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
November 23, 2018
Happy Friday after Thanksgiving!
Today’s the day I get to share with you my newest e-book, A Thousand Flowers, and, for the first time, a kit to go along with it!
Here’s the low-down: I’ll tell you what’s in the e-book, what’s in the kit, and where you can get them.
November 21, 2018
Good morning, my friends!
I know it’s a day early, but I’m popping in today to wish each and every person who reads this a Happy Thanksgiving on the morrow!
Even though tomorrow is a US holiday, Thanksgiving evokes a sentiment that’s universal – gratitude. So no matter where you are, it’s worth a little celebration!
I could list thousands of things for which I’m grateful, and high near the top of that list is you – each of you who makes up a part of our little Needle ‘n Thread community.
Your support, inspiration, encouragement, questions, suggestions, your participation and enthusiasm, your love of needlework… I’m so thankful that you are a regular part of my life! Thank you, from the depths of my innermost self, for being a vital part of Needle ‘n Thread.
November 19, 2018
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.
November 16, 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?
November 14, 2018
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!
November 12, 2018
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.
November 9, 2018
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!
