Hand Embroidery

My mom did a lot of sewing and crewel embroidery in the 70s and 80s, and my nana always had cross-stitch pieces in her home. Without realizing our family’s love of needle-crafting, I picked up hand embroidery in 2019, shortly after my nana died at 92. The timing is a shame, because she would have gotten a real kick out of seeing my pieces or receiving them as gifts. But I’m grateful that I can share them with my mom, and at the same time, I can clearly imagine how delighted my nana would be by each piece.

From the beginning, I’ve preferred to draft my own designs—whether working from a sketch or winging it completely. Each of the pieces below is self-drafted. I also dabble in cross stitch patterns, though as they feel like the artwork of others, noneare pictured here.