About

Mary Corbet

writer and founder

 

I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

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2025 (119) 2024 (135) 2023 (125) 2022 (136) 2021 (130) 2020 (132) 2019 (147) 2018 (146) 2017 (169) 2016 (147) 2015 (246) 2014 (294) 2013 (294) 2012 (305) 2011 (306) 2010 (316) 2009 (367) 2008 (352) 2007 (225) 2006 (139)
 

H is for … Hen (It’s a Stretch)

 

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Schedule Reminder: The Studio and online shop are closed from Dec 3 through December 18, and I have limited access to email. If you email and don’t hear back from me, that’s why. Please leave all non-urgent communications until after December 18th. Thanks! Blog posts will continue through Christmas as planned, though, and there are a few other scheduled posts for you, too!

Today’s entry in the Needle ‘n Thread Archives from A-Z series – where we’ve been delving deep into the archives of the website and resurrecting past projects, tutorials, articles, and more – features a hen.

H, you see, is for Hen.

Ok, fine. It’s not necessarily a hen. I originally called it a chicken, but it’s not even necessarily a chicken. Given the proximity to Thanksgiving and the situation of that tail, we could even go so far as to call it a turkey. But that really would be a stretch.

All I know is that it’s a stylized bird, designed for Schwalm embroidery, that I adapted for embroidery on paper and made into a card, calling it “The Christmas Chicken.”

Behold, the Christmas Chicken.

Or the Holiday Hen, if you will.

The Christmas Chicken or the Holiday Hen - Embroidery on Paper
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Twinkle Twinkle 5: Beading and Prepping for Finishing

 

Schedule Reminder: The Studio is closed from Dec 3 through December 18, and I have limited access to email. If you email and don’t hear back from me, that’s why. Please leave all non-urgent communications until after December 18th. Thanks! Blog posts will continue through Christmas as planned, though, and there are a few other scheduled posts for you, too!

Good morning and welcome to Part 5 of Twinkle, Twinkle, this year’s Christmas ornament stitch-along here on Needle ‘n Thread.

If you are just joining us, you’ll find all the previous installments of this stitch-along listed here in the Project Index for Twinkle, Twinkle.

For members of the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon, you’ve already received the PDF that covers all this information. You also have all the video that takes you through the steps in this lesson.

If you are interested in video instruction for this entire project, videos are available for the “Avid Stitcher” membership level, over in the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon ($5 / month). If you’re not interested in a membership, you can also purchase the individual videos that you’d like to view. You’ll find the videos listed under the Twinkle, Twinkle Collection on my membership page. As the videos are published over there, they will be listed in that collection, and there will be an option to purchase access to the individual videos.

Today, we’re going to bead the background of the ornament, and then we’ll prep it for the finishing process.

Ready?

Twinkle Twinkle Stitch Along Part 5 beading and prepping
Continue reading “Twinkle Twinkle 5: Beading and Prepping for Finishing”

Happy Thanksgiving, 2025!

 

It’s Thanksgiving today here in the US, so Happy Thanksgiving to all of you – no matter where you happen to be!

Even if you don’t celebrate this particular holiday, you are definitely the object of my gratitude. Each of you helps make Needle ‘n Thread the inspiring needlework community that (I hope) it is! Thanks so much for hanging out here with me as we explore All Things Embroidery. Thank you for your inspiration, your creativity, your support, and your friendship! Truly, without you, Needle ‘n Thread wouldn’t be here.

Continuing with our own little tradition and striving to make the holiday fun and festive, Anna and I put together a little I-Spy image and puzzle for you, to while away that post-Thanksgiving-dinner digestive time. As Cordelia would say (can you name the book?)… “must digest!”

Happy Thanksgiving, 2025
Continue reading “Happy Thanksgiving, 2025!”

Twinkle Twinkle 4: Finishing the Embroidery on the Star

 

Welcome to Thanksgiving Week! Here in the we celebrate Thanksgiving Day this Thursday, which means that many folks enjoy a nice four day weekend that kicks off pre-holiday preparations.

Here at Needle ‘n Thread, we’re no exception! Anna and I (she’s my niece, for those who don’t know) will be enjoying the day with family. But – never fear! – we have prepared some Thanksgiving entertainment for you, in the form of an I-Spy puzzle. So please look for that on Thursday, with our Happy Thanksgiving Greetings!

Today, we’re going to cover the rest of the embroidery on the star, in our Twinkle, Twinkle stitch-along. Since this is a relatively small project, each phase of of the embroidery doesn’t take too long – and this lesson is no exception.

For your convenience, I have linked a downloadable PDF color & stitch layout guide below. Keep reading, to download this convenient guide!

If you’re a member of the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon, you’ve already received these instructions as a downloadable PDF. And those who are members at the Avid Stitcher level have access to all the videos for the embroidery part of this project. Non-members are welcome to purchase access to any of the videos that they are interested in viewing.

Twinkle, Twinkle Stitch-Along - Part 4
Continue reading “Twinkle Twinkle 4: Finishing the Embroidery on the Star”

Twinkle Twinkle 3: First Bands on the Star

 

Good morning, and welcome to Part 3 of our current stitch-along here on Needle ‘n Thread, Twinkle, Twinkle: A Christmas Star Ornament!

We’re working our way through embroidering a lovely Christmas star ornament, step-by-step. If you’re just joining in, you’ll find all the previous installments of this stitch-along available here, in the Twinkle, Twinkle Project Index.

For members of the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon, you’ve already received the PDF that covers all this information. I also dropped some video over on the membership site, for folks signed up as “Avid Stitchers.”

If you are interested in video instruction for this entire project but not interested in the monthly membership (it’s $5 for “Avid Stitcher” level), you can purchase access to the individual videos that you’d like to view. You’ll find the videos listed under the Twinkle, Twinkle Collection on my membership page. As the videos are published over there, they will be listed in that collection, and there will be an option to purchase access to the video. (Please note: the video instruction is not in the same order as the stitch-along published here.)

Today, we’re working two of the stitched bands on the star.

Twinkle, Twinkle Stitch-Along - First Bands on Star
Continue reading “Twinkle Twinkle 3: First Bands on the Star”