Skip to main content
RiverhouseCreate

Classes  /  Needlework

Needlework

Hand embroidery, sashiko, knitting, crochet and sewing, with Deborah Bohnenstiehl, three classes every Tuesday.

Book any Tuesday from the calendar. Questions first? Call Deborah Bohnenstiehl on 251.623.2028.

See the calendar

Watercolor of the needlework table at Riverhouse Create

What happens at the needlework table

Explore your creative possibilities. Reduce stress, sharpen motor skills and cognitive skills while making social connections. Learn the basics of a specific skill, the tools and supplies required and how to read a pattern, as well as its fascinating history. Women, men (who historically played a huge role in the world of needlework), teenagers and younger children are all welcome.

What Deborah teaches

  • Hand embroidery. Brazilian, whitework and cutwork, cross stitch, blackwork and stumpwork.
  • Sashiko. Japanese running stitch, for embellishment and for mending.
  • Knitting. In thread or yarn. Make a baby blanket, or a prayer shawl for the charity group project.
  • Crochet. In thread or yarn, filet crochet or regular crochet.
  • Sewing. Learn the sewing machine on a project, or sew by hand to repair clothing.

What Diana teaches

  • Bead embroidery. Hand sewing beads and other items to a substrate. Both flat and textural stitches for embellishing clothing, costumes, jewelry, wall art and other decor items.
  • Bead weaving (off loom). Russian leaves, bezels, edgings and ropes.
  • Hand appliqué. Diana's simplified version of Japanese oshie. Padded and plain, to embellish or not. Projects may include necklaces, bracelets, vessels, wall art and other decor items.

Deborah teaches three classes every Tuesday: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, 2:00 to 5:00 PM and 5:00 to 8:00 PM. There are ten places in each one, and a class credit books a place.

Beginners practice with the studio’s own tools and supplies first, so you know what is worth buying for your own project before you buy it. Call Deborah on 251.623.2028 to talk over what you would like to learn.

“No mistakes, just a learning stitch.”

Next times you can come

Pick a date to see the time, who is teaching, and how to book it.

22SepNeedlework Open StudioTuesday · 10:00 AM–1:00 PM · 3 hours · Deborah BohnenstiehlPlaces openSee this class →22SepNeedlework Open StudioTuesday · 2:00 PM–5:00 PM · 3 hours · Deborah BohnenstiehlPlaces openSee this class →22SepNeedlework Open StudioTuesday · 5:00 PM–8:00 PM · 3 hours · Deborah BohnenstiehlPlaces openSee this class →29SepNeedlework Open StudioTuesday · 10:00 AM–1:00 PM · 3 hours · Deborah BohnenstiehlPlaces openSee this class →

Every one of these costs one class credit. Single Class Credit — $80. Member Four-Class Pack — $120. See the whole schedule.

From the needlework table

Here are some examples of what other students have made.

A stitched and printed textile panel of blackbirds, with a verse worked into one corner.
A crewel embroidery of trees, roots and mushrooms worked on linen.
A small log-cabin quilt pieced in blues and creams, bound in deep blue velvet.
A cross-stitch panel of three tulips outlined in fine blackwork.
Finished quilts spread out on the studio floor while two people work at the machines.
A sampler quilt of pieced blocks, every one a different pattern.
A treadle sewing machine set up and threaded on the work table.
Hand-embroidered flowers in pink, blue, yellow and lavender with green vines, on natural linen.
Two worn patches on denim mended with rows of white sashiko running stitch.
A knitted prayer shawl in soft blues, greens and plum, draped over someone’s shoulders.
A filet crochet table runner in cream thread, laid on a wood floor beside a yardstick.

Who teaches needlework

Deborah Bohnenstiehl runs the table. The schedule names who is there for each date.

  • Deborah BohnenstiehlDeborah Bohnenstiehl
  • Diana Yum-BucherDiana Yum-Bucher