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March 31, 2023

Little Blooms Part 1: Materials, Design, & Preparation

 

Amazon Books

Welcome to the first installment of Little Blooms: a Mini Snap Purse!

I’m going to kick off the stitch-along for this project by sharing the pattern and embroidery design with you, talking a little bit about materials and possible substitutions, and telling you how I set up the project to prepare it for stitching.

For members of the Needle ‘n Thread community over on Patreon, you’ll find Part 1 available as a downloadable PDF over on Patreon already – it was posted yesterday. For members at the $3+ level, I’ll be posting a supplementary video for you this weekend!

Let’s jump right in!

Mini Blooms Stitch-Along on Needle 'n Thread
Continue reading “Little Blooms Part 1: Materials, Design, & Preparation”

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March 29, 2023

It’s a Wrap! On Your Hoop, That Is

 

Embroidery hoops – they’re one of those tools that are pretty essential to the embroiderer. No matter what approach you take to surface embroidery, eventually, you’ll run into the need for a hoop.

So whether you’re a stretcher-bar fiend, a slate frame fanatic, or a Q-snap connoisseur, some day, at least for a project or two, you’ll have to be a hoopist. Or a hoopie. Or a hooper? Yes, a hooper!

And if you’re going to be a hooper, you should also be a wrapper.

I bring this up now – and I’ve brought it up before – because, as we launch into Little Blooms on Friday, many of you will be hooping up the project to get it ready for stitching. I want you to have a really good experience using an embroidery hoop on this project. And at the end, I want you to have an equally good experience with the finish work. Your hoop and how you use it can have a lot to do with that!

Binding embroidery hoop with cotton twill
Continue reading “It’s a Wrap! On Your Hoop, That Is”

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March 24, 2023

Drawing Embroidery Designs in Inkscape & News

 

Happy Friday!

Today, I’ll chat a bit about what I’ve been up to on the computer, sharing some techy info, especially for those who often and frequently ask about software for creating their own embroidery patterns (or line drawings to use for embroidery patterns).

We’ll also touch a bit on Little Blooms – the upcoming stitch-along here on Needle ‘n Thread – and the kits at the end of the article.

designing embroidery patterns in Inkscape
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March 22, 2023

Chipping Away at Goldwork and a Workstation Rig

 

Time is ticking and there’s no way to stop it.

I always realize this when a deadline looms and it seems like everything is moving in the slowest of motion and there’s no noticeable progress on anything, anywhere.

Time is ticking. There is no way to stop it.

To be comfortably finished with this goldwork altar cover, we’ve got 34 days. Will we make it? I don’t know. But we’re giving it our best!

We can add five days and be finished at the Absolutely Deadline, but I’d rather say we have 34 days and keep that in my head, because I don’t want to be frantically scurrying at the Absolute Deadline. I want to be able to breathe a bit at the very end of the project.

Now, there may be no way to stop time from ticking away, but there are ways to speed up processes, to make more of your time – even if it’s just in the tiniest of ways. It all adds up!

Chip work on goldwork altar cloths
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March 20, 2023

Boycotting the Bullion Stitch – Help!

 

Sometimes, certain embroidery questions pop up with more frequency in my inbox than others do. Lately, I’ve had a few questions about the bullion knot.

Several readers have expressed some frustration over the stitch, and after a recent exchange with a very determined beginner, I decided to write about it here, in case others are facing similar frustrations.

I’m here to tell you today that you don’t have to use bullion knots! The bullion stitch is a lovely stitch, but if you’re a beginner and the stitch is putting you completely off embroidery, don’t use it! Substitute other stitches, and as your confidence grows, tackle the bullion later (if you want).

This very determined beginner told me quite bluntly, I’m boycotting the bullion stitch forever. I hate it! Can you suggest other stitches I can use on [the name of a project by a specific designer – she also attached a picture] in place of bullion stitches? Sincerely, Bummed by Bullions

Ribbed stitch flowers
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March 16, 2023

Little Blooms! The Materials Kit is Available!

 

Today’s the day!! Hip hip hurray!

Today, we launch the materials kit for Little Blooms: a Mini Snap Purse – the first Stitch Snippets stitch-along project for 2023! I’m so excited to get this project underway!

In Monday’s preview, which you can read here, I explained how the Stitch Snippets stitch-alongs work and what you can expect as we progress through the project together.

Today, besides letting you know that the materials kit is now available here in the shop, I’ll give you the details about what’s in the kit, what supplies you’ll need to complete the project, and a little bit about substitutions for those who want to make the project but can’t get the kit.

We’ll also chat about some timing details, so you can anticipate the beginning of the project.

Stitch Snippet: Little Blooms
Continue reading “Little Blooms! The Materials Kit is Available!”