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
Contact Mary
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
Contact Mary
October 28, 2011
For your browsing pleasure, here are a few needlework-related articles, resources, and fabulous things that have caught my attention lately. Perhaps within the mix, you can find something that is particularly interesting or useful or inspirational for you, too!
Let’s start with the academic, just so we don’t feel as if we’re wasting time!
October 27, 2011
The angle at which you slant your satin stitch makes a difference in the outcome of your stitching. Have you ever asked yourself this question: “Why do they say to start the satin stitch in the middle of an element and work to the edge? Why not just start at the edge and work across?”
One of the reasons (there are two, in my mind) is that it’s in the middle of the element that you set the slant of your stitches.
Let me show you what I mean.
October 26, 2011
This week, I’ve made a little progress on my Medallion project I showed you a couple weeks ago. It’s a commissioned piece of church embroidery that needs to be finished this coming spring. I’m shooting for February.
The piece goes quickly enough when there are good chunks of time to devote to it. I’ve got about 6 projects going right now, but this is a priority, so more time is spent on it than on the other projects… You know how it is!
October 25, 2011
When you’re getting ready to launch into a hand embroidery project, do you struggle with the question of which needle to use with which thread? This is one of those “frequently asked questions” that arrive in the inbox every few days, so I know it’s a prevalent question among many stitchers!
Well, the folks in the Valley Quail EGA chapter out in California came up with a solution that can help you answer all your questions about which needle to use! Since 1996, they have been selling as a chapter fundraiser a little fat book called The Needle Index.
October 24, 2011
When thread and stitch work well together, it can be very satisfying! Even though I’ve only stitched a tad on the upcoming embroidery projects I showed you last week, the experience was a good one. The result – amoré! I love floche, I love satin stitch – and I adore the marriage of the two.
October 21, 2011
Yesterday, I took a small step.
All hand embroidery projects are made up of steps of some sort – some are large, some are small, and this step, though indeed small, was satisfying.
October 20, 2011
Di van Niekerk’s new book Roses in Silk and Organza Ribbon is a visual feast. No one does ribbon work quite like Di. Her work is sumptuous!
When Seneca said that art is an imitation of nature, I think he had Di’s roses in mind. They are certainly art, in perfect imitation of nature’s most glorious flower.
