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

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Problem Solving for Stitchers: Needles without Nickel

 

Amazon Books

When it comes to embroidery, it would be nice if all the supplies, all the tools, all the fibers, all the fabrics, all the lights, all the stitching aids, all the *everything* that we like and use with our needlework were universally usable for every single person, no matter what.

Often, it’s simply not the case. Allergies, sensitivities, physical difficulties with vision, with motor skills, and more – all of these things can hinder the pursuit of needlework.

Sometimes, many who love embroidery, who find happiness, a sense of calm, relaxation, or alleviation of stress with needle and thread, end up giving it up altogether because of some hinderance that is hard to overcome.

They lose something beautiful in their lives.

But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if they were able to find solutions to their difficulties, that would keep them stitching?

These are topics I’d like to address more frequently on Needle ‘n Thread. I would love to hear from fellow stitchers who either have a solution to a specific hardship that would have kept them from stitching, or from folks who are looking for a solution to some difficulty that’s keeping them from stitching.

I think it’s important to address these challenges and to share the solutions to them! And we can do this best when we all put our heads together! Please feel free to contact me if you have some experience and input on the topic!

Needles without Nickel
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Stitch Snippets, 2023: The First Adventure

 

Happy Friday!

To whet your appetite for upcoming projects on Needle ‘n Thread, this morning I thought I’d give you a sneak peek at our first Stitch Snippets adventure for 2023, and introduce newcomers to the concept of the Stitch Snippet Series here on Needle ‘n Thread.

I’ve had a lot of feedback from last year’s series, and it seems that participants really enjoyed it! I’ve also had some constructive feedback that I very much appreciate!

Floche for a Stitch Snippet
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Goldwork Progress: Moving Forward!

 

Anna sits on her side of the frame.

I sit on my side of the frame.

We’re catty-corner to each other, each hugging the edge of the slate frame and trying to manipulate our arms around the trestles as we embroider letters situated near the edge of the ground fabric.

We work pretty much in silence, except for some soft background music.

And slowly and steadily, we make minute progress on the goldwork lettering that we’ve been working on since last spring.

It’s been a while since we’ve been able to sit and concentrate on embroidery, but at long last, we’re finally able to dedicate specific time to stitching.

Goldwork Lettering
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Embroidery & the Arts & Crafts Movement

 

I tend to be somewhat infatuated with the Arts & Crafts Movement. There’s much about it – historically, socially, and artistically – that I admire and that intrigues me.

The Arts & Crafts Movement was an era of development of the decorative arts, spanning about 1875 to about 1920, give or take some years.

As with any era or trend in the decorative arts, it’s hard to establish an exact beginning date and an exact ending date, because no trend in art is isolated from its preceding and subsequent trends. What came before influences the era; what comes after develops from the era or as a reaction to it. But roughly, that’s that time frame – 1875 to 1920, beginning in Britain and spreading throughout Europe and America.

Arts & Crafts Movement
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Floss Trucking & Visitors!

 

It was the perfect end to the holiday season.

Come Monday morning, I knew that the time had come to take down the hastily-prepared and seldom-enjoyed Christmas decorations, but I didn’t want to. This year, the Christmas season didn’t seem very holiday-ish. Everything went by in a blur. So, early that morning, I found myself thinking that I don’t really want to end Christmas just yet. “We need to do something to mark the season here at work,” I said to myself. Something aside from slapping up some last-minute decor and then squishing it all away into a box, forgotten until next year.

I didn’t know what to do, so I put on some light Christmas jazz and started the day, Christmas lights twinkling in the window and the world madly rushing by once more according the expected rhythm of life.

The sun rose and the morning commute traffic slowed down. The Christmas lights turned off. I turned down the music. Anna arrived for work. We turned our attention to making a gazillion twists of thread while planning the next few months.

The clock ticked towards noon.

And then it happened! A First in the history of Needle ‘n Thread! And when I think about it, the perfect end to the holiday season!

What happened, you ask?

Why, the Floss Truck arrived!

Floss Truck
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