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
September 23, 2024
Last week, I announced that The Handpicked Collections, volumes 1 through 3, were available in the shop, but I didn’t really have a chance to show you what’s in the books, up close and personal.
Today, I’ll do that! I’ll tell you about the books and what delectable treasures you can expect to find within their covers.
September 20, 2024
I’ve written about Swedish weaving before here on Needle ‘n Thread. And early this year, I reviewed this new book on Swedish weaving.
The latter resulted in an influx of email, asking about sources for huck fabric.
This morning, my plan was to share with you a much more detailed article on some recent fabric finds for huck toweling, the ground fabric traditionally used for Swedish weaving.
I haven’t finished my stitching explorations on the two fabrics that I’m playing with, though. Still, they both work and are good fabrics for the technique – even though they are each at a different end of the spectrum, when it comes to fabric.
So for those who have been writing and inquiring where to find huck fabric, I’m going to briefly share two resources for huck toweling used in Swedish weaving techniques… and some thoughts.
September 18, 2024
Today, let’s revisit the Archive Netherworld of Needle ‘n Thread and explore a high relief embroidery technique!
Casalguidi stitch is technique can be adapted to different types of embroidery (especially dimensional and textured approaches), using all kinds of threads, including cottons, metallics, real metal threads, wools, synthetics, tightly twisted threads, softly twisted threads – you name it!
By revisiting these past tutorials, newcomers to Needle ‘n Thread might find some fun inspiration for stitch exploration, and those who have been around a while might enjoy a little nudge towards the vast archive of embroidery stitch tutorials available for you here on Needle ‘n Thread.
September 16, 2024
Time to kickoff the stitch-along for Harvest Hues with the materials kits!
On Friday, I gave you a heads-up about the kit release happening today, and shared the project scope and kit information. You can read all these details in Friday’s article here.
Today, I don’t want to repeat everything we just talked about on Friday. Instead, I’m just popping in to remind you that the materials kits are now available in the shop, and the stitch-along will start next week.
Oh, ok, fine – I also wanted an excuse to show you this particular way that we’re using Harvest Hues:
September 13, 2024
Oh my goodness! I’m so excited! Finally, finally! We got our last lovely shipment of long-awaited thread, and the kits for Harvest Hues are almost ready for you.
This means that, come Monday, we’ll be releasing the materials kits for our next Stitch Snippet Stitch-Along. Wooohoo!
If you want to join with this stitch-along and work from the materials kit, the kits will be available this coming Monday, September 16th, starting at 10:00 AM Central Time (11:00 AM Eastern, 8:00 AM Pacific), here in the shop.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Stitch Snippets here on Needle ‘n Thread, I’ll explain below so that you know what to expect.
I’ll also show you what our Harvest Hues project is – and we’ll talk about different ways to use the resulting decorative leaves.
September 11, 2024
Right before we launch any kit, fun things happen here in the Studio.
I’ll walk you through some of the excitement, and we’ll talk about how things are a little different for the upcoming Harvest Hues stitch-along kit, compared to previous kits we’ve recently released.
September 9, 2024
My favorite aspect of beginning any embroidery project is the consideration of color.
Even if I end up not using a variety of colors, or even if I end up using no color at all, considering the potential of colors is always exciting to me!
In our next Stitch Snippet stitch-along, called Harvest Hues, color played a big role in the preparation of the project. The greatest color challenge was finding a good quality felt that we could use for finishing.
While there are a lot of wool felts and wool blend felts on the market, pinning down just the right colors that will work well together is harder than you might think!
