Author: Erin Penn

Art: Embroidery – B is for Blackwork

Erin Penn 4 Comments

TIMELINE: 2/17/2026-2/22/2026

I will be teaching a blackwork class for my EGA (Embroiderers Guild of America – egausa.org) local chapter in April (2026); specifically I will be teaching the historic Holbein Stitch which most people know as reversible blackwork. For the class I created two samplers based on the wide range of skillsets within my local chapter. Some haven’t ventured beyond simple cross-stitch and others left the safety of the Aida-cloth shore long ago.

The first sampler is for the newer stitchers, worked on 16 point Aida cloth with two-strands of DMC cotton embroidery thread (color is 310, black). The second sampler is on clothing grade linen fabric worked with one strand of the 12-strand Splendor silk thread. I think the linen count is in the fifties, but not sure. I stitched the edges of the linen with Londonderry Linen thread (100-white) and the edges of the Aida with white thread I had around the house; it may have been cotton, polyester, or a blend.

I stitched the Aida version first over a period of three days, about three to four hours.

     

2/17/2026 Here is the front and back of the Aida cloth sampler. The lines are (1) explore the running stitch; (2) learn the Holbein stitch (reversable running stitch); (3) branches off a line which return to the line; (4) wiggling the line (with an example of what every other stitch looks like); (5) mirror the look (6) Combining branches and wiggling; (7) the modern sampler name and date; (8) mirror the acorn line to complete the sample leaving a bonus area for whatever the beginner wants to attempt. In this case, a pattern from a 1568 German woodcut has been chosen.

Oh, I guess I should say the history of each line. The three crosses to explore branches off a line was created by myself. The mirrored crosses (lines 4 and 5) are from a 1533 French woodcut. Likewise the acorn line (6) is a 1533 French woodcut. The letters for the modern sampler name and date were created by me.

As this is a teaching sampler, I didn’t attempt to perfect the reversibility of the project. I wanted something that looked doable by someone with cross-stitch background.

      

2/17-22/2026 Now to do the same thing again, but on linen. I used clothing grade linen and repeated the sampler, but at 40 stitches wide instead of just 20 stitches. This modified the Sampler name and date setup. Again, I didn’t worry about the back as this was a teaching tool. I attended a convention, Fencon, from February 20 to 22 and stitched like mad in during every panel to get this done so I could have it in hand to pump the class at an embroidery retreat on February 28.

Below the (8) the mirror acorn line are all the other available designs I have available as optional for the students. ( 9 ) is just a single line wiggled to create those complicated crosses – 1568 German woodcut; (9) the geometric design is two lines – 1533 French woodcut; (10) is the big advanced student project with four line which MUST match across the linen threads. This requires precise counting of the linen to it pull off. It is based on the Holbein painting “Meyer Madonna.” The original pattern had three vertical repeats, not just two. I charted the design based on the painting. (11) This final one is from a linen sampler used by a tailor to sell their product. It was worked on a 50 thread count ground and embroidered in blue silk. The year around 1345 and likely origin is Egypt. I charted the design based on a picture of the extent embroidery.

A comparison of the width is provided to show the difference cloth can make. The Aida cloth was 16 count. I don’t know what the linen is – 50 threads maybe? Half that thread count because working over two threads. Anyway one is 20 stitches wide and the other is 40 stitches wide.

Finally. I did linen thing with plenty of room leftover should I decide to do other sampler work on linen.

 

Writing Exercise: B is for Blocked

Erin Penn 12 Comments

Photo by Susan Holt Simpson on Unsplash

Today is the second day of the A-to-Z challenge and the letter is “B”. For a writers, what we often face is the beloved Writer’s Block. Something has stopped the story dead.

In November, a person reached out with a question: “I’m writing a futuristic/sci-fi political drama which I was keeping fairly grounded to genre. But now that the main plot is picking up, I need something to happen to motivate my MC, kickstart her into action. So far, my favorite idea is her getting cursed. Which is very much not the tone for a futuristic/sci-fi political drama. I’m still early in working everything out, so not a big thing, but it feels a bit silly to be stuck (for weeks!) debating a curse mixing up the genre. Any help will be welcomed.”

I said it sounded like two things were happening:

  1. You want your MC to start taking action.
  2. You are going for a quick fix, which you know is wrong for what you want to write.

The result for the author was writer’s block. They were stuck because they were trying to drive the story where it didn’t want to go. I’m going to go out on a limb and say, after exhaustion, this is the most common type of writer’s block. Either consciously or unconsciously your story is telling you “don’t go there.”

In this case, the author was introducing an element which didn’t fit the story and they knew it. More often the writer’s blockade is unconscious; they have to have the character hit a story beat so they are making their character act against their nature and the seething-ocean of story creation refuses to throw up words to crash onto the screen.

If something is wrong, then maybe a different approach is needed. I gave three suggestions because each writer and each problem to be solve needs a different approach; writing is NEVER a one-size-fits-all solution.

The Problem: The MC is lacking agency or action, so how to get her motivated to interact with the plot?

Solution One

If motivation is wanted, goals can help. What does she value – short term (today or in the couple of days), medium term (wants to accomplish this month/year), and long-term goal? How are these compatible and how to do they clash – for example, don’t want to cook tonight so want to eat out but also want to save money for a house – the medium goal of getting a better job doesn’t apply at the moment. But that can kick in because while out at the restaurant, she sees a “now hiring” at the establishment next door to the restaurant.

Then, with the typical meanness of an author giving trouble to their characters, you CRASH all her motivations and make her reevaluate her life. Releasing she didn’t have enough money to even by a pizza slice because prices just went up, she walks into the job interview and gets abducted by aliens.

Meme I created after the SAGA 2023 writer’s conference

Less overt, while eating at the restaurant, she overhears something related to the city job situation which she then investigates.

Solution Two

The curse is a stick method to getting the character to interact with the story. They have no choice in the matter. If the stick method is throwing up a writer’s block, maybe try the carrot method. The goal solutions list in Solution One is one method to discover carrots and sticks particular to the character goals; sticks with goals can be they had been thinking about leaving work and something forces them to stay or leave. But other sticks can be of the more common variety: an accident or general life event. Other carrots could be an invitation to a party or seeing their favorite candy on sale. In general, the inciting incident which changes the status quo of the MCs life can be a carrot or a stick. Most authors go for sticks, because most people don’t change their comfortable status quo until something makes it uncomfortable. Using a carrot can be a change of pace to get the MC moving; the stick method can be saved for the dark-of-soul moment. If you have hit a complete block, brainstorm a dozen or so sticks and an equal number of carrots, both at least ten in number and some can be really crazy, and see if any work at getting the character motivated.

Solution Three

Maybe the character isn’t the right person for the story you want to tell. The third option is to interview the character. If the story is fighting you, sit down with your character(s) and have a chat, it can be on paper or in your head.

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Ask them why they don’t want to go along with the story. Ask them if they want to do it (the action required to get to the next part of the story), what DID they want to do. Would they be willing to return back to the plot after that sidequest? How does the sidequest fit in to the main story? Ask the MC if she doesn’t want to be part of the story you are trying to write, if she can recommend someone else. You might get an answer, well, duh, I hate to travel but my baby sister ran away three times while we were growing up. “Can’t it just be you?” “Nope, it is my sister and her best friend.” (Yes, they are imaginary, but we build them to feel real, and sometimes “someone” related to the MC build is the one the story is actually about.)

WRITING EXERCISE: Work with one of the solutions suggested to better understand a character from your present work-in-progress (WIP) or dig out one of your failed stories which had hit a writer’s block. Either do a goal spread for short, medium, and long term; do a carrot and stick brainstorm of at least ten carrots and ten sticks; or sit down and have a conversation with the characters about what they want to do and why.

A to Z Introduction

Erin Penn 7 Comments

Hey y’all. Welcome to my humble blog. I have participated in the A-to-Z challenge before and have been blogging since 2016. Normally, my blog publishes three times a week. Sunday is a flash (short fiction). Tuesday is something book related (book review, editing rant, or a BookQuote I created for my YouTube channel). Thursday is the greater writing universe (a writing exercise, memes, science articles, or other people’s blogs). This year for the challenge I choose to supplement the normal blog schedule with meme pictures.

Looking forward to seeing everyone again as well as the new bloggers.

NOTE: Unlike most, I take Saturday off instead of Sunday for the blog.

Art: Embroidery – In Memory Of

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TIMELINE: 1/18/2026-3/7/2026 (Hours unknown)

I received two Mill House cross-stitch and beadwork kits from a stash redistribution from a friend who passed. All of us in her group got a little bit from her sister. I’ve never worked with this type of kit before, but the friend adored them so I thought I would try. Beadwork AND embroidery in this manner is a little modern to my tastes and I have never worked with Perforated Paper before. Learning process combined with stitching in the memory of a friend.

1/18/2026 I started poking around with he Mouse Kit was work on first. As you can see thread, PERFORATED PAPER, directions, and beads were provided in the kit. The gray face had a big area to stitch at the speed my mind was willing to work.

2/27/2026 The Mouse embroidery and beadwork are complete. Much of the embroidery was done at FenCon (Friday Feb 20- Sunday Feb 22), including the pink beads on the ear. I experimented with how to attach the beads using three different techniques from beadwork I have done in a historic manner. I used technique two on the pink bead on the ear look different from all the rest; it didn’t result in the look the Mill Hill was after, but I like how it looks like an ear piercing so I kept it.

     

1/18/2026 Like the Mouse Kit, the snowflake kit came with beads, embroidery floss, two needles, and instructions (the stork scissors are mine). As mentioned, I inherited this kit from a friend who passed. She had started the Snowflake doing one color of two radials for the snowflake. I will be completing her project for her. It is interesting to lay stitches alongside someone in their memory.

I have previously repaired two quilts made by my grandmother who died before I was born. Matching stitches, reaching back through time and memory with projects worked on by other people is an experience.

 

      

2/27/2026 Completed the Snowflake while at an embroidery retreat (Feb 27-March 1)  with other people who knew the lady. The embroidery was done on Perforated Paper, which I had never worked with before (and likely won’t ever work with again – it constantly caught the thread while I stitched). I sewed the “treasure” bead on the bottom and added the loop as directed to the top. When done I cut out the project as directed by the instructions. – and, yes, cutting a beadwork project on paper is exactly as nerve-wracking as you expect. 3/7/2026 I debated backing it and decided to do another new thing. First time using self-glued felt. Just pull off the packing paper and attached. DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS AFTER CUTTING OUT THE SNOWFLAKE. Oh boy was that a mistake. But what is done is done.

     

3/7/2026 The mouse finishing was more of a challenge in that the instructions didn’t tell how to finish it off except maybe an magnet on the back. I liked the loop on the Snowflake so I recreated it here with a mix of beads from the two kits as I only had exactly this many extra red beads (20!).  Having learned the lesson with the glue-felt, I applied it while the mouse was a square and then cut through both. Much better finish. I should mention, I did a special mix of threads for the tail, breaking from the instructions because the gray by itself was not showing up. Three times I went “off” from the instructions, but I think the end result is worth it.