My mom taught me how to cross-stitch about 30 years ago; it’s always been one of my favorite pastimes. But blackwork embroidery captured my imagination. I love the intricate, lacy patterns that are created with a very simple stitch.

Welcome to my blackwork adventure where I discover, create, and share beautiful embroidery patterns. Some will be my own designs, but there’s many gorgeous patterns by talented designers, and I’ll share those too.

Blackwork is a centuries-old form of embroidery going back to Elizabethan times, when clothing was decorated in delicate hand-stitched blackwork patterns. These designs were commonly stitched with black silk threads, and so were called blackwork.

My designs grow from quick sketches on whatever paper is at hand, are transformed onto graph paper, and then drawn in design software. Then the stitching, frogging, re-graphing, re-stitching process begins! And continues until the design is complete – when it makes my heart happy 🙂

One of my first blackwork designs was a butterfly box.

Butterfly blackwork
Butterfly blackwork

My inspiration comes from all around me. I live on a farm in northern British Columbia, a spot of peaceful quiet

Hay fields

offset by the chaos of the critters that help occupy our space – dogs, horses, and cows mostly.

walking on-leash
Leash training
Corgi and cows
Corgi and cows

Eddy Rolling

But when I have a moment, you’ll find me designing and stitching blackwork – usually with a Lab and a Corgi or three, curled up nearby.

Corgi stitching-buddies
Corgi stitching-buddies

Pop in for a visit, and see what I’m up to 🙂

Ring Pillow
Blackwork embroidery Ring Pillow