About

Mary Corbet

writer and founder

 

I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

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Organizing Monograms with William Morris

 

Amazon Books

What does William Morris have to do with organizing monograms and stitching samples? Well, I’m sure we could draw some kind of deep, meaningful tie, just by virtue of the fact that it’s embroidery, it’s arts & crafts, threads, fibers, what-have-you.

But the connection between my organizational methods for my upcoming bout of stitching and William Morris is hardly deep or profound or even meaningful.

But it’s one of those things that makes me happy, and because it makes me happy, I thought I’d tell you about it. Maybe this will lead to some further ideas on organizational methods, too.

Monogram Organization & William Morris File Folders
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Mission Rose: Applique Finished! What’s Next?

 

It’s been a little too long since we visited the Mission Rose project. Last time we looked at it, we were discussing the question of whether or not it was a mistake to appliqué blue silk into the corners around the central marquise shape.

Opinions were really divided on the addition of the blue! I’m glad, because that means that you feel comfortable expressing your needlework opinions on Needle ‘n Thread, which contributes to that sense of community that a blog is all about – we can discuss needlework things, and we can even have divergent views on this or that approach, but we still go forward.

In the long run, the whole Final Decision thing still falls back on me. Darn! It’s one of those situations where you can please some of the people most of the time, and most of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all the people all the time. Right?

But I am going to ask those who don’t really like the blue – those of you who are scratching your heads, raising your eyebrows, and wondering about my state of mental health – one big favor…

Mission Rose: Appliquéd Silk
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Monograms on the Brain – and Good Lighting for Needlework!

 

Now that Lavender Honey & Other Little Things is finished and available, it’s time to move on to some embroidery projects that have been weighing on my mind. And some of those projects involve monograms.

I am a lover of decorative initials and monograms. And they don’t even have to be mine! I don’t care what initials they are! I love monograms and decorative initials, and I love, love, love them when they are hand embroidered. It’s that marriage of hand embroidery and lettering, I suppose….

Monogrammed Guest Towel
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Free Hand Embroidery Pattern: Dots & Flowers – A Swashy Doodle

 

Here’s a free little hand embroidery pattern for you that came about in a typical way.

Why “typical”? Because I think a lot of people do this – or they do it more than they realize. I call it phone doodling. And I do it all the time.

While cleaning up my desk the other day, I came across several scraps and notes that were phone doodled. They happen when I’m on the phone. Sometimes, they happen when I’m chatting with a visitor at the kitchen table (isn’t that what paper napkins are for?).

I saw this particular doodle and I thought of two specific things that could happen with it, with embroidery.

Free Hand Embroidery Pattern: Dots & Flowers
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Transferring Embroidery Designs with Spray Starch

 

Last week when I reviewed the LightPad for transferring embroidery designs, I mentioned that I’ve transferred 52 monograms in the past month-ish. This generated a lot of questions, but the most common one was about the transfer process itself.

What do you use to trace monograms (or any patterns) onto linen, if the monogram is going to be laundered. Should the transfer be permanent? What if you can’t cover it up?…. Lots of questions about tracing designs.

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this tip before on Needle ‘n Thread, but if not, I should have! It deserves its own article, its very own space in cyberspace.

Spray Starch for Transferring Embroidery Designs
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