April 26, 2023

Goldwork … and Holding!

Well, here it is. Wednesday, April 26th! The deadline for this goldwork project!

Ok, ok. It’s what I called “the first deadline.” I really wanted to be finished by today, since we have a family wedding this weekend, with family coming in from out of town for the event, and all kinds of activity going on. I knew it would get hairy around here! The “absolute” deadline is next Tuesday.

There were multiple spanners tossed into the works on pretty much every front lately, so, alas, here we are. Unfinished goldwork. Deadline looming. Wedding this weekend. Medical appointments. Last minute tree removal in front yard. House still in the process of construction. Another new toilet to be ordered. Little Blooms awaiting progress. And on and on and on.

But hey! Who doesn’t have this type of Life Episode now and then? It keeps things exciting (!) – and it gives us a chance to appreciate the those quiet, peaceful days. There’s bound to be some of those ahead shortly.

Today, I’ll share goldwork progress from Monday – we’ve gone a little farther since then – and then regretfully, I have to put you on hold for a wee bit. I’ll tell you about that below.

Goldwork medallion, Marian monogram altar cover

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

April 21, 2023

Little Blooms Part 4: More Stitches on the Vines!

Welcome to the next installment of Little Blooms: A Mini Snap Purse – a Stitch Snippets stitch-along on Needle ‘n Thread. If you are just joining us, you’ll find all the previous information on this project, plus a chronological list of previous lessons, in the Little Blooms Project Index here.

In Little Blooms Part 4, we’re going to take a quick look at two more vine treatments.

For members on Patreon, the PDF will come out next week. It will cover the vine stitches in general. Today’s installment here on the website will get you going on the vines, if you’re ready to move ahead. Otherwise, next week, I’ll map out all the stitch combinations for the vines in one PDF.

Today, we’re going to stitch two parts of the vine, using some composite and combination stitch techniques.

Little Blooms Part 4: More Stitches on the Vines

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

April 19, 2023

Little Blooms Project Index

As promised, here is the Project Index for Little Blooms: A Mini Snap Purse, part of the Stitch Snippets series here on Needle ‘n Thread.

In this stitch-along, you’ll learn all the embroidery techniques and finishing techniques to create, at your leisure, your own beautiful little snap purse.

All the instructions will appear here on the blog until we’ve worked our way through the whole project. The instructions include the pattern and materials that I used, along with stitching tips and techniques.

All members of the Needle ‘n Thread community on Patreon ($1 / month or more) receive each lesson in a downloadable and printable PDF format. The PDF lessons also include extras, like step-by-step photo instructions for stitches used on the project. For Dedicated and Avid Stitchers on Patreon ($3 – #5 / month), supplemental video tutorials for different parts of the project are also available.

You are welcome to purchase a materials kit if you would like to use the same materials I used on my finished sample. The materials kits have sold out a couple times now, but we’ll restock them as we can. The next re-stock will most likely be mid-May. I’ll let you know when we have them ready!

Stitch Snippets Mini Blooms Project Index

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

April 14, 2023

Little Blooms Part 3: Snap & Scrolls & More

Welcome to Part 3 of Little Blooms!

If you are just joining along with this stitch along, we’re working through a small project together here on Needle ‘n Thread. You can read the preliminary information in the project preview here, and you can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Next week, I will post an index where you can find all the lessons for the project listed chronologically in one spot.

For those who have asked, we will be restocking a supply of Little Blooms kits later in May. We have to wait for supplies to arrive and then prepare them. We won’t be able to start preparing them until the beginning of the second week of May.

If you are a member of the Needle ‘n Thread Community on Patreon, you will find the PDF download for today’s lesson posted later today. If you are signed up as a Dedicated or Avid Stitcher, I’ll have a supplementary video for you later this weekend.

As usual, please read through all the instructions before you begin stitching! Often, the questions you might ask if you jump in to stitch have already been answered a little further along in the article.

Uncategorized

April 12, 2023

Goldwork – Central Medallion in Progress

Good morning from Kansas! I hope you all enjoyed a beautiful weekend.

We had a lovely Easter here! I took the whole day off – not one stitch, despite a looming deadline. I had spent the day before picking out a lot of embroidery, so I knew I needed to take a good full day’s break so I could come back with fresh eyes! Sometimes, you just have to step away.

I’ll go into more detail on this part of the goldwork altar cover project a little bit later. I’ll cover information on threads, techniques, tips and so forth in a future article. But this morning, I just wanted to show you what I’m working on and tell you where we are on this project, which is due two weeks from today.

(Did I just say two weeks from today?)

Goldwork Altar Cover - Central Medallion

Uncategorized

April 7, 2023

Ecclesiastical Embroidery: The Distress of God

Today, on Good Friday, I thought I’d share a highlight from the regalia or paraments of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

The details below come from this antependium (a hanging made for the front of an altar), which is held at the Imperial Treasury of Vienna (Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Kunstkammer).

Can you imagine embroidering something like this? Or at least being a member of the company of artisans who embroidered it?

The Trinity - center panel on antependium, Order of the Golden Fleece, Imperial Treasury Vienna

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

April 5, 2023

Little Blooms Part 2: Stitch the Flowers

Welcome to the second installment of Little Blooms: A Mini Snap Purse, wherein we explore stitching the flowers clustered here and there around the design.

If you are not familiar with the way a stitch-along works, you can find further information on what to expect with this project in the preview of Little Blooms here.

Last week in Part 1, we setup the project. That’s where you’ll find the pattern and the embroidery design, along with information on transferring the design.

Members of the Needle ‘n Thread community on Patreon will find the PDF for this installment already available. If you’re in the Dedicated or Avid Stitcher levels, I’ll be posting a video supplement for you a little later this week.

So that’s the backstory – now let’s jump into the flowers, shall we?

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

Goldwork … and Holding!

Little Blooms Part 4: More Stitches on the Vines!

Little Blooms Project Index

Little Blooms Part 3: Snap & Scrolls & More

Goldwork – Central Medallion in Progress

Ecclesiastical Embroidery: The Distress of God

Little Blooms Part 2: Stitch the Flowers

Connect with Mary

How-To Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos