March 3, 2014
Secret Garden: Muting Vines with Brown
Before moving onto the leaves on the Secret Garden embroidery project, I wanted to show you how I muted some of the vines on the project, by adding a little twiggy brown into the mix.
March 1, 2014
Looking Ahead & Silk Thread
If you were the type of person to daydream about embroidery thread, what type of thread would you dream about?
For me, it’s silk.
I can dream about silk embroidery threads all day long, if I let myself.
Today, I’m going to let myself.
Ok. I don’t mean I’m spending my day with my head in the clouds, staring out the windows, picturing the world enrobed in silk threads. I’m not going to have conversations with imaginary skeins of silk. (Well. I don’t think I’m going to, anyway…)
But I am going to think about silk. I’m going to sort silk. Test silk. Touch silk. Group it, organize it, mix it up again. And I might even dabble with some preliminary stitches with silk threads. My goal today is to make decisions about silk, and so – poor me – to do that, I have to surround myself with silk embroidery threads.
I know. It’s such a tough way to spend the day.
February 28, 2014
Stem Stitch Curls & Spirals
Today’s mini tutorial on stem stitch curls and spirals was prompted by some questions that have come in recently via email and in the comments on the various articles on stem stitch.
Some of the questions concerned me enough to reschedule today’s planned article. It seems some of you are really struggling with stem stitch on curls and spirals. On top of that, there’s some erroneous information out there about working curls or spirals with stem stitch.
A couple readers mentioned that they have attended classes in which the instructor taught that the working thread is always on the outside of a circle or curl, no matter what direction you’re stitching in, because that’s only way the circle will look smooth and the stitches will hold in place.
Wellllllll…this isn’t exactly true. I thought we better clear that point up, just in case others suffer under the same impression.
So, in this tutorials, I hope to answer questions on working curls in stem stitch without the stitches looking spiky, and I hope to clarify the relationship between the needle and the working thread when working into a curl.
February 27, 2014
Stem Stitch Filling Tips
I’ve had a few questions this past week about stem stitch filling in general, mostly in conjunction with the Secret Garden embroidery project.
So today, I want to show you some close ups of stem stitch filling underway and go over a few tips about how to successfully fill an area with the stem stitch.
The stem stitch is a really versatile stitch, so whether you’re working the Secret Garden project or not, hopefully, you’ll find these tips useful for other surface embroidery projects as well.
February 26, 2014
RSN Stitch Guide: Canvaswork – Book Review
The Royal School of Needlework and Search Press have published a series of Essential Stitch Guides for different needlework disciplines.
These are very handy reference books to have in your needlework library. They cover the basics and a little beyond in each technique, giving the beginner a place to start and a direction to move in when learning various aspects of the needle arts.
So far, eight Essential Stitch Guides are available on the following needlework techniques: Crewelwork, Blackwork, Whitework, Silk Shading, Stumpwork, Goldwork, Bead Embroidery, and Canvaswork.
I’ve reviewed seven of them (the links above will take you directly to my previous reviews), and today, I’m reviewing the eighth – the RSN Essential Stitch Guide for Canvaswork, by Rachel Doyle.
Canvas work and needlepoint are synonymous terms. Here in the US, needlepoint has been the more commonly used term for stitching on canvas, though more and more, the term “canvas work” is becoming more widely used here, too.
February 25, 2014
Secret Garden: Embroidering the Center Vines
Last time we visited the Secret Garden embroidery project, we looked at the vines on the lower half of the hummingbird design, which were underway in shaded stem stitch filling.
I’ve finished embroidering the vines on the lower half of the project, including the center scrolls.
Today, let’s look at that part of the design. I’ll tell you how I stitched it (you might want to do it differently), and share some insights on some tricky spots.
February 24, 2014
Embroidery Stands – Videos & Reviews
Lately, Ye Olde Inbox has been jammed full with questions about embroidery frames, stands, hoops, and the like.
When questions start arriving in bulk (a good sign that somewhere, there’s a spurt of growth going on in the embroidery world!), I try to address the topic here on the website for a couple reasons:
1. It makes it easier to refer folks to one article; and
2. If 20 people are asking, there’s a good chance that many more are wondering, but not asking.
