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
July 19, 2023
Our newest set of ready-to-stitch towels has proved to be quite popular!
Something Fishy is a cute, fun towel set for summer, great for vacation stitching and for adding a little touch of tropical sunshine to your life!
For those who would like some ideas on color choices and stitch choices, here’s my final line-up of colors and some information on the stitches I’m using on this set.
July 17, 2023
It was twelve years ago that we first explored this goldwork and silk rose together here on Needle ‘n Thread.
Twelve! That’s a dozen!
Imagine setting about to eat a dozen donuts. By the time you faced donut 2.5, you’d certainly realize that a dozen is a lot!
Continuing on my quest to highlight some favorite project and tutorial series from the past, I thought I’d offer up this goldwork & silk rose tutorial for those who haven’t seen it and for those who may have forgotten about it but might find it enticing and useful now.
July 14, 2023
Gosh, I was thinking Friday would never arrive this week! I’m so excited that Sweet Marguerite is now duly launched.
You can find the kits for Sweet Marguerite, our next stitch-along project, right here in the shop, just waiting for you.
At this time, we’re out of beeswax petites and we’re out of needle minders. I always have an early shopping event for members on Patreon before I launched a new product in my shop, and – due to the hand-made, slower-made nature of those products – we didn’t have as many as I would have liked. But we are making more. I will let you know when they’re ready again.
We also sold out of the blue option on the kits during the early shopping event, but we have enough blue linen to prepare more and get them shipped right away. I’ve put some more blue in stock for you. Just note that the project is a sample project – it’s to learn a few techniques – and all the colors are the same high quality linen. So if the blue sells out, don’t hesitate to grab another color kit!
Now the kits are ready to ship, let’s talk about how the stitch-along will unfold!
July 12, 2023
This morning, I would like to introduce you to Sweet Marguerite and tell you all about this little Stitch Snippets stitch-along project!
I’ll tell you what we’ll learn during the course of the stitch along and what you can expect as the project develops here on the website, including kit information, scope of the project, and other useful information.
After we’ve discussed Sweet Marguerite, I’ll share a few other bits that I think are pretty exciting, too – especially news about our new line of beautiful and functional needle minders!
July 10, 2023
Good morning and Happy Monday! And Hurray! This is The Week!
It’s the week we’re launching the second Stitch Snippet project of 2023! And we’ll do that on Friday. So, this Friday, we’ll be launching the kits for Sweet Marguerite, which is a small hemstitched linen square, decorated with a sprig of whitework embroidery.
I’ll go into more detail on the project as the week progresses, and tell you a little more about the kit on Friday when it launches. Suffice it to say for now that the kit contains everything you need to complete the project, except scissors and a hoop! I even included a great little pair of tweezers that is ideal for your embroidery workbox. The kit for this project will float around the $22-or-less price range.
In the meantime, here’s the final sneak peek, after finishing up the decorative hemstitching on one of the samples.
July 6, 2023
Well, here we are! Almost back on track! I hope all of you in the US had a grand holiday weekend / week-beginning.
I returned home from a short break in Kentucky just in time for the 4th of July festivities here in Kansas, which were wildly outdone by huge storms that swept through on Tuesday evening, replete with 85-mph winds and loads of rain. It’s still a bit of a mess!
Today, let’s continue with this series of revisiting older topics on Needle ‘n Thread. Instead of talking about a needlework technique, though, we’ll talk about a wonderful needlework resource.
I’ll send you down one of my favorite rabbit holes with some good reading for the upcoming weekend, and I’ll share with you the exciting things coming up next week on Needle ‘n Thread!
July 3, 2023
We’ve revisited gingham embroidery on Needle ‘n Thread several times over the years, but when summer comes, I always think it’s a subject worth drawing to your attention again.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly ten years since I put together this index devoted to embroidery on gingham (also called “chicken scratch” here in the US). And some of the information and tutorials stretch all the way back the first years of the blog! That’s seventeen years! Crazy!
Gingham embroidery is one of those styles of needlework that evokes a certain nostalgia, I think. There’s something very homey about it. While it seems a bit old fashioned and relegated to a certain era, it isn’t, really. It’s so easy to update the look of gingham embroidery with modern color trends, bright and crisp fabrics, and different types of fibers.
This is a colorful and fun style of embroidery that’s accessible to anyone – from child to adult, from beginner to advanced stitcher.
