Last week, between the relative chaos of ending another school year, I managed to get out to the studio and set up this ecclesiastical embroidery project. The project is another pall, this time with a different design on it.

The design for this piece of embroidery comes from a book called Designs for Church Embroidery by Thomas Brown & Son. I'm lucky enough to have an old copy of the book - it was a catalog at one time, actually - but it has since been reprinted by Lacis, and you can find it in their online catalog. Just search the title, and it'll come right up.

I altered the original design a bit. It was originally just a circle with the "M" that you see in the middle. I added the tips and the little fleur de lys to it, to make it a bit more decorative.



The Bohin ceramic pencil came in really handy for the transferring of the design. I used the greenish-blue ceramic lead, and it worked quite well. The pencil gives a crisp, fine line. Before I used it, I tested it on a piece of scrap linen, writing with various amounts of pressure on the linen, then trying out the eraser - which worked fine on the light to medium pressure lines - and I also rinsed the fabric, which took out all but a trace of the heavier pressure lines. I was satisfied that it would work ok for white-on-white embroidery.

Ideally, when you're working white-on-white embroidery, it's a good idea to use blue for your transfer. The dressmaker's blue pencils work fine, for example, as does dressmaker's blue carbon, both of which are available in the notions section at most sewing stores. You see, white absorbs the blue, so even if a trace is left on the linen, it isn't normally noticeable, and with time, it goes away. When you use grey or red for a transfer in whitework, the thread will pick up the color and will be tainted grey or red. But with blue, even if the thread picks up the color, you don't see it - it absorbs into the white, making it seem brighter.

I don't really know why this is, but I'm sure there's some sort of scientific reason!

Anyway, I liked the Bohin pencil. I haven't started stitching yet, but I think the transfer will be fine for white-on-white.



Here's the design, transferred. The pall is a 6.25" square piece of linen, made like a pocket, with the top side decorated. I cut the fabric 16" long and 9.5" wide to give plenty of room for seams and for mounting on a stretcher bar frame. The fabric will be folded in half, to make the pocket, then the two sides of the pocket will be sewn up, and a 6.25" square piece of mat board inserted into it. Then the last side is hand stitched closed. Lace of some sort is generally applied to the edge by tacking it on after assembling the piece. I like to use hand-tatted lace, as I think it looks quite nice on a pall. Tacking the lace on allows for removal of the lace for cleaning purposes, in case of need.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked via e-mail is how to transfer an embroidery pattern after it is printed or drawn. I do have a list of links that deals with this question in various ways under the Tips and Tricks for Hand Embroidery section. For this project, I'm using a light box to trace the design. You can use a sunny window with equally good effect, though it is sometimes a bit harder on the arms if your pattern is complicated and takes time to transfer!

My next step after transferring was the frame up the piece, which I've already done, and then to pick out threads, which I've already done as well. Now, it's just a matter of stitching! I'm going to use #30 coton a broder on this, in white. I think. I'm oscillating between #25 and #30, actually, though I don't think there's that much of a difference between the two sizes to justify hesitation!

This will be the project I'll be stitching on for at least the next week, I figure. I hope to have it done by the end of the upcoming weekend, if all goes well. Once it's done, I have one more to do, too. Although I like doing this kind of work, I have to admit that I don't normally like making two of the same things in a row, so for the second one, I've chosen a design I've done before, but not for a while.

And then, once these two projects are finished, I can move on to something that involves color - and I can't wait to show you what that is! I'll tell you tomorrow!

Coming up this week on Needle 'n Thread: a special give-away. Once you see tomorrow's article, you'll probably be able to guess what the give-away is!

Now that the school year is officially over, I'll be able to devote a little more time to embroidery projects, tutorials for the website (in various forms), and some other projects, all of which I'll be keeping you up to date on!

I hope you've had a great weekend!

Labels: ecclesiastical embroidery, embroidery tips and tricks, linen, needlework pictures, pictures, whitework

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, May 31, 2009
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At long last, the end of this monogram alphabet! I don't know if there's anyone out there who will ever embroider this particular "Z" onto anything, but still, there's a great sense in satisfaction about completing this alphabet! So, here it is, the last monogram...

I hope you like the monogram alphabets I've been posting - if you do, let me know, because I do have others that I still want to add to this online collection of monogram patterns. But sometimes I worry that I bore you to death with these repeated letters popping up every now and then!

Well, without further ado then, here's the large Z:



And here's the small Z:



You can find the rest of this alphabet, as well other monograms, on my Index of Monograms for Hand Embroidery. If you're looking for stitching suggestions for this particular alphabet, check out the Celtic A Monogram, where I went into a little detail on how you might stitch it.

Yippee! The END!

Labels: free embroidery patterns, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, May 29, 2009
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This last February, I posted an embroidery pattern for Love, in a Box. I LOVE it when readers send photos of embroidery they've done with my patterns, and it just so happens that Janice worked Love, in a Box, and sent me photos. I thought I'd share those with you!

The pattern for this embroidery project is made up of letters from the flowered monogram series here on Needle 'n Thread. Janice worked the design in blue, on white, then quilted around the outside of the design with a very nice feather design.



She backed the pillow with a pretty blue flowered fabric, to make a really gorgeous finished project!



When I developed the pattern, I had in mind an embroidered pillow, so I was really happy to see this finished project from such a talented stitcher! And hey, I really admire anyone who finishes a project, and finishes it so well! (I'm not the best finisher in the world!) Janice is also the stitcher of the "To Market" embroidered waffle weave towel I posted a little while ago!

Thanks so much, Janice, for sending along the pictures! It's always really encouraging to know that people do like and use the embroidery patterns posted here on Needle 'n Thread!

Labels: needlework pictures, readers embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, May 28, 2009
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Drawn thread embroidery is not relegated solely to even-weave linen. Today, we generally associate drawn thread techniques with even-weave, and it's true that it's possibly easier and more precise when it is worked on even-weave. But in the past, drawn thread embroidery was worked on all kinds of fabrics, including fine, high-count cottons and plain-weave linens.

A couple months ago, Laurie LaTour of Future Christian Homemakers contacted me about some chicken scratch (embroidery on gingham) aprons that she had collected, with a question on an embroidery stitch employed on one of the aprons. We've been exchanging interesting e-mails ever since, and wow - some of the chicken scratch aprons she's collected are really nice! One in particular caught my eye - a chicken scratch apron worked on cotton, with double drawn thread strips worked on the apron's front and the pockets. Laurie has this drawn-thread-on-gingham apron (PDF) in her gallery on her website - do check it out. It's meticulously worked and really pretty!

Discussing the different stitches with Laurie led me to working up a tutorial for drawn thread on gingham, to show how to twist groups of threads together for a decorative border.



I began with a simple gingham dish towel. This particular towel is available in different colors from All About Blanks. It's a soft cotton towel and hems are squared up with the gingham, so it's perfect for this kind of work. I've washed it once already, and you can see that the colors didn't run, which is great! It's a good towel!



When I first started, I was going to make the drawn thread area only as high as one row of checks on the towel, so I began by cutting a slit right next to the side hem, abotu six rows of checks up on the towel. (Later, I decided to make the drawn thread area twice as high, which you'll see below...)



About every three or four checks, I cut a vertical slit between two vertical threads, so that I wouldn't have to draw out long horizontal threads. When you cut your horizontal threads, you want to use nice sharp, small scissors. Fold the fabric over the blade of the scissors to that you can see the horizontal threads you are cutting and so that you avoid accidentally cutting any vertical threads.

With this weave, it was very easy to draw out the horizontal threads. I used a tweezer and just picked them out. Though it takes a little bit of time, it's not labor-intensive or stressful - the horizontal threads just pull right out, and removing the threads actually goes very quickly.



Once I was finished drawing out the threads, I hemstitched the base of the strip using a #5 white perle cotton, and dividing the threads into two groups per check on the fabric. I didn't count the threads - I just estimated the center of each check, which worked fine.

If you don't know how to hemstitch, check out my photo tutorial for the hemstitch. This is the exact technique I used, and it's really simple. I was working in hand (no hoop or anything) for this, and it went very quickly.



After getting to the end of the first row of hemstitching, at the base of the drawn thread area, I decided to go ahead and increase the height of the drawn thread area by removing the horizontal threads from the row of checks above. Then, I turned the work 180 degrees and hemstitched across the top of the area.



This is what the towel looked like with all the hemstitching done. You can see the two groups of threads for each check - two red, two white, two red, etc.



After I finished hemstitching, I decided to go ahead and buttonhole the edge of the hemstitched area. Up to this point, I had not done so, because the edge was on the seam and I didn't think it was really necessary. It probably isn't absolutely necessary, but in case it would fray, I figured I might as well finish the edge. I don't really like this buttonholing here. It's rather thickish and lumpy, but since the towel has a bit of a "rustic" look, it's ok. If I did this again, I'd probably finish the edges with a simple overcast stitch (like the satin stitch bars you can see in the hemstitch tutorial), and maybe even in a finer thread.



Now it's time to start twisting the groups of threads. This part is really easy, and it goes really fast! There's nothing to it.

First, you'll want to cut a length of thread about 5 or 6 inches longer than the width of the towel. Thread your needle (I'm using a tapestry needle with a large enough eye to accommodate the perle cotton), and then anchor your thread by running it under the stitches on the back of the buttonhole bar. You want your thread to emerge right in the middle of the drawn thread area, which is conveniently marked by the edge of the two checks.

The direction I'm working here is right to left, but to twist the thread groups, I'm taking my needle under the second group of threads from the edge, pointing back towards the edge. The needle goes under the second group and over the first group (which is the thread group right next to the edge.



Once the needle is in position - under the second group and over the first, pointing towards the edge - you're going to flip the needle so that the eye is now next to the edge, and the point is pointing down towards the far left edge of the towel. When you flip the needle, make sure you push the first group of threads underneath the second group.



Now you see that the needle is pointing in the direction that you're working - that is, from right to left. The twist is held in place right now by the needle...



... but once you pull your thread all the way through, the twist will be held in place by the thread.



Continue down the line in the same manner, pointing the needle backwards, under the second group of threads, then over the first, flipping the needle and pushing the first group under the second, then pulling the thread through.

When you get to the end of the drawn thread strip, take your needle to the back of the buttonhole bars right in the center, and anchor your thread by running it under the bars a couple times.



And that's what the finished towel will look like.



I like the way it turned out!

Now, on the apron that I mentioned above, the stitcher used each check as a group of threads, so that the twists were made up of two colors. You can do the same thing, or you can still divide the checks into two groups (using hemstitching) and alternate the twists to make a kind of diamond pattern, as I did below:



First, on this time around, I thought I'd try doing the twisting part with a bit of tension, to see if it made any difference. I used a Q-Snap frame, but left one edge "unsnapped."



Using the same method as above, I anchored my thread in the buttonhole bar and brought it to the front, working from right to left.



Because I wanted to use alternate colors, I had to anchor the first (out of two) group of red threads to the side of the towel. Then I proceeded to twist the threads as described above, but using one white group and one red group.

Pointing back towards the edge, the needle went under the first white group of threads, over the remaining red group...



... and then I flipped the needle to reverse its direction, pushing the red group under the white group with the tip of the needle.



I continued in that manner down the strip, ending by anchoring the last red group of threads against the edge of the towel.



This worked ok, and made an overlapping diamond pattern in the drawn thread area. But guess what? After trying that, I took it out and worked the first method on the towel again. I like the finished look of the first method better, personally. But at least you can see that there are options in the way you go about bunching and twisting your threads.

Concerning tension and hooping and so forth, I found this project very easy to work in hand, without a hoop or frame. For the twisting part, if you can lay your fabric down on a surface and smooth it out, you can work easily without a hoop. You just want to be careful that you pull the center thread firmly enough to keep things from sagging, but not too firmly to where it pulls on the end and makes the towel pucker. In fact, if you lay it out on a cloth surface - like an ironing-board cover (or the top of a footstool, like I did!), or even on your self-healing cutting matter, the friction will help hold the fabric in place (better than working on a slick surface!).

Now, if you really wanted to, you could decorate the towel further with other embroidery. But I like the simple drawn thread area, and I think it would be really nice on a summer picnic tablecloth, with matching napkins. In fact, wouldn't that make a great gift? A matching picnic set and hamper, or something? Hmmm.... I'm thinking summer wedding presents... summer birthdays... just something nice for the family gatherings...

Enjoy!

Labels: drawn thread embroidery, Embroidery for the Home, needlework pictures, needlework tutorials, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, May 27, 2009
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The miniature embroidery piece that I framed last weekend went together pretty well, so I thought I'd show you how I framed it, step-by-step. It was really simple, and very quick! Of course, I'm no professional framer or "finisher" - I've always thought it would be a worth-while thing to take a class in finish work. Either that, or to find someone who wanted to enlist as my "personal finisher." Ha ha. Anyway.... here's how I framed it.

The first step was finding something to mount the embroidery on. Ideally, a piece of archival mat board works great. And, as a matter of fact, I did have a little scrap of mat board left over from another project. I knew I wouldn't need much for this one, so it worked out really well.



Measuring the opening of the frame on the back, I subtracted one-eighth inch from the measurement to give me room for the fabric around the mat board. I cut the mat board to fit the opening perfectly, minus 1/8th of an inch. A regular utility knife or craft knife or X-acto knife works well for cutting mat board, and I just use my sewing / cutting mat for cutting mat board, too. The self-healing mats are great - not only do they serve as my base for cutting with a knife, but they serve as my ruler in practically everything!



To make sure the piece of board and the fabric would fit the opening in the back of the frame, I lined up the design on the little board and pushed it into the frame. It fit fine.



I finger-pressed the edges of the fabric around the mat board so I would know where to line it up as I worked. First, make sure your embroidery is exactly where you want it to be. Then, fold each edge of the fabric over the mat board, and run your finger along the edge, to make a crease in the fabric, marking the spot where you want the mat board to fit.

After doing that, I cut the excess fabric off the corners, straight across.



Then I folded two opposite sides over the mat board, making sure my embroidery was centered where I wanted it. With a double-threaded sharp sewing needle, I "laced" back and forth between the edges of the two sides of fabric, keeping the stitches fairly close together and pulling tightly so that the fabric was taut.

Then I folded over the two remaining opposite sides and repeated the lacing on those sides.



I didn't really like the way the corners turned out - they're so unfinished looking. I briefly thought of tucking in that little edge and re-sewing the whole thing with mitered corners, but then I remembered that no one would see it! There's a good quarter inch all around the embroidery that is hidden by the front lip of the frame. Besides, the tweaker you see there in the photo tucked to the back of the mat board just fine. So I left it.



Next, I fitted the embroidered piece into the frame, and when I was certain that all was lining up correctly, I started working on finishing the back. I should have filled the whole space in the back, but instead, I used a smaller square of mat board right behind the embroidered piece, and then one more square of mat board cut precisely to the size of the opening, so that it fit very snuggly into the frame opening on the back.



You can see there's still a good amount of space there. It would have probably been wise to go ahead and fill that with little mat board squares until the last piece was flush with the back of the frame. Probably, nothing will happen to it - but I still have visions of someone picking up the frame and giving the embroidery a good poke, which would dislodge it.



After fitting in the two pieces of mat board, I selected a pinkish piece of card-stock that matched the pink in the embroidery. It's an "ok" match, anyway - not perfect, but it's all I had on hand.

I cut a square of paper to the size of the back of the frame.



A tiny bit of glue fixed the decorative paper to the back of the frame to give it a finished look.



I suppose you can tell I went about this rather haphazardly, but the finished result is ok, I think. It's nice to have it done, anyway. I think I'd like to find a teeny tiny easel to put the frame on for display. At this point, it's just leaning against the base of a statue on the table in my entrance way. Kind of lost and small and dwarfed. But... I like it!

Now, it's time to move on to other things! I've been experimenting with something drawn-threadish, and I'm hoping to be able to show that to you tomorrow, depending on whether or not I get close-to-finished today! I'm also in the middle of trying to draw a design for an ecclesiastical project I'm supposed to be working on already. I can't quite get the drawing where I want it! Oh, where is my Muse??? And, then, once I get that going for real, I've got a couple other needlework-related ideas brewing (or at least half-way brewing - they haven't come to a complete boil yet!). Now, for the invention of the 36-hour day....

Labels: finish work, miniature embroidery, needlework pictures, needlework tutorials, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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A few months ago, I finished this little piece of miniature embroidery, and until this weekend, it's just been sitting around, waiting...

Earlier this month, when I went needlework shop hopping, one of the most exciting findings for me was a little square frame which I thought would be the "perfect size" for this miniature piece. It was $10, and, admittedly, I sort of cringed at paying $10 for a frame that was just barely two inches square...!

But... have you ever noticed that smaller things are sometimes pretty expensive?

And if you figure that miniature needlework can take just as much time - if not more - than regular-sized needlework, I think you'll discover a kind of value ratio there, somewhere.

Anyway, this past weekend, I did manage to put the miniature piece in the frame, and I had that little surge of satisfaction, knowing that I was actually right, that the frame was the perfect size.



The horizontal line running through the middle of the piece corresponds to a blank line in the middle of the flower and a slub in the fabric, just in case you're wondering.

After stitching on 28-count linen lately, I look at this piece (approximately 40 threads per inch - the whole piece is just about 1.5 inches square) and can't figure out how I saw those stitches without any kind of magnification...! Don't tell me my eyes are getting old, in just a few months' time!

I took this photo before finishing the back, and I've since slightly adjusted that lower right hand corner.

In a bit, I'll show you step-by-step how a framed the piece and finished the back of the frame. But for now, suffice it to say, I'm glad I've finally "finished" something! It always seems that anything I embroider these days gets put on hold and it never sees the finish line. I really need to stop doing that!

Happy Memorial Day!

Labels: finish work, miniature embroidery, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, May 25, 2009
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Coming close here to the finish of the Celtic Monograms for Hand Embroidery series, here is the letter Y. Only one more to go!!!

If you would like suggestions for stitching these monograms, including what stitches and threads to use, please visit the "A" in this alphabet. There, you'll find some more detail on the monograms. You'll also see how the inside areas between the loose knotwork is supposed to be shaded with a kind of "stippled" effect (easy to accomplish using seed stitch or French knots).

Here's the small Y:



And here's the large Y:



For the rest of this alphabet or for other monograms, please visit my list of monograms here on Needle 'n Thread. You'll also find plenty of other hand embroidery patterns here, if you're looking for something more to do with your needle and thread!

Enjoy!

Labels: free embroidery patterns, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, May 24, 2009
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, May 23, 2009
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I must reiterate everything I said the other day about the generosity of needleworkers! Yesterday, I was thrilled and speechless when I emptied my mailbox. There, inside, was a package all the way from Portugal, from Méri, of Agulhas da Méri fame. Inside the package - some gorgeous threads and a piece of Portuguese linen, woven at the textile mills of northern Portugal.

I just have to show you pictures of this thread and the fabric. Pictures won't do the linen justice, or the threads, for that matter.



First, the threads. There are two kinds of silk here - one is still on the market and available in Portugal.



It comes in very long skeins, and the thread is beautiful - it's a fine twisted silk, non-divisible. The sheen is hard to capture in a picture...



...but a close up serves to show the nice twist in the thread.

I can't wait to give these threads a try! I haven't seen anything like them here in the States. Buttonhole silk is usually a bit fatter and more tightly twisted. And stranded silk doesn't have this kind of sheen.



Now, these other threads have captivated me! This is a soft, thick, luxurious silk, no longer sold, and Méri estimates that these skeins are from the beginning of the 1900's, as they were passed down through family. They are typical of the embroidery from Castelo Branco in Portugal. They are unbelievable threads!



You can see that the thread has a very soft twist to it. Each strand is rather thick - I'd say at least as thick as a #3 pearl cotton, though not twisted tightly like pearl cotton.



To explain the sheen - and even to photograph it well (for me, anyway!) is almost impossible. How can I get across the idea of the sumptuous "fire" of these threads? They're incredible! I would imagine that they will make beautiful satin stitching, if worked in short lengths. I'm eager as well to try them with long and short stitch and with stem stitch.



And finally, the linen - a beautiful, durable, medium-weight linen with a nice hand, and a good, practically even weave. It looks like it will be a perfect linen for drawn thread work. I also think it would be perfect for crewel work or Jacobean embroidery in wools. It's really nice stuff! Méri said this linen is sold as what we call "seconds" - that is, not suitable for shops or exports, but still available at the source. She buys it by weight. I can't imagine that this is "second quality" linen. It's pretty nice!

Méri, how can I thank you for the wonderful package?! I'll try to do the supplies justice! Thank you so much for your generous gift!

Labels: linen, pictures, regional embroidery techniques, silk, supplies

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, May 22, 2009
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Not quite the same as needlework shop hopping, but sometimes just as fun, I've been needlework website hopping. Now, if you've time to hop along with me, I'll show you where I've been lately, and I'll highlight some resources and other things that have captured my interest...

First off, on my May Give-Away, I included one of those vinyl mesh zipper bags that are great for toting needlework projects around in. Since posting the give-away, my most frequently asked e-mail question this week has been where to find those bags.

What you'd be looking for are vinyl mesh zipper pouches sold for organization of art supplies and so forth. You can sometimes find them at local needlework shops. I've seen them, too, I think at some craft stores in the needlework section, but mostly, I've seen them at smaller needlework shops. I bought mine at The Sunflower Seed in Topeka, KS. They don't have a regular "retail" area of the website, so you might have to contact them to find out if they sell their accessories retail online.

You can find them online at other places, too. For example, they have them at Silver Needle, if you scroll down that page. Speaking of Silver Needle, it looks like a pretty neat needlework / cross-stitch shop. It's located in Tulsa, OK - only 4.5 hours away from me. Worth a day trip? Mmmm.... maybe a weekend trip! I'm not quite sure if Tulsa is the weekend get-away spot I've been dreaming about... but...?

Ok, off to other spots... I think everyone should take a look at this photo of the Plimoth Plantation Jacket! You'll get a wonderful sense of the color, the gold, the sparklies, and so forth on the project. If you haven't visited the Embroiderers' Story blog on Thistle Threads lately, OH DO!

On a blog called Tenar's Cave, you'll find a nice photo tutorial on casalguidi stitch. This is a dimensional embroidery technique that involves stem stitching over a thick cord or bunch of cords. It's pretty neat; the resulting embroidery looks rather wormish-ropish-snakish.

If you're an A-Z Book fan (Country Bumpking Publications), and if you're interested in learning to sew or brushing up your sewing skills, you'll be happy to know that the A-Z of Sewing is now available at Wooly Thread, as announced on their blog. I'm (admittedly) no great seamstress, though I can sew straight lines pretty well. There are a couple basic sewing things I want to learn how to do better, and I think this book - if it is anything like the other A-Z books - will be a gem for teaching me. So I've got it on my wish list!

Speaking of wish lists, there's a new book by Jane Nicholas coming out in August here in the States, called Stumpwork Medieval Flora, and it's definitely on my list! Check out the grasshopper on the middle stem!



It is undoubtedly another beautiful and instructive book by Jane Nicholas, and I'm looking forward to it!

On the blog Meggiecat, meggiecat has posted some neat vintage embroidery patterns for the back of hoodies. I think they look kind of fun, don't you? They remind me of camping.

Over on Pintangle, Sharon has a nice photo tutorial on working the woven picot. This is a great little stitch for dimensional embroidery. It's perfect for leaves, for grass, for seaweed, for anything long and flat or short and flat that you might want to embroider, that can stand up from the fabric (or not - you can anchor it). It's a nice looking stitch! So check out her photo tutorial. If you like videos for stitches, I have a woven picot video tutorial, with pictures of it so you can see what it looks like. You'll also find a photo tutorial on how to stitch free-style woven bars over on Pintangle, so you might want to check that one out, too, while you're there!

Are you familiar with Kelly Fletcher's blog, Materialistic? On it, you'll find a nice selection of Jacobean leaves that she's developing. She's got five out of eight featured on her website so far. Check them out! They're a great introduction to Jacobean motifs.

Another blog featuring some intriguing needlework is Karen's blog, Contemporary Embroidery. She does some really pretty things with large eyelet-type motifs, touched with color. It's hard to explain - you really have to look at her blog to see what I'm talking about! While you're there, check out her post on embroidering trims! I love the colors and the little appliqued squares. Really neat stuff!

Allison Aller is always at it, with beautiful examples of crazy quilting popping up on her blog all the time. Check out her spring CQ post - it's really Springy! I love the colors, the flowers, the birds....

Megan of Emsley Rose sent me a link via e-mail of a magnificent example of Or Nué. This is something worth seeing! It's a coronet, embroidered entirely in gold Or Nué, and you can see it develop step-by-step. Amazing job by the stitcher!

Méri, over on Agulhas da Méri, as been stitching up a storm with monograms, drawn thread work, and all kinds of delightful things lately! I love the little pouch she made with lace scraps as an accent - it's so simple, beautiful, and very tastefully done! And - talk about cute - the little pouch with the sunshine, rainbow, and French knot sheep is really darling! While you're there, check out her drawn thread work and monogram on this towel - really exquisite!

It was really fun squizzing around visiting different needlework websites online - I haven't done that in a while. Work is keeping me pretty busy as the school year comes to a close! Summer is almost officially here! I've got heaps of plans for the summer - keep your fingers crossed for me that I can see at least some of them realized!

Have a terrific day!

Labels: embroidery books, embroidery resources, needlework websites

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, May 21, 2009
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, May 19, 2009
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I've been dying to try out hand embroidery on waffle weave towels, because I see a lot of waffle weave out there in colors that I like. I've always thought the texture and relative looseness of the weave might be deterrents to hand embroidery, though. When BJ's package arrived in the mail - replete with a bright yellow waffle weave tea towel - I decided to give waffle weave a try as a ground for hand embroidery.

I'll tell you right off the bat that my approach was simple and not too ingenious. The towel was yellow. I like yellow, red, and white. So - why not big white daisies with red centers? Nothing too extravagant - I planned on filling petals and centers with chain stitch. And that's what I set out to do.

BUT - then I got an e-mail from a reader who embroiders on waffle weave towels, and uses the weave as part of her design... and that's when I saw a much more exciting potential to waffle weave! I'll show you down below...

First, my dabbles with daisies on waffle weave:



Using a tiny micron art pen, I drew a line of random large daisies across the lower edge of the towel. Drawing on this particular weave with a tiny pen tip is somewhat difficult, as the pen snags on the longer threads in the weave. The best thing is to go slowly and to try drawing in smooth long strokes, rather than short sketchy strokes.



Once I had the daisies drawn on, I started foraging for thread. I wanted to use something a bit heavier than regular floss, with a bit of texture to it - but not as thick as #5 perle cotton. I happened to have some #8 perle cotton in both red and white, so that's what I decided to use.



Knowing that my stitching time would be a bit sporadic, I arranged everything in a bag for easy access - hoop, scissors, threads, needles and towel all fit into one of the mesh-like bags that's featured in this month's give-away.



The first time I had a moment, I started stitching. I'm using chain stitch as a filler - nothing too complicated here!



It works great! Waffle weave is easy to stitch on!

Now, this is the thing:

Janice Miller took embroidery on waffle weave to a different level of fun! She went all out, embroidering this design with a variety of stitches, and ingeniously using the waffle weave squares as part of her design. Here it is - her "To Market" towel:



This towel is amazing! It's not just the design, which I think is rather hilarious - the little lady with her perfect curls, sunny hat, breezy dress, carrying the fat chicken (which looks be-dazzled) to market - but it's the meticulous attention to detail in stitching that's really delightful!



Using the squares created by the waffle weave, Janice filled in the dress, hat, and chicken with a checkered pattern.



She filled in many places with chain stitch - the face and arms, the sash on the hat, the bow on the dress, etc. - and worked the hair in perfect bullion knots!



You can see satin stitch, straight stitch as a filling, French knots, running stitch, a buttonhole wheel for the eye... an amazing variety of stitches on a really cute design, all on waffle weave!

So, now you know! Hand embroidery works on waffle weave - and it not only works, but in the hands of some stitchers like Janice, it works great!

Go grab a waffle weave towel and see what you can do with it! You can find them in most stores that have a kitchen linen section, or online through various sources that sell embroidery blanks. BJ found the yellow set at All About Blanks, for example - the set includes a large yellow-and-white checker print, a small checker print, and the matching yellow waffle weave towel.

Just as an aside on waffle weave... my shower curtain is white waffle weave fabric, and I can't tell you how often, when in a position to contemplate the shower curtain, I have considered embroidering it. Hmmmm....

Thanks, Janice, for sending the photos! Thanks, BJ, for the towel!

Labels: beginner embroidery, Embroidery for the Home, embroidery resources, needlework pictures, pictures, readers embroidery, supplies

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, May 19, 2009
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Since I started blogging here on Needle 'n Thread (almost three years ago!), I've come into contact with some great and generous online stitching friends! I'm pretty convinced that one of the special marks of the needleworker is generosity. From hundreds of needlework bloggers that generously share their tips online, to the needleworkers who swap magnificent hand-made treasures, to the needleworkers who share their interest by sending bits and pieces of stash hither and thither to friends - needleworkers tend to be generous.

This weekend, the Theory of Needleworker Generosity was once again made manifest in my life by a package I received in the post on Saturday.



You know what it's like to receive a delightful and unexpected package in the mail that contains Just the Stuff you like? Well, that was me on Saturday - and it was such fun to open this package! In addition to the above items were two other yellow and white tea towels that match the yellow waffle-weave towel on the left - but they're out in the studio awaiting ideas already!



There were three beautiful tea towels in sunny yellow and yellow and white, three very nice-sized pieces of linen, one of which is the dyed linen in the background of the photo above, and a good sized piece of Aida cloth... as well as coton a broder in size 20...



...a goodly selection of Kreinik's silk mori, which I have never actually stitched with, but which I've wanted to try...



... some Gentle Art embroidery cotton, along with Anchor and DMC rayon...



... and a length of pearl purl!

Now, is that not all the stuff that I just love? Have you ever seen a package that hit the nail on the head so well?

There are a couple reasons I'm sharing this with you in such a public way, by the way! No... I'm not hinting for everyone reading to send me stuff! No... I'm not bragging... "Na na na - look what I got!" ... First, to thank BJ for her kind package, and second, to tell you that one of the reasons she sent it was a kind of "pay it forward" notion, in relation to my stash give-aways. So... some of this will be coming to you, too! That way, we can all be recipients of BJ's generosity!

I have to admit, though.... heh heh. I've been wanting to try out some hand embroidery on waffle-weave towels, so I have a feeling the sunny yellow towel will probably stay with me, at least for a bit. Once I stitch on it, I'll pass it on as a gift. And the tiny yellow and white check towel is going to get used, too, I'm afraid - I'm going to test a drawn thread theory on it!

So keep your eyes out for upcoming stash give-aways that will feature some of the goodies from BJ!

I'm also going to add a couple fibers and a piece of linen to the May give-away, which I posted this past Saturday. If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do by reading the original post and leaving a comment on the original post (answer the question posed in the give-away!).

A great big THANK YOU to BJ for the goodies and for the opportunity to pass them on to others!

Labels: pictures, stash contest, supplies

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, May 18, 2009
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Ah, for the month of May, I'm giving away a nice collection of fun threads, along with a couple little needlework extras...

I've mentioned a few times that I'm got this fiber infatuation thing going - I just love embroidery threads! Part of the fun of these stash give-aways is that you get the opportunity to perhaps try out some threads you've never used before. So I've put together a little collection of different threads here, hoping there's something new in the batch for your own needlework experimentation!



For threads, you'll find (left to right) two skeins of Silk 'n Colors by Thread Gatherer, Gloriana silk, Dinky Dyes silk,and two variegated cottons from Weeks Dye Works.



Two cards of Rainbow Gallery threads are also included.



And, for those who like storage solutions for beads or for needles, how about some needle tubes? These are sold as needle tubes, but I find them equally handy for seed beads. I've also used them for non-needlework-related stuff, like a small quantity of balm and olive oil mixed together. No leakage - perfect little tube for traveling.



There's the whole collection. You'll also notice a mesh zipper bag in the background, which is great for holding threads for a project. These mesh bags are sturdy, they don't snag on the threads, they actually have a real zipper (not ziplock), and they breathe.



That's the give-away for May!

To enter, leave a comment below (on this post on the website, not via e-mail), and in your comment, answer the following the question:

How do you store / arrange your threads for projects? Do you use little bags? Thread rings? Do you wind them on bobbins or cards? Do you loop them through holes on thread cards? What's your solution for keeping your threads together when you start a project?

If you comment anonymously, please make sure you sign a name to your comment!

I'll draw a winner Wednesday, May 20th, at 5:00 am CST, so get your comment in by then! The winner will also be announced on Wednesday - please make sure you check back to see if it is you!

Labels: pictures, stash contest

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, May 16, 2009
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My Mom was cleaning out some stuff the other day and came across a few little needlework-related items that she handed over to me, which led me to thinking about different needlework projects Mom has done over the years.

Many folks are lucky enough to learn their needlework skills from their moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. In my case, I'd say I learned the proclivity towards any kind of crafty-artsy stuff from Mom, but not necessarily specific needlework skills. My Mom, who turns 75 this weekend, was rather the artistic type when she was younger. She took up painting at some point in her eary married years, and even enjoyed showing her work at an art gallery at one point and selling it. She also taught art in a private school in the San Francisco Bay Area for a bit. She was dabbler in lots of things - sewing, painting, needlework, crochet, etc., and most of her kids have ended up being dabblers in one (or many) creative way or another. We dabble. We flit about. What can I say?



These are the pieces that instigated this post. They're needlepoint versions of Pinkie and Blue Boy, famous paintings by Thomas Lawrence and Thomas Gainsborough, respectively. They're not finished. In fact, I think Mom picked out the background stitching and never finished them.



I like them - they may be salvagable, though I don't know what I would salvage them into, except framed pieces.



They're worked in two sizes of stitches on Penelope canvas - the detailed faces are smaller stitches, and most of the rest of the figures are worked in larger stitches.



I always thought Blue Boy looked a bit jaunty.



I like his little shifty eyes. He's definitely checking out Pinkie...



My Mom has always had a penchant for Things Pinkie-and-Blue-Boy. These statues were with us in every house we lived in - and we lived in Many Houses, all over the country!

Studying the Pinkie and Blue Boy canvases led me to another work of my Mom's from her early married days:



I never knew a time when this wasn't on a wall of our homes growing up. It was made from a stamped cross stitch kit Mom bought two years after she was married (so that would have been in 1959, making the piece exactly 50 years old).



Let's see if I can get it right: the stamped fabric cost her 59 cents, and the thread for it cost 30 cents. An 89-cent project - 50 years old - not bad!



She paid $20 to have it framed four years later.

The year Mom got married, she made this baby quilt:



This was another kit - stamped embroidery, featuring Peter Rabbit and Company.



The piece features several stitches - mostly cross stitch, but also a good smattering of satin stitch, stem stitch and daisy stitch.



It's funny to look at this now, when these types of vintage embroidery patterns have become pretty popular once again.



There are a couple stains on the Peter Rabbit section. One of these days, I'll try to remove them!



Nice little watering can... The quilt top was pre-printed with the pattern when Mom bought the kit. She did the embroidery, then put the blanket together.... almost 52 years ago! She was expecting my oldest sister at that point.



I like the little bird...



...but the pink eyes are a bit freaky!



The cottontails are little cotton pom-poms that have held up really well for this many years and several babies' usage!

Later on in life, Mom took up counted cross stitch, and vestiges of her efforts can still be seen around her house.



Mom has always liked birds.



This was one of my grandmother's favorite prayers (my Mom's mom), and subsequently one of Mom's. Mom said she almost kicked herself when she finished the piece and realized she had not cut her fabric large enough for the type of framing she wanted. Still, this has been a nice piece in her house for the past 25 years or so.

Like Pinkie and Blue Boy, the St. Francis Prayer is a recurring theme in her house:



My grandmother gave my Mom and Dad this plaque (which is only about 4" x 6") as a gift many, many years ago - another thing I remember always being on a wall in our homes across the country.

Mom's present needlework pursuits involve crochet only, and she makes some pretty nice doilies, tablecloths, and filet crocheted lace for church use.



Mom didn't make this, but it was in among her needlework things - a souvenir from a one of her trips to Hong Kong many years ago:



She says it's a baby carrier. Her escapades on this trip to Hong Kong were pretty funny. It was her first time abroad, and she had no idea how money exchanging actually worked. When she exchanged money for the first time, she couldn't believe how much they gave her back! So she had fun shopping with it!



The embroidery is machine embroidery; I think it's kind of neat! This has seen several appearances on kids in school plays, costumes, and so forth. I don't think she ever actually used it as a baby carrier!

Mom's needlework adventures also included afghan-making, quilting, sewing children's clothes, making things for the house, and so forth. She's always been a project woman! And it's always heaps of fun, going through her old pattern books and needlework items!

Happy 75th, Mom!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, crochet, embroidery for children, needlepoint, needlework pictures, personal, pictures, vintage embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, May 15, 2009
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, May 14, 2009
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Here's the X for the Celtic monograms for hand embroidery. Only two more to go, and the alphabet will be finished! I'm so glad. Whew. It'll be nice to do some other patterns without the guilt of an unfinished monogram alphabet hanging over my head!

If you're looking for embroidery stitch suggestions, please visit the Celtic A monogram, where you'll find several ideas for stitching up the monograms in this series.

Here's the small X:



And here's the large X:




For more hand embroidery monograms, check out my Index of Monograms for Hand Embroidery. If you're looking for other hand embroidery designs in general, check out my Index of Hand Embroidery Patterns, where you'll find an updated list of hand embroidery designs here on Needle 'n Thread.

Enjoy!

Labels: free embroidery patterns, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, May 14, 2009
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I can't help it! I'm really excited about this! If you've been hanging about Needle 'n Thread for a while, you know I'm a great fan of Trish Burr's design work and thread painting techniques...

In fact, if you haven't read them yet, feel free to read the articles here on Needle 'n Thread about Trish Burr and her adventures in the needlework field. You'll find some gorgeous examples of her embroidery in those articles, and you'll also discover the many reasons why I admire her and her work.

And now... the news! Prepare yourselves to be delighted and excited!

TRISH HAS KITS! And they're on her website and ready for sale! For US customers, you can e-mail Trish if you're interested in a particular kit. She accepts Paypal. For customers in Australia and the UK, she has some shop listings there, through which you can purchase the kits.

You'll find four levels of needlepainting kits: beginner, intermediate, intermediate-advanced, and advanced, presented in five different needlepainting projects. You'll also find kits available for two monogram styles.

The prices of the kits are super reasonable. You can order them without threads - with the printed fabric, full instructions and thread list, for anywhere between ZAR 85 - 105 (US $10.07 - $12.45, according to the present currency exchange rates), or you can order them with threads (combination DMC and Soie d'Alger) for anywhere between ZAR 150 - 325 (about US $17.75 - $38.45) for the needlepainting kits. The monogram kits come with the full alphabet, fine linen, and specialty threads, for ZAR 175 - 185 (US $20.70 - $21.88). Remember, exchange rates fluctuate, so those prices are approximate, based on today's currency exchange rate.

These kits will be an excellent way - I am sure of it! - to learn needlepainting from Trish. You can rest easy knowing you have an accurate design transfer (the fabric has the design pre-printed on it) and no doubt her instructions are clear and easy to learn from. If you're familiar with her books, you know this is the case! If you're just starting to venture into needlepainting, the rose bud is a perfect beginner's kit. If you've done a little but want to improve your skills, try the intermediate to intermediate-advanced kits. And if you've done a bit of needlepainting and want a new challenge - oh, you must get the kingfisher!



I am completely twitterpated with this bird.

The link again: Trish Burr Long and Short Stitch Embroidery Kits. Get 'em while she's got 'em - they're definitely stash worthy, too, if you don't have time for them right now!

Labels: embroidery kits, embroidery resources, needlepainting, Trish Burr

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, May 13, 2009
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After a long pause in monograms for hand embroidery, I'm going to make every effort to finish up the Celtic alphabet this week! ('Bout time, I know!) Here is the letter V...

If you're looking for embroidery stitch suggestions, please visit the Celtic A monogram, where you'll find several ideas for stitching up the monograms in this series.

Here's the small V:



And here's the large V:




For more hand embroidery monograms, check out my Index of Monograms for Hand Embroidery. If you're looking for other hand embroidery designs in general, check out my Index of Hand Embroidery Patterns, where you'll find an updated list of hand embroidery designs here on Needle 'n Thread.

Enjoy!

Labels: free embroidery patterns, monograms

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, May 12, 2009
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Pam has done something I've always wanted to do, but never had the guts to. Using a design from Therese Dillmont's book, La Broderie Au Passé, she embroidered a piece of fabric to fit the seat of an antique chair, and the results are beautiful!

The embroidery for this chair seat is worked on cotton twill, using DMC threads. The design was a perfect fit for these chairs that belonged to her grandmother.



The colors chosen for the needlework are gorgeous - I agree with Pam that they compliment the wood of the chair really well.



Pam used a variety of stitches with two strands, and sometimes four strands, of DMC.



The majority of the filled areas are worked in satin stitch, though it looks like she also used some buttonhole-type filling or trellis stitch in parts.



Isn't the medallion a perfect fit? And far too pretty to sit on!

You can find this particular pattern in Therese Dillmont's book, La Broderie Au Passé, at Antique Pattern Library. The book comes in four parts, and this particular pattern is in Part 3, on page 4 of the PDF. (That link will take you straight to the PDF of Part 3). You can also see this particular pattern on the frame, in the first page of the introduction in Part 1 of Dillmont's book. (PDF link) Although the picture is in black and white, it's interesting because the pattern is being worked on a dark background. This is one of my favorite books at Antique Pattern Library - it has a really nice collection of designs for "flat" embroidery! The fourth PDF, by the way, is a scan of the German version of the book.

Thanks, Pam, for sending the photos, and congratulations on a beautiful job! Thanks as well for the inspiration.... maybe, maybe one of these days, I'll get up the guts to do a footstool or something! (But feet? On my embroidery? Hmm.....)

Labels: needlework pictures, pictures, readers embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, May 12, 2009
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Anne G. sent along some photos of her latest piece, an embroidered icon. The the piece is small, it "packs a lot of punch." Though the piece has a somewhat modern flair to it, it reflects the icon tradition in religious art. I thought you would enjoy seeing it.

Anne embroidered the piece as a gift. The completed size is 4.5" x 5.25", so quite small, but the space is used really well.



The design is from a book called A Brush With God, and the original picture is called "Peter's Mother of God." The original is by Peter Pearson, who kindly gave Anne permission to use it. The representation is of "Our Lady of Tenderness."



The embroidery is worked entirely in flat silks, on silk upholstery fabric, mounted on high count muslin. The halo, or nimbus, is worked in pairs of #8 Japanese gold - it's really beautiful!



And this is the framed piece. I think the framing is ingenious - it really sets off the embroidered piece well.

Thanks so much for sending the photos, Anne! It's always a pleasure to see you're work!

Labels: needlework pictures, pictures, readers embroidery, silk

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, May 11, 2009
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I can't help it. I'm a thread junkie. And when there's a sale, it's Really Hard for me to resist - especially when it's gorgeous needlework fibers like those made by Gumnut Yarns, among other delicious little morsels....

Right now, Needle in a Haystack is clearing out some threads! They've got a really interesting selection of grab bags for Gumnut Yarns different lines of embroidery and needlework threads.



The grab bags are a really good deal! For example, you get 10 skeins of Gumnut stranded silk ("Stars") for $30 (regular price: $70). You don't have control over the color choices, but they've done their best to group the threads by color families, so that they aren't wild and weird mixes of color (thought sometimes, I like wild and weird mixes!)



Gumnut "Buds" (perle silk) grab bags are 10 skeins for $35 (regularly $85).

I like Gumnut threads. They're soft and beautiful and feel really nice. The only type of their thread I've ever stitched with, though, is "Buds" (perle silk). I liked it. I'd love to try their "blossoms" (crewel wool) and "daisies" (fine wool) and some of their blends. Unfortunately, they're very expensive threads, so the best way to get them, in my mind, is to get them on sale.

The names are a bit of an enigma, by the way. Here's the list of thread names and what they actually are:

Blossoms = crewel wool
Stars = stranded silk
Buds = perle silk
Poppies = 50% silk / 50% wool blend
Daisies = 1-ply fine wool (finer than crewel wool)
Tulips = kid mohair
Gemstones = variegated crewel wool (discontinued by the manufacturer)
Aztecs = variegated stranded silk (discontinued by the manufacturer)
Jewels = variegated perle silk (discontinued by the manufacturer)
Opals = variegated silk / wool blend (discontinued by the manufacturer)

To view the shade ranges on each of those, click on the links of the names, which will take you to the Gumnut Yarns website's color range pages. It seems all the variegated threads have been discontinued.

Anyway, back to the sale at Needle in a Haystack! Besides these magnificent grab bags, they've also got the remaining of their DMC Medici (discontinued by DMC) wool thread on sale for $.75 / skein, as well as the whole range of Danish Flower Thread on sale for $1.25 / skein. (The latter is listed on their sale page for $1.30 / skein, but if you visit the actual shopping page for Danish Flower Thread, you'll see it's $1.25).

So, some great deals there! I'm still sticking to my resolution (after last week's needlework shop hop loot!), so I won't be adding any of this to my stash! But if you have the opportunity to do a wee bit of stash building, then I figured you might as well know about the sale, too! Enjoy!

Labels: embroidery resources, supplies, threads

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, May 09, 2009
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The other day, my sister and niece stopped in at a thrift shop (or "op shop"), and they came across this embroidered Chinese panel that they thought I might find interesting. It was only a couple bucks, so they brought it home to me.

The embroidery on the panel looks to me as if it were worked by hand, but it has that kind of mass-produced look (sweatshop work, perhaps?). I could be wrong. I'd be happy to hear what you all think.



The frame is flimsy and cheaply made and painted. I think the embroidery is actually stuck on the board in parts. I'm going to take it apart, eventually, just to see what it's all about.

There are parts of the embroidery that I really like:



The shading on the water fowl is magnificently done!



The feathers and the layers of color are finely and perfectly stitched. There aren't any "carrying threads" that are typical to machine embroidery. I'm certain this is hand stitched.



The roses up close didn't really grab me at first. The contrasts are stark and the lines a bit angular...



But what's funny is that, from the side, they look entirely different! The silk has quite a sheen to it, too.



The clusters of flowers and leaves below the ducks are the best part of the foliage on the piece, I think.



And the grass and water on the pond in which the ducks are floating is really interesting. The two shades used to embroider the grass give the illusion of a reflection, and the pale grey horizontal stitches make the water look quite real.



This little bunch of hanging buds and flowers makes a nice cluster, and I like the silvery grey in the leaves.

There are some stains on part of the piece - mostly in the foliage hanging down from the roses - but other than that, it's pretty clean.

So, what do you reckon? Shall I take it apart? I was thinking there might be parts that would be fun to salvage, recycling it into something else. Any ideas?

Labels: needlepainting, needlework pictures, pictures, silk

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, May 08, 2009
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I've been stitching along rather diligently on the Long Dog sampler that I'm working with my niece. Though it doesn't look like much progress, considering the time I've had to work on it, I think it's coming along well. I thought I'd give you a quick update and then talk plans!

This is a project I started as a stitch-along with my niece, who is learning counted cross stitch in one of her classes. The sampler is called "Angel Pavement," and it's produced by Long Dog Samplers.



This is the progress so far. The outlines of all the "memory blocks" around the edge are complete, so now it's just a matter of filling the rest of them in. Each of those blocks is slightly less than one inch square.



These are my favorites so far. I love the colors and the designs of all three.

Now, onto the question of a hiatus. Wow - time really flies, doesn't it? For those of you who don't know, I am a teacher. I teach English at the high school level, and I also teach six hours' worth of college courses a week (two courses), in the field of education. It almost seems as if the school year just started. As the year comes to a close, things are getting hectic, to say the least!

On top of the end of the year activities, I'm faced with a project with a deadline. A few months ago, I agreed to embroider a pall (a small altar linen) for a woman whose grandson is being ordained a priest this summer. As yet, I still haven't started that - it's due in the middle of June. Heh heh. Oh sheesh. I do tend to procrastinate. I always claim I work better under pressure, and in some cases, I do. In other cases.... well.... The inspiration for this project just hasn't hit me, and the more pressure I feel over it, the more distant my Muse seems! Not a very good situation!

In addition to the above, my family is descending upon Kansas next week, to celebrate my mother's 75th birthday! There are eight children in my family altogether, and all but one will be here, along with some grandchildren, husbands, wives, etc. It'll be fun! Hectic, but fun!

Plans, plans, plans! So I'm planning on taking a hiatus from the sampler here for a bit, until I get all the upcoming major stuff out of the way! You may bid it farewell, then, until the (hopefully not too distant) future!

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, needlework pictures, personal, pictures, sampler

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, May 07, 2009
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Once I finished the embroidered anniversary card a couple weekends ago, I got it in my head that it would be a good idea to make some cards for upcoming occasions - and, for a change, to make them ahead of time!

Through April, May, and June, my family is beset with - oh, just about everything: my parents' anniversary (52 years this year), Mother's Day, my Mom's birthday (75 this year!), graduation, a couple birthdays at the beginning of June, weddings, wedding showers, baby showers, and on and on. It's not as if I don't know these things are coming up. But they still tend to take me by surprise!

So I determined at least to prepare some nice cards in advance this year for the big Spring / Summer Onslought of Card-Giving Days.



It really doesn't take that much time to prepare the cards for stitching. I pierced about 8 cards in a little more than half an hour.

Then I took the pierced cards, selected thread colors, and made up little "kits" for each card by placing the card and selected threads in a little zip lock bag, along with the original pattern for the embroidery design on the card. I arranged all the packages in a little box, with a roll of tape, a couple needles, and a pair of scissors.



With everything ready, then, at my fingertips, it's just a matter of grabbing a few minutes here and there to stitch up parts of the cards. In fact, when I only have time for a 15-minute session, I can get at least half-way through simple designs, like this little bug and garden card.



This one took me even less time - very simple, but it will make a nice little card for an upcoming event.



This one took a little longer, only because I decided at the end to satin stitch the yellow centers on the flowers, and to do that, I had to pierce the paper with the needle as I went. (Note to self: satin stitch doesn't work that great on paper!) Still, they came out cute enough, and in the center of the one flower left blank (yes, I got sick of satin stitching on paper!), I'll stick a little rhinestone or something sparkly.

The finish work hasn't been done on any of those cards, and that's actually where most of the time will come in, if I end up doing anything "interesting."

I'm planning to put together several more card kits to have on hand for a bit of variety. It's really easy to chat and stitch on paper, but for some reason, I'm not good at chatting when doing "serious" embroidery! Pre-assembled little kits for fun things like this are also great to hand off to the kids when they're looking for something to do!

Labels: embroider on paper, needlework pictures, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, May 06, 2009
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A while (a looong while ago - as in almost 9 months ago!), I mentioned the possibility of working through an embroidery project focusing on long and short stitch. My plan was to work through a long and short stitch project, posting tutorials in the form of lessons. If you were with me back then, you can read the original post on my long and short stitch project idea to get the whole gist of it.

I can offer a million and twelve excuses why this particular embroidery project never quite materialized, but it all boils down to the little particulars of life in general, as well as a rather sanguine approach to needlework. I tend to bounce around a bit, and I get caught up in new plans and ideas with a bit too much enthusiasm before old ideas have come to fruition! (Surely you've noticed that about me by now!)

Still, the idea for this particular series lingers in my head, simmering a bit and now and then even reaching a low boil. At one point, I even sketched up a design for the project!

The reason I bring this up now, though, is because I've received a slew of e-mail over the last couple weeks, asking about long and short stitch. I can't help wondering if something long-and-short-stitch-ish is going on out there in the needlework world - a new book I haven't seen, or a new design out, or something? Why the sudden interest, I wonder? Not to disparage the glory of the stitch itself - for anyone interested in surface embroidery, it would be a natural thing to want to get this beautiful stitching technique down.



This is a little flower worked in long and short stitch on a silk sampler I have yet to finish. Long and short stitch is one of the few stitching techniques that can really achieve a nice, realistic shading.



In fact, it was Tanja Berlin's needlepainting kits that really got me into long and short stitch. I love her needle painting projects!



Of course, Trish Burr's various embroidery books that feature long and short stitch enchanted me as soon as they hit the market! Trish has been a very encouraging correspondent, and I really enjoy her work! I've written about Trish Burr's works and books several times here on Needle 'n Thread, and I'm excited to say that there's more good stuff coming from her in the form of kits to be released soon. I'll keep you updated on that.

After working for a couple weeks now on a counted cross stitch sampler, I'm itching to get into some needle painting again. I think the e-mails about long and short stitch have served as a bit of a prod, too.

My plan, then, is to resurrect this long and short stitch project plan. I've started taking notes and organizing short lessons, but I wanted to poll the audience to find out what people would really like to see in a series of lessons focusing on long and short stitch? The way I see it is this: I could work from the very basic, for first-timers, through more complex forms, or I could just focus on the difficulties that people experience with the technique. What's your opinion?

It's necessary at this point to mention, too, that I'm not Trish Burr or Tanja Berlin - I'm no pro! But I have learned some tricks along the way that can reduce the intimidation that newcomers might feel when facing this technique.

With the summer coming up soon, I am hoping to have more free time to really focus on some instructive projects on Needle 'n Thread. In the next couple weeks, I'll be making some extensive lists of things I hope to focus on this summer. (This is the lot of the teacher - always looking forward to summer or the next break, in order to rejuvenate!)

With this in mind, then, I'd love to hear some feedback on the following:

1. What are your thoughts and preferences on this long and short stitch idea?
2. What type of instructive articles about embroidery would you be interested in seeing on Needle 'n Thread in the upcoming months?

Thanks for your input!

Labels: miscellaneous embroidery musings, needlepainting, needlework pictures, pictures, Trish Burr

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, May 05, 2009
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The Heartland needlework shop hop took place this last weekend, and I survived it! It was my first needlework shop hop - apparently they do this every year, and from what I hear, lots of areas around the country feature shop hops. So if this is something that interests you, check with your local needlework shop to see if they participate in anything similar each year! Though, if you're like me, at the end, you just might be sorry you found out! Let me show you the damage...

I generally budget for my needlework stuff - hobbies deserve budgeting, and I figure if I don't budget for hobby-related supplies (or if I go into debt for them!), I could not enjoy them. That dark cloud of "I Owe You" hanging over my head would certainly dampen any pleasure I had in my hobby! So, I budget. And I have spent my budget for the next... oh, several months! So, enjoy looking at the loot, because it'll be a while before I spend anything again on hobby-related supplies!



Depending on how you look at this pile, it can either look like a lot, average, or not much at all! For me, it was a lot to buy in one weekend! I console myself by saying that I got some really good deals on some stuff, and that I have prepared ahead with some gift-related items.



First off, I did get some Evertite Frames, which is really the only thing I convinced myself I needed. I need a variety of smaller (10" - 14") frames to set up fabric on for filming stitches, and if I'm going to spend money on frames, then I might as well get the ones I really like, that I can use for a variety of projects. That was my reasoning, anyway! And darn it, I'm stickin' to it! (Two the Point in Overland Park, Kansas, carries the whole range of Evertite Frames, and they were 15% off, and I didn't have to pay shipping! Yippee!).



I suppose I didn't need these threads from Gentle Art - their Simply Wool line, a very nice, fine wool for embroidery. But I've wanted to try them for a while, and I thought it would be fun to do a wool thread comparison for everyone, so, yes, I bought a few cards. I picked these up at Old Mill Stitchery in Liberty, Missouri. In fact, I'm kind of twitterpated with that shop.

Of the five shops I visited, two had "atmosphere" - Stitch On in Lawrence, KS, and Old Mill Stitchery in Liberty, MO. Of those two, Old Mill Stitchery is the more atmospheric. It's situated in what I think is perhaps an old mill (ingenious - I think that accounts for the name!), and connected to a few other shops and a restaurant inside the one old complex. It's roomy - with a fantastic project room overlooking an outside little tree area full of birds - and the floors are slightly uneven. The shops adjacent include a bead shop, a wool rug-hooking supply shop (neat stuff), an antique and gift store, and a nice little luncheon-type restaurant. I would definitely make the long treck there again, just for the fun of going, on a day trip to KC.



Now, I realize this doesn't look very exciting. But these are hanks of soie d'alger from Au Ver a Soie. That's 45 meters at One Time of the same color of one of my favorite threads! But that wasn't the appeal. The appeal was that they were 50% off. I use greens all the time, and I am certain I will have use for them as time goes by. The darker blue in the background is another question - but, one never knows...



I rarely buy threads from Rainbow Gallery. I don't know why - I suppose I don't often have use for them. They do have some weird, interesting, fun threads, though. And I bought a few. Each item in this photo, including that jolly spool of green Trebizond, was a dollar. What was I supposed to do? Besides, they'll be fun to include in give-aways. And a dollar? Really, what was I supposed to do?



Oh, it's another Bohin pencil, with all the lead colors available. I have come to really like this pencil for transfers. I bought the yellow, grey, and blue fills... and another pencil. I found this at a fabric store near one of the needlework shops through which I was cheerily hopping...



Now, this may not seem very thrilling to you. But it was the Only Thing I saw at one shop that really thrilled me to my toes! It's a frame! And not just any frame! It fits perfectly my little miniature embroidery piece. I'm going to frame that for the Agéd M for Mother's Day.



In this dark, dim picture you will see the only two things I ran into along the whole hop that were specifically surface embroidery items. I felt somewhat compelled to stand up for surface embroidery, so I purchased them. The fact that the table topper was reduced 50% helped - I wouldn't have paid full price for it. And the towel was 40% off, I think. They are simply ironed-on motifs from Aunt Martha-type iron-ons. In fact, the dish towel is definitely Aunt Martha. One is a butterfly motif on a 35" square table topper made out of 65% linen, 35% cotton, in a natural color, and the other is a vineyard motif on a striped dish towel. I'm admittedly not so impressed with them, but they are both something that the kids would enjoy stitching, so they won't go to waste.



This is the only "elaborate" thing that I bought - completely unnecessary, with no purpose that I could pin on it at the time, and rather a bit on the pricey side. It's a tray from Sudburry House (purchased at Two the Point). The bottom of the tray is glass, under which you can mount a piece of needlework. Truth is, it isn't the tray concept that sold me. It isn't that I even had a plan or idea for it. Quite simply, it's the square redness of it. It is Square Red Perfection. There was not even a decision-making process involved. I saw it. I picked it up. I never even considered not buying it. I didn't even try to justify it to myself. I still haven't tried to justify it. In fact, if I think about it too hard, the only thing that comes to mind is, "..." ... nothing. Of course I bought it. It's as if I had walked past the shelf it was sitting on, put my right hand on the shelf, then walked away, taking my right hand with me. I couldn't leave my right hand behind - I couldn't leave the red tray behind.

If they hadn't made it so very red, and so very square, with such perfect rounded edges and handles, I probably could have left it. But under the circumstances, what else could I do?

Oh, here comes some justification: it was 15% off. And it would look beautiful with a nice Jacobean something under that glass.... or something.

I bought a bit of floss - probably at least one kind in each store I went into, and in some stores, several. By the way, what's the difference between Weeks Dye Works sold in Topeka and Weeks Dye Works sold in KC? Thirty cents per skein! It's more expensive in KC! I liked coming across "discontinued colors" in different stores - I was able to pick up some skeins of different types of silk for 50% off. The only other interesting thing (to me, anyway) that I purchased was wool roving in bright colors and some felting needles. I'm thinking it might be fun to do some felting with the kids this summer.

So, that's the damage. I'll be enjoying all this for a while - which is good, because "fun spending" on needlework-related stuff just came to a screeching halt!

You'll also be seeing the benefits of my shop hopping in little upcoming give-aways, so keep an eye out!

Labels: embroidery resources, pictures, supplies

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, May 04, 2009
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, May 02, 2009
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