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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The New Sparkle: DMC Étoile

 

Amazon Books

If you spend much time in the needlework world part of social media, or you receive regular advertising from various needlework outlets, you probably already know that DMC has recently come out with a sparkly embroidery thread called Étoile (French for “star”).

I just now have the chance to take a look at the thread, thanks to the folks at DMC who recently sent some of it along to try.

If you haven’t seen it up close yet, I’m going to give you a close look at it, too. I have not yet stitched extensively with it, beyond a simple line of stem stitch. But I have plans to, shortly. In the meantime, we’ll look at it, talk a little about initial impressions, toy with some ideas for stitching with it, and open the conversation so we can share thoughts on the thread with the wider community.

DMC Etoile: embroidery thread with sparkle
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Needlework News Snips, November 2018

 

It’s time to pull up a chair, pour a cup of your favorite morning beverage (it’s a two-tea morning for me!) and have a little needlework news chat!

Some of today’s “news snips” are announcements so that you can anticipate a few of the exciting things coming up on Needle ‘n Thread in the next month and a half.

And some are interesting tidbits to read (or view) when you have time over the weekend. I hope you enjoy them all! Let’s go for a little online meander, shall we?

Needlework News Snips, November 2018
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A Thousand Flowers: Four Tapestry Smalls to Stitch

 

For a while now, I’ve been hinting about a project I’ve been working on that I wanted to show you soon.

And Soon has finally arrived! Yay!

I’ve been working on a collection of “smalls.” Smalls are little pieces of embroidery or other needlework that usually get finished into (small) things.

I’ve called this collection of four smalls A Thousand Flowers. It’s a group of four tapestry smalls featuring animals set in a floral background, all as a nod to my favorite pieces of textile art that we chatted about the other day.

The title A Thousand Flowers hails from the French mille fleur. The mille-fleur backgrounds of medieval tapestries are delightful! And they don’t belong solely to the medieval age. Check out tapestries from the Arts & Crafts era, and you will find that Morris and his contemporaries, leaning toward medieval themes, incorporated this same background approach in their own textile art. A different stylization, perhaps, but no less abundantly floral!

A Thousand Flowers: Tapestry Smalls by Mary Corbet - dog with floral background
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Passion for Needlework, Factoria VII – Book Review

 

Good morning, my friends!

A Happy Monday all around, and Happy Veteran’s Day (well, yesterday, really)! If you’re enjoying a three-day weekend – perhaps you’ve got a whole extra day to devote to your needle and thread! – be thankful to the people who made that possible. (Thanks, Dad!)

Today, I’m going to review for you a hefty but incredibly beautiful book. This book combines projects and instructions into an artistic, gorgeous format that makes the book a showpiece in its own right.

If you ever wanted needlework to make a statement to the wider world – to the world that might not appreciate needlework in itself, but that appreciates beauty in a simple yet inspirational setting – then this is the book to present. It’s definitely a creative twist on the typical embroidery project book.

The book is A Passion for Needlework: Factoria VII, from Inspirations Studio.

A Passion for Needlework: Factoria VII, book review - cover
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Must-Have Little Tools for Finishing & a Sneak Peek!

 

The last two weeks, I’ve been doing a bit of finish work – that is, making the needlework projects that I’ve been working on into specific, finished things.

While I was working away, I realized how much I rely on the little tools I’m going to tell you about today, to make finishing much, much easier for me.

So, just in case you’re in the throes of finishing up, for example, needlework ornaments for the holidays, I must tell you that Clover’s mini wonder clips are a mini wonder – and they will help you!

Plus, you get a little sneak peek at a series of projects coming soon on Needle ‘n Thread!

Clover Mini Wonder Clips for Finishing Needlework
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Other Art that Inspires Needlework: My Favorites

 

If you ever cruise around social media – especially Instagram and Pinterest – you’ll often come across embroidery or other needlework that’s based on or inspired by other works of art from the past.

Van Gogh’s Starry Night shows up in surface embroidery quite a bit! Or the girl with the pearl earring – did Vermeer know that his tronie would show up in cross stitch, in surface embroidery, even in goldwork 350 years later?

We would be a dried up and dead world, completely disconnected from our roots, if we did not draw inspirations from previous centuries for any of our artistic pursuits. Just as ideas build on previous ideas, just as inventions morph from previous inventions, art builds on art. That’s the nature of the development of human endeavor.

Today, by way of introduction, I’m going to babble a bit about some of my favorite pieces of art that have been on my mind and in my needlework plans for a long, long while. And, for all you art, history, and textile enthusiasts, you’ll find an interesting lecture about these works of art at the end of today’s article.

Other Art that Inspires Needlework - Lady & The Unicorn Tapestries
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Tool Talk: Sajou Embroidery Scissors

 

Happy Monday all around!

This morning, a little Tool Talk! I love talking about needlework tools!

For those just discovering Needle ‘n Thread, occasionally I like to review tools and accessories for hand embroidery, to help you find those pleasant and useful little things that enhance your needlework experience.

Hopefully, these reviews give you an idea of what’s available on the market, where you can find it, the pros and cons of different tools, and sometimes, a comparison between other similar goods available.

Of course, you should definitely keep in mind that these are just my opinions about needlework tools that I’ve handled and used. I like them (or I wouldn’t be reviewing them) and think they’re worth passing on information about. But we all have our individual tastes and preferences, our needs and budgets – the reviews I write up are simply to add to your knowledge about needlework tools and accessories so that you can make well-informed and balanced decisions about your wants and needs for stitching.

So today, let’s take a look, up close, at Sajou embroidery scissors! We’ll look at the scissors, talk about pros and cons, I’ll share my experience with them so far, and tell you where you can find them.

Sajou scissors for Hand Embroidery
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