I was creeping ever-so-steadily towards the halfway point on the Hungarian Redwork Runner this past Sunday. It was an indoor day, quiet, gloomy and cloudy outside with threatening storms, and perfect for some simple stitching. And I thought to myself, “Today will be the day I hit the halfway point!”

And I really thought it would be!

I found myself starting to nod. I don’t normally nod off over my stitching. But the weather, the silence, the perfect peace of the day, a late night the night before… you see how it can happen, right?

Then a Brilliant Idea struck me! I would do something I rarely (as in, pretty much never) do. I would watch a movie while I stitched! Imagine that! A quiet day, no interruptions, rain outside, a really good movie (I’m a sucker for BBC dramas). Doesn’t that sound ideal?

And it worked! I hit the halfway point on the runner! And I was pleased.

And I looked at it.

And I thought a bit.

And then I realized….

Time to do some organizing! Here on Needle ‘n Thread, whenever I work a major hand embroidery project all the way through and write about it, I like categorize and index the whole project so that all the articles about it are easy to find.

If you love embroidery and you want to learn embroidery – all different types of embroidery – one of the best places to find accessible, clear, thorough instruction in a variety of needlework techniques is Berlin Embroidery Designs.

Tanja Berlin was one of the first fine needlework teachers in North America to establish a thriving online business offering contemporary goldwork kits and supplies, needlepainting kits, fine whitework kits and supplies – all kinds of kits and supplies for fine needlework techniques that were just beginning to enjoy a resurgence of interest in the mid-1990’s. I remember just seven or eight years ago, searching up and down and all over the place for a good selection of goldwork threads available in one shop, and Berlin Embroidery was the only place in North America that I could find a really good selection of supplies. And since then, her selection has grown by leaps and bounds.

Last week, I introduced you to a new embroidery project I’ll be working through here on Needle ‘n Thread, called Mission Rose.

So far, we’ve looked at fabric choices for the ground fabric, transferring the embroidery design to the ground fabric, and framing up the fabric to get it ready for stitching.

Here’s the pattern I’m using for Mission Rose, in case you want to follow along on the project.

I’m always excited to share products that I think can improve the embroiderer’s life, especially when the improvement has to do with seeing our needlework better. I’d like to introduce you to a tool – a tool that can change the way you look at your embroidery. And I mean that literally!

Craftoptics are an incredible tool for people who do detail work – any kind of detail work – but they are especially wonderful for those of us who have vision problems and need to use magnification when doing embroidery.

Imagine small binoculars (or two jeweler’s loupes) that magnify your work considerably. Add a directional light beam that brightens up your work surface, and imagine both of these effects – good magnification and bright light – without a bulky magnifier positioned between you and your needlework. That’s what you get from Craftoptics.

I love chain stitch! It is So Very Versatile. From using it as a line stitch or as a filling stitch, to whipping the chain stitch and lacing it, to working buttonhole stitch across rows of it… there’s just a lot you can do with chain stitch.

When stitches work together in happy combinations, they make me happy! And this stitch combination – chain stitch + buttonhole stitch – works particularly well together, to make a sweet little scalloped edge.

Yesterday, we looked at the beginnings of a new embroidery project that I’ll be writing about here on Needle ‘n Thread over the next few… well, probably months rather than weeks! The project is called Mission Rose, and we’ll be working through it together intermittently, covering techniques and tips and mistakes and fixes and all that kind of stuff.

With the design for Mission Rose hammered out, and the ground fabric choices made and the fabrics prepped, it’s time to look at design transfer methods and framing up. I’ll also do my best to answer some questions that came in after yesterday’s article covering the start of the piece and ground fabric choices.

The topics of design transfer and framing up are open to interpretation. Keep in mind that this is just how I do these things. You might have a better way that works for you, and that’s just fine. In situations of embroidery design transfer, and in questions of embroidery frames, there’s no “only one right way,” so I’m sharing with you what I’m doing with this particular project, but feel free to pursue your own tack on these things, if it works better for you!