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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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August 16, 2023

I’m Coming! I’m Coming!

 

Amazon Books

In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been AWOL (absent without leave) this week so far. And I apologize for that!

I’ve had a few things come up and an inordinate amount of appointments and the like lately. Normally, I pre-write my articles and have them more or less ready to publish each day, but I’ve gradually fallen so far behind that I have no pre-written articles in the queue, let alone any pictures edited and ready for spontaneous writing.

I’m catching up this week – and to that end, I will be “out” on Friday, too.

Hexie Quilt in Progress
Continue reading “I’m Coming! I’m Coming!”
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August 11, 2023

Sampling Stitches: the Whys & Wherefores

 

Oh! I had a big surprise earlier this week in response to Wednesday’s article – Where Did the Blogs Go? – at the end of which I asked if you had any topic suggestions or anything specific you wanted to learn regarding embroidery.

It worked out well, because I already had today’s article somewhat in the works, as a continuation of the “revisiting” series that I started earlier this summer. In that short series, we revisited topics or projects that I’ve covered in the past here on Needle ‘n Thread.

I received a lot of feedback on Wednesday’s blog post, and many good suggestions for embroidery topics to visit – or visit again – here on the website.

A repeated request had to do with learning stitches. And I realized that a lot of time has gone by since we chatted about one of my pet embroidery topics …

sampling embroidery stitches: the whys and wherefores
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August 7, 2023

Sweet Marguerite Part 3: Satin Stitch

 

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend – mine was hairy! But I’ll tell you more about that, and show you some fuzzy stuff, a little later.

The last time we visited Sweet Marguerite, we cleaned up the tissue paper from the transfer and we stitched the foundations and padding.

Today we’re going to tackle the satin stitch!

If you’re a member on Patreon, I’m still working on the complete PDF for you, that covers all the embroidery. I’ll have it up for you soon!

Sweet Marguerite Stitch Snippet Satin Stitch
Continue reading “Sweet Marguerite Part 3: Satin Stitch”
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August 4, 2023

What’s a Needle Minder and How to Use It

 

I’ve had this article in the works ever since we first launched our collection of hand-crafted bisque needle minders last month. I talked about them at the end of this article. Our first small batch sold out really quickly!

Since then, I’ve had many inquiries from stitchers of every level – from beginners to advanced – who have not used needle minders before. It’s true that they’re not an essential tool for the embroiderer, so no, you don’t need a needle minder to embroider!

Still, I like tools that provide a good service, and I like tools that are pretty. I like the little accessories that go along with needlework, especially when they perform a job and do it with a wee bit of attractive flair!

how to use a needle minder
Continue reading “What’s a Needle Minder and How to Use It”
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August 2, 2023

Helena Wintour: A Story Worth Seeing

 

Today, I want to share with you a somewhat obscure story involving embroidery that took place during a much-misunderstood and misrepresented time in history – a time during which, in fact, an extensive amount of needlework history was destroyed.

This is a story of a woman’s courage, independence, skill, and dedication, and I think it’s worth seeing.

Despite the historical roots of the title of the exhibition, it’s an unfortunate title and it can seem somewhat dubious. But don’t let it put you off!

Helena Wintour: A Story Worth Seeing
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July 31, 2023

Sweet Marguerite Part 2: Tidy Up & Whitework Foundations

 

Good morning! (I think I missed morning today. Sorry! A little life-glitch in the schedule.)

And Happy Monday!

Today, we’re going to continue forward with Sweet Marguerite. The work that we’re doing at this point is still “preliminary,” but now we’re looking at those steps that build the foundation of most of the whitework. Before we get there, though, we have to tidy up our transfer work.

For members on Patreon, there is no PDF today. Later this week, I will post a PDF that will cover all the embroidery, including this lesson and the rest of the whitework, in one document. I can’t cover all the embroidery in one article here on the blog because it’s just too much information for one blog post, but the PDF for Patrons later this week will have everything you need to finish the whitework embroidery. In the meantime, you can follow along here on the blog to start the foundation steps.

Ready?

Sweet Marguerite Part 2: Whitework Foundations
Continue reading “Sweet Marguerite Part 2: Tidy Up & Whitework Foundations”