October 10, 2015
Peacock Embroidery Kit Winner
Last week, we looked up-close at this glorious peacock embroidery kit by Canevas Folies and then had a little give-away for one of the kits.
Time to find out who the winner is…
October 9, 2015
Lace Making, Drawn Thread Work, Embroidery – for the weekend!
There are very few needlework / thread-related arts and crafts that I haven’t tried.
At least once.
They don’t all click.
There’s one thread-related art that I’ve tried to teach myself many times over, and that I’m still determined, some day, to get the hang of, and that’s bobbin lace-making. I don’t want to be an expert at it. I just want to be able to flip some bobbins about with semi-confidence and end up with some kind of ordered pattern showing up on the board in front of me. Is that too much to ask?
In any case, I feed my desire to learn that particular lace-making art by reading about it, watching videos now and then, and even, occasionally, sallying forth with the same beginner’s kit I’ve had for umpteen years.
And then, a day later, embroidery takes over my life again, all the bobbins go back in their bag, and I concede that “it isn’t going to happen this year.”
October 8, 2015
Custom Iron-ons for Embroidery & Fair Trade Kits
When it comes to embroidery design transfers, you’ve got to admit that the easiest possible way of getting a design – a perfectly crisp, clear design – onto fabric is a good iron-on transfer.
But iron-on transfers aren’t always made to our particular tastes and needs. Sure, we can find iron-ons of pin-up girls, of day-of-the-dead skulls, of cute vintage kittens and cupcakes and space ships; we can even find iron-ons of complex, lovely cutwork designs; and we can find iron-ons of state birds and bottles of wine and cups of cappuccino.
And while all of the above have their place and their audience, what if those aren’t what we’re looking for?
What if we’ve got our own design and it’s exactly what we want to iron on, and it doesn’t fit into any of those categories?
Often, I have my own design that I want to embroider three or four times. Gosh, I’d just love to be able to iron that thing on and just get on with the stitching, rather than getting stuck into four design transfers by hand.
October 7, 2015
Basketweave Stitch & Shading
Remember last week when we chatted about needle weaving as a filling?
Well, I’m still playing around with the possibilities. See, that’s the problem whenever I engage in any type of sampler. I get Well and Truly Stuck in it.
I’m playing particularly with woven fillings because I’m working on an article for Commonthread by DMC on the same topic. I’ve got a little practice piece that will accompany that article, so I’ll let you know when it’s out. It’s particularly fall-ish, so it’s perfect for this time of year!
October 6, 2015
Tulip Monograms for Hand Embroidery: M – P
After yesterday’s Peacock embroidery kit give-away – which is still drawing a lot of comments! – I thought we’d go a bit light this morning, with the next four letters of the Tulip Alphabet patterns for hand embroidery.
You’ll find the handy-dandy PDF printable for the M, N, O and P below…
October 5, 2015
The Peacock Kit – A Give-Away!
Well, since it’s Monday, and since it’s Autumn – which makes me Very Happy! – I think it’s a good day for a give-away!
Besides, we haven’t had one of these in a long, long while, have we?
On Friday, we looked up close at this new Blue Peacock embroidery kit from Canevas Folies. Today, thanks to Laurence at Canevas Folies (for the design kit) and Lisa at the French Needle (for the thread), I’m giving away the design kit with the specialty threads to one of you peacock fans out there!
October 2, 2015
If You Love Peacocks like I Love Peacocks
I have a song running through my head. It goes something like this:
If you love peacocks like I love peacocks… and then there’s something like Oh, what a gal! and some other stuff. I know the tune and I know about a dozen words, and the rest of the song is filled with something, something, something.
I’m pretty sure the song is about a gal named Susie. And I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with peacocks.
But I do love peacocks, and it fits the tune of the song, so why not?
I especially love peacocks in embroidery. They are a Prime Target for the embroiderer. They beg to be rendered in thread, with their glorious colors and fabulous plumage.
So, needless to say, when Canevas Folies came out with Blue Peacock, I was twitterpated. Let me show you the kit, so you can be twitterpated, too.