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
November 20, 2010
If you enjoy needlework and you spend a lot of time at it, you know the value of taking care of your eyes, right? I’m going to talk to you today, very candidly, about a sore spot of mine. I’m going to be open and honest. I’m going to talk about…. *gulp* ….
….. my magnifier light.
November 19, 2010
It’s true. All the things I Should Be Doing as far as embroidery is concerned, I’m Not Doing. Not a rebellious streak here, not negligence, not lack of motivation. Just the simple, everyday problem of priorities! Work is keeping me busy. And it’s a busy time of year! So if I get to any “real” needlework at all the in the next week, I’ll be doggone surprised.
But in the meantime, the Felt & Floche Embroidered Chaos I started a couple weeks ago has served a really good purpose. Because it’s uncomplicated, because it involves only a needle, a little bag of random thread (in this case, a hodge-podge of loose floche in a ziplock), and a piece of felt – no hoops, no tools, no frame, no stand, no pattern, no instructions, no books, nothing beyond the basics – I can leave it out and grab it in an instant. It is “simplified” needlework. And this type of year, methinks it is good to simplify.
November 17, 2010
Lately, I’ve been sharing with you some treasures from old ecclesiastical embroidery, cleaned up into patterns and print-ready. Today’s hand embroidery pattern is another such piece, with lots of possibilities for embroidery, whether secular or ecclesiastical.
I suppose one reason I’m sharing the patterns – besides wanting you to enjoy them, too – is because I’ve had such little time to embroider lately, and I’m hoping Someone Out There is having more luck putting needle and thread to fabric and producing something! Since I can’t seem to do all the things I’d like to be able to do right now, maybe someone else can!
November 16, 2010
The crested chain stitch! It’s pretty, it’s fairly simple, and it’s a neat little stitch to add to your repertoire!
What I like best about this stitch is that it can be made large or small, with just about any thread, on any fabric, and the look can be varied quite a bit, depending on how you work the stitch. You can use a heavier thread and increase the height of the stitch between the chain stitch and the top knot, and come up with something completely different looking when compared to the stitch worked small and compact with a finer thread. My favorite look of the stitch, though, is a bit more compact, used as an edge or border stitch.
November 15, 2010
It’s been a long time since I’ve written about needlework-related embellishments here on Needle ‘n Thread, and it’s been even longer since I’ve written about singing frogs.
The subject of Singing Frogs hasn’t come up too often in my life, actually, but when I came across this button in a little specialty shop one day, I succumbed to ISS – Impulse Shopper Syndrome – and I bought the darned thing! I thought I’d show it to you and share my needlework-related plan for it.
November 13, 2010
The twisted chain stitch is a decorative line stitch that’s great for curves, straight lines, seam treatments in crazy quilting, or stems and branches in all kinds of surface embroidery (think: crewel work). Depending on how far you enter the fabric from the line you’re following, the “barb” on the twisted chain stitch will either be very noticeable (if you take your needle into the fabric far above or below your line) or hardly noticeable at all (if you work close to your line).
November 12, 2010
Remember that felt and floche embroidery project I started the other day? It’s the only project I’ve ever named that actually had some sense in the name – Embroidered Chaos! Thank you all so much for your name input on yesterday’s embroidery pattern – your comments were so fun to read! It was fun to see how people’s perceptions are in many ways the same, and in many ways completely different!
Beginning the felt and floche embroidery project was rather fortuitous. It’s gotten an interesting reaction from among my students, and has raised a compelling question.
