Monsters

I don't know why, but I really like monsters in needlework. I look for them and delight in finding them often in Italian needlework.

From the cover of Il Lavoro a Fuselli by Amelia Brizzi Ramazzotti, 1917 (Bobbin Lace):


From the cover of Punto D'Assisi by Adele Della Porta, 1916:


Assisi embroidery patterns are full of monsters!

Here are some for Cutwork from Cucirini Cantoni Coats' Ricami ad Intaglio:


There are often monsters in antique Italian Filet work:


Above images from Elisa Ricci's Old Italian Lace, 1913.

Here are some Whitework monsters from Emporium, Vol. XLIII, Arte femminile all' "Umanitaria", Alfredo Melani 1916:


Even in old stamps for textiles as in this pear wood hand-carved stamp from the first part of the 20th century, part of a collection owned by Arnaldo Caprai:


I could go on and on (and probably will at some later date) but what I originally wanted to tell you about was Elena Rossi's new digital pattern book: Patterns of Mythical Creatures from Tuscan Churches.


In her travels, Elena photographed strange monsters from the façades San Michele in Lucca and San Damiano al Monte in Florence and then has created designs for embroidery or other crafts from them. In the book each pattern is accompanied by a picture of the façade that it comes from. Every pattern is presented facing both right and left for ease of reproduction.

10 different monsters means that you could do a monster sampler!