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
April 23, 2011
The other day, I ranted about my love of satin stitch for monogramming – and I still haven’t changed my mind! It’s just a glorious stitch!
So here’s the finish of the monogrammed linen towel I was working on, with a few hints and tips along the way.
April 22, 2011
Here’s a nice little cross pattern that can be used for all kinds of ecclesiastical hand embroidery applications.
April 21, 2011
This week, I’ve spent a lot of time (a LOT of time) getting my workroom cleaned up and organized, in anticipation of two things: 1. several Big Projects coming up; and 2. that glorious time of year called Summer, which is when I get most of my needlework-work and major blog work done.
Between cleaning up the Disaster Zone that’s my workroom and an Incident with a Needle, I’ve learned again (for the umpteenth million time) one of Life’s Most Valuable Lessons.
April 20, 2011
Monograms and satin stitch just seem to go together. True, true, there are other ways of embroidering a monogram, besides using satin stitch. But I’m infatuated with satin stitch – it is the Queen of Stitches, in my book. It’s a gorgeous stitch.
Here’s a little monogramming project I’m working on right now. It’s not “little, little” – the monogram itself is 3″ tall – but it’s not huge, either. It’s just a little monogram being stitched onto a lovely linen towel.
I started out using Londonderry linen thread, which is a high quality linen thread (as linen threads go, it’s really the smoothest one I’ve ever used). Londonderry linen thread comes in 5 different sizes (from 18/3 – 100/3), and for this project, I started out with 80/3 (which is fairly fine, for linen thread) in red.
April 19, 2011
Because Easter is coming up, and because you’re all such a swell bunch of readers, and because Access Commodities sent me this beautiful thread kit, and because it’s rainy and gloomy in Kansas and I need to make my own sunshine….
because of all of that….
… and the fact that I somehow deleted the article I was supposed to post today….
It’s time for a give-away!
Silk and gold threads are The Best, aren’t they? And I think you need some!
April 18, 2011
In case you haven’t seen the very nice and interesting little blurb on CBS about the Royal School of Needlework, you should!
April 16, 2011
Just a short little update this morning to show you some progress on the miniature “Lady & Unicorn” piece that I’ve been stitching on. Nope, I haven’t abandoned it for other things – even though there are about sixty gazillion embroidery projects floating around here right now!
Still, this little piece has been a pretty good carrot, so I have to keep it going! And, though the progress is slow, with literally just a few minutes here and there now and then being devoted to it – still, it’s getting somewhere!
