Author Special Sip & Stitch - Squirrel Hill

While we continue as usual to bring our eclectic knitting and stitching projects to our February session, we are excited this month to provide something special for our Sip and Stitch members. We have invited the author Christi Johnson, who will join us virtually to talk to us about her new book, The Art of Embroidery Design, while we work on our respective projects.

Christi says, "For this sip and stitch, I think it'd be fun to go deeper into the idea of how even if you think you can't draw, you can still design your own embroideries. How designs can be created by using the elements of design without concern for literal representation of forms. Since it seems many of the group may be knitters or crocheters, I think this will be relevant for them."

We will have copies of the book with signed book plates for sale at the store.

About the author:

Christi Johnson is an embroidery and textile artist and the author of Mystical Stitches and The Art of Embroidery Design. She teaches workshops in natural dyeing, embroidery, and intuitive garment design and creates kits and booklets for aspiring artists and DIY enthusiasts. Visit her online at mixedcolor.net.

About the book:

From an acclaimed embroidery designer and bestselling author of Mystical Stitches, an accessible how-to guide full of original stitch designs that will inspire readers to pick up a needle and thread.

Written for all levels of stitchers, The Art of Embroidery Design teaches the value of establishing a creative practice, with hands-on sketching and stitching exercises to help anyone build confidence in their design skills. Author Christi Johnson provides a workshop experience for readers looking to start from scratch. She breaks the design process down into approachable steps, including:

-developing a vision
-choosing a color palette
-using variations in line weight to create dimensionality
-achieving a range of textural effects.

Dozens of colorful photos of the author's own work are accompanied by historical examples from artisans in Mexico, India, Peru, China, Nigeria, and more, as well as profiles of some of the most inventive contemporary embroidery artists–it's a complete workshop in a book.

Host or Publisher Riverstone Books