and taught by a friend in my former EGA guild, Edie Feisner. It’s a hardanger adaptation of classic quilt designs. Edie is an expert in color, having published several books and taught at the university level for many years. Sorry for the poor photography on this one — I got a reflection no matter what I tried.
I have collected jesters and masks since I was a little girl. I don’t collect jesters really any more, but I still cherish this piece that I did when I was in college. It was a huge pain to stitch, with lots of blended colors (1 thread each of two different colors) and metallics throughout. It seemed like a constant battle with knots. But it is a stunning little piece. I believe this design came out of an old “Just Cross Stitch” magazine. The artist was Jeanne Christine.
This is a piece of needlework that I stitched in 2000. It is designed by one of my favorite needlework designers, Liz Turner Diehl, and it is entitled “16th Century English Family Garden”. I have quite a few of Liz’s garden designs in my stash that I’d like to stitch one day. I enjoy her pieces because of her use of a lot of different stitches and stumpwork. They are always a bit of a challenge for me, but an enjoyable learning experience.
After my needlework beginning in school, I asked my mother if I could do a piece of cross-stitch on my own. She took me to the “Old America Store”, a large format craft and home decor store in Richmond back then, and I picked out a cross-stitch book of baby animal designs. Mom wasn’t a cross-stitcher herself, so I really had no guidance. This was my first piece on my own. Things that I didn’t know when I started this piece: 1) cut your fabric well larger than the finished design size (hence this frame being right up to the needlework) and 2) all the Xs are supposed to go in the same direction.
This is my very first piece of needlework. I made this in school in 5th grade taught by Mrs. Clark. We had choices of several designs, and she taught us to cross-stitch. I was instantly in love with this new craft. 
Craft Therapy 