I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday season, whatever that might look like for you. Ours was lovely and quiet, full of food and books. . . until we had a plumbing emergency (on the Saturday after Christmas, naturally). Long story short, it looks like we will be renovating both bathrooms since the floor in one will need to be totally destroyed to fix the problem, and the layout of the other bathroom has always been a problem. As long as the workers are all here. . . Sigh.

Apart from that distraction, studio work has continued in fits and starts.

In my November post, I mentioned my intention to explore needle lace. I began but didn’t finish a sampler of needle lace patterns, because . . . shoulder pain. I enjoyed the process, but it’s even slower than tapestry weaving and on such a fine scale. The photo below shows what I was able to do.

Incomplete needle lace sampler. I used some stitch patterns from Jacqueline Peter’s book *A Practical Guide to Needle Lace*. Videos by Maggie Hensel-Brown were also very helpful.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with stitch on printed/painted paper. It’s very early days yet, but I’m feeling glimmers of excitement about the potential here. Of course hand-stitching is also slow, but it seems to go quickly enough. If the paper is heavy I’m pre-punching holes for the needle to go through, and that works well. With thinner paper I can just use my needle as I would with fabric.

Hand stitch on charcoal and acrylic monoprint. Sample by Molly Elkind

Detail, hand stitch on charcoal and acrylic monoprint. Sample by Molly Elkind

Blind contour drawing and stitch on paper doily with charcoal monoprint. Sample by Molly Elkind

I’m brushing up on what I know about blackwork because of its potential to create lacy patterns, and I’m using mostly backstitch and double running stitch—essentially straight stitches—as one does with blackwork. It was fun when I visited my dad’s home to see these works I made from kits about 35 years ago and to be reminded of the variable density of values possible with blackwork. This kind of embroidery is conventionally done on evenweave fabric such as linen or Aida cloth; it’s a counted stitch technique. I am not sure how to do it on paper yet, but I have some ideas.

Detail of blackwork kit I did 35 years ago.

Another blackwork stitching from a kit, done decades ago. Apologies for light reflections.

I’m excited for the first time in weeks about this possible direction of mixed media with stitch on paper. Maybe my next post will have more examples to share!

Meanwhile, I’m gratified by the continuing interest in the paper weaving class I offer. I’m in the middle of teaching a two-session online class for MAFA, Adventures in Paper Weaving, and as always that is a lot of fun. Stay tuned for more dates for that class with MAFA in 2026.

Also, I’ve just confirmed that I will offer Adventures in Paper Weaving for Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance (SEFAA) in Atlanta, online, Saturday May 16 and 23, 10 am-noon ET. Watch THIS SPACE to register for that, once the class is added to the schedule.

Is the Cloud of Unknowing clearing?

The Via Negativa