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
June 13, 2022
Last week, I introduced you to the very beginnings of a goldwork project that is due to grow in size and time commitment over the next less-than-a-year.
Since then, I’ve moved on to try a few more materials and techniques. Let’s look…
June 10, 2022
Happy Friday! I hope today’s the gateway to a beautiful weekend for you.
I just love weekends. You know – laundry, housework, grocery shopping, menu planning, cooking. All the fun stuff in life that I’d personally rather avoid, if the truth be known. And yet… we must do what we must do. And besides, if we never did the unfun stuff, how could we appreciate the fun stuff?
Still, on the weekend, I always enjoy a good delve into a rabbit hole or two of various interests, one of which usually involves needlework. Today, I’ll share a lovely resource with you, so that you can enjoy a bit of a reprieve from the humdrum parts of the weekend, too.
June 8, 2022
Today, we’re going to complete the right side of the sampler for Cotton Quartet, and then hopefully, we’ll move forward a little faster to catch up the left side!
A quick note to members of the Needle ‘n Thread Community over on Patreon: You already have this lesson in PDF format – it’s part of the second PDF that was already posted. I can fit a lot more in a PDF than I can in a blog article, so you’re already ahead on this! We’ll be moving forward again over there soon, too, finishing the left side and doing the embroidery on the inside lining.
June 6, 2022
In the studio, we’ve been gearing up for a very big project. It involves design, lots of goldwork embroidery (and other embroidery)… and did I mention it is Big?
We’ll be making altar covers for a new church here in Kansas. The altar covers – also known as vesperale or “vesperal cloth” – are essentially dust covers that go on top of an altar in a church any time the altar is not in use, in order to protect the linens underneath it and to keep them free of dust.
The vesperale is sometimes plain, but it can also be embellished, and, in many churches, it is typical to see lettering of some sort across the front fall (the front of the cloth falling over the edge of the mensa or “table” top of the altar). The typical lettering is usually “Holy, Holy, Holy” or “Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus” or something similar.
June 3, 2022
For your weekend pleasure, I’d like to send you down a little rabbit hole.
And what’s better than a rabbit hole that has to do with hand embroidery, hm?
June 1, 2022
Happy Wednesday! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Here in the States, it was a three-day weekend in honor of Memorial Day. We had terrific weather through the weekend, until Monday evening, when we had some fantastic storms. It was nice to have a bit of a break, but it was great to get back to work yesterday.
Today, we’re going to look at three more bands on Cotton Quartet – bands K, L, and M. The last one (M) is a bit more time consuming than most of the bands we’ve had so far.
Members on Patreon will find these bands (and more) in the last PDF I posted, so you already have this information. I can fit a lot more in a PDF than I can in a regular blog post, so you’re already a bit farther ahead. I’ll post the next PDF once we’re a little closer to catching up on the blog.
May 27, 2022
Recently, I was the happy recipient of a box of antique pattern transfers. The owner didn’t want them to be thrown away, and she thought I might be able to add them to my collection of old patterns and whatnot.
I love going through this kind of stuff! Early this week, we had the opportunity to sort and categorize the patterns, and I took a few photos along the way – mostly of the patterns that amused me!
You know the saying “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should“? I think that can apply to design. Take a look at these old pattern transfers! I have theories about them, and we’ll talk about those down the road when I share some other photos of already-transferred designs with you. But for today, to lead into the three-day weekend, here are some photos for your consideration.
