About

Mary Corbet

writer and founder

 

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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Weekend Stitching: An Exercise for Needlepainting

 

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This past weekend, I began one of many little embroidery projects that I’m putting together, that are exercises of one sort or another. This particular one is an exercise in needlepainting.

Needlepainting – also called long and short stitch shading, soft shading, silk shading, thread painting – is working with long and short stitch and sometimes a few other stitches to create embroidery that is realistically shaded in a way that mimics painting.

Needlepainting in Embroidery - Flower from Side View
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Needlework News Snips – May, 2019

 

It’s been a long time since we’ve meandered together through needlework content online. Since there are a few things I want to tell you about that are time sensitive, I thought today would be a good day for a little browse through various needlework-related topics.

For those who are recently joining us on Needle ‘n Thread, occasionally, I compile these little lists of needlework things that I’ve come across, that I think you all will find interesting, too. I call them news snips because they’re just little snippets here and there that happen to catch my attention.

Generally, I write these lists while I’m sipping a cup of tea, and when one of two things happens – either my tea is gone or it is cold – we call it quits!

So pour yourself a cup and join me vicariously for a friendly chat while we meander together through the list…

Needlework News Snips, May 2019
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The Amazing Stitching Handbook for (not only?) Kids

 

Summer will be shortly upon us here in this half of the world! And along with summer comes a fantastic opportunity to introduce kids to embroidery, giving them a gift that will last them all their lives – an appreciation for making something with their own two hands.

Usually around this time of year, I get a lot of requests for recommendations for children’s embroidery projects or books that can help introduce a child to embroidery.

Well, if you have children in your life, and you’re eager to spread the joy of needlework to them, there’s a fantastic new book out aimed just at kids, called The Amazing Stitching Handbook for Kids.

After seeing mediocre needlework books and kits and whatnot aimed at children come and go over the years, I’m really happy to see this particular book. It’s a terrific information, reference, instructional, and project book.

I like it a lot! I like it so much that I’ve purchased copies of it to use for summer birthdays (and other occasions) and bundled it with basic supplies. It’s an ideal book for helping a child to start stitching!

Let’s look at it in detail…

The Amazing Stitching Handbook for Kids
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Seventh Heaven: A Free Hand Embroidery Design

 

Good morning, my friends!

Today, let’s keep things short and sweet! This morning, I’m sending along a free hand embroidery design for a kaleidoscope that I call Seventh Heaven.

The reason for the name? Well, it’s a kaleidoscope of seven parts: seven arms and seven layers that can be broken down or grouped different ways.

So I’ll share the design with you below, in a handy PDF printable, and chat a bit about embroidery ideas for the design.

Free Hand Embroidered Kaleidoscope Design: Seventh Heaven
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How to Make a Quick Pin Cushion for your Needlework Tool Box

 

When a something in my needlework tool box starts to annoy me, I remove it. If it’s a tool that provides a service I need, I think of improvements to it, so that it doesn’t annoy me.

For example, I have a little pin cushion that works great for me outside my sewing box. But inside my sewing box, it Drives Me Nuts because it has a magnet on it, and the magnet catches on my scissors, my clips, or anything else it can suck into its Area of Attraction.

When my little magnetic pin cushion is stuck on my light pole by my stitching spot, it’s great. When it’s in my tool box creating havoc, it’s not. So I decided to pitch it in favor of something better.

And that something better was a quick little pincushion I whipped up in about 15 minutes. And you can do the same thing for your tool box or stitching area, too! I’ll show you how I did it…

How to Make a Quick Pin Cushion for your Needlework Tool Box or Stitching Area
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Non-Embroidery Related, but Needle and Thread Related, Project

 

When your hobby also happens to be your livelihood – which is the case for embroidery and me – it’s sometimes necessary to pursue a different hobby now and then!

I have a couple hobbies that are not needle-and-thread-related pursuits, but I don’t often indulge in them anymore simply because there’s not a lot of time outside Needle ‘n Thread for other creative activities.

But over the recent Easter break, I took some time to focus on setting up a non-embroidery related project (who knows – since it involves cloth, it may morph into an embroidery-related project!) that is still needle-and-thread related, and since some of you wrote in and asked about it, I thought I’d show it to you.

There are a couple tools and accessories involved that you might like, too, so I’ll share those with you as well.

Hexagon Quilt - English Paper Piecing - Mary Corbet
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The Seasons in Silk Ribbon Embroidery – New Edition

 

Needlework authors and publishers have been busy in the past year or so, producing some really helpful and beautiful embroidery books. I have a whole stack of needlework books that I want to share with you, so that you can make informed decisions on which books to add to your needlework library.

I figure I better start chipping away at the pile; otherwise, they’ll be out of print before we know it!

For the silk ribbon embroidery enthusiasts, this is a book you don’t want to miss! Whether you use silk ribbon embroidery as a stand-alone art form, or for embellishing crazy quilts, or as part of other embroidery or mixed-media works, you will appreciate the instructional content and glorious projects in this book.

So, off the top of my stack is the reformatting and reprinting of this book, The Seasons in Ribbon Embroidery by Tatiana Popova, which I reviewed quite a while ago when Tatiana published it herself in both Russian and English.

The Seasons in Silk Ribbon Embroidery
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