#EmbroideryWhisperer Helen M. Stevens

A landscape on a black background is always more challenging than on a pale ground - but there are some scenes that cry out for it! The magic of Glastonbury is a case in point. St. Dustan, sometime Abbot of Glastonbury (circa 943 to 957), was known to create embroidery patterns…

The beautiful Abbey Gate in Bury St. Edmunds. It is so easy to take such history for granted when you live in a place like this ... I am so lucky! Today everything is looking rainwashed, but the warmth of the sun can still be felt, even thrugh the clouds. Great growing weather…

Those fabulous shapes and textures (and then some!) can be found outside the cultivated garden, simply by looking down at the autumnal woodland floor, or at the foot of an old hedgerow. The remnants of summer climbers wind in, out and around the skeletal leaves, like tiny…

From flowers to ... these painted leaf begonia beauties! Every year I wonder at the shades and textures of these amazing plants, until I was "forced" to experiment on how to achieve it! (The silkwork underneath is superimposed by honeycomb stitch in very fine metallic thread.)…

For the first time, this year I believe I am going to have joy with my Morning Glories! It must be the hot weather, plus some unknown factor, as they have never thrived before ... Morning glories are associated with fairies, and planting them was thought to attract these beings,…

Not the Yellow Brick, but the Blue Water, Road! Shall we go over or under the Rainbow? #embroidery #EmbroideryWhisperer

I watched a quiz show yesterday, with the question "How many species of domestic dogs are there?" Trick question, of course ... only ONE species, but many breeds! I thought the same about trees ... so many different shapes, sizes, leaf types, and yet ALL trees. Science and…

Well, this little guy looks as though he is very intent upon reaching the middle of his flowery maze! The wingspan of this fellow (a white tailed bumble bee) is about .75" and my embroidery shows him lifesize. And a lot bigger here! Do you think he was ready fo his close up?…

One "plus" to our "three heatwaves on the trot" situation this year is that the butterflies are having a wonderful summer. In my garden, they have been particularly keen on the honeysuckle, what a treat for the senses, smell and sight, together! All three of these species love…

Yesterday, the joint effects of the fourth official heatwave day, and a really busy schedule just defated me! So, in the end, I retreated to the water garden for some cool time. It seems only polite that I share it with you all today! #embroidery #EmbroideryWhisperer

It's official! Here in the UK, we have another heatwave underway, the third since spring. My morning glories are still little more than seedlings, but this fellow seems to be using using one as a sunshade! Have a good weekend everyone, near or far ... #embroidery…

So good they named it twice! This is from my book "Embroiderer's World", which took the reader all over the planet looking at different subjects and landscapes, and how they might be interpreted. The New York cityscape is worked in differing metallic threads, incuding plied and…

“Let this one tear-drop, this Taj Mahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time ..." Rabindranath Tagores 1861 to 1941 Surely one of the most beautiful tributes to love ever created. #embroidery #EmbroideryWhisperer

" ... The happy highways where I went And cannot come again." A. E. Houseman, 1859 - 1936 Like yesterday's quote, this is from Houseman's most famous work, "A Shropshire Lad", (poem XL), first published in 1896. The visual of a road going on into the sky and ultimate infinity…

"... What are those blue remembered hills, What spires, what farms are those?" A. E. Houseman, 1859 - 1936 Houseman is one of my favourite poets (much neglected these days, I feel) with a wonderful capacity for conjuring spirit of the English countryside. It was from one of these…