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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Whitework Angel Ornament – Free Pattern

 

Amazon Books

Boo!

And there you have my Big Tribute to Halloween.

Instead of focusing on ghouls and ghosts this morning (I have none! But I do have candy if you’re out trick-or-treating!), I thought we could look ahead a bit.

With November less than 24 hours away, and December showing up shortly thereafter, it’s time to think about embroidering something special for Christmas.

And to get you started, here’s a beautiful embroidery pattern for an angel in cutwork (or Richelieu) embroidery.

The pattern (you’ll find the PDF at the end of this article) is from Joanna at Haft Richelieu, and it is part of her Christmas collection design booklet that will be out by December (no. 61 in the Haft series). No. 61 includes 10 angels adorned with beads, along with 12 other little whitework ornaments for the tree.

Whitework Christmas Angel: Richelieu cutwork
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Online Classes On Sale & a New Adventure

 

If you’re looking to explore new adventures in hand embroidery, you’ll be happy to know that all of Craftsy’s online classes are on sale for less than $20 this weekend, and that includes a nice line-up of hand-embroidery related classes!

I’ve gotten my claws into two new-to-me Craftsy classes, too. As the end of the year approaches, I’m a little antsy to follow through on one of my new year’s resolutions for 2016, which was to learn a new handwork technique. I’ll tell you about it below!

In the meantime, here’s a list of super-good hand embroidery classes available on Craftsy (along with links to my reviews) that are on sale this weekend for less than $20. If you’re keen to learn a new technique or brush up on your stitching skills before the end of the year, this is a great way to do it!

Online Embroidery Classes on sale this weekend
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Beginner’s Guides – The Needlework Books that Keep on Giving

 

Are you a budding embroidery artist who has recently discovered that you like this whole Embroidery Thing, but you don’t know exactly what’s out there to help you learn?

Are you an intermediate embroiderer who yearns to branch out into new techniques?

Are you a seasoned embroiderer looking for new inspiration, ideas, and approaches to bring to your masterpieces?

No matter where you are in your embroidery journey, eventually you will face the need – or entertain the desire – to purchase a needlework book.

There are three collections of needlework books out there that are excellent additions to the well-rounded needlework library and that will help you in your embroidery pursuits, no matter what your skill level.

Today, I want to talk about one of those series, called Beginner’s Guides, and three reasons I think you need them on your bookshelf.

Beginner's Guides Needlework Books
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A Unique Technique Sampler!

 

Earlier this year, I had the pleasant opportunity to examine, up close, a really unique embroidery sampler worked by Sheila Iskin, who lives in Sunny California.

Now, this isn’t just any sampler. It’s not a band sampler. It’s not an alphabet sampler. It’s not a spot sampler.

It might not even be recognizable at first as a sampler, but that is indeed what it is – and I think it’s a very clever idea!

This sampler goes way beyond the standard approach to sampling stitches and techniques. It will open up a whole world of ideas for you!

Hand Embroidered Bunting - Beadwork
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Floral Script Monograms M, N, O, P

 

I call this decorative alphabet for embroidered monograms Floral Script.

When it comes to naming things, I have very little pizzazz. I’m afraid I’m the type of person who would name a dog “Spot” without any qualms of conscience!

Still, in my defense, Floral Script tells you pretty much what you can expect from this alphabet: script-like letters with a little floral element for decoration. (Incidentally, the name could be equally applied to hundreds of decorative alphabets out there!)

Floral Script Alphabet M N O P
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Needlework News Snips & a Winner!

 

Brrrrrrrrrrr…… It’s finally chilly in Kansas! I love autumn. I could live in autumn for my whole life!

I say that now. But when spring comes, you’ll hear me saying the same thing about spring.

But I promise I’ll never say it about summer in Kansas!

Summer being officially over, it’s time to move on to fallish stuff, and often, that includes fall and winter craft pursuits. In today’s needlework news snips, I’ve included a few links to some fun fall embroidery stuff, in case you want a seasonal stitching fix!

I’m also happy to announce the winner of Early Hardanger Embroidery today!

So, join me in a cup of your favorite brew, and let’s browse a bit!

Needlework News Snips for October, 2016
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Messing About with Colors

 

You know, I love embroidery thread. But there are times – there are many times – when sitting down with the stuff can be rather frustrating.

For me, selecting colors for my own projects is usually more frustrating than not.

The other day, I sat down under a good, true spectrum light with a Whole Heap of Embroidery Floss on the table in front of me. My goal was to select a range of colors from that Whole Heap – a range that would impart a certain impression or idea that I have in mind.

Do you know, it took me forever to finally say “That’s it. For better or for worse, I’m done.” I sat there picking through floss for more than two hours!

At the end of that ridiculous amount of time, this is the range of colors I came up with:

Selecting Embroidery Floss Colors
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