That is Pat on the right, Patsy in the middle. Joan on the left.

The photo was taken on a sunny August afternoon when the Broiderers group of Guelph met in a garden for tea.  Pat took her mask down just for the photograph.

It has been a tough year for everyone and I hope the readers of this blog are well and have remained infection-free.

Motivation went missing big time during the long Covid19 shut down earlier in the year.  How about you?  It was all a shock; it was a time of adjustment.

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada.  I would like to thank Mother Nature for creating everything and everyone who lives on planet earth.  I would like to thank the farmers, the fishermen, all the animals and plants that sustain us and the air that we breathe.  I would like to thank the doctors, nurses, medical personnel, the drivers and truckers, and everyone involved in every service industry.  You are all vital to our survival.  Thank you, to everyone, who helps the rest of us survive, even, thrive

Pat has sent me a photo of the instructions for creating Patsy but it will not download having too many pixels.  However, if you reply to me with a comment, or a question, I will pass them on to Pat.  The pattern is an old one that she has been wanting to make for years.  She started with legs and body and said that it was easier to knit it in sections and assemble them as she went.  The arms were next and then the head.

I love her frilly panties!

Stitching Patsy’s face was a challenge.  Pat drew the features on plastic wrap and pinned it in place.  This gave her an idea of where to place the eyes and mouth and how big to make them.  That is a good tip for you.  Pat wanted Patsy to have a relaxed expression.  She even put eyelids above the eyes though they are hard to see.  I love her blond curly hair and it was knitted too,

I have been doing some, but not a lot, of stitching during Covid19.  We live in a Seniors Residence and we have suddenly been shut down again as one of the staff has tested positive.  None of the residents have had the virus and we are living very carefully.  It is going to be a long winter in which to be productive, or, unproductive!

Wishing all readers a safe and virus free future.  All good wishes,  Ann, Pat and Patsy.

I copied and pasted this information for you.  If you wish to follow up on this, you will have to go to the source.  Multiple images, patterns to follow are included.  Below are just a very few of multiple examples.

All good wishes, Ann

Tomorrow is the 76th Anniversary of the allied invasion of Normandy.  It is commemorated in the Overlord Embroidery.  As traveling is not possible at the moment, we can all visit the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth, England via video footage.  But first, some facts and background.

The Overlord was commissioned by Lord Dulverton in 1968, designed by Sandra Lawrence, a 22-year-old artist and stitched by 20 professional embroiderers at The Royal School of Needlework.  This took 5 years.  It was presented to the nation and was first shown in Londons Guild Hall.  As stated by the commentator, the Embroidery was looking for a permanent home at the time.  The following video takes us on a tour of its first showing.

A permanent home was found in the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth.  This city is full of naval interest from the Mary Rose from the 1600s up to HMS Nelson and HMS Warrior.  Portsmouth was one of the main staging locations for the fleet that sailed overnight to Normandy.  Ships, equipment, and supplies were sequestered all over southern England and Wales.  It was a huge operation and every possible harbour was used.  The tides, moonlight and the weather determined the date of the invasion.  Diversionary information that the invasion would be in the area of Calais was leaked.

The following video gives a walking tour around the Overlord Embroidery.  It is now housed in a facility that is temperature and humidity-controlled.   The lighting is subdued to protect the fabrics so it is hard to see detail but this tour will give you an idea of its size.  There are 34 panels that measure 272 feet in length.  The full size painted design panels created by Sandra Lawrence are on display in a mail entry hall in The Pentagon.

The final video is a talk from Tracy Teasdale who knows the embroidery well and gives a detailed account of the making of the Overlord Embroidery.  This is the most interesting and informative of the videos.  There are lots of still photos online for you to find and view.  To see photos of individual panels, go to

Images of Overlord Embroidery

There are many historical embroideries around Britain and the world.  They were all created with dedication.  If you are planning to make one, first, I beg you, find and secure a location where it will be permanently displayed.  The design should be totally special and a professional designer is advisable.  Displaying it costs money and funding this should be considered during the planning stage.

We must all be aware of the Hastings Embroideries which lack a display location and have been in storage for decades.  Initially, they were displayed on the pier with the ocean waves just below.  Now, a few panels only displayed in Hastings Town Hall.  After your labour of love and tribute, please avoid this happening to your historical embroidery.

I was 11 years old.  In May, 1945, my Dad made the long train journey from London to the Lake District in northwest England.  I can imagine the parental debate;  was I old enough to appreciate it, was I old enough to remember it and, was I big enough to be safe in the celebratory crowds.   My Dad, an electrical engineer, worked on developing radar all the war years and had stayed in England.

My mother, younger sister and I had spent most of the war living in a stone cottage whose exterior was decorated with pink and white roses.  It had running water which regularly froze but no electricity.  Heat came from a stove built into the wall which was used for all cooking and heated a tank of water.  It was the land of Wordsworth and Beatrice Potter; it was the countryside of red deer, red squirrels, a multitude of sheep and a host of golden daffodils.

I do not remember the train ride back to London but I remember entering an un-remembered but familiar house that had shrunk in size during my absence.

The next day was the VE Day Celebrations.  I marveled at the doors on the Underground train which opened and closed automatically. Wondrous indeed after our basic cottage.  We met an aunt at Westminster Abbey and we walked through St James Park. It was a fairyland.  Fountains had been installed in the lake which was lit with lights that changed colours.  I was not the only one dazzled by this sight.  The oohs and aahs were universal.  The park was full of people celebrating.  There was dancing and singing and lots of joy.  My words do not capture the overwhelming emotionality of the occasion.  London was celebrating the end of a war that had stretched the endurance of everyone.

We did not go to Buckingham Palace as my Dad felt that the crowds there would have too dense for safety.  Instead, we went to the Cenotaph on Whitehall.  We saw Winston Churchill come out on the balcony and we three joined the multitude cheering our hero.  I have wondered since if the Princesses were among the crowd.  They did go out and join the celebrations but it could have been at a different time as Churchill came out on that balcony several times that day and evening.

The atmosphere was joy amplified.  The crowd was mostly young adults. Everything happened in snatches – part of a song, spontaneous dancing, lots of hugging, lots of kissing, and then more cheering. There were no correctly constrained Brits around that night. I saw no other children.  This why I am sharing this with you as I suspect, there are few others who experienced this huge and heartfelt celebration.  I was of an age to appreciate and am still alive to remember it.

When we got back to our home in Ruislip, my Dad found his prewar string of multi-coloured Christmas lights and hung them outside a bedroom window.  Passersby were thrilled to see them.

It had been so long and everyone was starved for what we now take for granted.

My Dad made another round trip to the Lake District where I remained with my mother and sister until late August.  VJ day was celebrated with Lemon Squash and biscuits in a field. There were no sheep in attendance.  For some reason, it was an anticlimax.

School started in September and with it, a whole new life.  Britain entered an extended decade of shortages, rationing, extreme weather conditions, and unprecedented smog.  But that is another story and it included emigrating to Canada.

The photos are off the web.  We did not think to take a camera with us that day.  It is doubtful that my Dad had any film for it anyway.

Ann Bernard

The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild, Guelph is a teaching guild.  There are six different classes each Fall/Autumn and another six different classes in the Winter/Spring.  The classes run concurrently for six sessions.  This gives the guild members the opportunity to try out and learn different techniques that are presented at different levels.

I joined the Shebori class. Although I found that Shebori and beading are not for me, I was most impressed with the accomplishments of my classmates.  Shebori is a silk fabric that is wrapped around a tube, pushed into folds and then over-dyed.  The resulting fabric is most interesting and blends well with beading and Soutache Braid.

Above is a bracelet.  The pale turquoise area is Shebori fabric with some beads in the folds.  The rest of it is normal beads plus some interesting ones.  Copper beads contrast well with the turquoise

Another bracelet in the early stages of creation.  Note that the background is a piece of silk ribbon which will be totally covered in beads.  Under/behind is a piece of foundation piece of heavy weight Pellon.

The crimson fabric is Shibori with some of the silk ribbon left visible.  Beading is used to finish the edges but there is much less beading used in this design.   Interesting treasures from your button box can be included to advantage.

Although Shebori as a material and technique can be used in making jewelry, it can also be used in other designs.

This was made by our teacher, Renata.  It is multimedia.  Shebori and beading are used for the dress and ruff.  The face is molded from Polymer Clay and the background is counted thread embroidery on canvas

This piece is the first try at this technique by Marsha.  The Shibori, tan, overdyed with purple, has been twisted but no beads have been placed in the folds.  I find that the beading is most effective especially the cream ones where the central hole of the bead is visible.

There is more Shibori posted on Pinterest. There are beautiful examples from experienced and gifted designers,  It is well worth browsing now that we have time available.

Be Well,  and,  Stay Well.

This could protect you while shopping for instance but is not adequate for a medical situation.

 One sheet protector – i. e. plastic sleeve for protecting written notes.

This should be of medium or heavy quality.  Lightweight quality do not keep their shape.

Four elastic bands.  Assemble as indicated in the photo.

Position around the forehead with the elastic bands around the back of your head. 

  Gives shielding to your eyes and all your face.             With a mask.

Glasses are ……   over  and  above.

Wash the plastic page thoroughly on both sides using soap and water  —— after every use.

Hope that this will make grocery shopping safer for you.

I am a retired Occupational Therapist. I have spent many years improvising solutions to functional problems.

Thank you to the models,  Novie, Norma and Sharon.

Be safe – and – stay safe.

Happy Easter Wishes to all my readers.