The other day, we looked at this fantastic piece of goldwork embroidery by Cristina Badillo. When Cristina sent the piece off to Larissa, who commissioned it, she sent along some samples of the various gold threads in the piece.

Larissa, understanding my inordinate infatuation with goldwork threads, generously shared some cuttings with me, and today, I want to share them with you, virtually.

I like to examine embroidery threads from different countries, especially goldwork threads. Here in the States, most of our goldwork threads come from England and Japan, but there are other goldwork thread manufacturers in other parts of the world, too; looking at these threads may give us a broader perspective on goldwork and may also help those who are interested come up with resources in their own countries or in other countries.

Oh my goodness, we all seem to like and want the Stella lamp!!

I loved reading all your comments on the original give-away article for the tabletop Stella. I’m glad I’m not the only one attracted to the lamp because of its sleek design. I think it’s a nice-looking lamp, and, as many of you said, it seems to have “personality.”

Yesterday, I reviewed the Stella lamp for you – it’s a nice task lamp that works really well for hand embroidery, other arts and crafts, reading, writing, and the like. It’s also a great lamp for carrying to workshops and classes.

Today, courtesy of Needle in a Haystack, I’m giving away a Stella! I’m excited about it, too – with autumn and winter coming on in the States and the days getting shorter, it’s a great time to add a little more light to your life!

So, we’ve chatted a bit about color in hand embroidery projects lately, and yesterday we talked a bit about color and the eyes. Today, I’d like to follow up with a review of a good light for hand embroidery.

We’ve talked about lighting before here on Needle ‘n Thread. I’ve reviewed the BlueMax lamps that I use in my workroom, and the Dublin Craftlite LED light and magnifier, and I’ve used all kinds of other lights, too, from various types of Ott lights, to “HD” craft lights, to LED clip ons – you name it. I don’t have very good eyesight, so good lighting has always been one of my Great Quests.

There lots and lots of craft lights available out there, and it’s difficult to differentiate between them without either using them yourself or doing a little research. So here’s another review – this time, of Stella lamps.

Remember last week when we discussed color choices and stitches for embroidery?

Today, I want to mention another point about color choices for embroidery projects, and it is this: the colors you choose, even if you like them (but especially if you don’t), can make your embroidery project a misery to work on.

There can be a number of reasons for this – sometimes they can be emotional or psychological. But one reason is more objective – it is a physical reason. It has to do with the eyes.