Over the years, I’ve discovered that most folks who use a regular thimble when they embroider were raised on a thimble. All their hand-embroidering lives, they’ve used thimbles, so that using one is second nature to them.

Tried-and-true thimble users wouldn’t even think of stitching without a thimble, it’s just that natural for them to use one.

But if you’ve never used a thimble while embroidering – or if, the few times you’ve tried to use one, the result has been awkward and uncomfortable – there’s a good chance you’ve ditched the idea of ever getting accustomed to one.

Over the years, through numerous bouts of stitching, you’ve learned to put up with the discomforts that can develop in your fingers – you know, that microscopic hole in your finger that the eye of the needle always finds and slips into? That callous that won’t go away? That tiny area that splits, stinging and burning, because of the constant pressure of the needle?

Maybe you’ve adopted some of the thimble substitutes that have shown up on the market over the years and tried to make do with them. Or perhaps you’ve resorted to coating the skin with super glue or something similar. In some way or another, you’ve probably sought out temporary solutions to get you through the painful part of embroidering without a thimble.

Happy Monday! (It does come around quickly, doesn’t it?!)

I finished embroidering this leafy tree sampler project that I was working on.

I’ll be sharing the whole project with you down the road. I have a few tweaks to make on it and I want to stitch it one more time, with a different approach.

Normally, it’s a good thing when a project is finished, right? But when I finished this one, I found myself at that in-between stage – in a state of suspension.

I’ll tell you about that and what I did to get out of it. And I’ll share some portions of that leafy tree sampler and explain the steps I take after finishing a project like this.

For those of you looking for some perfect little embroidery projects to help you spring into stitching, I’m running a short weekend sale on my instructional, project, and pattern downloads this weekend.

A couple things prompted me to run a sale on e-books this weekend – not the least of which is the current recurring question of needle organization…

I succumbed to the temptation to try Tulip needles many months ago, despite what my Prudent Self told me.

And my first experience? It was the greatest, even before I took my first stitch. I’ll tell you about it!

But first, I’ll explain why I never planned to try them. Then I’ll explain why I did try them, what went wrong, why I gave them a second chance, and finally, a more balanced perspective about them after using them for many, many hours of stitching.

I’ll also explain a big problem that they solved for me. If you have the same problem, they might go a long way towards solving it for you, too!

Good morning, and a happy Monday all around! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and were able to spend some quality time with your needle and thread!

I got in quite a few hours of stitching this weekend, as I made haste to finish my Leafy Tree, which is a sampler of sorts, though not in the traditional sense. It involves many different stitches that I’m using to fill in a lot of leaves, using a lot of greens and yellow-greens.

It’s fun!

When I talked about this project a couple weeks ago, I was getting ready to re-start it. The first attempt was on an oatmeal / natural linen, and I regretted that initial choice. I switched to a white background for a couple reasons. I think it was a good decision, under the circumstances.

So far, there are a couple things that surprise me about this project, and a couple things that still need tweaking before I can make it ready for others to stitch, too!

Time to end the week with a book review!

I’ve been wanting to review Stumpwork Embroidery: Techniques & Projects by Helen Richman of Blue Bird Embroidery for a while now, but, after waiting for my order from the UK (it’s available in the States now), I still had to make my way through the book.

And once you see the book, you’ll understand why that took just wee bit of time!

If someone asked me to pin one descriptive word on Stumpwork Embroidery, it would be thorough…

…and expansive… and fun… and detailed… and… well done!

If you’re a lover of embroidery in general, if you are stumpwork-curious or have already taken the leap into stumpwork, if you are into dimensional embroidery, historical embroidery, embroidery with texture, appliqué, or layering, if you just like a really good needlework book – well, you know what you have to do!

So, let’s look at the book close up, and then I’ll share a couple bits and bobs with you about resources and whatnot.

Out in the embroidery world lately, there’s been a lot of talk about thread conditioners and about beeswax.

The topic surfaced when Thread Heaven – a silicon-based “thread conditioner” – went out of production, and since then, I’ve read and heard a lot of talk on thread conditioning for embroidery. And I’ve received a lot of questions in the old inbox!

So, today, I’m going to address a couple points addressing thread “conditioning” and the use of beeswax in embroidery.