Happy Friday! Here’s a little project update for you!
We’re *almost* ready to launch our next Stitch Snippet stitch-along for Garden Swirl – a small embroidery project that we’re going to finish by mounting as a box lid.
Today, I’ll be finishing this final stitched sample that you can see below. I’ve had to stitch it – or parts of it – several times, to get the design just right and to work out the colors, which were eluding me for a while.
Before we go further, apologies for the photos. I have to rely on phone photos, because I’m working from home with dear old dad, and yes, I left the camera card at work. *Sigh* So much for thinking ahead…

It’s a small project! The entire thing (which is about 3.75″ in diameter) doesn’t take too long to stitch. I’ve kept the stitches, the thread options, and the whole approach fairly simple.
The learning points in this stitch-along will be a simple approach to long & short stitch on small elements and the finishing techniques that involve mounting as a box top. Of course, you can finish yours however you wish – it doesn’t have to be a box top – but we will have a limited number of affordable decorative boxes available, so that you can practice the techniques we cover and have an attractive finished product at the end of the stitch-along.
Yes, we will have kits available, too. And for this project, which is worked on a fine linen twill, the fabric will have the design pre-transferred for you.
That’s the plan. We’re pulling all the pieces together now, and hopefully, we’ll be launching by the end of June. As usual, much depends on some supplies we’re waiting for!

Today, I’ll be finishing stitching this sample and photographing the last steps in the embroidery.
As you can see, the stitching is not too complicated. It’s accessible to beginners and beyond. If you’ve worked any of the previous stitch snippet stitch-alongs, you’ve likely run into most of the embroidery techniques.
More Stitch Snippet Stitch-Alongs
If you are new to Needle ‘n Thread, these Stitch Snippet stitch-along projects involve working through an entire project together, step-by-step, here on the blog. All the materials lists, design, and instructions are presented as blog articles on Needle ‘n Thread.
We’ve done many of them in the past several years. You can find all my previous stitch-alongs listed here, under Tips & Techniques in the main menu on Needle ‘n Thread, in the first section. They’re labeled “Stitch Snippet” and each one features a unique embroidery project from start to finish.
For most of the projects, we offer a limited number of materials kits so that you don’t have to source all the individual bits and bobs.
If you’re a member on Patreon, you can find all the Stitch Snippets listed under “Collections” in the main menu on my Patreon page. The stitch-alongs on Patreon are presented as a downloadable, easy-to-print and easy-to-save PDF. Garden Swirl will be presented in the same format for members.
Coming Up
So that’s the Big Thing that’s up in the studio – big, but small.
We managed to finish and deliver the altar cover that we were working on, by its deadline. That was a relief. I’ll show it to you next week.
And betwixt and between, we are slowly chipping away at other projects, some tutorials, shipping, inventory, organization, and the like! Hey, it’s Studio Life at its best!
I’ll be sharing those developments and other delectable needlework tidbits in the days to come. I’m trying to get back on track with posting three times a week – it’s just a matter of keeping things together on the home front, too.
I hope you have a lovely weekend. I’ve got my fingers crossed for some dry and sunny days!

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