Marie Albano

 The French Needlework Shop was created as a remembrance of my time studying in  Dijon, France. Tucked away on a side street I found a small needlework shop where I  bought canvas and thread to keep my hands busy during quiet times.  Everything in my half-scale shop was hand-crafted by me. I love the challenge of finding a  way to replicate a life-size object in a small scale. I found inspiration in a local needlework  shop that is charmingly styled with canvases, threads, and even a faux fireplace. I used vintage handkerchiefs to make rolls of canvas, printed canvases, and the tablecloth.  The bolts of canvas on the shelf are made of organza gift bags. Each spool for embroidery  floss was hand cut from card stock. Miniature floss was made from actual floss untwisted  to a single thread and wound around a spool or hung on the display rack. Bags of blank  spools were encased in cellophane. A vintage display case found on an online auction site  was the model for my half-scale piece. The silver scissors were made from wire harvested  from twist ties. I used copper wire from electrical cord for the brass scissors. The  magazine and book covers are of French publications. The embroidery hoops are either of  wood or card stock. I have named this work L’Aiguille Française - The French Needle 

 It took 6 weeks to make. The types of embroidery thread used were rayon, metallic,  polyester, silk and slicker holographic thread. The fabrics included flannels, suedes, leather, cork, and woven vintage fabric from the 1960’s. Double layered organza was used for the shower curtains, and window shades.