Italian Cuisine & Tuscan Decor
Decor inspired by Tuscany's vineyards, olive groves, and savory Mediterranean cuisine provides a calming and healthful ambience for our own kitchens and dining areas.
Embroidery Library is pleased this week to bring you delectable designs that fairly exude hospitality and la dolce vita. Come romance the grape. Make an attractive insulated wine carrier with FREE project instructions, pack up some special cheeses and breads, and find a nice little shady spot for spontaneous dining alfresco.
A "Project in a Bottle" Here's a design that makes itself into the cutest little decoration for any bottle. In your hoop, you can make these whimsical bottle aprons for soaps, syrups, oils, and wine bottles. A clever addition to dress up gifts or party favors, make them to match the colors in any decor, party theme, or special occasion. They're so quick to do, you can offer to sew up lots of them for the wine bottles at your club's next fund- raiser or special event. And with a pack of six designs to choose from, you'll always have an appropriate one at your fingertips!
The six bottle apron designs are available in a value pack. Get all 6 designs for only $8.97! Click here for the FREE project instructions that demonstrate this fabulous in-the-hoop project. All bottle aprons are 5 x 7 inches or smaller.
Click here for the Bottle Apron pack - just $8.97!
Sunflower Bottle Apron
Tuxedo Bottle Apron
Available in one size: 4.83"X6.17"
Available in one size: 4.78"X6.04"
Bottle Apron
Rose Bottle Apron
Available in one size: 4.80"X6.12"
Available in one size: 4.87"X6.23"
Olive Bottle Apron
Grape Bottle Apron
Available in one size: 4.77"X6.11"
Wine-Lover's Delight
"Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, and makes the weary forget his toil" --Lord Byron Observing the deepening color of a ripening grape cluster, a wine lover could conceive of only one sight that could be more beautiful─a glass of wine lifted on high so that one might gaze at how the grape has expressed its new essence. The satisfaction derived from both acts is wholly bound to one's patience for lingering with anticipation.
Sure to cheer a wine lover's heart, this collection of designs offers "varietals" that will be stand-out features on their own or blends of popular combinations for many decorating projects. The Wine Lover's pack includes a framed wine panel; a large square for a trivet or quilted feature; a small square (great for a coaster!); and a wine feature, grape border, corner, and accessory, perfect for linens. This pack has everything you need for a wine lover's delight!
Click here for the 6 x 10 designs - only $11.97!
Click here for the 5 x 7 designs - only $11.97!
The wine panel is suitable for framing or featuring in dozens of ways. We used it to as an accent for the wine carrier project, described above.
Large or small, this framed square depicting clusters of grapes will be your imagination's catalyst for trivets, coasters, quilted table decor, and more.
Available in two sizes: 3.68"X9.39" and 2.68"X6.86"
Available in two sizes: 4.85"X4.84" and 3.86"X3.87"
The wine feature offers a toast to the grape from which all good wine flows. This design is a perfect motif for a wine and cheese reception or party!
Available in one size: 5.44"X6.17"
A grape cluster ripens on the vine for corners and little accessory features. Wouldn't these be perfect on placemats, napkins, and napkin rings?
Grapes and vines twine together for a border on table linens or along wine bar runners.
Available in two sizes: 10.00"X2.11" and 6.59"X1.40"
Foods of Tuscany in Embroidered Panels For the traveler, the appeal of the Tuscan region seemed to be that it had been "neglected" for centuries, which allowed it to maintain its picture-perfect, rural landscapes far from the maddening crowds of large cities. Until recent generations, the people of Tuscany's hill country had to grow or trade with neighbors for everything they needed. Their foods were simple, but, down through the ages, the regional culture developed a traditional countryside fare that was teeming with flavors and ready to make its mark on Italian cuisine.
Long before the world's nutritionists put olive oil and a daily glass of wine at the top of the list of heart-healthy practices, the people of Tuscany were living happy, healthy lives with what was readily grown and available in their area ─ wine, olives, herbs, garlic, flour for breads and pasta, and fresh farm produce. When creatively combined, these simple ingredients make delectable dining.
Depicting such flavorful ingredients in this collection of embroidered panels, Embroidery Library brings you designs that are sure to inspire many a fine and healthful meal.
Tuscany's Chianti area grows the sangiovese grape, which produces the smooth, dry wine with a fruity scent we know as Chianti.
Tomatoes are a basic ingredient for Italian pasta sauces of the southern regions.
Available in two sizes: 3.68"X9.39" and 2.67"X6.85"
Celebrated since ancient history for its healthful properties, the golden oil of the olive is a flavorful starting point for salads, sauces, and sautes.
A medley of herbs make Italian dishes tasty. Fresh basil is key to preparing pesto, a traditional Italian sauce made of pureed basil, garlic, olive oil, nuts, and cheese that is tossed with pasta or used to season other dishes.
The garlic bulb is related to the onion family, but grows in sections instead of rings. Crushing, chopping, pressing, or pureeing garlic cloves releases more of their essential oils and provides more flavor.
So important to Mediterranean culture was the olive tree that it was thought to be the origin of the gods. Lauded for its healing properties since the days of Hippocrates, olive oil today has been acclaimed for its antioxidants and its effect in lowering LDL cholesterol. But, perhaps what we like best about it are the beautiful bottles it comes in, and the way it tastes when it has been infused with flavorful herbs.
Available in two sizes: 9.36"X5.89" and 6.84"X4.30"
Tuscan towns have their separate culinary traditions, just as they did centuries ago. Meat sauces, for example, deliver distinctive flavors depending on the kind of red wine used in the rag�s, and the type of wine will depend on the wine of that region.
Available in two sizes: 4.83"X4.96" and 3.77"X3.86"
As countryside recipes were adopted and adapted in Italian cities, the simple goodness of the ingredients was preserved. Cuisinenet.com explains: "Sauces were light, if present at all. Even in the Medici palaces, herbs and oils displaced butter and cream." Olives and olive oil were glorified for their flavors.
Available in two sizes: 4.85"X5.17" and 3.64"X3.90"
Garlic, herbs, and olive oil, are what make pastas so savory. Good things just have to come from a kitchen, decorated with these ingredients.
A "vintage label" for those wine lovers on your gift list, this handsome design will make a statement on garments from apron to t-shirts and from table linens to wine bar decor.
Available in two sizes: 9.36"X3.41" and 6.84"X2.49"
Oenophile �n. person who enjoys wines, usually as a connoisseur. Pronunciation: (ē'nu-fīl") You heard it from the grape vine: This smashing design is sure to charm wine lovers, far and wide.
Available in two sizes: 7.09"X5.82" and 5.89"X4.85"
Olive Trees Celebrated since ancient history, the olive tree is an evergreen and can live for hundreds of years in the countries that surround the Mediterranean Sea. Growing fantastically twisted and gnarled over the years, olive trees have been a favored subject for many storytellers and artists.
The color and texture of this "Olive Trees" design pays homage to a painting by Vincent van Gogh for whom color was to be central to his expressionistic style. Coming under the influence of impressionists like Monet and Gauguin after he moved to Paris in 1886, the Holland-born van Gogh began to lighten his dark pallet and to use uninhibited brush strokes. Depicting his subjects with bold colors and reflected light, he sought to impart the emotions that arose in the moment of his experience. See how the sun lights up the sky, brilliant with yellow, and how the trees seem to dance with energy.
Available in three sizes: 10.07"X8.03" and 7.37"X5.88" and 6.12"X4.89"
Want to see more? Click here to see designs released in previous weeks!