San Francisco School of Needlework and Design

Another Bite-Size for Beginners class coming up on July 28th, 10am-1pm! Link to register for the class is below: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bite-size-embroidery-for-begin #handembroidery #embroidery #bitesize #beginners #onlineclass #design #fun

Our May Morris-Inspired Book Cover class is also another great addition to this month's May Morris lecture! Stitch your book cover design using English silk threads and gold threads. Class will be on July 31st, 10am-3pm Pacific Time. Link to register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/may-morris-inspired-book-cover #handembroidery #embroidery #bookcover #maymorris #design #artsandcraftsmovement

Our SFSNAD shop will always have a diverse range of books, from crewelwork to beadwork, and from vintage to new. Here's our one-of-a-kind vintage The Art of Lesage book, dated from the 1980s, currently on sale in our shop! Please take a look and get your hands on this book before this only copy of ours goes away! Link to purchase below: https://www.sfsnadshop.org//haute-couture-embroidery/2398 #handembroidery #embroidery #lesage #hautecouture #vintage #1980s

Don't forget that tomorrow will be the last day to register for the Introduction to Embroidery: Traditional Insect class! Class will be held on July 22nd, 10am-3pm Pacific Time. Hurry and register before it goes away! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-embroidery-tra #handembroidery #embroidery #traditionaldesign #bees #insect #onlineclass

As we are packing away to move to our new location, we are acknowledging our volunteers for their help to make our moving process easier! Here's Chris Clausen, helping us pack away our certificates and collections! #handembroidery #embroidery #volunteers #packing #collections #outreach

Tickets for our Introduction to Embroidery: Traditional Insect are selling fast! Hurry to sign up for this class before registration ends on July 8th! Link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-embroidery-tra #handembroidery #embroidery #traditionaldesign #insect #bees #onlineclass

Advance yourself with more needlepainting techniques by taking our Pansy Spray class! Class will be held in two sessions, September 11th and 18th, both at 10am-1pm Pacific Time. Hurry and register for our class (link below) before spaces run out! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pansy-spray-two-session-class- #handembroidery #embroidery #pansy #needlepainting #silkshading #floral

Whether you have stitching projects do or shopping over this coming July 4th weekend, our shop will still be open online to meet your needs. We still have books, equipment, threads, and more. Please check our store out: https://www.sfsnadshop.org/s/shop #handembroidery #embroidery #SupportSmallBusiness #books #onlineshop #supplies

From the words in Shannon Downey's (@badasscrossstitch) American flag, "I pledge allegiance to humanity and to the planet and species living under the stars seeking love and justice for all." May everyone have a happy and safe Fourth of July. #handembroidery #embroidery #americanflag #craftivism #fourthofjuly #humanity

Tomorrow will be the LAST DAY to register for the following classes: 18th-Century Inspiration (July 17th, 10am-1pm Pacific Time): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/18th-century-inspiration-ticke... Introduction to Embroidery: Traditional Plant (July 17th, 10am-3pm Pacific Time): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-embroidery-tra #handembroidery #embroidery #onlineclasses #alllevels #18thcentury #traditionaldesign

Here's another piece from Leah S., who participated in our last Stitch-at-Home Challenge: Choices. Her piece is titled "A Precious Gift", 5"x7", and is filled with satin stitch, french knot, stem stitch, wagon wheel stitch, fishbone stitch. "With the current theme of The San Francisco School of Needlework and Design's stitch at home challenge being "choices" I knew I wanted to reflect on my faith. Believing what Christ accomplished on the cross for my salvation has been the ...most important and rewarding choice I've ever made! This world is scary, messy, selfish and mean. I take comfort in the love my savior has for me everyday. I've had so much fun stitching this! I hope you all enjoy it too Romans 6:23 : "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." #handembroidery #embroidery #embroiderydesign #christ #salvation

Our YouTube stitch tutorials are back! Add a little zing into your buttonhole stitch with a buttonhole bar stitch, and you can find this tutorial by clicking on the YouTube link below:

Today we feature Caren Garfen, based in London, UK, who is an award-winning textile artist that hand-stitches pieces with profound messages: "My approach as an artist is to extensively research the subject matter of each project that I undertake, and to use painstaking hand stitching to emphasis those issues. I like to incorporate everyday objects such as spectacles, stamps, keyrings and coins into my work to address sensitive topics in an accessible way. I am currently focu...sing on the shattering rise in global antisemitism and have created a work called ‘Selection’ which focuses on innocent people who were murdered during the Holocaust and in recent times because they were Jewish. I selected people who wore glasses in order to gain a random cross-section of Jewish society in German-occupied Europe during World War II, and of those murdered in the 21st century. Only one person does not wear glasses, a Holocaust survivor, murdered in Paris in 2018. I used fabric, silk threads, 108 vintage ophthalmic lenses and 108 miniature picture frames with photographs, in the construction of ‘Selection’. This artwork has been selected for @fibreartsaustralia Art Textile Biennale which will take place in 2021." To see more of Caren's work, please visit her Instagram page and her website: IG: https://www.instagram.com/carengarfen/?hl=en Website: http://www.carengarfen.com #handembroidery #textileart #jewish #HolocaustRemembrance #antisemitismendsnow

Meet our Staff: Mae McCourt, Director of Community Outreach and Instructor at SFSNAD Mae McCourt reaches out to all stitchers, from novices to experts, alike, and organizes all of our online galleries displaying our student work and stitch-at-home challenge pieces. She is always on the lookout for new volunteers, as well as gathering current ones contributing to the school. She was one of the first CSP Surface Embroidery students, and prior to working at SFSNAD, she worked on... education management in many different cities around the world. What is your current position in SFSNAD? I am an embroidery instructor and director of outreach. What got you into embroidery (or any craft)? I have always been very interested in art and crafts, having watched my mother sewing and stitching all my life, and working through every craft kit available with my siblings growing up. I became more and more interested in embroidery, especially while living in Japan and picking up embroidery books in my local bookstore. I was so happy when I discovered SF SNAD and got to try new techniques and learn better embroidery habits. Any prior experience/background with your craft before joining SFSNAD? Before finding SNAD, I had dabbled in embroidery as a hobby for over ten years, and sewing since I was a teenager. I tried so many different crafts but embroidery is the one I always came back to. What are your inspirations and how do you find them? My inspiration often comes from the people in my life, I love making things for loved ones, but also from nature and vintage textiles and and design. What is the best part about embroidering (or any other craft)? Creating something unique - starting with an idea and turning it into a beautiful tactile item. What are your favorite embroidery techniques and why? Least favorite? I love surface embroidery - I can draw anything onto any fabric and take a needle and thread and stitch it. There's so much freedom. What is the most challenging part about embroidering (or any craft)? Finding a quiet time to focus on it! Although, I love how portable it is, you can do embroidery almost anywhere. What advice would you give to those who are interested but don’t know where to start? Find a project that will motivate you to learn - maybe a design you love, someone you want to give a gift to, or an item of clothing you'd like to embellish. What is your favorite product (related to embroidery or any craft) that you swear by and recommend to others? I always recommend a seat stand for your hoop, if you're going to spend a lot of time stitching - it's the best for getting comfy on the couch with. Put some British baking show on in the background and stitch the afternoon away! #embroidery #handembroidery #surfaceembroidery #communityoutreach #tactilelearning

Our feature artist today is Olga Peolla. Olga has dazzled us with beautiful, and delicate floral embroideries, stitched in soft and elegant colors! Olga writes: "My name is Olga. For the first time I saw embroidery I was in my grandmother's house, then I was mesmerized by this incredible beauty. I was 5 years old when I firmly decided that I would embroider fabulous flowers, and ornaments, and so it happened, but the road to embroidery was not straight one. ... I got an engineering degree, then a design degree, and only then started to embroider. I have a garden, and miracles happen in it all year round, it changes every day. Flowers, and trees inspire me. Sometimes I wonder why the flowers are so beautiful? I think because flowers are expressions of love. They are designed with mathematical precision, but absolutely insane, irrationally beautiful. It is said that beauty will save the world. Embroidery is a simple technique that allows us to transfer the beauty of nature to our homes, warming them with harmony." If you would like to see more of Olga's work visit: Instagram: embroidery_berry_ Website: www.etsy.com/shop/EmbroideryBerry #embroidery #handembroidery #handmade #flowers

Danielle Clough is our feature artist for today, and the threads that link the ancient and modern are an excellent starting point to describe the work of this Cape Town based artist. Danielle’s colorful, delicate embroideries celebrate the joining of the old with the new in a playful manner that is thoroughly modern in approach, yet nostalgic. She utilizes a craft that is perceived as old world, but takes her inspirations from current pop culture icons and nature. Her choice ...of materials also reflects a fascination with time, and her vibrant embroideries are just as likely to adorn a vintage tennis racquet as they are a rusty chain link fence or a brand-new pair of Gucci sneakers. Danielle learned the ins and outs of creative expression at The Red and Yellow School where she studied art direction, and graphic design. She then began her career as an artist in the field of both handmade art, digital design. Danielle writes: "Rumor has it that Adam, and Eve had been wandering around in their birthday suits for quite a while before they realized that a bit of modesty might be in order. So, they grabbed a few fig leaves (and possibly a sharp twig), started sewing, and inadvertently set in motion a chain of events that rippled through the strands of time and brought you, dear reader, to this very website at this exact moment. When I am not poking sharp objects into other objects, I enjoy expanding my artistic horizons, and have hosted a show on Assembly Radio, created custom book covers, and worked as contributing photographer to several local and international publications. I also have stepped into the realm of education with online classes and real-world workshops to help aspiring embroiderers learn, and appreciate the craft. My creative goal is to express the best of human emotion through art, and for each and every stitch to mark the passage of time spent with love, and care. If my work evokes the slightest bit of happiness in you, my gratitude is intertwined with your joy in a tapestry so radiant that all the colors in the galaxy could not do it justice." Danielle has been profiled by Instagram, Colossal, CNN, Vogue.com. Beautiful Bizarre, Hi-Fructose and the Creators Project, and has been published in the New York Times, Casa de Jardim, Hemslöjd, Evening Standard, Inspirations and Homespun amongst others. Her work has caught the attention of prominent clients such as Gucci, Adobe, The African Innovation Foundation, the United Nations, Origins, Nike, Kanye West, and Drew Barrymore. To see more of Danielle's work visit: Website: https://www.danielleclough.com/ Instagram: fiance_knowels #embroidery #handembroidery #fiberart #handmade

Julie Cockburn, a London-based artist, combines found imagery and embroidery together: "I have always loved embroidery and was taught to stitch by my grandmother when I was very young. I studied Sculpture at Central Saint Martins in London where we were encouraged to use anything and everything as our materials. I use a lot of found images in my work photos, postcards, catalogues, newspapers and combining them with embroidery came very naturally to me. I have always been ...drawn to images with a three dimensional quality from pop-up books to stitched 1970s Spanish tourist postcards of flamenco dancers." To see more of Julie's work, please visit her Instagram page and website: IG: https://www.instagram.com/juliecockburnartist/ Website: http://www.juliecockburn.com

Need another mood-lifting activity? Embroider fresh strawberries using crewelwork on a pillow that uplifts any part of your home! You can purchase your kit in our shop online: https://www.sfsnadshop.org//strawberry-crewelwork-pi/1805

Diane Meyer, a Los Angeles-based artist, explores place by merging fine art photography with hand embroidery: "My work has long been defined by explorations into the physical, social and psychological qualities that characterize place. These investigations have taken various forms throughout my career. Just as different locations have different defining features, my work frequently changes genres and mediums in accordance with the conceptual framework in which I am working. I...Continue reading