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
September 19, 2011
For those of you who live in the Northeast or may be traveling to the Northeast, you might want to take a day excursion (or two day… or three!) out to Delaware, to the Winterthur Museum between now and January 8th, to see their exhibition of textiles called “With Cunning Needle.” It includes some gorgeous pieces of historical embroidery and, of course, the Plimoth Jacket.
September 17, 2011
It’s been a while since I’ve posted another Hungarian embroidery pattern from Lilly’s Legacy! This one is really hard to name descriptively. It’s busy, it’s colorful, and for some reason, it reminds me of a circus. I think it’s the striped “pods” around the outside of the design.
Many of Lilly’s patterns weren’t necessarily intended as embroidery patterns, per se. They can certainly be used as embroidery patterns, as they are typical of the folk art traditions of Hungary, and this folk art translates well into Hungarian embroidery styles. But we’ve already seen patterns that were intended as wood inlay or painted designs. This particular pattern that I’m sharing with you today can be used for many arts & crafts applications: wood design, folk painting, appliqué, paper crafts, and – of course – embroidery. There is no indication on the pattern what Lilly intended this one for. All I can tell from the pattern is that it was painted in 1956.
September 16, 2011
I love gold passing thread! I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again! It always looks nice, no matter how it’s used. It’s just a great metal thread.
September 15, 2011
I’ve been tacking a lot of felt padding for goldwork lately. I thought I’d be a lot farther along two projects that involve felt padding, but hey… at least there’s some progress going on! (I feel as if I say that a bit too much – becoming an excuse, perhaps?)
September 14, 2011
Following up on Anne’s article yesterday on tips & techniques for using flat silk, here’s a photo of her embroidery set up, with the flat silk hitched onto her awl, which is stuck in a hole in her embroidery frame! I received lots of questions via e-mail about this method of securing the silk, so Anne snapped a photo!
I’ll also answer a few other questions about flat silk, and share a couple tips.
September 13, 2011
The following article is by Anne Gomes, who generously offered to write up some tips on using flat silk to share with you. (Thank you, Anne!) If you’ve ever worked with Japanese silk thread, you know that it can be quite difficult to get used to! Anne’s tips will come in handy if you ever want to venture into the world of flat silk threads. The tips are great for working with any flat (untwisted) filament silk, whether Japanese silk or not!
September 12, 2011
Well, you asked for it. You didn’t ALL ask for it, but some of you did! Remember last week when I mentioned my workroom, where I do most of my needlework?
I received quite a bit of feedback and quite a few questions. I thought I’d show you a “reality” picture – pretty much what things look like at the end of a day.
