October 30, 2019

True Confessions: My Embroidery Work Table

Time to shatter (once again) that perception that all things in my Needlework World are perfect.

They aren’t!

Sometimes, my deadlines are not very realistic.

And sometimes, just when I think I’m on target for hitting a deadline, I do something really stupid. Most frequently, my stupid-doing involves making things Much More Complicated than they need to be. For example, yesterday, I spent six hours working on an idea for a snowflake. Once I finally had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, I started stitching it. And picking it out. And stitching it again. And picking it out. This went on for hours.

But one area where I chastise myself quite frequently is the area of tidy organization while developing projects.

I just can’t seem to do it! While I was perusing photos and bemoaning the fact that I’m a stitching slob, I came to a realization.

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October 28, 2019

Weekend Stitching: A Few Flakes Down, Two to Go

My adventure in embroidering snowflakes in October has anticipated a touch of winter – maybe not as odd as snow in Texas last week, but it looks like this week is going to be a bit flaky here in Kansas.

Of course, if I mention it, it won’t happen. Weather in Kansas makes a liar out of anyone who tries to predict it with any accuracy ahead of time.

But let’s move on to embroidery! This morning, I’d like to share a quick update from the weekend and last week’s stitching adventures. I’ll also relate the rest of my plans for this frosty collection that’s steadily growing into a veritable blizzard on my work table.

Embroidered Snowflake in icy blues with beads

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

October 24, 2019

Stitch Fun! Basic Knotted Chain Stitch with Embellishment

How about a little bit of Stitch Fun?

Today’s tutorial comes about following an ongoing conversation with a fellow embroiderer, wherein we enthusiastically discussed the various merits of chain stitch …. and its almost infinite variations.

At one point in our discussion, I proposed that one of my favorite variations was the knotted chain stitch.

There then followed a short altercation in which we drew our chain stitch swords. I defended the point that knotted chain stitch and crested chain stitch are not the same stitch. I won that skirmish.

And then I sallied forth to demonstrate the merits of knotted chain stitch and to defend its worthiness for renown.

There is, after all, more to the stitch than initially meets the eye. To win a little recognition for this particular chain stitch variation, first, we’ll walk through a tutorial on how to work the knotted chain stitch (with a very simple embellishment), and then, in a follow-up article, we’ll look at a couple ways to make the stitch a little more accessible for wider use in free-style surface embroidery.

How to Embroider the Knotted Chain Stitch

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October 21, 2019

Pouches & Cases: They’re for Needlework, Too

Not every needlework accessory or needlework tool needs to come from the craft industry.

Take, for example, the magnet wand (like this one I wrote about here). Buy the unadorned, simple magnet wand at a needlework shop, and it could cost you upwards to $14. Step over to a hardware store and you can purchase essentially the same thing for about $4.

Today’s case in point (hardy-har-har) is the pencil case / make up bag / pouch-made-for-just-about-any-other-industry.

This conversation came up thanks to a post over in my Needle ‘n Thread Facebook Community, where Sara Rossi shared a photo of her travel embroidery supplies nicely tucked into a pencil case.

Pouches and cases used for embroidery travel kits

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October 18, 2019

Testing Embroidery Ideas: It Doesn’t Always Work!

Design ideas and embroidery ideas don’t always work.

It’s true! They don’t! Sometimes, in fact, they’re utter failures.

It takes testing, time, and sometimes a good dose of frustration to arrive at a design, a technique, a thread, a stitch, or an embellishment that leads to a resounding, “Oh yes! That will work! Yay!”

Some people might think it takes a lot of waste, too.

It’s true that there are pieces of embroidery that I entirely scrap, because they won’t work out. It’s true that I might go through a spool or a skein of thread before I admit that, as much as I like the thread, it won’t work for this. It’s true that I might spend a whole afternoon – maybe even a whole day – maybe even three days! – on a particular design or working with a particular thread, before I say, “No. This Just Won’t Work.”

None of that is waste. It’s called process – more specifically, it’s called the learning process. And all of us go through it to some degree or another every time we sit down to stitch. Embroidery designers go through it pretty often – mostly so that you don’t have to!

I’ve been working through a collection of snowflakes, and some have worked out fine. Others have been a wash. Here’s a bit of process for you, in case you ever wonder what goes on when I’m exploring and testing embroidery designs and ideas.

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October 16, 2019

CraftOptics & a Discount for Readers

Here’s a subject that should be dear the heart of any embroiderer: eyesight.

We often talk about all the tools and accessories and favorite little things that make needlework enjoyable for us. But, hands down, the Most Important tools we have are built right in and we take them with us everywhere. We could not do the needlework we do without our very precious eyes.

I have lousy eyesight, and it’s been that way ever since I can remember seeing things (or rather, not seeing them). My first glasses came about when I first went to school and the teacher realized I couldn’t see the board.

I remember as a kid going to church and staring at a huge stain glass window and being mesmerized by the colors that all swirled together. I could move my eyes and my head around, squinting, and make the colors blend and move. It was all just color to me. There were no pictures. It wasn’t until I had my first pair of glasses that I realized there was actually a story to see in that window.

The drive home from the optometrist when we picked up my first pair of glasses was an eye-opener, too. It was the first time I actually saw, from a distance, leaves on trees – and it just happened to be fall in New England. That drive home is seared in my brain. I can close my eyes and see it as clearly now as I saw it then.

The upshot is this: glasses – or the equivalent – have been a necessary part of my life since then.

In fact, I’m going I’m going to the optometrist today.

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October 14, 2019

Can you Satin Stitch with It? Exploring Metallics!

Last week, when I updated you on my snowflake embroidery projects, Beth asked a very good question in the comment section, and never being one to shirk a stitching challenge when it really intrigues me, I decided to try something.

Beth asked me if I could satin stitch with the metallic threads I was using.

I should have been able to say, “Of course you can. They are made for stitching, after all.” But since I had not satin stitched with them, I figured I better try it before confirming or denying.

If you’d just like the long and short of it, here it is: “Of course you can satin stitch with this thread. It is made for stitching, after all.”

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

True Confessions: My Embroidery Work Table

Weekend Stitching: A Few Flakes Down, Two to Go

Stitch Fun! Basic Knotted Chain Stitch with Embellishment

Pouches & Cases: They’re for Needlework, Too

Testing Embroidery Ideas: It Doesn’t Always Work!

CraftOptics & a Discount for Readers

Can you Satin Stitch with It? Exploring Metallics!

Connect with Mary

How-To Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos