EGA National Seminar - Italian purchases

Saturday I'm going to Italy... well, not really, but it's as close as I can get right now - I'm going to the EGA National Seminar in Phoenix, Arizona and Vima deMarchi Micheli is bringing over some Italian embroiderers, similar to the EGA National Seminar in San Francisco in 2010.

I can't wait to see the ladies again and I've been saving my pennies as they always bring stitching supplies, books and patterns, kits and stitched pieces from the Italian province of Umbria.

I've been told that there will be stitched pieces for sale in the following embroidery styles: Assisi, Catherine de'Medici, Antique Umbrian, Perugino, Antique Deruta and embroidery on Tulle as well as the Orvieto and Irish Crochet Laces.

There will also be ceramic beads, buttons and fuserole from Anna Lisa Piccioni of Deruta as well as threads and fabrics for executing the above-mentioned techniques. 

Italian linens!!! I believe that there will also be handwoven works from the Giuditta Brozzetti Workshop.

I am drooling at the thought of Merchandise Night on Tuesday, October the 21st!

There are going to be Italian teachers demonstrating Assisi, Catherine de'Medici, Perugino and Antique Umbrian Embroidery as well as embroidery on Tulle. I hope they will be doing tassels too but I don't have confirmation on that one.

The ladies won't be taking credit cards so come prepared, I can't wait!!!!

Thank you Vima for the use of your photo!

Valtopina - September 3, 4 & 5, 2010

If you're going to be anywhere near Assisi in September of this year, you should definitely make a detour to Valtopina which is less than 20km further east.

On September 3rd, 4th and 5th Valtopina will host the 12th annual show of hand embroidery, lace and artisan weaving, this year called: Ricamare l'Umbria [Embroider Umbria]. The theme this year is Medieval Embroidery at the Table, inspired by the decorative elements of Medieval Umbria depicted in the frescos of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. If you go to the website of the sponsoring Embroidery School Filo-Filo, you can download two different pdf files of photos of details from the frescos mentioned above. Click on the two sunflowers labeled "Assisi 1" and "Assisi 2". These photos are provided as inspiration for potential exhibitors.

All entries (designs for a tablecloth setting of six) must to be submitted to the embroidery school Filo-Filo by July 31st and there are six categories of prizes. Wouldn't it be amazing to see the display?

Besides the embroidery exhibition, there will also be booths of various exhibitors of lace, embroidery and woven textiles as well as vendors selling all-things related. Throughout the show there will be demonstrations and instructional embroidery courses, lectures and presentations. In addition, at various other locations there will be theme-related activities like at the Museum of Embroidery and Textiles, the local Youth Centre, Sports Arena and other places. For times and locations, you can download the brochure (text in Italian - click on "Visualizza il Dépliant").

Clicking here will take you to some photos of past exhibitions (make sure to click on the photos to get a closer look). There are also the 2009 design winners on the lower part of this page here. There are some pictures of the 2007 exhibition here. More photos from the 2005, 2008 and 2009 shows here.

I'm hoping that someone will send me photos of this year's show (if they are allowed to take them) so I can post an update in September after the show!

A shop in Assisi

I don't think I ever would have found it on my own... Arte Nostra in Via S. Agnese no. 8, Assisi. It's quite a big shop with lots of finished embroideries in the window and all over the shop displayed very attractively. Vima deMarchi Micheli took us there on the day we visited Assisi, Italy on her Italia Mia tour last year.


There were Assisi Embroideries and Catherine de'Medici Embroideries and other works of classic embroidery techniques for sale. Lots of lovely table runners, towels, cushions, tablecloths and dozens of other beautiful things.

Monica Manichini the owner showed us how to execute the main stitch in Catherine de'Medici Embroidery, the Double Running Stitch, done in such a way as to make the line of stitching look like a twisted thread sitting on top of the fabric.


While there, in addition to a small placemat in Catherine de'Medici Embroidery, I also bought the two books I talked about on Assisi Embroidery and Catherine de'Medici Embroidery in this post by the Accademia Punto Assisi. I don't know how else you can get these books other than contacting the store or the Accademia, I'm not sure if they are commercially sold anywhere else.

Unfortunately I must have been having a shaky day, as most of the pictures I took were very blurry...


These are some beautiful works of Catherine de'Medici Embroidery, I really liked the peacocks in the bottom left.

If you're in Assisi, don't pass up visiting this shop - it is a true delight.

Assisi Embroidery - Part Two

The books I have on Assisi Embroidery vary from just pattern books to ones with historical information on the technique and the area it comes from. I started out with Ricami d'Assisi [Assisi Embroidery] 2 and 3 published by Mani di Fata. I hand-wrote a letter and mailed it to them requesting the two books that I'd seen in an edition of an Italian embroidery magazine, probably RAKAM. (By the way, those of you in the U.S. can order a subscription to RAKAM from Amazon) They wrote me a letter back stating that I could order from them only if I followed a long and complicated list of instructions which required photocopies of the front and back of my credit card, identification, etc. We're talking about 10 years ago or so... when the internet was nowhere near as sophisticated as it is today. I actually faxed my info to them and waited months for my books to arrive. Thankfully life is not like that anymore!

Later I discovered Punto Assisi, Editrice Minerva, 2001. The blurb said it was in Italian and English on whatever website I bought it from, however I was disappointed to find that only the technical directions were translated (there is German and French too!) and the whole history section was not. I know it was recently reprinted (2007) with some updates but I don't know if the history text is now translated or not. If someone out there knows, will you post a comment? The older edition has a blue cover, the newest edition has the same pattern but it is in red. The collection of patterns in this book is quite extensive, from little patterns to big ones, central designs for tablecloths and borders galore – traditional Italian designs with all kinds of strange animals (my favourite!). The bibliography is extensive and helpful to those seeking more information. This book is well worth the trouble of hunting it down.

An interesting book is the Variety Book No. 4, Carmela Testa Co. Inc., 1925. This is all in English with great close-up photos. This book also has quite a lot on hemstitching, showing how to stitch the rolled hem and withdraw threads for open work. If you're lucky enough to find this on Ebay, grab it! Otherwise you can get a restored copy from Iva Rose in the U.S.

My absolute favourite Assisi Book is Il Punto Assisi by Raffaella Bartolucci Cesaretti, 2004. It is a hard cover book loaded with great photos of existing embroideries. The text is in Italian and extensively recounts the history of the technique and those who practiced it over time. Symbology and designs are explained and there are about 10 pages of designs, some very complex! The bibliography is extensive. I wrote to the author directly to get my copy and sent her a money order (back when it first came out) but I have seen it turn up on searches at alibris.com and abebooks.com from time to time.

I have Old Italian Patterns for Linen Embroidery by Frieda Lipperheide originally published in German in 1892, this edition was translated into English by Kathleen Epstein in 1996. This is a lovely collection of patterns. Not really a book but a collection of folios. It is beautifully presented and the folios are easily used when stitching. It has historical information on Italian Embroidery in general and encompasses other techniques besides Assisi Embroidery.

My latest acquisition is just a pattern book but I'll mention it as it is interesting. The patterns are a collection of the last 10 years of research by the Accademia Punto Assisi. They have painstakingly recorded patterns from pieces of embroidery from the trousseaux of local women. The collection is spiral bound with a sturdy cover that folds out so that you can stand the book up on a table top when you're working!

Mad Samplar Books in the U.S. has a great selection of books on Assisi Embroidery.

Assisi Embroidery Part One