2025 Limited Edition Christmas Angel Ornaments

2025 Christmas Angels are here!

I am super honored to have been chosen for the Directory of Traditional American Crafts again this year (the 18th consecutive!). I love what I do and pour my heart and soul into each and every piece. In a world full of AI and machined everything, it is so important that we keep the Heritage trades and crafts alive so that the knowledge and skills will not be lost.

I usually put out an heirloom embroidered ornament kit for Christmas, but a few years ago I got sick, and it was too much work for me at the time, so I made a painted ornament. It has become a tradition now that I am happy to continue. What is unique and fun about my Christmas Angels is that each is inspired, or a painted version of an angel found on an extant 17th c embroidery. 

I am happy to tease that I will again have a special 2025 Embroidered Ornament coming out in November, and this year's angels are available in my ETSY shop!

Each is designed and hand made by me from maple, then hand painted, one at a time! There is NO die or laser cutting here.....no decals! Me, my saws, sandpaper, paint and brushes, that it. 

Once the ornament itself is made, and I prep the wood, I draw on the designs with a steel tip nib and India ink. Yes. By hand. I only make a few, and each year is a different design. I have made 20 ornaments for this year, and I have been working on them since the first of September!

Each is hand-painted in black to resemble 17th-century blackwork, and then overpainted in gold mica. What I love about the overpaint is that from the front, one doesn't readily notice the shine, but when viewed at different angles, the design sparkles.

Each is signed and dated on the back and inscribed "Blessed Be". I thought it was fitting as this year's inspiration is the Annunciation angel on an embroidered mirror at the V&A Museum, depicting scenes from the Life of Christ, as seen below. 

If you would like to see the entire mirror, you can follow the link

here

 

Special 2023 Ornaments & Casket Update

 Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday today! I have added six precious hand painted ornaments to the Etsy store this morning. I think she turned out beautifully!

I have been working like mad to get these done in time for this holiday season. There are sooooo many coats of black to get them this dark and dimensional~ there are several 9 hour days of painting represented in this photo. I have had a heavy workload out in the shop. Between the painting and lacquering stages, I have been working on the top panel of my Scenes of Country Life casket.

The center panel is now complete and I have finally started the surround. It seems like I have spent eons on this casket~ its never ending! I'm still not confident that I will be able to get it finished this year, but I'm certainly going to try. You should be able to click on the photo to make it larger~ I love how the Suffolk sheep came out...the black goat is my Keiko Meisie, and her mate Luke is in white with brown splotches. The windmill in the background I saw on a trip to Paris, and swans, well, anyone who knows me knows how much I love swans! I was going to try and draw in a loon as well, but I will save them for another casket. 

If you want to follow my stitching journies, I post daily on Instagram~ just search #diamondKFolkArt or check out my page~  rlkinnison1

Happy Stitching!

Process

 Enjoying The Many Steps

I have always been told I have a lot of patience. I'm not so sure...I think I just enjoy the heck out of the process of making things from nothing. A doll from a lump of clay..an embroidered casket from a pile of paper and silks..a cozy quilt from a pile of fabric scraps...or pretty tools from chunks of wood. I enjoy the process of *creating*.  Heck, this week I have really been enjoying the process of making lilac jelly, but that's a whole post in itself.

I know I'm not the only one who enjoys the process of making things, and then there's a whole group of folks who have no interest in making anything, but they just like to see how it's done, so I thought I would share my process for making my latest scissor holders in the ETSY shop.

It all starts with a gorgeous piece of wood. For these scissor holders, I chose hard maple so that the turning would be nice and crisp. You can see a piece behind the two scissor holders above. It's first cut into a long block, then I cut the corners off on the table saw so the rough turning doesn't break the cutting heads on my tools.

I drew out the design I wanted and worked with my son at the lathe to get just the right shape. Josh rough-turned the blocks for me. 

They were a wonderful maze of cuts and angles...sometimes the wood chipped out or broke. We just went with it and created. After turning, I cut them apart by hand~ LOTS of careful sawing! 

Here are three...to the left above is a little dude that broke halfway through turning, so Josh just went with it and I turned it into a candle holder. Once the holders are cut apart, they get sanded and then drilled in the center for the scissors. The holder on the right still has a flush top. I wanted these to gracefully dip down to the hole in the center, so they get carved out, by hand(holder in the middle). Carving on the end grain is extremely difficult~ it took some while, and I had to be very careful to not cut off any of my fingers. Funny story, I did slice a huge chunk out of one of my fingers on the drill press. It's always when you least expect it!

After sanding and sealing the piece, the design is drawn on by hand in pencil. For this particular holder, my design was inspired by a pair of 18th c hand painted silk dress sleeves in the Colonial Williamsburg collections. (The finished piece is shown in the first photo)

Next, I draw the design and add details with a steel tip pen and India ink, just like it was done in the early 19th c. I do not use waterproof pens or Sharpies like other folks. I use drawing ink and a dip pen, that's it. 

I usually sign it someplace within the design. This holder is going to be blackwork, inspired by 17th c blackwork embroidery designs, and painted only in black. I love painting in a monochromatic palette. It's a challenge to see how much depth and movement one can make with just shades of a single colour. These are particularly challenging to ink because of the compound angles. In order for ink to flow from a steel tip pen, the little channel through the center of the tip must open with downward pressure. This is done by pulling the tip toward you. The angles on this piece greatly limit the design. For example, on the Williamsburg holder, I was planning on writing on the bottom lip, but ultimately I could not get the ink to flow thru the tip because of the weird angles so drew vines there instead. 

Colours are built up over several layers. This is two separate coats of black so far. I paint only with watercolours. The first shading is done on what will become the light parts of the design.

Same flower after 5 more cycles of black and lacquer.

Finally, tiny hints of white are added to pop little details. In watercololurs, all colours are transparent, except white. White is opaque so it really pops and jumps out of the design. love it

I added some faded bands of black to finish it. I wish I had some of the blackwork slate frames & other tools I have painted over the years to photo with it~ these look smashing as a set. It's available in the ETSY store if you are interested in it. I think there are still a couple of needle minders in blackwork left from the group of tools I listed last week. 

Happy Stitching!

In the ETSY shop

 New Tools Available!

There are some pretty new tools in the ETSY shop today.  Link is to the right in the sidebar. I have been working on these blackwork pieces for a while. I am still working on it, but will also have a blackwork scissor holder to match soon. I love painting a monochromatic palette and showing how much depth can be achieved with just a single colour. I also really love 17th c blackwork embroidery, which I think you can tell, was the inspiration for these.

Special Blog Sale

Hand Painted Needlework Tools

I haven't had a blog sale in a while, and wanted to thank everyone for reading my blog, so I decided to offer these here first. I really do love to work wood and paint. These are hand painted in a very long, early 19th c process with watercolours.

There is only one of each,  I am not taking orders. If you are interested in purchasing, drop me a line at rlkinnison@yahoo.com~ Shipping is priority mail, and I will invoice you directly thru Paypal. I will mark an item as SOLD AFTER PAYMENT HAS BEEN RECEIVED. If I get multiple folks interested in an item, it will be first come, first served. Payment is due within 24 hours of invoice. If not received the item will be offered to the next person in line. 

14 spool Spool Palette~ hand made of poplar, painted in fall colour acorns and oak leaves

The spools of silk are NOT included

Signed and dated on the side, as seen above. 

Fall Spool Palette: SOLD

This is a large size thread winder, a little over 2.5" across. Hand made from quarter sawn sycamore

The back is painted with a single cute little acorn, and my signature/date.

Large Acorn Thread Winder: SOLD

I made three needle minders. If you are not familiar with what a needle minder is, it holds your needles and pins while you stitch. The front is placed on top of your stitching. A second magnet is placed behind your stitching, and that is what keeps it in place on your work. A view of the back can be seen below. Pictured from left to right are Octagon Squirrel, Small Round Acorns, and Octagon Acorns. These are made from really beautiful quarter sawn sycamore.

Octagon Squirrel Needle Minder: SOLD

Small Round Acorns Needle Minder: SOLD

Octagon Acorns Needle Minder: SOLD

Happy Stitching!

New Little Helpers....

  Hand Painted Needle Minders

For those who like to keep track of their needles or pins on their embroidery without having to stab them through the ground fabric, I have a cute selection of needle minders in the ETSY shop today!

They are each handmade and painted by me. 

I wouldn't say these are doodles, as I put a lot of time into them, but I had so much fun! I didn't follow any pattern~just cut out what I felt like and painted what came off my fingers at the time.

In case you are not familiar with a needle minder, it has a magnet on the back and comes with a second. You place the minder on the front of the fabric, and the second magnet behind it on the back of the fabric and this holds the minder in place. The magnets are very strong and hold any pins or needles you put on the front of it in place.

Each one is unique, painted in several layers of transparent watercolours so the beautiful wood grain of the sycamore shines through

They are roughly around an inch and half in diameter...some a little larger, some a little smaller

All are signed and dated on the backs

If you are in need of one, they are available today in my ETSY store, link is to the right in the sidebar.

Happy Stitching!

Special Original 17th c Blackwork Nativity Spool Tray Available

 Humbly Born in a Stable Rude

It's been a very challenging year for me this year, as I am sure it has for many of ya'll as well. Sometimes the stress and just absolute heartbreak just gets to be too much for me so I try and trick myself into not thinking about it by really concentrating on other things. I had been wanting to make something special to offer for Christmas for quite a while, but just wasnt feeling it, if you know what I mean.  Earlier this year a really awesome 17th c redwork panel of Moses in the Rushes was sold at auction, and one day when I was numbly going thru my saved pictures to keep my mind occupied. I landed on that picture. At that moment, I knew what I wanted to make and spent the rest of the day drawing out a 17th c Nativity scene.

I took inspiration from  three 17th c embroideries~ there arent that many with Nativity subject matter. I know of one tent stitch piece at the V&A that is so bright and colourful, it doesnt even look like a Nativity scene until you start really investigating it. A woman is sitting by a stream above a grotto surrounded by shaded green hollocks....and then you notice there is a baby aside her...then you see the sheep and shepherds in the background and realize the man on the other side of her is Joseph, there is a stable with a donkey and cow...there is an angel...its all very subtle.  I didnt want my nativity to be subtle!

The angle is above looking down on Mary who is kneeling aside baby Jesus in his manger. Joseph is standing aside the stable with two shepherds kneeling with their sheep to the other side of Mary.  I tried to fit a donkey into the stable but he just didnt fit without making it look over detailed. Joseph's dove flies overhead and of coarse no 17th c scene would be complete without a huge mulberry tree ;)

  

I love painting blackwork and after sharing this with a friend, got immediate feedback to make it into a black or redwork project to stitch.....so ...perhaps a special for next year 

For now though, this is my one special offering for Christmas 2020. I made it from a beautiful piece of hard maple, and fit it with 21 pegs. Yes~ 21 pegs! My largest spool tray to date. As you can see above both the small and large spools fit on it nicely. It measures 8 & 1/4" x 7 & 3/8". 

Signed and dated on the bottom of coarse

This special tray is available at a cost of 650.00 including shipping~ a direct reflection of how expensive wood has become, and how many hours I have into it. If you love it and would like to purchase it you can email me at rlkinnison@yahoo.com

From my Brush.....

Some Past Painted Pretties~

   I have painted so many wonderful things for folks on their slate frames...but this last one,  was so much fun! A customer had purchased one of my mini slate frames, ( I have two currently available in the ETSY shop) at Williamsburg last year, and this year she brought it back and asked me to paint it with 'creepy crawlies'. 

 Oh. My. Golly.  It came out so cute I can't even stand it! I am going to have to paint something on mine now! This frame is tiny~ not even 12" long slats

  There are microscopic little ants traveling in and out of the peg holes....butterflies, may flies, caterpillars...a snail, various little bugs, all inspired by 17th c embroideries. The yellow bug above is my favorite of them all, inspired by a bug on the bottom of a mirror in the Burrell collection.

  In addition to slate frames and various spool/thread palettes and winders, I also paint 'other' things...like this antique Singer sewing machine puzzle box....they originally had the sewing machine implements in them. The owner of this box wanted me to paint it in blackwork, what ever I wanted to paint on it...but she liked a certain 16th c painting of a young man leaning against a tree...so I redrew him lounging instead, so he would fit on the box. She is going to finish the inside and keep her needlework tools in it~

  I love monochromatic painting~ blackwork is my favorite, but was thinking of maybe painting something up in indigo....it is a true challenge to see how much depth and detail I can achieve just using one color of paint. I thought it would be fun to share with ya'll how the top of this box progressed, from being quite flat and lifeless, to looking pretty awesome. The design is first drawn on with India ink and a quill pen. Some parts I dont ink in first, like the building above, because I wanted it to be further off in the background, and not such a focal point. So it got painted first...just a hint of a building, not too many details.

  The difficulty in painting this way with watercolours, is the nature of the paint itself....water colour.  Each consecutive coat of paint, if not mixed right with the correct water to paint ratio....can remove the layer of paint underneath of it, instead of adding to it. It is a very light touch I must have, so these pieces are the most challenging for me. This panel, by the time I got finished, probably had close to 20 coats of black on it, or more.  So the next picture, above, the building and garden is now finished, and gentleman has hit first coat of shading

  I left the pictures large so you can really see the details~ he is coming along. I love how the woodgrain shows thru the watercolours on these pieces. 

  After gentleman was mostly finished, I start on the border.  Watercolours are so fragile before they are varnished, they cannot be touched, or the paint will literally just wipe off. When painting a large piece such as this one, I must start in the center, and work my way out, so that I don't accidentally place the heel of my hand or my pinky finger on the surface, and take the paint off. 

    Once finished with one side, I left it to dry a few days before lacquering that side, so I could move on to the next side.....so it is a slow process

I love how he came out, and can't wait to see it after Sharon finishes the inside.

  This is how it looks unfolded

The ends, when closed, make a complete design. 

I do love to paint.