I love this time of year, and all of the colors that we associate with the fall, with autumn, and with harvest time. This is a sampling of some of the PDF Class Lessons that are available on my website:
Happy Stitching to you! ~Christen
Archives
National Sewing Month
Day 30
Question: Is you art influenced by other works of art? YES is my answer!
Misty Blue Hills by Christen Brown
This piece was created with a printed upholstery fabric that I had for many (many, many) years, that I used for the center, because of the great coloring and lines. I pieced the simple border with blue and creme colored printed fabrics. The embroidery stitching follows the pattern in the center, using the blanket and fly stitches netted, along with the chain stitch double, chain stitch cable, chain, herringbone, feather, stem, linked bullion, stem/outline fern, open chain, portugese knotted stem, palestrina knot, string of pearls, coral, running stitch whipped, snail trail, and scroll stitches. The detail stitches were the French knot, bell flower and stacked bead stitches. I used a Sashiko style of stitching on the border fabrics. Many vintage glass, metal, shell and celluloid buttons were used for embellishments, along with two bone dragons.
Hand Embroidery Dictionary by Christen Brown, C&T Publishing 
I wanted to show you the comparison of the two pieces that influenced Misty Blue Hills (first image). The second image is vintage purse, made from a beautiful piece of fabric with tiny bead embellishments. The third image is the very famous piece titled “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”. This is a woodblock print, that is also known as The Great Wave or simply The Wave, created by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai.
This piece is the cover and can be seen in my new book Hand Embroidery Dictionary.
Happy Stitching, ~Christen
National Sewing Month
Day 29
Do you plan out every detail, or do you approach your work with serendipity? For this piece, I did a bit of planning, so that the metal frame could take a prominent place amongst the pieced fabrics.
Midnight in Paris by Christen Brown
This wallhanging is crazy pieced with cotton solid and printed fabrics and vintage laces. The embroidery was worked in silk embroidery ribbons (4mm and 7mm), silk perle, perle cotton, and cotton floss. Vintage buttons, beads, an antique metal frame, and charms were used for embellishments. A ribbon border with beaded details showcase the piecing and the frame.
Happy Stitching, ~Christen
National Sewing Month
Day 28
What form of piecing do you prefer? I really love crazy-piecing, simply because you can use the pieces and scraps that you have on hand, and the pieced lines provide a variety of opportunities to embroider and embellish.
9 1/4″ x 9 1/4″ 
9 1/4″ x 9 1/4″
Victoriana 1 and Victoriana 2 by Christen Brown
These two pieces were stitched using the same fabrics, and are almost identically pieced together. I was going to make a purse, but decided that two small wall hangings were more desirable. The embroidery stitches were worked in silk embroidery ribbon, perle cotton and cotton floss. Beads, charms and buttons were used for the embellishments.
You can find these two pieces in The Embroidery Book by C&T Publishing.
The Crazy Lady Victoriana by Christen Brown
This piece was made using the same fabrics as the above two pieces, with the addition of several vintage silk ties and their lining fabrics. I created this piece while I was teaching a class titled the Crazy Corner. I enjoyed adding in all of the embellishments such as a birds nest, fabric yo-yos, and ribbonwork flowers.
Happy Stitching, ~Christen
National Sewing Month
Day 25
What sewer does not have a favorite needle keep, or pincushion. Here are a few of mine:
Needle keep 
Tomato Pincushion 
Crazy Pieced Needle Case 
Doll Pinkeep 
Perky Pincushion 
Winifred’s Pincushion 
Log Cabin Heart Etui and Pincushion 
Bunny Love
Some of these are classes, some were shown as examples in book, all are used and loved.
Happy Stitching, ~Christen
National Sewing Month
Day 24
Darling Motif Sampler by Christen Brown
This crazy-pieced block gave me the perfect opportunity to embroider the stencils from the Darling Motif Collection, by C&T Publishing. I loved being able to use the variety of stencils here, and the pieced sections were easy to work around. I suggest using basic stitches like the outline, stem, chain, backstitch, straight, lazy daisy, and French knot stitches when highlighting a shape or object.
Happy Stitching, ~Christen
Winner of the Hand Embroidery Dictionary GIVE-AWAY!!!
The Winner of the eBook from my blog is Elaine, (in North Texas), CONGRATULATIONS!
A Special Thanks to Jo Avery, Elizabeth DeCroos, Alish Henderson, Laura Wasilowski, and Alexandra from C&T Publishing, for helping me out with the tour. CONGRATULATIONS to the winners on their blogs!
Here are the post entries for the tour:
Monday September 20, 2021: C&T Publishing, https://www.ctpub.com/blog/
Tuesday September 21, 2021: Jo Avery, https://joavery.co.ukÂ
Wednesday September 22, 2021: Elizabeth DeCroos, https://www.epidastudio.com/blog/Â
Alish Henderson: Jamie Chalmers (@mrxstitch) • Instagram photos and videos
Thursday September 23, 2021: Laura Wasilowski, https://artfabrik.comÂ
Friday September 23, 2021: Christen Brown, https://christenbrown.com/blog/
If you are interested in buying a copy of the Hand Embroidery Dictionary, you can check it out here on the C&T Publishing website.
Happy Stitching~ Christen
Hand Embroidery Dictionary GIVE-AWAY!!!
Introduction
The main goal of the Hand Embroidery Dictionary, and of my work, is to teach and pass on this wonderful needle-craft, of free-form embroidery. In this book you will find 500+ stitches, grouped into 16 categories. 505 stitches to be exact, not counting the variations upon variations, tips, and suggestions!
Some of the stitches you will find familiar, and some will be new to you, as many of the stitches I created myself. The stitches include individual, continuous, compound, composite, hybrid, grouped and plaited. Also shown are seed and filler stitches, netted stitches, laced stitches, and overlaid stitches.
Stitch Families
To help you become familiar with the stitches, I have compiled the individual stitch family first, followed by the continuous stitch family that uses the same or similar form. For this purpose, I decided to create three additional individual stitch families, the barb, fleet, and capped stitches.
- Straight Stitches: 23 stitches
- Outline Stitches: 36 stitches
- Knotted, Woven and Whipped Stitches: 28 stitches
- Lazy Daisy Stitches: 36 stitches
- Chain Stitches: 34 stitches
- Barb Stitches: 30 stitches
- Blanket and Buttonhole Stitches: 52 stitches
- Fly Stitches: 42 stitches
- Feather Stitches: 50 stitches
- Fleet Stitches: 22 stitches
- Cretan Stitches: 30 stitches
- Cross Stitches: 37 stitches
- Herringbone Stitches: 31 stitches
- Capped Stitches: 19 stitches
- Chevron Stitches: 24 stitches
- Embellishment Stitches: 11 stitches
Give-Away Details
For a chance to win a free copy of the eBook of the Hand Embroidery Dictionary, please leave a comment below. You can tell me what your favorite stitch is, or how long you have been embroidering, or even why you would like to win the eBook.
Official Rules: Giveaway will close on midnight September 26, 2021, PST. Winner of the eBook prize will be notified by email within one week of the giveaway closing.
Tour Dates September 20-24, 2021
Here are the previous post entries, each participant gave their own take on the book.
Monday September 20: C&T Publishing, https://www.ctpub.com/blog/
Tuesday September 21: Jo Avery, https://joavery.co.uk
Wednesday September 22: Elizabeth DeCroos, https://www.epidastudio.com/blog/
Alish Henderson: Jamie Chalmers (@mrxstitch) • Instagram photos and videos
Thursday September 23: Laura Wasilowski, https://artfabrik.comÂ
Good luck and Happy Stitching~ Christen
National Sewing Month
Day 23
8″ x 8 1/2″ 
Close-up
Sand Pebbles by Christen Brown
This piece started with a beautiful vintage lace applique, backed with a sand-colored cotton fabric. I embroidered the piece with several colors of Wildflower threads from the Caron Collection, then embellished the embroidered and lace sections with vintage and new glass beads, and jewelry findings. I bordered the outer edge with a piece of Hanah silk ribbon, and a few hand-blown glass beads.
You can find this piece in my book Embroidered and Embellished by C&T Publishing.
Happy Stitching, ~Christen
Hand Embroidery Dictionary
Design Workshop Tips from the Hand Embroidery Dictionary
Embroidered Base Designs
The construction of the fabric base will determine the overall design of the embroidery and embellishments. The fabric base can begin as a solid-color wholecloth base, a base with one or more printed fabrics, or a foundation strip- or crazy-pieced design.
Embellishment Extras
Once the base of the project is designed, pieces of trim, ribbon, bits of lace, or appliqués can be added for additional design opportunities. The embroidery can be worked on the edges or through the width of the trim or lace, with the same stitch or with different stitches.
Hand Embroidery Dictionary by Christen Brown, C&T Publishing 
Hand Embroidery Dictionary by Christen Brown, C&T Publishing
If you would like a chance to win a free copy of the eBook of the Hand Embroidery Dictionary by Christen Brown, C&T Publishing you can visit the following sites this week.
Tour Dates September 20-24, 2021
Monday September 20: C&T Publishing, https://www.ctpub.com/blog/
Tuesday September 21: Jo Avery, https://joavery.co.uk
Wednesday September 22: Elizabeth DeCroos, https://www.epidastudio.com/blog/
Alish Henderson: Jamie Chalmers (@mrxstitch) • Instagram photos and videos
Thursday September 23: Laura Wasilowski, https://artfabrik.com
Friday September 24: Christen Brown, https://christenbrown.com/blog/
Happy Stitching~ Christen
Christen's Creations 