August 26, 2024

Studio Life: Behind the Wall

Two years ago, my studio landlord and I struck an agreement for the building space that Needle ‘n Thread now occupies.

I wrote about that auspicious occasion here. I was very excited!

It took several months before the inside of the building was empty and available. In November of 2022 – unbeknownst to me at the time, a mere month before I had to move out of my house due to a remodeling project that turned into unavoidable demolition (!) – Anna and I moved the studio from this residential duplex, where I had been operating Needle ‘n Thread for about four years, to our new downtown space.

You can see photos of how we set up our new space in this article.

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August 21, 2024

Home Again & a Stitching Update

I’m back from a quick personal trip to Florida, as mentioned last week before I took off. Monday involved a bit of recovery time and some appointments, so I didn’t get back into the swing of things as quickly as hoped.

But here we are, and things are vigorously rolling along again in the Studio. My desk is remarkably cluttered with projects that need to be documented and supplies that need to be sorted! That’s today’s Big Plan.

We’ve got supplies arriving daily for our next Stitch Snippet kit! Our projected launch date for that is the week of September 9 – 13, somewhere in there. The precise date hinges on one little backorder. Sigh!

I’ll be sharing the details of that project with you over the next couple weeks. It’s a fun project, not too taxing, lots of colors and stitches, with some simple finishing and a whole lot of adaptability!

In the meantime, here’s an update on this simple stitching project that’s been developing during occasional down-time and after hours. I initially showed it to you last week, and there’s a bit more to share now.

Vintage French Stamped Cross Stitch design

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August 14, 2024

Sampler Motif Gone Rogue

Here’s a little quick mid-week update on another project in the studio

I guess it’s not enough that we’re working on autumn leaf projects – two of them, in fact: this one (which I haven’t shown you in full yet, but only hinted at) and this leafy table runner that I’ve been sharing tips about lately.

Switching gears entirely, we have another bit of stitchery underway here, too – this rogue sampler motif. It really belongs on a grid, but it has broken away and landed on plain weave fabric.

Like the Vinterfolk winter towel set and the Folky Flakes set, this rose motif is a gridded design transformed into vintage-style printed cross stitch.

Stamped Cross Stitch Vintage Style Sampler Motif

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August 12, 2024

The Back of Embroidery: Stitches, Starts, & Stops

The topic of the back of embroidery projects can be a touchy one.

Many, many people in the stitching world have an opinion on the back of work. For lack of a better term off the top of my head, I’m going to use the phrase “Old School” in this discussion. When I think “Old School,” I think of my aunt. She was an Absolute Stickler about the back of her needlework. I was a kid during the Counted Cross Stitch Boom of the mid-80’s, and while Auntie dabbled in other types of needlework in her lifetime, she was an avid cross stitcher in the 80’s.

When she showed me how to do counted cross stitch back then, I remember her emphasizing the back of the stitching more than the front. It had to be perfect. Little parallel lines everywhere…

And yes, I might be older – I’ve passed the half century mark – but I don’t tend to be Old School when it comes to the back of embroidery. Embroidery isn’t done for the back of the work. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always felt that people who flip your needlework over to inspect the back are looking for faults – and this has always annoyed me.

So I’m not here to nag you about the back of your embroidery.

BUT… (think of this as a mighty big but…)

Back of Embroidery, stitches, starts & stops

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August 9, 2024

A Hoop Tip: Keeping Things Clean

Good morning! Let’s end the week with a little tip involving embroidery hoops.

This is a topic we’ve touched on before, but I don’t think it hurts to revisit it. I’ll use a note from a reader as a springboard into today’s article:

When you’re doing projects like a tablecloth or your runner that you showed us today, how do you keep the cloth clean in the hoop and around the hoop, and what about all the other cloth you have to hold? What if the circles from the hoop don’t come out? Wouldn’t it be better to work on a frame? …

Embroidery Hoop Tip: keeping fabric clean

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August 7, 2024

Autumn Linen Runner: a Leaf, Color, and Stitches

Do you struggle to choose stitches or colors for your embroidery projects?

Don’t be discouraged if you do! It’s not unusual, no matter where you are in your embroidery journey. Often, it’s trial and error that will give you the answer you want: just the right stitch, or just the perfect color.

Sometimes, your choices will depend very much on the end use of your project. If you’re embroidering something that’s going to be framed on a wall, believe it or not, you have a lot more scope for stitch choice, for the materials you use, and perhaps even the colors that you choose.

If you’re embroidering something that will endure use – whether heavy or light use – you have to consider how it’s going to be used and what it’s going to go through. Will it be laundered? Will it be worn? What will it adorn? Where will it be used? What environment? How will it be stored?

These types of questions can influence your choices on stitch, thread, color, design, fabric – all the choices that you make with any embroidery project that you personally plan.

Embroidered autumn table runner with maple leaves

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August 5, 2024

Designing for Art Needlework

Let’s start Monday off with an interesting little bit of reading!

I find old needlework books interesting and inspirational, and I’m always grateful for the several online sources that supply access to obscure and hard to find public domain works from past eras of needlework history.

My friend Margaret (at The Sharp Needler) sent along a few publications she’s recently come across in her online explorations. She nerds out the same way I do on these old writings!

I dove into one of the books and was vastly diverted. I thought I’d share it with you today.

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

Studio Life: Behind the Wall

Home Again & a Stitching Update

Sampler Motif Gone Rogue

The Back of Embroidery: Stitches, Starts, & Stops

A Hoop Tip: Keeping Things Clean

Autumn Linen Runner: a Leaf, Color, and Stitches

Designing for Art Needlework

Connect with Mary

How-To Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos