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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Embroidered Felt Needlebook: An Old Friend, Still Going Strong!

 

Amazon Books

A long, long time ago – back when the idea of blogging for Ten Whole Years had never even crossed my mind – I started a project that would become an Old Friend.

It has withstood the test of time rather well, and I thought it would be fun to revisit it.

Maybe it will inspire you to take up some random embroidery project and just stitch your little heart out!

Because I’ll tell you this much: it may not be the most beautiful embroidery project in the world, it may not be the nicest finishing job, and it may be a bit on the bizarre side overall, but this project was downright fun.

And now and then, doing something Just Plain Fun with needle and thread is darned good therapy!

Embroidered Felt Needlebook and Tool Book Revisited
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The Crewel Work Company Embroidery Kits – Review

 

Over the next several weeks, I’ll be reviewing embroidery kits for you, from designers around the globe who sell their own kits through their own small embroidery businesses.

If you’ve been hanging around here on Needle ‘n Thread for a bit, you might remember that back in April, I published a very short starter list of places where you can order quality embroidery kits directly from designers. I’ll be adding to that list in the near future.

Ordering kits directly from designers ensures that you get a good quality kit directly from the person who made it, who designed the project, worked it from the ground up, and knows all about it.

These types of kits are a great way to learn a technique well, and they often come with a good support system. If you are having trouble with your kit, you can often email the designer directly and get good tips that will see you through the project successfully.

Today, I’m going to show you, up close and personal, what you get in a kit from The Crewel Work Company, Phillipa Turnbull’s business in the UK that specializes in historically accurate crewel embroidery designs and materials.

The kit I’m reviewing here is the Mellerstain Firescreen kit. It’s lovely, and I can’t wait to get started on it!

Mellerstain Firescreen Crewel Embroidery Kit from the Crewel Work Company
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Embroidery Books: I Have a Problem.

 

I mentioned at some point last week that I’ll be doing some organizing and cleaning up in my workroom over the next couple weeks.

Just mentioning “organizing the workroom” sparked a lot of interest. You asked if I’d share before and after pictures, if I’d share tips on organizing and so forth.

Organizing can be a real bear! And I’m probably the last one in the world to offer tips on how to do it efficiently, on what storage solutions to use and all that kind of stuff. Because right now, I’m completely disorganized.

My Biggest Problem right now is a Book Problem.

Here’s a question for you: Can you have Too Many Embroidery Books?

My answer: a resounding YES.

To give you a better understanding of my Embroidery Book Problem, let’s take a little peek in my book cabinet:

Embroidery Book Cabinet - too many books!
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Floral Script Monograms for Embroidery: E-H

 

Continuing with this new series of monograms for hand embroidery here on Needle ‘n Thread, here’s the next four letters of the floral script alphabet I started sharing last week.

One thing I especially love about this particular alphabet is that it offers so many possibilities for interpretation in stitches, and as I add the letters to Needle ‘n Thread, I’ll share some stitching ideas with you.

Floral Script Monogram for Hand Embroidery: E
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Thread Talk: Coloris by DMC

 

Some of the questions showing up in my inbox lately have to do with Coloris, DMC’s new multi-colored stranded cotton.

I’m working on a little Coloris project as we speak – I’ll share that with you in upcoming weeks. I always figure you can get a better idea of a thread and what it does by actually stitching with it, rather than just handling it and staring at it. And to that end, I’ve been playing about with it! (Hey, any excuse to play with thread!)

In the meantime, I’ll answer a couple questions about the thread that may help you decide if you want to add this new collection of twenty-four colors to your stitchy stuff.

Let me put it this way – if you have a fun streak when it comes to embroidery, I’m pretty sure you’re going to want to add it to your stash!

Coloris by DMC
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