I love the little spiders & their webs, too! Last summer we had the most amazing huge web in the corner of our yard, strung from bush to fence.

spiderweb is a lovely touch.

And I notice that your spider is a Black Widow.

But the way they reflect the light makes the red show up with that glint of red and the rest very dark. I think it's kind of cool.

I especially like the plant leaves at the bottom right. They remind me of my favorite Hostas.

I can barely sew a button on so I’m very impressed with your talent and patience!

I really don't want to know how much time I devote to my needlework. It's my zen activity - I concentrate on the work and not on other things. The rule is - no news while I am stitching. That would make me too tense and I'd mess up the work!

There is so much to see and incredibly well done. I hope the next stop is the framer's.

I always sign and date my pieces and I intend to put a card on the back of each with the designer, materials, and other notes.

Please show more of your beautiful work in the future!

My original design from years ago is this one:



But I have been learning new skills. I do have some other original designs that I need to do before my hands and eyes give out.

Just wow!

the little spiders. The 3-D effect is striking. Thanks for sharing.

I wish I had time to work on a project like this. I used to spend time on embroidery, but haven't in years. You may have inspired me to find a small project!

And well deserved.

Thanks for sharing here. I am going to send this to a daughter who does some needlework.

How long have you been doing this?

I have some pillow cases I stitched at six - iron on designs with simple stitches. Then in college in the 1970s I mostly did needlepoint and went to the American Needlepoint National Seminar in 1990 which introduced me to silk and metal on canvas. Then I studied Japanese embroidery for five years and joined the Embroiderer's Guild of America which got me into stitching with all sorts of techniques.

The simple answer to your question is over sixty years.

Ty for sharing!

The white background makes the work that much more outstanding. Just beautiful, and such a long labor of love. And it shows! Well done!

It is magnificent. Where is your signature and the date?

I like to take pictures before and after the signature and date and couldn't wait to post a picture!

Thank you for sharing this wonderful stumpwork art.

... the many hours of enjoyment while you were crafting it, and the many hours of enjoyment you and others will receive while it is on display.

Cheers!

What is the size of this piece? What are you going to do with it? I love the birds too
What an accomplishment !!

I'll have to make a space on my walls to hang it. I've gotten to the point where I am running out of wall space, especially since my husband found a stash of posters from the 60s and 70s that he wants to hang. I think those will go on the walls along the staircase since there is no room anywhere else.

that's fantastic!

Love the loquats.

Had to wrap two different sized beads with thread, keeping it nice and smooth. Then pull the little tufts of thread (after brushing them to untangle the threads) into the middles without pulling through.

What beautiful detail!

It's the most beautiful needlework I have ever seen.

And those leaves and berries and macaws - in "3-D"! They literally just pop off the page toward you, not to mention how they rise from the fabric!

SO well done. The leaf detail is so intricate - LOVE the spider web details, too.

Just GORGEOUS!

I hope you're gonna have it framed. This should hang in a place of honor where everybody can see and admire it!

The designer and instructor had hers finished as a handmade box - part of the class. But with cats and on a farm the delicate work would not survive the exposure.

It will go to the framer this week.

As a cat person myself, I know what damage all those little claws can do!

I was nervous about hanging a bell pull my Mom stitched. It's very long and has this enticing tassel on the bottom. We ended up hanging it with the top almost at the ceiling. There's no furniture underneath so they would have to jump over 3 feet to get to the tassel. So far they haven't even noticed it.

It is beautiful to look at, an eye catcher and conversation piece. The colors are so joyful.

It's sounds intricate to make, but finished it is an amazing, work of art. Thanks for sharing it.

Beautiful work!

What an accomplishment and such detail!

I haven't done any needlework in many, many years, but I used to enjoy painting with thread. I understand what went into this. Your work is inspiring to me. Gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing!

for almost 5 years, lol. Every time I get the bag out of the closet to work on it, my cat, Sammy, comes running to attack the yarn. I have to keep stopping. She's got some sort of kitty radar because she will bolt up out of a sound sleep, sigh. It's large. I got it off of eBay and was a vintage needlepoint kit that came from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here's the pic that came with it:

Intended for cross stitch, but I'll do it in needlepoint.

My cats are learning that when I am stitching, they have to stay away. I just have to make sure all threads, orts, and needles are put away when I am not working. I've read horrible stories about what eaten threads do to cats' intestines.

out her sewing kit for some reason and walked away from the basket for a minute. When she got back she couldn't find her big darning needle and Koko was looking suspicious. My folks took him to the vet immediately, fearing the worst. I still remember that x-ray of Koko's stomach with that huge darning needle in it. Luckily, he had swallowed its blunt end first so there was no damage. The vet operated on him that day and he recovered well. I've been paranoid about cats and needles ever since. That's why I put it away when Sammy comes around even though tapestry needles are blunt.

When I was a kid in 4-H we got to tour the state veterinary lab. They had a big display of things pets had swallowed. Not only needles, thread, yarn, but coins, keys, and all sorts of objects. Ever since I have been very careful about what my pets can get hold of. I keep having to fuss at my husband since he leaves hair bands around - he's still has his long hippy hair even though he'd going bald on top. He looks a bit like Ben Franklin!

Take care for Sammy!

10 year masterpiece! Just one question and someone else asked, how large is it?

I would love a larger pic. It's just truly breathtaking. IMHO.
Ms 7wo7rees

I don't like to post larger images online - 1024 pixels on the longest side is my standard size to post.

And how about that spidey? Thanks for the smile today.

Absolutely beautiful! 5/5 stars

Congratulations, it is gorgeous!

Thanks for sharing.

That takes me back to when I was a kid (I still have an unfinished embroidery piece in a bag in my closet). It was one of the earliest needlework types I taught myself along with cross-stitch, and would do it along with knitting. Right after college, I ended up getting into petit point on 20 mesh but that's been almost 40 years ago and I briefly morphed into doing some lace crochet with cotton thread or embroidery thread (for doilies) and even contemplated trying tatting but never got far with that. I did end up revisiting cross-stitch again about 15 years ago when I made a Tunisian crochet baby blanket for one of my nieces that had a pattern of tiny flowers and panel borders done as a cross-stitch decoration.

Considering that years ago I was surprised to see sewing machines with embroidery settings, I was wondering if people were still doing hand-embroidery anymore. Like most crafters, I have a stack of unfinished things sitting around too and I am happy to see that you got back to this one. The 3D effect is perfect.

Beautiful!!!!

Cheers!

It's a work of art ... there's just no other way to put it. Just beautiful!

I would love to look at it every day.

I used to embroider in the 70's, and did a lemon tree with padded lemons on a stretched canvas. Nothing like the work you've done here. Many hours and perfect stitches produced this. Brava!

Afraid I don't have the patience or eyesight to do an intricate project like that. It definitely took patience and skill.

You also must have a lot of talent with things of this nature. The colours, workmanship and details are all amazing!

What a great project...it is asking for a nice frame.

Thinking about your work brought to mind a piece I saw in the 70's. A young American woman did it to fill time while in jail in Italy.

It used shiny white thread on a navy blue background, and was of a young woman in 3/4 face (if that's a term - neither profile nor full face) with long, flowing hair trailing out behind her. The hair gradually broke up near the ends, and became stars in a night sky.

It must have taken forever. I would never have had an idea that such a technique existed, let alone that the piece was composed of them. It was in the description.

And all the hedges were French knots. It took forever, but my technique for knots improved massively.

The picture of the young woman sounds beautiful! I'd bet the white shiny thread was either silk or rayon. Rayon would be very shiny, silk has more of a sheen rather than a shiny effect.

You are very talented.