April 8, 2019

The Easter Onion: Felt, Embroidery, and Failure!

There are some things I really shouldn’t blog about.

Felt and embroidery seem like a pretty good subject, though. And usually, it is!

But in this case? Maybe not!

The way I see it, though, is that sometimes, it’s more fun to learn from other people’s mistakes than it is to make our own – so here is a little lesson in… I don’t know what.

I thought I had the right concept (and maybe I do), but wow, this thing didn’t come out the way I intended at all!

Felt and Embroidery - Easter Egg Failure

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April 5, 2019

Bloomin’ Poppies… & Other Addictive Embroidery

I almost feel like I’ve been suckered into embroidering these motifs from Elisabetta’s wheat field alphabet. They’re just too addictive to put down.

My Project Wall is feeling rather neglected (I’ll tell you about my Project Wall some day…) and my eggs are stagnating. I’m embroidering some eggs of a sort – I’ll share them with you soon!

The poppies are The Most Fun Ever. They make me laugh.

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April 3, 2019

A Stitching Diversion: Playing in a Wheat Field

You know that booklet I reviewed on Monday, by Elisabetta Sforza? In a Wheat Field?

Well, it’s become rather diverting. I think you need to get it, if you haven’t already gotten it. We could have fun together!

I wasn’t really going to let myself be diverted by it.

But then I did.

You see, I got it into my head that I would at least scuffle through my DMC thread colors to see what I had on hand for the projects in the book. And then, while I was chillin’ a bit in the evening, I figured I’d go ahead and trace some of the designs onto vellum – you know, just for the fun of it.

Then I got it into my head that I’d like to play with the designs on a linen glass towel. And one thing led to another, and here I am. And I’m Perfectly Happy to be here!

As I began to delve into the projects, considering colors and stitches and what-have-you, I admit that I changed things up a little bit.

Hand Embroidery Books

April 1, 2019

In a Wheatfield – An Exquisite Alphabet (& More!) to Stitch

If you say “embroidered monogram” to me, my mind will immediately answer with “Elisabetta Sforza.”

Elisabetta is an Italian embroiderer who is truly a master of hand embroidered monograms in both traditional and innovative styles. She wrote this book, featuring a glorious floral alphabet, that I reviewed a while ago. And she has recently published another alphabet that has captivated my monogram-and-flowers-and-other-beautiful-embroidery-loving heart.

Her new booklet, which I recently received from Elisabetta via the folks at Needle in a Haystack when their shipment of the books arrived, is called In a Wheat Field. The alphabet and decorative accents within it feature wheat, wildflowers, and poppies. The designs, the embroidery, the colors, the stitches – they’re all stunningly beautiful!

In a Wheat Field embroidered alphabet by Elisabetta Sforza

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March 29, 2019

Embroidery Ground Fabric Matters

Some people say you can embroider on anything.

And I agree, to an extent.

But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pay pretty close attention to the ground fabric you select for your embroidery projects. The ground fabric (the fabric you are stitching on, that the embroidery is embellishing) has to work with the type of embroidery you’re doing, or there’s no sense in using it.

I’ll give you one small example of a selection I made for a ground fabric that I thought about using, but changed my mind. And I’ll show you why I changed my mind. And hopefully, the conclusion we can draw is that you have to consider what you’re stitching and what techniques you’re using when you select fabric, so that the fabric you select will work for you.

Ground fabric for hand embroidery: making good choices

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March 27, 2019

Tool Talk: Thread Keeps & How to Make Your Own

How about a little Tool Talk?

Accessorizing is a fun part of many arts & crafts. Sure, you can accomplish your needlework with the very basics. You want to hand embroider? All you really need is a needle, some thread, something to embroider on (usually fabric), and a way to cut your threads. You don’t need anything else.

But there are tools that make our needlework easier. There are tools that improve the outcome of our needlework. And there are tools that make our needlework more fun. So we accessorize! And that’s all part of the enjoyment of embroidery.

When I was cleaning up a mess of threads the other day – yes, I have thread messes! – I came across some thread keeps that I bought a while ago but hadn’t used yet for a number of reasons. And that led me to making my own set of thread keeps. And that led me to thinking I should share them with you. And that led me to this article! So here we are!

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March 25, 2019

Weekend Stitching: Thinking through Whitework and Not Getting Far

I didn’t get much stitching done this weekend.

I take that back. I got a lot of stitching done this weekend, but I got even more unstitching done. It was one of those this-is-going-nowhere sorts of weekends, as far as stitching goes.

I’ll tell you about it, share some of the reasons why things went amuck, and talk about some ideas and resources on this Jacobean whitework-on-blue project that I’m working on right now (and that I introduced to you here).

Jacobean whitework embroidery project - little progress

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The Easter Onion: Felt, Embroidery, and Failure!

Bloomin’ Poppies… & Other Addictive Embroidery

A Stitching Diversion: Playing in a Wheat Field

In a Wheatfield – An Exquisite Alphabet (& More!) to Stitch

Embroidery Ground Fabric Matters

Tool Talk: Thread Keeps & How to Make Your Own

Weekend Stitching: Thinking through Whitework and Not Getting Far

Connect with Mary

How-To Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos