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
January 24, 2018
Between working on embroidering those two felted mittens in wool, I’ve picked up, now and then, another one of the tiny birds that I showed you earlier in the month.
It’s really weird to go back and forth from embroidering with wool on something relatively large, to embroidering with a single strand of DMC on something that’s relatively small! But I kind of like the change!
January 22, 2018
So much for a weekend finish! Today, I was supposed to share a whole pair of mittens with you, but the embroidery on the second wool mitten is lagging behind a bit!
Still, I can show you the first mitten with the embroidery finished, for what it’s worth. Last time we visited the project, I was almost there, but not quite.
So this is a finished wool felted mitten, embroidered, with a few things I’ve learned along the way – just in case it’s a project you’d be interested in undertaking, too!
January 20, 2018
Good morning, my friends! Welcome to the weekend, to the glorious luxury of Saturday mornings, and to a little bit of needlework news!
These are random bits of embroidery or needlework-related news, information, instruction, and inspiration pulled from hither and yon for your weekend browsing.
The way it works is this. I’ve fixed myself a nice cup of tea (it’s actually a fairly substantial mug) and I’ll end the list when one of three things happens: either my cup is empty, or my tea is cold, or I’ve run through my list of bits and bobs!
So pour a cup, pull up a chair, and let’s go for a little browse together, shall we?
January 19, 2018
Today’s installment of Party in Provence focuses on big petals and little flowers. I’m going to show you how I worked the large inner petals on the design and the tall flowers between them.
If you’re just joining in on this project, you’ll find the introduction and materials list for Party in Provence here, and you’ll find the first round of stitching here.
If you’re stitching along and you’re not quite ready to tackle the petals, no problem! You can take your time – the instructions will be here on Needle ‘n Thread when you need them. I’ll be publishing an easy-to-find index for the project next week.
The central section of Provence is the most striking, because of the vibrant blues in the design. Initially, I hadn’t planned on filling the petals with a solid, shaded filling, but I really wanted a good splash of blue in the project, and the petals seemed the most sensible place to accomplish that.
So, here’s how I stitched the petals, with some tips on tackling a few tricky spots!
January 17, 2018
If you love flowers, if you love needlework, if you love historical and modern embroidery techniques, if you love museums and collections and threads and unique things, if you love costuming and accessories…well. Here’s a book for you!
Embroidered Treasures: Flowers is a book that brings to life, for you and me, the embroidered flowers found on items of needlework in the collection held by the Embroiderers’ Guild of the UK. It’s a fascinating book – one that you’ll want to pore over, contemplate, and absorb.
When I first heard this book was coming out, I immediately put it on my List and then eagerly anticipated it for months. It does not disappoint!
Let’s look at it up close! I’ll show you just a mere portion of the inspiration offered in this incredibly beautiful book – enough to illustrate what it’s all about – and tell you where you can find it today. It’s not available everywhere just yet, and I kind of suspect it’s going to be a popular book (like museum collection catalogs – they never seem to hang around long enough!).
January 15, 2018
Thanks to a bit of home-bound weather on Thursday, a bit of determination on Friday, and a bit of down time on Saturday, I’ve made some progress on the wool mittens I started last week!
This project is an ideal project for deep winter, especially when you live in a house that’s about 150 years old. There’s nothing quite like being able to stick your hand inside your embroidery project for a quick warm-up!
I’m learning a lot as I work through the first mitten, and I’m keeping track of little tips to share with you, should you decide to embark on a similar project. So, let’s talk progress!
January 12, 2018
Happy Friday!
Today, we start the actual stitching on Party in Provence! Yay! For those just joining in, this is the embroidered kaleidoscope project we discussed week before last, when we talked about the materials and supplies needed to embroider the design.
If you plan to embroider Party in Provence and you’re not ready to start yet, no worries! The articles will be available on Needle ‘n Thread when you’re ready, and they’ll be indexed under Tips & Techniques in the main menu, where you’ll find other step-by-step embroidery projects and tutorials that have been previously covered on Needle ‘n Thread.
In this installment, we’re going to launch into the first stitched layer around the kaleidoscope, which actually might not be the layer you expect! I’ll tell you why I started with this particular layer, explain how I stitched it and what threads I used, link you to pertinent tutorials for techniques, cover some tips to help you stitch the round successfully, and even show you a failed experiment on this layer of the design and talk about why the attempt didn’t work for me. At the end of the article, I’ll mention some supply information, for those looking for supplies for Party in Provence.
Even if you’re not working Provence, I hope you find the tips and musings in these follow-along articles helpful for your own embroidery projects!
