The Anchor Manual of Needlework is a hefty needlework tome that’s been around since the 1950’s. I haven’t had it on my shelf that long, I assure you! But I do have the reprint, and today I’m going to tell you a bit about it. When it comes to reference books, this is one of the standard books that’s nice to have on the shelf.

This is “stash” post by yours truly – an opportunity to introduce you to supplies that I have in my needlework stash that you might not know are on the market, and that might be Just The Thing you need or want for your own needlework. Remember the post I wrote a while back on Accentuate thread? My purpose there was the same – to introduce you to something on the market so that you know that it’s out there. My point is not to “sell” you the stuff, but just to inform you of needlework goods that exist, in case you’re looking for something similar!

Today’s “stash post” is to introduce you to Soft Metallic Twist.

Here’s the third post on Kathy’s “Spring in Italy” Sampler, focusing on embroidering a motif using cotton floche, which is an all-time favorite thread of mine! (Well, it, and a how many other favorite threads? We better not count!) Floche is a beautiful cotton thread. It’s a non-strandable mercerized cotton with a wonderful sheen, and it’s very soft and fine. If you’d like to read more about it, you can check out this comparison of floche with Danish flower thread (a matte thread) or this comparison of floche with other cottons. You can also check out this delectable collection of the range of cotton floche, which I love looking at, but haven’t touched yet!

Kathy Andrews is guest writing this series of articles for Needle ‘n Thread on using Italian pottery as inspiration for an embroidery project. For more information on her project, her first article covers the design process and her second article takes a look at working a motif in wool.

Trees show up a lot in surface embroidery, and Kathy Shaw, author of the blog Shawkl, has a few hand embroidered trees to show us, along with some great tips on how to make them! Enjoy!

Need to stitch a fast and fabulous motif? How about a tree!

Kathy Andrews shares her first step on her Spring in Italy Sampler. If you’re just picking up on this series, be sure to check out the first article on Kathy’s design process on designing a hand embroidery project using Italian pottery as inspiration.

Here’s the first stitched design of the “Spring in Italy Sampler.” Why Spring in Italy? I have been to Italy many, many times, at all times of the year. Spring is the best. There aren’t nearly as many tourists as later in the summer, the air is fresher and the colors are clearer. Whenever I use this pottery, that’s what I remember – a cool, spring day in the hills of Italy. (Before those of you living outside Europe think I’m made of money…the distance from where I live in Berlin, Germany to Florence, Italy is the same as traveling from Ames, Iowa to Denver, Colorado. It’s a vacation spot but not the trip of a life time as it would be if I were living in the USA!)

A couple days ago, I introduced you to Yuki Sugashima of Barefoot Shepherdess, who uses natural dyes to color various threads and yarns for needlework. Today, Yuki presents a few of her favorite plants that she uses to dye her threads. Enjoy!

What inspires your creativity? In this series of guest posts, Kathy Andrews is going to explore several different designs inspired by Italian pottery. She’s going to show us not only her designing process, but also the effects of different threads used on similar designs.