November 13, 2023

St. Matthew Embroidery – Gotta Love an Auction!

I’ve spent the last five days watching an auction for this piece of Very Old Embroidery.

It’s kind of fun, to watch auctions – all the while hoping that you won’t see the price suddenly start to sky rocket.

Now, by “watching an auction,” I don’t mean I sat and stared at the screen for five days. It’s more like remembering, now and then, that I’m watching an auction, and taking a second to pop in and see how things are developing.

This looks to me like an exceptional piece of embroidery, and I’m glad to say I won it for almost a pittance in the scheme of things.

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November 9, 2023

Studio Life: Behind the Scenes!

Occasionally, I like to share a dose of reality about life in the studio here at Needle ‘n Thread.

I met an online friend for the first time the other day. She declared that she was glad to see I was “normal” because my workspace was a bit of a mess!

I asked what she imagined studio life to be at Needle ‘n Thread. Her response cracked me up.

She imagined some kind of Pinterest-perfect studio, color coordinated, immaculately clean, everything organized in particular nooks and crannies and drawers and shelves and nothing out of place. Every thread, every tool on my work table laid out in order, like a surgeon’s tray. Soft music and silence, birds chirping, the sun shining in the windows and a tea kettle always ready (ok, fine, yes, it is). Matching china for tea at a particular time every day. (!!! I must visit this parallel universe some day !!!)

She went on and on, painting this strange fantasy world that is entirely not Needle ‘n Thread. I just kept laughing as she described the sheer unreality of what she imagined my work life to be.

And I wondered how she came to have these impressions. Surely that’s not what comes across here in my blog posts. But just in case it does…

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November 6, 2023

Embroidery Progress & Finishing: Getting There!

Before I ever launch a Stitch Snippet stitch-along, I have to stitch the thing we’ll be stitching along. Sometimes, as we work through the stitch-along, I’m also stitching the thing. But it’s usually at least the second time, usually involving the improved version from the first prototype.

With the Stitch Snippet that I’m releasing in a couple weeks, something completely different is happening. I’m releasing a new Christmas downloadable PDF with multiple little projects in it this – like Twelve Trees for Christmas or Snowflakes: Twelve Winter Embroidery Projects. For the Stitch Snippet, we’ll actually be working through one of those projects together.

This means that I’ve stitched through at least twelve projects before the Stitch Snippet stitch-along goes live. And actually, I think there are about sixteen samples floating around here right now!

Yep, here at Needle ‘n Thread, the stitching fun never ends! Today, I’ll tell you a little bit about what to expect with the upcoming stitch-along, the kit, and the new downloadable project e-book.

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November 2, 2023

Stella Lights for Embroidery & Other Tasks

Lighting technology has changed a lot over the years.

With the advancements in lighting technology, these are some of changes I’ve noticed in task lighting in the past two decades:

LED task lights have vastly improved in color spectrum and in brightness (kelvins and lumens), making it less necessary to invest in bulbed task lights that require expensive replacements, that are heavier to move, and that generate heat.

The structure of task lights has changed significantly. They are lighter. They have better diffusion screens. Good quality task lights are made out of better materials for longer lasting use, and for better flexibility on the shafts and heads.

Cordless technology has significantly improved, allowing for longer-lasting battery-operated lights that don’t dim as as their life-juice drains. (This is a game changer for those who travel with lighting or who attend workshops and the like.)

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October 30, 2023

Best Sources for Good Embroidery Needles

You can’t embroider without a needle.

Every time I say something like that, I pause and think about it. It sounds so definitive. After all, maybe someone out there does embroider (in the standard way we think of embroidering) without a needle.

Thinking…. Thinking….

But no. I can’t fathom it – not in an efficient, easy, comfortable way, anyway.

So I’ll stand by that statement: you can’t embroider without a needle.

You can get away with stitching without a hoop. You don’t even need scissors, since there are other things that will cut thread. But a needle? It’s pretty essential.

When it comes to needles, there are needles. And then are Needles.

Because I’ve gotten some inquiries about needles lately, it’s a good subject to revisit.

Best Sources for Good Embroidery Needles

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October 27, 2023

How Many Beads

We’ve been weighing mountains of beads here in the studio.

When assembling supplies for kitting, I buy beads in bulk and then we break them down into little packages based on weight. I’ve written about weighing beads here, if you want to read about how we do it.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I want to make a distinction in types of embroidery involving beads. The way I see it, “embroidery with beads” implies that you’re working an embroidery project that involves beads, usually as accents. The majority of the work is regular embroidery with thread, and the beads are added for a bit of sparkle and zing.

On the other hand, “bead embroidery” is a type of embroidery that is worked with beads, and beads pretty much make up, or are involved in, the majority of the project.

For the most part here at Needle ‘n Thread, it works like this: I embroider, and I happen to accent some of it with beads, especially when creating festive ornaments and the like.

So I call it “embroidery” … with beads.

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October 25, 2023

Smooth & Flat – The Key to a Good Finish

As we finish up all our sample embroidery projects for the next Stitch Snippet – and for a new Christmas ornament PDF that we’ll be releasing next month (oh, and for a kit!) – it occurred to me that this is an ideal time to reiterate one of the most important steps that you don’t want to skip when you’re finishing an embroidery project.

It is by far the most satisfying step of the finishing process. It’s easy, too, so there’s no reason to skip it, as long as you’ve allowed yourself just a little bit of time for its magic to happen.

The step is damp stretching, and if the concept is new to you, then here’s the how and the why you should do it.

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

St. Matthew Embroidery – Gotta Love an Auction!

Studio Life: Behind the Scenes!

Embroidery Progress & Finishing: Getting There!

Stella Lights for Embroidery & Other Tasks

Best Sources for Good Embroidery Needles

How Many Beads

Smooth & Flat – The Key to a Good Finish

Connect with Mary

How-To Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos