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Mary Corbet

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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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Box Winner & Some Needlework News Snips

 

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Howdy-ho and a happy Saturday all around!

Today, I’m announcing the winner of the custom hand-crafted wooden box for mounting embroidery, from Mythic Crafts, and sharing a few little needlework bits that I’ve come across lately.

So, pull up a chair, pour yourself a cuppa, and let’s have a winner party followed by a little browse!

Custom Box for Mounting Embroidery

Box for Embroidery Winner!

First, the business of the morning – who won the box? Oh, my – there were lots of comments to read (I love hearing what you’re working on!). And this morning, I had to do a little computer magic to combine and sort the winners from the two articles for the give-away.

So, once I had everyone combined, I did the random-number drawing, using a random number generator to produce the winning entry. And here it is!

Congratulations, Janet Rock! You’re soon to be a lucky owner of a lovely box to mount your favorite embroidery masterpiece on! I’ve sent you an email. You can also drop me a line if you have any questions.

Update, 2019: At this point in time, I’m cautioning folks about purchasing from Mythic Crafts. After a very successful crowd-funding campaign in January of 2018, many of the backers have still not received their goods from backing that campaign. I hope that Mythic Crafts is able to fulfill the orders made during the crowdfunding campaign, but until they do, I don’t recommend ordering from the company’s website.

Thanks again to Mark at Mythic Crafts for offering the box! If you’re not familiar with the goodies that Mark offers for the needlework world, drop by the Mythic Crafts website! This weekend, he’s got quite a few specials going on, including free engraving on all slate frames ordered over the weekend, plus free shipping, a free carved needle minder with purchase, and 20% off all frame legs.

Frame legs? you ask. What are those? Well, they’re kind of ingenious. Check them out! I’ve got a set, but I haven’t tried them yet – but the concept is good, and I’m going to give them a try next week. I can’t wait!

And now, for some weekend needlework information, inspiration, and instruction…

Embroidered Jackets or Waistcoats

Over on the blog Costume Historian, you’ll find this extensive article on embroidered jackets or waistcoats with information on where to view surviving examples and plenty of links for exploration. Definitely worth a browse if you’re interested in historical embroidery or costuming…

Fall & Embroidery!

When autumn rolls around, I go googly-eyed for autumn embroidery in general. Over on Colour Complements, Lorraine has produced a magnificent fall thread collection, and this article highlights some great examples of needlepoint stitches with her fall threads. Love the texture and the flow of color!

Latvian Braid & The Idea in My Head

Ok, I know this isn’t embroidery. It’s actually knitting. But bear with me – you’ll see how my mind works!

Over on Craftsy, there’s this tutorial for a knitted Latvian braid. Take a look at it!

Now, does that not say to you Fly Stitch?! It does to me. But worse yet (or better yet, depending on how you look at it!), it started me experimenting with an embroidery stitch combination. I haven’t hammered it all out yet. But it involves three stitch techniques so far: fly stitch, buttonhole stitch, and Casalguidi.

Do you ever see elements of crochet or knitting that somehow morph into embroidery ideas in your mind? Coming from a family replete with knitters and crocheters, I can’t help it!

Buttons, Buttons!

I love buttons. And not just for buttoning things, either. I like them as accents on embroidery. I’ve used them to make my own needle minders out of. I just have a Thing for buttons.

Lisa over at French Needle must have a Thing for buttons, too, because she’s got a terrific line of really adorable buttons – including all kinds of needlework-related buttons – available here on French Needle.

I gotta get me some! (What am I saying? I did get me some… they will work deliciously into a little plan I’m concocting!)

If you’re a button fan, check them out! And heck, since you’re already paying shipping on them, you might as well add an embroidery kit! They’ve got an ever-growing selection of really nice embroidery kits there.

Fall Stitching in Real Crewel!

Ok, if you’re looking for an autumn embroidery project and you want to try real crewel work, then this Elizabethan acorn kit from Crewel Work Company is the way to go! It’s a level 1 beginner kit, so perfect if you’ve never tried real crewel work.

The linen size is large enough to construct a small pillow from the finished embroidery, but the design is small enough that you could actually finish the piece in a number of ways – including, say, mounting in a box top?

And speaking of boxes, I love the finish of the Marriage Pillowe design into a full box lid. Nice!

For those just getting started in crewel embroidery, check out the how-to videos on the Crewel Work Company website, too! They’ll get you started!

Pattern Source Book & Embroidered Lettering Ideas

Lewis F. Day was a formidable character of the Arts & Crafts Movement, when it comes to the output of his work.

Two books (among many!) online at Archive.org that are interesting and perfectly relevant to the embroiderer:

The Anatomy of Pattern (1887) – PDF

Alphabets Old and New (1910) – PDF

Embroidering Fur – an Adorable Tutorial!

Just this morning over on Feeling Stitchy, you’ll find this adorable tutorial from Bustle & Sew for embroidering fur on cute little bears. There’s a free design, too, great for winter stitching.

The End!

And that’s it for now!

Next week, I’m going to humiliate myself again and revisit my work area with you. I’ll share some indispensable things that I have in my studio. And then I’ll hide my head under my pillow in shame when I show you my Current Mess.

And lots of other fun stuff, too!

I hope you have a splendid weekend!

 
 

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(7) Comments

  1. Oh, I LOVE seeing other studio “messes”. It makes me feel so normal. LOL. Thanks for some fun reading (and tempting) Mary.
    Congrats to the lucky winner.

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  2. Dear Mary

    Congratulations to Janet I do hope you enjoy this lovely box and thanks Mary for the opportunity of winning the give away. I do hope you have a great weekend and look forward to next weeks posts.

    Regards Anita Simmance

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  3. When I read the comments on a miniature quilt I had entered in a show, the judge said “Nice use of crochet as frame for center medallion!’
    Except it wasn’t crocheted. I had used perle cotton to work a chain stitch around the medallion.

    Ok, then.

    4
  4. Congratulations, Janet!

    Mary,
    You have out done yourself with this “Browse with Cuppa” column. I always look forward to browsing (and bookmarking) your finds. I learn a lot and even adapt some ideas to my abilities. Today’s version was fantastic. Thank you.

    5
  5. Congratulations to Janet! And Thank You, Mary, for all the Needlework Snips. It’s been a lovely Saturday morning exploring, learning, and being inspired. But now it’s time to do a few chores, and top of the list is bathe the dog.

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  6. Thank you Mary for the informative, tempting and pretty links and especially for the link to Lewis F. Day’s alphabet book. So many ideas for calligraphy!!

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