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
Contact Mary
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
Contact Mary
February 24, 2020
Sometimes, you have to quit. It’s true! Sometimes, in the middle of a needlework project, you have to quit.
There can be myriad reasons why you have to quit a project. And the quitting may not be permanent. But it’s never a bad idea, when you feel inclined to quit, just to step away from it.
And that’s what happened with this whitework-on-natural embroidered monogram project.
February 21, 2020
Next month, from March 12 – March 15, Aiguille en Fête, one of the world’s premier needlework conventions, takes place in Paris at the Expo Porte de Versailles.
The convention and market boasts over 1000 hours of needlework workshops in all kinds of disciplines, with nearly 240 exhibitors showing off their wares. It is a “window on art and textile culture,” and it is well attended by people from all over the globe.
This year, Au Ver a Soie will be celebrating their 200th Anniversary, and their booth at the market will be all about celebrating that milestone.
Joining them will be Tricia Nguyen of Thistle Threads and Lamora Haidar of Access Commodities. These two intrepid ladies are the impetus behind bringing a multitude of beautiful new threads to the US market that are built on foundations of Au Ver a Soie silk.
February 19, 2020
Making good choices about colors to use in hand embroidery projects can sometimes be a real challenge.
On the one hand, color is a very personal (and subjective) thing.
But on the other hand, it’s also an objective consideration. Colors have to work together to achieve whatever it is the artist or craftsperson is trying to achieve. If they don’t work, it’s obvious, and it can be a real turn off.
This doesn’t mean that color always has to be “pleasing to the eye.” It depends on what you’re trying to do with your embroidery. Maybe you want to use colors that might be considered less than pleasing, to make a point. Maybe you want to create something that is shocking or that grabs the attention in a non-conventional way.
But for the most part, we normally strive to use pleasant color palettes that, objectively, most people will look at and think, “That’s beautiful!” or “That looks good,” or “That works,” even if they don’t personally like the color families. We don’t normally want our color choices to jar the audience or repulse the viewer.
February 17, 2020
Traveling and needlework can very easily go hand-in-hand, depending on the type of traveling you’re doing and the type of needlework you’re toting along.
The travel and grab-and-go project that I’m working on this year (and last) is not actually an embroidery project. It’s a hand-pieced quilting project, using 3/4″ hexies. I first mentioned it here (which is where you can find some of the details about supplies and methods and so forth), and then I wrote a follow-up here, when things had moved along a bit.
The only other time I’ve mentioned the project is in this article, where I talked about using pencil and make-up cases and the like for needlework.
I’ve changed a few organizational aspects of the project, and I’ve made some good progress on it.
And since I’m traveling right now as we speak, I thought I’d show you how the quilt is coming along and mention a few organizational approaches I’ve taken with it. You can apply the same principles to embroidery projects as well!
February 14, 2020
Gosh. Aren’t we so incredibly fortunate to live during a time when there’s access to So Very Many embroidery fibers?
It amazes me how many thread suppliers are out in the world! And while I will always gravitate towards my tried-and-true favorite threads, I enjoy playing with new-to-me threads.
Lately, thanks to Lisa at The French Needle, I’ve had the opportunity to try out some silk from Chameleon Threads. These are overdyed threads, meaning they are threads that have been dyed with different colors, with the colors applied over each other, so that the colors blend together in some places and retain their properties in other places.
The silk threads used by Chameleon Threads are from Au Ver a Soie. They dye both Soie d’Alger and Soie d’Paris.
Knowing that I like Soie d’Alger, Lisa sent along a set of greens for me to play with. So today, we’re going to look at overdyed Soie d’Alger from Chameleon Threads, so you can see if it’s something you want to play with, too!
February 12, 2020
Sometimes, I find fun needlework tools & accessories at locally owned quilt and fabric shops.
We don’t have as many of them in Kansas as you’d think – or at least, in this part of Kansas – but we do have a few notable shops that I love to go visit, either to browse their fabrics or to gawk at their notions wall.
I often find new-to-me notions in quilting shops – tools that I never knew existed, let alone that I needed.
Sometimes, I don’t need them, but I might pick one or two out just to try, to see if it’s something you need. I always have you on my mind, you see! And I like to look for things that might solve stitching problems for you.
Since needle threading is often a challenge for those of us whose eyes are not as they once were, I’m going to show you a really cute little needle threader that I came across serendipitously a while ago, that solves a couple problems: threading relatively fine needles and cutting threads when you don’t have scissors on hand.
February 10, 2020
If you pre-ordered the new RSN Techniques, Projects & Pure Inspiration book on Embroidered Boxes, then you probably already have it in hand.
Written by Heather Lewis under the auspices of the Royal School of Needlework and published by Search Press, the book came out last week. It is one of 20+ books on hand embroidery that Search Press is publishing in 2020, their 50th year in the publishing business.
I think this point pretty well establishes the fact that hand embroidery is alive and booming! Yay!
My book arrived last week, too. I pre-ordered it, and it arrived on its release date. If you haven’t purchased it – maybe it intrigues you, but you’re waiting for a few more details – then this review is for you.
