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
March 25, 2017
Spring is upon us in Kansas! Yay!
Warm breezes, birds singing, flowers blooming, blue skies, green grass – what a lovely time of year!
To celebrate and to give you something bright, fun, and fast to stitch, I’m having a Spring Sale on ebooks in my shop!
March 24, 2017
The other day, in an attempt to make you more comfortable with the idea of using silk thread for embroidery, we chatted about hand embroidery thread made from spun silk.
When it comes to the stitching experience, spun silk is very similar in many ways to stranded cotton embroidery floss, so it makes a great thread for beginners to start using silk.
But there’s another type of silk fiber that’s made into embroidery thread, called filament silk. Today, we’re going to talk about twisted filament silk, and then, down the road, we’ll chat about flat filament silk.
When compared to spun silk, filament silk provides a slightly different stitching experience. But the experience is not the only thing that’s different about filament silk – so let’s take some time to explore the stuff!
March 22, 2017
We’ve chatted a bit, off and on, about the organization of embroidery projects, embroidery supplies, embroidery books…
And while these aspects of embroidery are important, the most precious commodity relating to your needlework – or to any hobby at all – is your time.
We often talk about “making time” for embroidery. But making time is a funny phrase, isn’t it?
As we all know, time can’t be made. So, in our busy 21st century lives, how can we make time for embroidery or any hobby?
Many readers have asked me (repeatedly) to tackle the subject of making time to embroider. They want to stitch, but it just seems like there’s never time to really get into stitching enough to enjoy it, to develop a rhythm, to see good progress, to hone skills, or to explore techniques.
So today, let’s chat about time tips. I’ll share some practices that I employ to save or make time. And then I’ll ask you to chime in with what works for you when it comes to time management and stitching. Hopefully, with a group effort, we can help those who are struggling to find time stitch.
March 20, 2017
Lately, I’ve felt a deep, urgent need to talk to you about silk embroidery thread!
One reason for this is because I’m working on a couple projects that involve silk, so silk is on my mind.
And the other reason is because I’ve received some questions lately about silk embroidery thread, particularly from beginners who want to try it but are afraid of it.
I’m here to tell you, to assure you, to promise you – there’s nothing to be afraid of! The key is knowing what you’re working with and how to work with it.
So today, we’ll start simple, with an introduction to silk hand embroidery threads, focusing on the easiest silk thread to use, to transition into this luxurious fiber that outshines all other fibers!
March 17, 2017
How about a variation on a theme? Instead of Stitch Fun!, let’s go with Stitch Fail!
I love the Stitch Fun! series here on Needle ‘n Thread, because I love exploring stitches. But sometimes, what I envision with a stitch or a combination of stitches doesn’t always materialize the way I envision it.
That’s part of the fun of playing with stitches – you can end up with some very exciting results, some happy discoveries, some satisfactory conclusions.
Or you can end up with a Stitch Fail – and, you know, that’s not always a bad thing!
That’s pretty much what today’s tutorial is all about. I’ll tell you about my original intention with this stitch experiment, talk about what actually happened and why, discuss ways you could use the flop anyway, and mull over alternatives to what I was vaguely trying to achieve.
March 15, 2017
I love old hand embroidery patterns! Love ’em, love ’em, love ’em!
Ever since I got ahold of my first old embroidery pattern portfolio some eons ago, I’ve collected them like a fiend.
And apparently Pat, one of our stitching cohorts who follows along here on Needle ‘n Thread, knows this, because she recently sent me a surprise package.
And who doesn’t like surprises?
And who doesn’t like packages?
So, combine surprise, package, and old embroidery patterns, and hey! I’m in heaven!
So here’s the pattern portfolio – it’s quite a doozy and there are some really good ones in here that would be fun to interpret into all kinds of different embroidery techniques. At the end of the article, I’ll share one of the patterns with you as a PDF, so that you can download it and play with it, too!
March 13, 2017
Let’s start the week off with a little bit of progress from some weekend bouts of stitching!
Besides, it’s Monday, and a big splash of color is good for the soul on a Monday morning!
For those of you just joining in, this projects is a Miniature Tree of Life tapestry designed by Natalia Frank and worked on 56-count silk gauze. You can read all about the project itself here in my kit review, and how I set it up here, if you want additional background information.
Over the weekend, I finished everything but the background on the peacock panel, which I introduced you to here.
