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 5, 2011
When Jana sent photos of her beautiful Schwalm table runner that she just completed, I knew I had to share them with you! Jana’s masterpiece took her five months to complete – and did she ever complete it. From the intricate Schwalm fillings to the exquisite edging, it’s a gorgeous piece of work. Take a look…
October 4, 2011
This is an elaborate hand embroidery pattern, but I think it’s pretty. It’s meant for ecclesiastical embroidery, but you can always adjust the passion flower (taking out the cross-shaped stamen that’s often seen in church patterns) and use the design for whatever you wish.
This is what I’ve been doing lately: cleaning up Lots and Lots of embroidery patterns. You can consider this a little preview of what’s coming in a church pattern e-book (available by the end of the month!) – though the patterns aren’t all quite this elaborate!
October 3, 2011
A big Thank You goes to Renaissance Dyeing for offering the two woad-dyed crewel embroidery thread packs for this give-away!
Without Andie’s offer, I would not have been so thoroughly entertained for the last few days! For some reason, the woad give-away inspired lots of witty responses. I decided the reason for this is that “woad” is just a funny word. Say it ten times slowly. You’ll see what I mean.
October 1, 2011
Since today is Saturday – and since the weather’s nice and there’s Much To Do – I just thought I’d pop in for a brief moment to let you know that I updated the Chain Stitch Video here on Needle ‘n Thread.
September 30, 2011
I’ve been thinking a lot about satin stitch lately. It’s probably the most question-provoking stitch out there. In concept, it isn’t a difficult stitch: really, when we satin stitch, all we’re doing is lining up straight stitches parallel to each other, to cover an area. Still, it’s not as easy as it sounds, is it?
The other day, I started browsing through articles on satin stitch here on Needle ‘n Thread, just to see if I’ve ever covered anything really meaningful and instructive about this glorious stitch – anything that people could really get their teeth into (or their fingers) and conquer once and for all the satin stitch. I came up with a lot of articles and a lot of thoughts on the stitch. It would take too long to recap too many points about satin stitch all in one place, so today, through pictures, I’m going to talk about materials that can be used to achieve a nice satin stitch. You can click on the photo to be taken to the blog post related to each photo.
September 29, 2011
Following up on the last couple days’ of posts on the dyeing of wool with woad, it’s time for a little give-away! Thanks to Andie of Renaissance Dyeing, we’re giving away TWO sets of woad-dyed wool (the woad range, pictured below). That is, two people will win the range! Pretty nice, eh? In order to have a chance at winning, read on and follow the directions!
September 28, 2011
You might wonder what pins (as in, sewing pins) and woad have in common. And I wonder the same thing! According to Tony Robinson, making pins and dyeing with woad are two of the worst jobs in history. Following up on yesterday’s post on dyeing wool threads with woad, I started squizzing around the internet and found some interesting information. But by far the most interesting – and entertaining – are a couple clips from Tony Robinson’s series, The Worst Jobs in History. So I thought I’d point these out to you, in case you haven’t seen them, to give a little more insight into the dyeing of wool with woad.
