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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Tying Up Loose Ends – A Tale of an Alphabet

 

Amazon Books

Once upon a time, long, long ago in a land called Kansas (in fact, last year), a young girl (or old lady – or at least middle aged…ok, 40’s…) who writes an embroidery blog began the epic journey of sharing with her friends some monogram designs from a particular alphabet.

And then she somehow forgot to finish the alphabet.

And apparently, no one could live happily ever after, because none of the loose ends in the fairy tale were tied up.

When I mentioned on Monday that I had a free pattern to share with you this week, I got a couple emails kindly reminding me of the unfinished alphabet.

It’s always nice to end a story neatly, so today, I’m sharing with you the letters U through Z of the Floral Script Alphabet. You can see the style of the alphabet in the photo of the E below.

You’ll find the rest of this monogram alphabet (along with several others) available on my Monogram Patterns index, here.

You can also find the entire alphabet, collected in one spot, along with 15 other complete monogram alphabets, available here in my pattern e-book, Favorite Monograms, which I’m discounting through this weekend to celebrate the end of this particular story!

Floral Script Alphabet Letters U-Z
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Weekend Embroidery: A Touch of Bead

 

Good morning and a Happy Monday all around!

Just a wee update this morning to discuss some weekend stitching. Initially, I called this an experiment, but it worked, so I’m keeping it.

When it comes to surface embroidery, beads are not usually part of my planning process. I like beads. But they’re rarely an integral part of my design process. If they happen, they tend to happen as an afterthought.

But my vision for the design I’m working on right now included a little bit of sparkle and dimension that beads can add to a piece. So I ventured into testing different beads this past weekend.

Beads on an Embroidered Kaleidoscope
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Thread Talk: Sajou’s Fil au Chinois Silk Perle #30 Up Close

 

The thread junkie in me is bubbling to the surface again!

Today, it’s bubbling up to show you a new-to-me silk thread that I’ve had a chance to play with recently. It’s Sajou’s Fil Au Chinois silk perle #30, and it’s… lovely. Deep Sigh.

Well, it’s silk – so what can I say?

I can’t resist trying new-to-me threads, examining them closely and seeing what they’re all about. I got these particular threads from Needle in a Haystack, where they’re newly listed on their website here.

If you’re a crazy quilter, a needlepointer, a cross stitcher, or a surface embroiderer, you’ll find plenty of good uses for a silk thread like this. It’s the kind of thread that’s hard to resist. It’s got a great sheen, it feels good, and, with a few little technical tips, it stitches up beautifully!

Let’s take a close look at it!

Sajou Fil Au Chinois #30 silk embroidery thread
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Picking out Stitching: The Fabric Difference

 

It’s inevitable. Un-stitching, or picking out stitches, happens to all of us!

And while it can be, initially, a disheartening proposition to have to rip out embroidery stitches, it really is not such a bad thing. I always look at a mistake or a change of mind as a learning experience. And I always go into any embroidery project knowing that I’ll probably have to pick at least some stitches out. Once you realize this, mistakes or mind-changes don’t loom like dark mountains – they just become part of the whole process.

One thing that can drastically effect my attitude towards having to pick out stitches is the fabric I’m stitching on. This topic fits into the whole discussion we’ve been having about linen for hand embroidery lately.

Today, in an effort to justify my obsession with good linen, I’d like to show you one significant difference in types of fabric that you might choose for hand embroidery. It becomes very noticeable when you have to pick out stitches!

linen vs cotton for hand embroidery
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Monday Needlework Inspiration – Stumpwork!

 

Good morning, and a Happy Monday all around!

Today, I want to share a little stitching inspiration with you, to give you an idea of what you can do with the free embroidery patterns available here on Needle ‘n Thread!

This particular piece comes by way of Peggy Kimball, who stitched up her interpretation of the embroidery design I shared with you here, using surface embroidery and stumpwork techniques.

I think it came out great!!

Free Embroidery Pattern as Stumpwork Flowers
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Needlework News Snips & Goldwork Book Winner!

 

Joy, bliss! It’s Saturday! And the weekend is upon us!

It was a busy week behind the scenes here at Needle ‘n Thread. I managed to get a few projects sorted, I’ve gotten a heap of computer work done, and doggonit, I’m glad it’s the weekend!

After my kerfuffle with the linen I showed you yesterday, I tested a couple different fabrics. I’ll share those tests with you down the road.

For the sheer fun of it, I set up a new embroidery project – the full version of the design you saw in yesterday’s article. This time, it’s on crisp white linen, and not for a tote bag. I really like the design and I’m eager to stitch out the concept for it that’s floating around in my head. So I’m looking forward to the first stitches on that this weekend.

Today, I have some fun embroidery-related newsy bits to keep you entertained through the weekend. And I’m going to announce the winner of the Beginner’s Guide to Goldwork give-away, too.

So, grab yourself a cup of your favorite morning brew, and let’s kick back and browse a bit together, shall we?

Needlework News Snips, May 2017
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Stop Stitching! What’s Your Time Worth?

 

I don’t really want you to stop stitching! No, no! Never that!

The title above is what I finally had to say to myself the other day. I knew I was wasting my time from the very start of the project. I knew it before I put design to fabric, fabric in hoop, thread in needle, or stitch on design.

I knew it, and yet I persisted. But I finally reached a point when I had to tell myself, “Stop!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t have some inflated value of what my own time is worth. How we value our time depends on so many different circumstances, and normally, we (or at least I) don’t consider the “value” of time when I’m getting a lot of pleasure from stitching, no matter what kind of stitching it is, how good it’s turning out, or what it’s intended for.

But there comes a point!

For me, it’s that point when I know the thing I’m working on is not going to turn out how I want it to; when I know that, no matter what I do to it, it won’t work! And once I know that, there’s no point in going forward.

Stitching on yucky linen
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