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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Sneak Peek: The Christmas Mitten

 

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Good morning, and welcome to November!

Next week, on Monday and Wednesday, we will be finishing up Harvest Hues. I think I said it was this week in our last installment (I’ve since corrected it), but in fact, I was looking at the Wrong Week on the calendar. I thought it was moving too fast!

Today, in joyful anticipation of finishing one project and starting another, I want to sneak peek our Christmas ornament stitch-along for this year!

I’m excited about this little ornament on so many levels – because it pairs well with my mini sampler stockings that I designed a few years ago, because it has a unique finish with a real cuff, because it is customizable, because it uses great materials, because the techniques are accessible and oh-so-satisfactory, because it makes a great gift (or a keeper!), and because, darn it, it’s just so dang cute!

Embroidered Christmas Mitten Ornament Stitch-Along
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Holiday Open House at Needle ‘n Thread!

 

I’m so excited to announce this today!

If you live somewhere in the vicinity of Northeast Kansas – or if you happen to be passing through after Thanksgiving – I have an invitation for you!

We are having the first ever Open House at Needle ‘n Thread this year, to kick off the pre-Christmas season. And we can’t wait!

I’ll tell you a little more down below…

Christmas Open House at Needle 'n Thread, 2024
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I Am Not Real: Artificial Intelligence in the Needlework World

 

The topic of AI in the needlework world has been on my radar for well over a year. But I’ve hesitated about writing on the subject of Artificial Intelligence because I didn’t believe that it would really influence the embroidery world all that much – not the real embroidery world, where real people are interested in doing real things with their real hands and their real minds, using real materials.

But AI is becoming more and more influential in several aspects of “popular” needlework as time goes on. If you spend much time online and you explore needlework especially in social networks, you’ve probably come across AI in one form or another. It’s not just in images – it’s in writing, too – but lately, the images are The Big Hook. They’re the things that draw you in.

Keep in mind, though, that it’s not the real designers, the real teachers, the real artists that are driving AI into the creative world.

I AM NOT REAL
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Harvest Hues 3: Completing Embroidery & Adding Beads

 

Today, we’re going to finish up the embroidery on the sample leaf for Harvest Hues.

If you’re just joining in, please check out the Harvest Hues Project Index for all previous installments in this stitch-along!

If you’re looking for a materials kit for this project (with all the materials to make at least three leaves), you’ll find them available here.

If you’re a member of the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon, you have already received the printable, downloadable PDF for today’s installment.

Harvest Hues Part 3: Completing Embroidery & Adding Beads
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Harvest Hues 2d: Stems, Leaves, & Filled Spaces

 

Welcome back to Harvest Hues, our current stitch-along here on Needle ‘n Thread, where we are exploring the embroidering of autumn leaves!

If you’re just joining us on the stitch-along, you can find all the previous lessons for the stitch-along available here in the Harvest Hues Project Index.

Members of the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon have already received today’s lesson as part of the downloadable PDF for Part 2. We have to break up all that content when adding it to the blog here, since I can fit a lot more in a PDF than I can in a blog post! So you’ve already received this lesson in the PDF format, if you’re on Patreon.

Harvest Hues embroidery stitch-along on Needle 'n Thread
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Shaded Metallic Thread Sets – They’re Fabulous!

 

Last week, I briefly mentioned the shaded metallic thread sets from Au Ver a Soie that I’m so happy to be carrying here on Needle ‘n Thread!

I’ve been a HUGE fan of Au Ver a Soie’s metallics for years and years. Years ago, I wrote about Au Ver a Soie metallics in depth here, and again, here, when using them on my Winter Snowflakes projects.

There are many reasons why I prefer Au Ver a Soie’s metallics over just about every metallic thread on the market today, but what those reasons all boil down to is this One Major Point: they are simply better and more enjoyable to stitch with than any other metallics.

Au Ver a Soie Metallic Shaded Sets
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Harvest Hues 2c: Half Elements

 

This past Monday, we discussed embroidering the larger round elements on Harvest Hues, and today, we’re going to follow that up with just a short little blurb on what I call the “half elements.”

The half elements are those elements that look like half a flower.

If you are just joining in on this stitch-along, you can find links to all the previous lessons for Harvest Hues here in the Harvest Hues Project Index.

If you’re a member of the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon, you’ve already received the downloadable and printable PDF with this information in it, as part of the PDF titled “Part 2: Color and First Stitches.”

Harvest Hues stitch along: half elements
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