A Needleworker's Sampler Huswif
designed by Ellen Chester of "With My Needle"
Registration: 10/1 - 10/31/26
From a junior high needlepoint piece to a thriving design business, Ellen Chester’s stitching journey spans several decades. After graduating from Florida State University, a move to Charleston, South Carolina, inspired her to tackle a massive crewel kit, followed by an introduction to stamped cross-stitch back in Florida. In 1976, she transitioned to counted cross-stitch and experienced a true "awakening" when she discovered the beauty of stitching on linen.
A train ride from Hamburg to Amsterdam during a 1999 European needlework tour with mentor Edna Medlin of Threads of Gold inspired her to launch With My Needle. Named after a classic sampler verse, the business features historic reproductions and original needlework treasures. Ellen stitched every model herself to guarantee exact chart accuracy and showcase a rich variety of specialty stitches.
Committed to the crafting community, Ellen co-founded the Queen City Sampler Guild in 1995, and published a free global newsletter for 17 years. She began teaching needlework in 2004 thanks to the encouragement of Rae Iverson of Moss Creek Designs. To see the stunning number of Ellen’s designs, visit her website at www.withmyneedle.com and her blog at www.withmyneedle-ellen.blogspot.com
Please join us for the following workshop:
“A Needleworker’s Sampler or Huswif”
designed by Ellen Chester – With My Needle
Date: May 21, 2027 (Friday)
Registration begins October 1 and ends October 31, 2026
Location: Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (MVUUF)
10715 Zenith Avenue South, Bloomington, MN 55431
Kit Fee: $155.00
Time: Gather at 9:00 am, Class at 9:30 am – 5:30pm, trunk show following
Please bring your own lunch. There will be two breaks – AM and PM
Please bring your usual stitching supplies
You are welcome to join us for dinner if you would like
This lovely project can be finished as a framed sampler or as a huswif with a matching needlebook. A "huswif" or "hussif" is the name for a case which stores needlework supplies. Before the days of pockets on clothing, women often carried a huswif in one of the large tie-on pockets worn under their skirts. The use of a huswif was certainly not exclusive to women. Sailors, soldiers, and other men who needed sewing items sometimes carried huswifs.
The verse, My needlework wrought with so much care, adorned with colours so rich and fair, came from an old sampler.
Stitches used:
Algerian eye, alternating double backstitch, backstitch, barrier, Belgian cross, closed herringbone, cross stitch, cross stitch over one linen thread, cushion (traditional and reverse slant), double running, double-sided Italian cross, four-sided, gobelin, horizontal elongated tied cross, long-armed cross, Montenegrin, nun's stitch, queen, diagonal queen, rice, satin, smyrna cross, straight, tent, three-sided, upright cross, and zigzag.
Kit Contents:
In addition to photos and detailed directions for stitching and assembling the project, the kit includes 36-count linen, silk threads, hand-dyed ribbon, Skirtex; dupioni silk, beads for the closures, tatting thread, and a needle.
During class time, embroidery will be done on the needlebook, which has the majority of the stitches. Students not wanting to work on the needlebook in class should bring a doodle cloth and threads.
