Happy Monday!

For those who read Needle ‘n Thread via email, I apologize for the broken links that came in the newsletter on Saturday. If you go to Needlework News Snips here on Needle ‘n Thread, all the links work fine, but on Saturday, I messed something up in the email format and managed to break most of them.

Yes, after 8.5 years of blogging, I’m still making mistakes…

Anyway, in Saturday’s article, I mentioned that I’m writing for Craftsy now and then. Because I would never want another website to come between me and thee, I contracted for only one article once a month, but somehow, I bit off a three-article series for December, due tomorrow.

The series is on adding dimension and texture to hand embroidery. The series focuses on threads, other materials, and a small project. This is the small project:

This morning, it’s a cup of cocoa while browsing through some needlework news snips for this last Saturday of November!

Please don’t remind me it’s already the last Saturday of November!

Did you hit the stores and shop this weekend? I didn’t venture out for “Black Friday” (I’m not a huge fan of the whole atmosphere that surrounds the day after Thanksgiving here in the US). But I do like to take advantage of some of the sales this time of year, especially on needlework things that have been on my List for a while, or items or services that I wanted to review here on Needle ‘n Thread.

So, below, I’ve included some browsing links, and also some good sale links for today. All of them are of things I’ve actually purchased myself. Some include affiliate links, which means I get a small kickback, which helps support Needle ‘n Thread.

Lorna Bateman is a well-known embroidery designer and teacher from the UK.

I’ve been familiar with Lorna’s work for years – her embroidery projects have often been featured in Inspirations magazine – and I’ve always admired her classic, sometimes whimsical, always beautiful, embroidery style.

So, today, I’m delighted to review a Lorna Bateman embroidery kit and tell you what they’re like – and to give one away!

Just popping in from the cornfields of Kansas to wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!

Remember the hummingbird beak from the last update on the Secret Garden embroidery project?

Well, here’s the second one, embroidered in the same colors, with long & short stitch and some long split stitches.

Golly, it’s been a long time since I offered a free hand embroidery pattern to you all, that isn’t a monogram!

Today seems as good a day as any to share one of the embroidery patterns I’ve been playing with this year.

This particular pattern was inspired by a design from a very old folio of full-sized ecclesiastical patterns that I was able to buy from a used bookshop in Belgium.