For many embroiderers, needleworkers, crafters, and hobbyists of all ilk, tools and accessories are a part of our lives. The right tools and accessories not only make it easier, more efficient, or simply more pleasant to master a skill, but if they go beyond functional to attractive, they also add a real aesthetic pleasure to our leisure time.

Recently, I received a really pretty (and functional) little pin keep, and I want to show that to you today, tell you what a pin keep is and how it can be serviceable, and then talk a bit about the needlework industry and share some ideas as things get a bit sticky in our current situation.

Good morning, my friends! I hope today’s article – and the needlework give-away that goes along with it – finds you well!

One thing I’ve noticed through your emails and conversations through different Needle ‘n Thread social media channels is that many of us who have needlework projects to fall back on are not too sad about being isolated or “sheltering in place” at the moment. Our creative outlets are going a long way to bring us some peace of soul. And that’s a good thing!

On the positive side, this is a good time to pursue creativity, to take advantage of down time to learn a new skill, to spend time completing works in progress, and even to organize! I’ve heard from folks who are finding a new lease on their creative lives, thanks to the time they’ve had to sort through their craft supplies and to otherwise organize their homes. Every cloud has a silver lining!

For those of you wanting to learn a new skill in the comfort of your home and at your own pace, I thought I’d point out Tanja Berlin’s new online class. It’s a needlepainting class that focuses on creating a miniature landscape, in which you’ll learn the skills of needlepainting and of bringing a landscape to life with needle and thread. I’m also going to give away two spots in the class and the kits to go with them! Yay!

Recently, I showed you the finish on this embroidered model for a new collection of designs and instructions I’m putting together.

Lots of folks commented on the back of the finished needlebook.

Today, I’ll show you the back of the cheerful heart I shared with you on Friday – just to illustrate that, when you’re finishing small embroidery projects, you don’t necessarily need to find a coordinating fabric to finish the back of an embroidered piece. You can make your own!

Giuliana Ricama is an Italian needlework magazines that focuses largely on embroidery of all kinds, as well as a good amount of needle lace and other techniques associated with Italian needle arts.

In its Italian editions, it is a beautiful magazine packed full of a lot of needlework inspiration. The abundance of photos made navigating through a language barrier easier than you’d think.

But now, for those of us in the English-speaking world, the magazine offers an English language edition, and that’s jolly good news!

To prepare a collection of hand embroidery projects around a theme, it takes a while to get all the samples stitched.

Lately, I’ve been sharing progress on the same basic embroidery design stitched a variety of ways, from these voided monograms with tons of color and filling all around them, to this whitework voided monogram on natural linen, and today, to a simple shape employing the same design with a little less fill.

Best of all, it’s in Spring Brights as far as color goes! And I say bring on the color – there’s nothing like a good dose of color to lift one’s spirits!

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?

Sometimes, when I’m planning embroidery projects, I don’t know if the finish I have in mind is going to work. And I had a few moments of hesitation when approaching the finish work on the needlebook from this embroidery project we chatted about on Monday.

But it came out ok, I think! Better than I expected. And that always makes me happy!

I had quite a few questions through email, comments on the blog, and social media about the beaded edge on this project, so I’ll share some tips with you below as I show you the final results.