Extraordinary Embroidery

The pairing of blue and white has resulted in some of the most dramatic textiles around the world. Here is a quote that sums up the tradition of blue and white:  "The cosmos is blue and white. Skies are blue, clouds are white; oceans are blue, waves are white. The whole cosmic message is blue and white, all over the world. There are very few countries that don't have a blue and white tradition."  The stunning quilt by Susa Glenn, below, gives us a chance to talk about blue-and-white color schemes and about extraordinary embroidery designs.

Japanese Family Crests Embroidery Design & Quilt, 50 x 50, by Susa Glenn, at Susa Glenn Designs

Each block is richly embroidered with a different ancient family crest from Japan. The Japanese Crests bundle includes twelve unique designs on a CD or as a download, and the bundles include the instructions for the gorgeous quilt project shown above. At Susa Glenn's site you can find digitized designs for wildflowers, cowboy crests, skeleton leaves, bugs, morning glories, continuous line designs, and many more. Here is a close-up of an exquisite Oriental Butterfly. 

In addition to her gorgeous embroidery designs and projects, Susa Glenn has provided some great machine embroidery tips and tutorials.

Image credits and links: Images are the copyright of Susa Glenn Designs and are shown with permission. The quote in the first paragraph is by Amy Sylvester Katoh, the owner of the shop called Blue and White in Azabu Juban, Tokyo; she is the author of four books including Blue and White Japan.