About

Mary Corbet

writer and founder

 

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

Connect with Mary

     

Archives

2025 (74) 2024 (135) 2023 (125) 2022 (136) 2021 (130) 2020 (132) 2019 (147) 2018 (146) 2017 (169) 2016 (147) 2015 (246) 2014 (294) 2013 (294) 2012 (305) 2011 (306) 2010 (316) 2009 (367) 2008 (352) 2007 (225) 2006 (139)
 

Cherry Blossom Roundel from Jane Nicholas

 

Amazon Books

A long time ago, back in August of 2022, I reviewed Jane Nicholas’s latest embroidery book, Japanese Motifs in Stumpwork & Goldwork, which you can read about here.

Jane Nicholas is a professional embroiderer and embroidery designer from Australia. She’s instructed at the EGA (Embroiderers’ Guild of America) National Seminars and regional workshops, and she’s traveled around the world as a teacher. I’ve written about her pretty abundantly here on Needle ‘n Thread, too, reviewing many of her books, so many of you are likely familiar with her work.

Jane’s beautiful designs have a pristine, clear quality about them. They’re unmistakable – you can always recognize them as hers, even thought she draws from myriad styles of art.

Cherry Blossom roundel from Jane Nicholas
Continue reading “Cherry Blossom Roundel from Jane Nicholas”

Flax to Linen – Your Weekend Viewing

 

My all-time favorite fabric for hand embroidery is linen. I love good linen, so I’m always at pains to seek it out and acquire it, not just for personal stitching but also for the kits and supplies that I offer here on Needle ‘n Thread.

Linen for hand embroidery is fairly widely available these days, if you really go to the effort to look for it. But quantity is one thing – quality is another. We have that “embarrassment of riches,” but it still takes effort to find the Good Stuff.

Luckily, there are people out there who care about getting really good linen into the hands of stitchers. There are companies that still make beautiful linen (predominantly in Europe), there are distributors who go to the effort and expense to bring it into the country so that shop owners have access to it, and there are shop owners who understand that there are stitchers who want good linen and they go to the effort and expense to stock it. And all this investment in money and effort keeps awareness up and it keeps the supply line going for now. And that’s a good thing!

But have you ever thought about how linen comes to be?

Flax to Linen Video
Continue reading “Flax to Linen – Your Weekend Viewing”

Jacobean Sea & Jacobean Bird – Project Index

 

Good morning, and Happy Monday!

I would love to tell you how great things turned out last week with the eye procedure, but in fact, it hasn’t happened yet. It was delayed until today, so I’ll be heading in for that shortly. There’s nothing quite like extending the anxiety factor just a little bit longer!

I love starting a week this way. It’s get better, though! The front half of my house is being demolished this week. I admit, I’m keen to watch the progress on that.

In any case, that’s where we are. 2023 is off to such a great start. There’s nothing for it, but to laugh!

Today, I’m just doing a bit of housekeeping on the website again, by way of another project index, this time for Jacobean Sea and its bird variation.

Jacobean Sea Embroidery Project Index
Continue reading “Jacobean Sea & Jacobean Bird – Project Index”

Computer Life: The Floral Heart Project

 

Wouldn’t it be great if Needle ‘n Thread were only about needle and thread? I imagine our days would be spent stitching away, creating beautiful things, experimenting, enjoying a bit of stitch fun here and there, finishing this project, starting that project – life wrapped up in Only Stitching.

It doesn’t really work that way. Even if you’re not into needlework as a business, it doesn’t work that way. You know how it is! We all have lives outside of stitching! And hopefully, they are lives that we love!

But for those of us who are pretty enthusiastic about needlework, needlework is always there. It’s our carrot. It’s The Thing that gets us through less pleasant bits because we have something creative to look forward to. It’s our relaxation, our entertainment, our creative outlet – it’s part of those aspects of life that contribute to our happiness.

Here in our little cozy studio in Kansas, there’s another aspect of Needle ‘n Thread that goes on every day. It’s what I call Computer Life, and if you’re in business these days, it’s unavoidable. Luckily, I don’t hate Computer Life. I like it! Maybe not as much as the stitching part of things, but still. I like it! Otherwise, whoa! “Work” really would be Work and it would be a Major Slog.

My Computer Life right now consists of this:

Floral Heart Computer Life
Continue reading “Computer Life: The Floral Heart Project”

Goldwork Altar Covers – Project Index

 

Time to do a little house cleaning here on the website!

Whenever I work a long term project that I blog about, or whenever we have a stitch-along of sorts, I like to create a project index. With a project index, you can easily navigate the various articles written about the project.

You’ll find this index – and many more – listed under Tips & Techniques in the main menu on Needle ‘n Thread. Project indexes are listed in the first section under “Hand Embroidery Lessons & Step-by-Step Projects.”

If you’re ever looking for some follow-along embroidery projects with loads of tips that you can apply to your own embroidery – or maybe you just want to browse for the fun of it – feel free to check out that list of the many projects and tutorials that have developed here on Needle ‘n Thread over the years. There’s lots of ’em!

Goldwork Altar Cover Project Index
Continue reading “Goldwork Altar Covers – Project Index”

Ready-to-Stitch Sets are Back … and a book!

 

Now that we’ve gotten into the hang of working in our new space, we’ve been able to turn our attention to getting some ready-to-stitch goods back in stock.

For those who aren’t familiar with our ready-to-stitch towel sets, we offer flour sack towels in sets of three, with coordinating designs already printed on them so that, when you get them, they’re ready for stitching. Some of the sets have the same design on all three towels, and some have variations of the design, or of a theme, on each of the tree towels.

Ready to Stitch Garden Party towel set
Continue reading “Ready-to-Stitch Sets are Back … and a book!”