THE RISE AND FALL OF THE NEEDLE.

Stitchery of Pictures. “Tent-work, Raised-work, Laid-work, Net-work, Most curious Purples or rare Italian Cut-work, Fine Fern-stitch, Finny-stitch, New-stitch and Chain-stitch, Brave Bread-stitch, Fisher-stitch, Irish-stitch, and Queen-stitch, The Spanish-stitch, Rosemary-stitch, and Morose-stitch, The Smarting Whip-stitch, Back-stitch, and the Cross-stitch, All these are good, and these we must allow, And these are everywhere in practise now.” The Needles Excellency.—John Taylor Once the structure of wool, hemp, cotton, flax or silk are dyed spun and woven it has been the final accomplished place of needlework to embellish and decorate, from the Turkish cushions embroidered with pearl or the fine traditional Breton waistcoat to the early stump-work and samplers of our own ancestry. As a child I watched with fascination and admiration at the skill of my great aunt and the patience she possessed in creating the most delicate silk pictures of thatched cottages with fabulous herbaceous floral displays. I decided this summers wet Sunday’s creative occupation would be a needlework picture. Given my love of the naïve I thought my first attempt at painting in wool should be kept simple, start at the top and work down maybe? During my days in the antique trade I had sold many long-stitch pictures and they didn’t look very complicated. Making it up as I went along seemed the easiest choice and soon I lost myself in the creative process. An adaptation of the French knot stitch produced billowing clouds and two other tighter stitches served as the sheep.