May 31, 2013
Mission Rose: The Inner Petals
Back to the Mission Rose embroidery project here! The rose is coming along….
May 30, 2013
Stitch Fun: Oyster Stitch Buds
Oyster stitch is an isolated embroidery stitch made up of a twisted chain stitch wrapped with a regular chain stitch, to form a chubby roundish-oval stitch that works well for petals and the like. I’m pretty sure it’s called oyster stitch because it resembles the shape of an oyster shell.
I like oyster stitch, but I don’t use it too often on its own. Lately, though, I’ve taken to stringing oyster stitches together into a line of oyster stitches, so that they look like little buds.
For today’s Stitch Fun tutorial, I thought I’d show you how to make some oyster stitch buds, using oyster stitch as a line stitch.
May 29, 2013
Needle ‘n Thread Technical Stuff: RSS Readers!
For those of you who read Needle ‘n Thread via an RSS feed – and especially via Google Reader – I thought I’d address some technical issues that are coming up in the next month.
I don’t generally like writing about the technical side of blogging because it can be really boring for folks who aren’t interested in that kind of stuff. You’re here for an embroidery fix, after all – not for technical tips on using the internet!
But there’s a changes coming up, especially for those of you who read Needle ‘n Thread and other blogs through Google Reader, so I thought it might be a good time to address those changes.
Now, for those of you who read Needle ‘n Thread directly on the website or via the daily e-mail newsletter, this doesn’t necessarily apply. If you still want to have your morning coffee with me, read on. If not, I understand!
May 28, 2013
Free Hand Embroidery Pattern: Czech Inspired Folk Flowers
Here’s a free hand embroidery pattern for you, doodled up over the weekend. It is a slightly altered version of a design from an old book – resource below!
The embroidery pattern come about like this…
Step back to my childhood with me! Memorial Day weekend transports me to childhood. Those three day weekends at the beginning and end of the summer – Memorial Day and Labor Day, respectively – were reserved for certain family rituals.
And while most people were beginning or ending the summer with picnics and cook-outs, or enjoying the first or last summer fling of camping by the lake, or lining streets for parades while slurping snow cones or dissolving into sticky messes of cotton candy – not us! No, no! We had our own unique family ritual.
It was called “Cleaning the Garage,” and while it’s a family joke now, it has become a deep-seated kind of urge. Memorial Day weekend comes around, and I feel compelled to clean the garage.
May 27, 2013
Mission Rose: Leaves Accomplished – Rose … Getting There!
If you’re just popping in here on Needle ‘n Thread for the first time, we’re working our way through a hand embroidery project called “Mission Rose,” worked in silk (and eventually gold threads) on a silk ground. You can find all the articles relating to this project in the Mission Rose Index, if you’d like to follow along or catch up on the project.
Well, after a distressing series of mishaps with the little leaves around the rose, they’re finally finished. And I’ve moved on to the rose, which is a refreshing change from greens.
Let’s look at what happened with the leaves at last, and then see some progress on the rose.
May 25, 2013
In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion – Book Review
When I heard a couple months ago that The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace would be hosting an exhibit by the Royal Collection Trust titled In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion this summer (May – October, 2013), I knew I’d have to get my hands on the exhibit catalog.
So I did!
May 24, 2013
Needle Tins – Store Your Needles in Style
There’s something about needlework accessories… something that compels us to buy them, use them, enjoy them.
When I first started embroidering as a kid, accessories were never part of the package. I didn’t even have real scissors at first. I remember biting my thread to cut it!
But as an adult, I’ve found that needlework accessories and specialty tools are part and parcel of my whole love affair with embroidery. However, I’m not prone to “collecting” them just for the sake of having them. They have to be useful. And if they’re attractive to boot – well, that’s just the best type of accessory, in my mind!
Today, I’d like to show you a new accessory on the market – one that I believe is useful, unique, and attractive. I love these little needle tins!
While we look at them, we’ll chat with Lamora Haidar of Access Commodities, who conceived the idea for the needle tins and had them made for distribution. We’ll learn a little bit about the whole needlework accessory market, how ideas come about and progress to a finished product, and glean a little insight to this love of accessories to which many embroiderers are prone.
