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
June 12, 2019
Perhaps you’ve already seen the book, Botanica: The Three-Dimensional Embroidery of Julie Kniedl?
It’s actually in its second printing right now, after being released earlier this year. Yes, it’s so beautiful and so enchanting and so unique, that the first print run went fast!
Today, I’ll show you the book up close and tell you a little bit about what you can expect from it.
June 10, 2019
No, I didn’t finish the little line sampler I showed you on Friday.
I came close – about 1/2″ more to embroider – but the weekend was busy with graduation and family and the like. I just couldn’t eek out that last 1/2-inch bit, which meant I couldn’t finish the project into a made thing, either.
*Sigh*
I’m not all that disappointed that I didn’t finish, because it gives me something to look forward to today. It’s a good incentive to get Needful Things finished so I can concentrate on the Fun Stuff. Sometimes, embroidery makes the best carrot!
Lots of emails this weekend, asking if I could name the stitches in my sampler so far, for folks who want to stitch something similar.
June 7, 2019
This week I got started on a couple project samples for kids’ classes this summer. This particular stitched sample that I’m going to show you today is for middle to high school aged kids. It’s a tad complex for little kids!
Before launching into stitches and such, I better get a little business out of the way, though!
For those who have been waiting for them, there’s a limited supply of the pre-transferred towel sets available in my shop – both the Floral Corners and the Holly & Evergreen (if you want to get a jump on Christmas). Purchases made before 10:00 am central time will ship today, and all others will ship Monday.
I’ve also posted a lettering sampler design for my patrons over on Patreon. It’s a spin-off of this Quick Brown Fox lettering sampler from a while ago. I added a lazy dog and a jumping fox and a few lines to turn it into a kind of combo band-sampler-lettering-sample-dog-doodle-thing. So if you’re part of the crowd on Patreon, you can pick that design up now.
And speaking of samplers… this is what I’m working on this week:
June 5, 2019
Quite a while ago, Kathy Shaw asked me if I would be interested in seeing her new book, Stunning Stitches for Crazy Quilts, when it was published. And of course, I said yes!
For those of you who have been hanging out with me on Needle ‘n Thread for a while, you already know I’m a bit of a book fanatic. I love books, and I really love needlework books.
When it comes to the pleasure of just browsing a book, I really enjoy books that are visually exciting. I’ve noticed that most books on crazy quilting have that element of visual excitement.
Stunning Stitches is one of those visually exciting books, but it is much, much more. It’s a practical guide to traditional crazy quilting, presented in a very organized, accessible way for beginners and beyond. Let’s look at it…
June 3, 2019
A few months back, earlier this year, I started embroidering this Jacobean whitework project on blue linen.
There were a several reasons I decided to re-start the project, not the least of which was the fact that the blue linen I was using is no longer available.
This past weekend, I put my mind to the new version once again, and I got some preliminaries out of the way by narrowing down supplies and setting up the frame. Now I can start stitching on it! Yay!
May 30, 2019
Today, a tip for those who use magnifiers (or might use one some day!) for embroidery and other needlework.
I don’t always use a magnifier, but I have a couple stand magnifier and light combo units that I really like – this one that I reviewed here is working out to be my favorite, because of the strength and clarity of the lens and the easy rotation and placement of the lens.
Now, I’ve always had the idea that every useful thing in my work space would also be beautiful, either embellished in some way with embroidery or beautiful in some other regard – like beautifully made wooden tools or beautifully wrought scissors or what-have-you. In reality, I have to admit, I have many purely functional things that can’t really slide into the Decorative or Beautiful categories. I mean, a screwdriver? A table clamp? A roller for packaging tape? An external hard drive? You get the idea.
Once upon a time, I had the idea I’d hand-make and embroider the thing I’m going to show you today. And some day, I might. Instead, I recently took a purely functional piece of packaging and recycled it for this use. It works well!
May 28, 2019
Lately, I’ve been having a discussion with some beginning embroiderers about filling stitches that work well on surface embroidery projects, especially where you’re filling small elements here and there in a standard stylized or realistic design.
I thought I would share the results of that discussion here, in a distilled version, in case you struggle with how to fill different elements in your hand embroidery projects and where to use what filling technique.
So, now that the three day weekend is over, let’s get back to some basic embroidery tips by looking at my three favorite standard filling techniques and where and when to use them.
