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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The Art of the Mistake, or How to Improve in… Everything!

 

Amazon Books

As embroiderers, we’ve all spent time picking out stitches, pulling out threads, repairing small errors – indulging in what is (affectionately?) called reverse stitching, frogging (rippit! rippit!) or similar terms of endearment.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a body in possession of life is prone to make mistakes.

And in the world of hand embroidery, we are not immune from the mistake-making tendencies of humanity. It is part of the game.

But I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – mistakes should never hold a person back. We’ve surely heard all the sayings: “A mistake is an opportunity waiting to happen,” or “it’s not how many times you fall that matters, but how many times you get back up” – plus many more. And they’re all true. Perception and reaction, when it comes to mistakes, are everything.

Every misplaced stitch, every knotted thread, every tangled mass, every unfortunately chosen color or thread – they all have a silver lining, depending on how you look at them and how you react to them.

The Art of the Mistake: We all Make Them
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Weekend Distraction: Boutis, Quilting, Embroidery, Stuffing…

 

I’ve always been fascinated by the boutis quilts of southern France.

Once upon a time, I told myself that I was going to make my own boutis-style coverlet by hand, some day. A big one!

I’ve pretty much abandoned that plan – my to-do list will already outlive me, and I have too many items higher up on it – but I’m still in love with the style. I enjoy reading about it, exploring it now and then, and whenever a video comes my way that focuses on boutis, I tend to devour it.

Boutis quilt technique video
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I Found It! or The Tale of a Lost Embroidery Tutorial

 

Sometimes, I sit and ponder an embroidery design for a long time before I settle on a particular stitch to use on it.

Or sometimes, I dive right in with a particular stitch in mind, find out it’s All Wrong, take it out, and then ponder.

I find it’s usually more efficient to ponder first, but I tend to learn more when I dive right in. Ahem. I learn things like the fact that it’s more efficient to ponder first…

Stem Stitch Rose Tutorial
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Love Your Eyes: Lighting for Embroidery

 

We can talk all we want about favorite needlework tools – the best scissors, the necessity of a good hoop or frame, the perfect needle, our favorite accessories, the can’t-do-without somethings that we habitually reach for when we stitch – but there’s a non-contestable Absolute in the world of needlework that I think we can all agree we can’t do without if we want to stitch.

These are built in tools. They are unfathomably complex. And, if we’re doing needlework, every one of us uses them.

You know what I’m talking about:

Our eyes.

Love your Eyes: Lighting for Embroidery
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A Little Project in the Works

 

Yesterday, when all was calm and quiet in the studio, the blinds were drawn against the sun (because, yes, we’re up near 100 degrees here in Kansas! gaaaaaaah!), a book was playing in the background, and I had the place all to myself… I started a new and small embroidery project.

This is the type of project I really love, because it can be finished in a weekend.

And I don’t mean a weekend only devoted to stitching, either. It’s a project that you can start on one of those Friday evenings when the weekend has started, the weather is cold, the dark comes early, you don’t feel like going out, but you need something to do. Creative things fill that need well!

You start the project, you entrench yourself in it, you work most of the embroidery that evening. Saturday comes, you want to get back to it but you have all those typical Saturday chores, so you get them done and – voila! You’re back to your project. You finish the embroidery. And at some point on Sunday, you take an hour or so from your day and you finish the project into a beautiful little something.

It’s that kind of project. I love that kind of project.

I’m not going to show you the whole project just yet, but I promise that I will soon! For now, I just want to introduce you to it and chat a bit about “quick” slow stitching.

embroidery stitches and greenery
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Powerful yet Beautiful Embroidery Tools

 

As I was trucking along on this embroidery project I showed you on Monday, finishing all the line stitching and venturing on to the satin stitched berries, I decided to put two powerful – and yet very beautiful – embroidery tools to use.

I’ve mentioned these tools and their maker before, but this particular set of tools is so intriguingly beautiful, so luxurious to hold, so exquisitely balanced, so smooth and glassy while being nicely weighty… aaaaahhhhh! I just have to share them again.

aficots and laying tools for embroidery
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Weekend Stitching & Thoughts

 

I managed to get in a bit of stitching this weekend!

That’s Big News! Once upon a time, weekend stitching was a normal thing in my life. I’m trying to reclaim that.

And while I didn’t get massive amount done, it was nice to get something done. Just a little bit of progress is always better than no progress at all, after all.

The stitching I’ve been doing on this project is very simple, very relaxing, not complicated at all.

Holly & Evergreen project on pre-finished linen
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