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
April 29, 2017
Well, I promised you some weekend needlework reading, but alas, I didn’t have a chance to cull out a good list of articles and interesting things from around the web to share with you!
Still, there’s one article from The Guardian that, under the circumstances, I think is definitely worth reading, so I’ll share that with you today, and, for those who want to read it, a short personal update!
April 28, 2017
Time for a thorough review of an upcoming book – the newest in the Techniques, Projects, and Pure Inspiration series from the Royal School of Needlework and published by Search Press.
Ever since Appliqué: Techniques, Projects & Pure Inspiration – the first book of the series – came out last year, I’ve been looking forward to this one!
So, come along – let’s explore the ins and outs of Raised Embroidery: Techniques, Projects and Pure Inspiration by Kelley Aldridge.
April 26, 2017
Today, I was going to talk to you about linen. Heaps of linen! But I’ll have to put that off until later this week. I have a funny story to tell you about my recent experiences with linen – and a very good lesson to learn – so we’ll be discussing that in depth shortly.
(That is, if the muses of all things electronic cooperate with me!)
But since those particular muses are being downright belligerent at the moment, this morning, I’ll share with you the pattern for my most recent stitching adventure, which has only just begun.
For those of you who’ve been hanging out here a while with me, it won’t surprise you that I’m doing one of those last-minute, I’ve-procrastinated-too-long, what!-it’s-next-week?!? embroidery projects.
April 24, 2017
Last week, my sister from Pennsylvania showed up for our family reunion, toting along a little sample project she whipped up.
It brought to mind a discussion I recently had with Gary & Christine on FiberTalk, about embroidering anything.
The question arose: when do you draw the line on whether or not to call something embroidery. Can you embroider anything, and still call it embroidery?
Since I’m a sucker for all things embroidery, I tend to learn towards yes, you can. I’d probably draw the line, though, when it leads to a confusion of concepts.
In this particular case, there’s no confusion. This is obviously embroidery, and this little example serves to demonstrate that you can definitely embroider unconventional things!
April 19, 2017
Since the last time I updated you on this 56-count silk gauze project, I’ve progressed on it a lot more than I realized.
This means one of two things: Either, 1. I’ve had a whole lot of 15 minute stitching sessions; or 2. Those sessions have been a whole lot longer than 15 minutes.
April 16, 2017
Happy Easter!
I just wanted to pop in to spread a little Easter cheer and wish you and yours a joyful day!
I’ll also share some spring stitching ideas, for those who are moving into spring – which has been rather slow in developing this year, but it looks like it’s finally here to stay (in Kansas, anyway!).
April 14, 2017
If you’ve been hanging about a bit on Needle ‘n Thread for a while, you probably know that ecclesiastical embroidery is kind of a Thing of mine. It’s what originally pulled me into taking embroidery seriously as an art and led me into learning different techniques.
Ever since my first infatuation with ecclesiastical embroidery – especially historical examples of it – I’ve been collecting old embroideries and old pattern folios.
I think the pattern folios are pretty fascinating! They’re large envelopes or board covers (often tied together with ribbon) filled with massive fold-out sheets of patterns.
The patterns themselves are ingeniously arranged, so that there’s no wasted space in the printing. Often, when patterns are meant to be repeated or substitutions can be made, letters and lines indicate the connections and suitable substitutions. Looking at these old pattern pages – and using them! – is kind of like putting together a puzzle.
Today, I’ll show you some examples of typical pattern pages and how the designer gets as much use out of space as possible. We’ll also talk a little bit about symbolism, and I’ll share a pattern from an old portfolio that’s cleaned up and user-friendly.
