November 28, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving!
The ever-recurring Thanksgiving Textile Turkey is joining me again this year to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!
November 27, 2013
Be Ye Thankful – Free Hand Embroidery Pattern
Do you do a lot of holiday-specific embroidery?
Beyond the occasional Christmas ornament (like this goldwork ornament), or the occasional Easter / Spring-related embroidery (like this basket liner and these hand embroidered eggs), I don’t, really.
I love the idea of a whole tree full of hand embroidered Christmas ornaments; I love the idea of a whole basket full of beautiful embroidered eggs; I love the idea of a hand embroidered tablecloth and matching linens for the Thanksgiving table.
But I really don’t think it will happen in my house, in my lifetime. There are too many other projects, and holiday-specific embroidery rarely takes top priority.
Well, it never does, until right before the holiday – as in, the day before, or the morning of! That’s when I start thinking, Golly, it would be nice to take a hand embroidered gift along to the festivities!
But by then, it’s too late.
November 26, 2013
Thread Talk: Mulberry Silks
The thread junkie in me can’t resist sharing this gorgeous palette of silk embroidery threads with you.
It’s just so … autumny.
I don’t think “autumny” is a word. But look:
November 25, 2013
Iron-On Embroidery Transfers
Iron-on embroidery design transfers fall into a love-hate category for me.
I love the idea of being able to iron an embroidery design straight onto a piece of fabric, without having to go through the rigmarole of transferring an embroidery design in various, nefarious, laborious ways.
November 22, 2013
Jacobean Leaf Variation – Free Hand Embroidery Pattern
Here’s a free hand embroidery pattern for you, just in case you’re looking for something fun to work on over the weekend.
This is a little doodle I doodled up, using a Jacobean design from an old book as the basis of it, and then altering it as I doodled along.
The original design can be found in Jacobean Embroidery: Its Forms and Fillings by Ada Wentworth Fitzwilliam & A. F. Morris Hands, which is available free in many formats on Project Gutenberg. You’ll find the original Jacobean leaf design here, plate 16 in the book.
You might also recognize hints of the design in my Jumble Lattice Sampler, which was originally called a Jacobean Jumble. Believe it or not, this design played a part in the original doodle for that.
November 21, 2013
A Little Travel Light for Needlework – Product Review
Lighting is one of those subjects that should be near and dear to every embroiderer’s heart.
And eyes.
I needed a little light – something I could use inside the house in the evenings that wouldn’t bother the rest of the family, something I could use in the car, and something that would work well in hotel rooms, without having to tote a larger light around with me. (Have you ever noticed that hotel room light is never adequate for needlework?!)
Enter a little light that’s bright, bright, bright – the Beam N Read light. It makes a great little traveling companion for the needleworker. If you want a portable light that’s usable in the car, that’s easy to take to needlework classes, that doesn’t take up room in your living room, and that’s affordable, you might take a look at this one.
Here’s my review of the Beam N Read light as used while embroidering, with pros and cons.
November 20, 2013
Cotton Tulle – There’s a Big Difference!
Cotton tulle is a machine made, hexagon net used in lace making techniques such as Carrickmacross lace, Limerick lace (which often involves tambour chain stitch), Coggeshall lace, tambour lace in general, and in all kinds of other embroidered laces made on net grounds.
I used cotton tulle in the tambour embroidery video that I shared with you the other day – not so much because I use tulle as a ground fabric very often, but because you could easily see what’s going on behind the fabric.
But the use of the cotton tulle generated some questions, which are worth addressing.
