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
Contact Mary
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
Contact Mary
February 19, 2015
I have a confession to make. Several, actually.
I haven’t finished embroidering the hummingbirds.
I haven’t finished hemming the redwork runner.
I haven’t finished re-organizing my workroom. (This is a never-ending occupation. Know the feeling?)
I haven’t finished the Stitch Sampler Alphabet e-book.
But I have, regardless of the other prioritized items on my To-Do List, been sneaking in some stitches on Late Harvest.
February 18, 2015
I’m still cleaning up my great big folio of ecclesiastical embroidery patterns from the early 1900’s. It’s quite a task!
Occasionally, I come across some little excerpts or individual elements that I like to share here on Needle ‘n Thread. Some are obviously ecclesiastical in design, while others can be used for secular embroidery pursuits, too.
I’ve already posted several patterns that I’ve cleaned up from the same folio: this fleur-de-lis frame, the bloomin’ branch, this lily in a diamond, this wheat bundle, this rococo bud, and others. These are all excerpts from larger ecclesiastical designs, but I thought, taken individually, they make nice patterns for embroidery in general.
This small stylized passion flower is also an excerpt from a larger collection. The way many old folio collections of patterns were laid out, you could mix and match small vignettes from different designs and work them into other, larger designs. This provided a huge variety of possible embroidery designs, published in a smaller space.
Anyway, I thought the design was appropriate, since it’s Ash Wednesday. Maybe you can find some use for it!
February 17, 2015
I mentioned last week, when announcing this give-away for Trish Burr’s new book, Miniature Needle Painting Embroidery, that there is a discrepancy between the color numbers for Gütermann’s threads available in the US and those available in other countries.
I don’t know why that is. But alas, it is! And so, armed with a list of DMC thread numbers that correspond with the Gütermann threads Trish uses in her projects, I went on a little hunt to try to match up thread colors and put together a workable list of Gütermann thread numbers for US stitchers working on Trish’s projects.
My search took me not too far afield – I just needed a store that stocked all of Gütermann’s Sew-All polyester threads and the full line of DMC.
Oh, I suppose I could have taken the DMC colors with me, or purchased them elsewhere and then found the Gütermann’s, but I figured it would be easier to have all the threads under one roof. And I found them, at JoAnn Fabrics. Indeed, I am told that they have the full line of Gütermann Sew-All thread colors that are available in the States.
Here are some hints on color matching and the results of my search.
February 16, 2015
Here in the northern hemisphere, it’s definitely time for a little touch of spring!
And this hand embroidered, vintage handkerchief I want to show you today is Just the Thing to inspire spring-like thoughts. It’s a lovely specimen, with its little cluster of sweet violas, meticulously embroidered in an interesting technique that you don’t often see on hankies.
Monograms with satin stitch? Sure. You see them on handkerchiefs all the time. Pretty flowers in long & short stitch? Yep, those show up quite a bit, too.
But this approach? This approach on a very fine linen handkerchief – you don’t see so much.
I think it’s so pretty – and I hope you will, too!
February 14, 2015
It’s promising to be a bright, sunny morning here in Kansas – a perfect morning for sipping a cup of tea with the window barely cracked (it’s chilly!), just so I can hear the birds. There are lots of birds out and about this morning!
So, join me with a cup of something, and let’s meander through some needlework and embroidery newsy bits and pieces, shall we?
February 13, 2015
The other day, I reviewed Trish Burr’s new book Miniature Needle Painting Embroidery, which will be available in the US next month, and today, courtesy of Trish Burr, I’m giving away a copy of it! How exciting!
So, even if the book isn’t available yet, it will be soon – and in the meantime, you might end up with your own advanced copy.
And speaking of which…there’s a thread question that came up regarding the book, so let’s chat about that, too.
February 12, 2015
A couple weeks ago, I introduced you to my embroidery carrot.
You do have embroidery carrots, don’t you? For me, my carrot is always a project I want to work on, but it’s purely for my own pleasure, my own learning experience, just for relaxation and fun. I don’t have to think about the project. Someone else has done all the thinking for me!
For example, this little miniature Cluny tapestry was an embroidery carrot for me. It was just a fun little counted petit point piece, worked on silk gauze. I used it as my “15 Minute” project and as a carrot. When I finished something I had to do, when I got a good day’s work done, or whatever – I’d spend fifteen minutes or more relaxing and stitching on it.
A carrot is a reward. If I was good, I’d reward myself with stitching time on it. And eventually, it was finished!
Well, my carrot this year is Late Harvest, an embroidery kit by Hazel Blomkamp, which I reviewed a couple weeks ago.
Late Harvest is a rather large piece (especially if you compare it to that miniature Cluny tapestry!), and so it requires a good-sized embroidery frame.
My stand-by embroidery frames that I will always love are Evertite stretcher bar frames. You can read all about Evertite stretcher bar frames here – what they are, how they work, and what makes them special.
