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.

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.

All the waste knots cut, all the threads secured – ’tis the finish of this second practice piece on my quest to learn how to wield a tambour hook with accuracy, (relative) speed, and ease.

When working with the tambour needle – and really, when working in any embroidery technique – practice is essential if you want to be perfectly comfortable with the tools, no matter what circumstances you find yourself in.

I prefer practicing on a particular design, rather than in random blobs, rows, and patches. When practicing on a design, there’s that whole Sense-of-Accomplishment Thing going on, you know?

Keep in mind that this project was a practice piece. There wasn’t much planning that went into it. With a little tweaking in shades and placement of colors in the design, I think the finished piece could be much improved. But here it is, anyway, for what it’s worth!