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

Contact Mary

Connect with Mary

     

Archives

2025 (86) 2024 (135) 2023 (125) 2022 (136) 2021 (130) 2020 (132) 2019 (147) 2018 (146) 2017 (169) 2016 (147) 2015 (246) 2014 (294) 2013 (294) 2012 (305) 2011 (306) 2010 (316) 2009 (367) 2008 (352) 2007 (225) 2006 (139)
 

Vintage Linens: Lefkara Lace?

 

Amazon Books

About eight years ago, bumming around Kansas City one day, I ventured into an antique store wherein I found one of those happy little treasures – a complete set of vintage table linens, including a table runner, what I think must be a tea tray liner or sideboard cloth (larger than a placemat, but not long and narrow like a table runner), eight placemats, eight napkins. They were an oatmeal-ish color and in very good condition. I liked their simplicity, and I liked the drawn thread work and embroidery that adorned them. And the price was actually very good. They were asking $60 for the set, so I thought it would be All Wrong just to leave them there. I almost felt morally obliged to take them home! Heck, I just like vintage linens. I didn’t really need to convince myself…. (Are you with me?)

Vintage Table Linens: Lefkara Lace?
Continue reading “Vintage Linens: Lefkara Lace?”

Block Shading

 

Not much stitching went on this past weekend in my house! In fact, It’s taken me about a week now to tie up loose ends before the “official” beginning of summer, and in there, the needle didn’t get a whole lot of companionship! I’ll show you what I managed:

Tanja Berlin Embroidery Kit: Modern Jacobean
Continue reading “Block Shading”

Reader’s Needlework: A Tribute to Tenacious Stitching!

 

Pat Young wrote me a little note as I was nearing the completion of the Cluny miniature embroidery project, and told me about a needlepoint project that she began way back in the early 1990’s and had not finished. She tenaciously decided that she would finish it this year, and set about doing just that, tackling a little bit at a time, much in the manner of my 15-minute stitching philosophy (even if you only stitch 15 minutes here and there, you can make progress on a project).

Well, Pat finished ahead of her set deadline, and she sent a photo of the finished piece. And wow. Talk about tenacious! Here it is, and a little bit about it:

Needlepoint Squares
Continue reading “Reader’s Needlework: A Tribute to Tenacious Stitching!”

Birds for Whitework – Hungarian Embroidery Pattern #7

 

Here’s another hand embroidery pattern from Lilly’s Legacy. Like the “Hearts for Whitework” pattern posted in April, this one is painted simply in black. This particular style of pattern was apparently intended by Lilly to be a whitework embroidery pattern.

Like many of the other Hungarian embroidery patterns in this series so far, this one lends itself to all kinds of possibilities in other craft areas, including appliqués, paper and wood crafts, and so forth. For embroidery, though, the oblong nature of this design suggests a table runner to me.

Hungarian Hand Embroidery Pattern #7: Whitework Birds
Continue reading “Birds for Whitework – Hungarian Embroidery Pattern #7”

Another Needlework Finish in the (Near?) Future

 

After finishing the Cluny piece up last week, I sifted through a few other pieces of needlework I want to finish up and … ahem. Well, not to sound insulting… but I want to get them over with and out of the way! Makes it sound like I’m trying to plow through an Unpleasant Task, doesn’t it?

It’s not the case at all… not really! If they were Unpleasant Tasks, I’m pretty sure I could justify not doing them at all. (I’m really good at that!)

But they are Loose Ends, and I want to tie them up while I’m organizing my Knuckle-Into-Summer List. That’s the list of Big Things I want to do this summer. And I’m more likely to knuckle into those big things, if I have some little things finished and out of the way.

Tanja Berlin Embroidery Kit
Continue reading “Another Needlework Finish in the (Near?) Future”