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 17, 2011
Desperate times call for desperate measures – even in the calm and sedate world of hand embroidery.
I have a hand problem. It’s called “Dishes,” which closely akin to that other problem called “Meal Preparation.” Normally, I expect chapped or rough skin on my hands in the winter months, and I prepare for it. But I was taken unawares when this situation creeped up on me last week.
October 14, 2011
After yesterday’s post on working the stem stitch with two strands on silk using a laying tool, many people asked “What’s a laying tool and how do you use it?” Here’s a bit about laying tools and how they’re used.
October 13, 2011
Yesterday, I showed you the frame up on the church embroidery project I’m working on, and as the project unfolds, I’ll show you my progress on it, including tips and techniques that would be useful for all kinds of embroidery, whether church related or not.
So today, let’s look at the start. It isn’t too impressive right now, but there are a few tips here worth sharing.
October 12, 2011
Hand embroidery is much easier when you work with the right tools. Today, I’ll illustrate this point by taking you through the rather shoddy set-up of my latest embroidery project.
This is a commissioned piece of church embroidery. I should have started it a month ago, but I offer no excuses beyond the fact that my Subconscious Self had a certain premonition that the set-up would go the way it did.
October 11, 2011
When my niece asked me to draw her a scarecrow, I really wasn’t thinking in terms of hand embroidery (incredibly enough). But this is what we concocted, and I thought I’d pass it on to you, in case you’re looking for something cutesy and fallish to embroider. Maybe if not for you, for the kids – and if nothing else, it can always be a coloring page, right?
October 10, 2011
I’ve been thinking about linen lately.
Ok, what’s new? I think about linen a lot! I thought about linen here (different types of linen for hand embroidery and where to find them), and I thought about it here (5 things you need to know about hand embroidery fabric), and I thought about it some more here (when I was considering embroidering on antique linens).
So this is just another post about linen, right? Because, after all, I think about it a lot.
No, no! Wait! That’s not it! Let me differentiate: Linen as opposed to linens. Linen The Fabric vs. Household Linen. See? There’s a difference! And today, I’m thinking of the latter linens.
My mind has turned towards monogramming lately, and before I ever embark upon a Big Project in any particular technique – especially if I’m planning the project for the website, or for teaching, or for a kit – I like to study up on the various aspects of it: social history, background of techniques, materials involved, and so forth.
Which brings me to this book:
October 7, 2011
Last year, I made the over-hasty announcement that I would be attending Beating Around the Bush, 2012, down in Australia. Alas, for me, it was over-hasty, because I’m not going after all. At the time, I wasn’t aware of the various project deadlines that Country Bumpkin had to meet for marketing the event, and, having three teaching jobs in three different schools, I couldn’t meet the project deadlines by last January. So I had to renege. Life is like that.
Wouldn’t it be great to say, “Let’s meet in Adelaide and have a cuppa?” It would be so fun to meet you face to face and enjoy a real chat! And I think needlework events like Beating Around the Bush are a great way to connect with fellow stitchers and to enjoy that “community spirit” with a bunch of kindred spirits!
