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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Stitching Up Spring and Happy Easter!

 

Amazon Books

Here in the Midwest, Spring is trying its darnedest to break through!

But it definitely needs a little help. Two weeks ago, when it was 80 degrees, you’d think that we skipped the season altogether and plunged straight into summer. But no. Now there’s a possibility of snow on Easter Sunday.

So, in an attempt to encourage Spring to spring, here’s a round-up of some of my favorite embroidery ideas, tutorials, and patterns that are spring related. I hope you enjoy them!

Spring Embroidery: Tutorials, Patterns and Ideas for Stitching
Continue reading “Stitching Up Spring and Happy Easter!”

Free Easter Cutwork Embroidery Pattern

 

With Easter only a few days away, it might be a little late to start a full-fledged Easter embroidery project.

But then again, if you have the time on your hands, it might not!

This pattern, from Joanna at Haft Richelieu, features a darling little bunny, decorative eggs, and little flowers, made into a beautiful basket liner.

You’ll find a PDF for the free pattern at the end of the article, so read on!

Easter Cutwork Embroidery Pattern
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Hotel Room Stitching: The Whats and Whys

 

Certain times of the year, the yearn to go road tripping overwhelms me. There’s nothing I love better than a good road trip!

One of my favorite aspects of a road trip is staying in different hotels along the way. I love hotel life! I don’t really know why. It’s not as if I stay at swanky hotels or anything. But I think it’s fun to stay in hotels, especially if you’re traveling with family or friends.

When road tripping, I rarely bother to take embroidery with me anymore, because the fact is, I never get to it. There’s just too much else to do on vacation – too many things to see, people to visit, places to go. Embroidery ends up taking a back seat, if I remember it at all.

But lately, I’ve had the unique opportunity to stay in a hotel for some extended bouts of time, without the vacation vibe hovering over the whole experience, while I take care of some medical treatments. And I’ve been staying alone, so there’s lots of time on my hands! When I prepare to pack up for these chunks of hotel living, you can bet that, in these circumstances, my embroidery plays first fiddle. I’m not exactly getting out and about and “doing the town,” so I need something to do to while away those hotel-room hours.

Whether you’re traveling for business, pleasure, or necessity, packing needlework stuff for hotel stays is a good idea, if you know you’re going to have time to stitch.

Here are the stitchy things I’ve been taking along with me lately – maybe they’ll give you some good ideas for your next hotel stay.

Stitching in a Hotel Room
Continue reading “Hotel Room Stitching: The Whats and Whys”

Mellerstain Firescreen Winners!

 

Today, some exciting news!

I’m announcing the three winners for the Mellerstain Firescreen crewel embroidery kit give-away from last week!

Wow – there were heaps of participants, and lots of really good feedback on the questions posed. Thanks to all who participated!

Without further ado, then, let’s move on to the randomly drawn winners, followed by some Needle ‘n Thread news at the end….

Mellerstain Firescreen Crewel Work
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Lattice on a Stumpwork Leaf, Thank You, and an Extension

 

Happy Monday!

I won’t start this week by grumbling about the Most Ridiculous Time Change that we call Daylight Savings Time. Some day, reason will prevail and it will be abolished altogether, don’t you think?

So, instead of bemoaning DST, I’ll start the week off sharing a tiny bit of progress on Late Harvest. I Really Like this leafy element that I stitched over the weekend.

At first, I wasn’t sure I’d like the color combo, but I love the techniques involved. The strange thing about the colors, though, is that, as the element came together, the colors seemed to morph into something rather pleasing.

Stumpwork embroidery - leaf in long and short stitch with lattice and beads
Continue reading “Lattice on a Stumpwork Leaf, Thank You, and an Extension”

Magnificent Crewel Give-Away & Your Opinion, Please

 

For the past several months, Laura Turnbull and I have been chatting back and forth about crewel embroidery kits from The Crewel Work Company.

Not only have the kit offerings at The Crewel Work Company expanded quite a bit recently, but Phillipa and her daughter Laura are in the process of deciding on some new offerings to add to their gorgeous line of historic crewel embroidery kits. And, to that end, they want your help!

To entice you to help them make some decisions on upcoming kits, they’ve graciously offered a magnificent give-away here on Needle ‘n Thread, for three winners. The prize? Ohhhhhhhh……..

Take a look at this!

Mellerstain Firescreen Crewel Work
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Spring! Let’s Celebrate with a Sale!

 

I know it’s not “officially” spring yet, but my daffodils – which have popped up abundantly all over – are telling a different story!

And so, to celebrate – and to welcome a whole bunch of newcomers who have joined our Needle ‘n Thread community over the past several months – I thought today would be a great day to offer a sale on my favorite e-books, both of which offer springy projects, techniques, and colors that sing Spring!

Lavender Honey & Other Little Things
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