March 14, 2022

Monday Musings, News, and Interrupted Programming

Yeeeeegads. I’m a morning person. And I don’t mind getting up at what is naturally 4:30AM for me.

But 3:30AM is pushing it! The spring time change is not my favorite, no siree bob!

But I promise I’ll try not to be a grump!

Speaking of being a grump, I have some not-so-great news (well, in the scheme of Major Things in Life, is it bad news? not really!) and some great news for you.

Come along. Let’s have a calm, quiet, sensible chat to ease us into the day as we await the sunrise (which is a riffemrackemfrickemfrackem hour later than it should be. Uhhh…that’s my grumpy side coming out.)

Hand Embroidery Books

March 11, 2022

Pet Portrait Embroidery – a Fabulous Book!

When it comes to embroidery books, there’s nothing better than a systematic, logically-presented instructional book on a niche subject.

If you want to get into the nitty-gritty of a particular type or style of embroidery, or a particular subject for embroidery, you’re really lucky when you can find a book on specifically what you want to stitch.

Pet Portrait Embroidery by Michelle Staub is just such a book. It’s a niche subject matter – not embroidery in general, but specifically the embroidery of dogs and cats. It is a meticulous instructional book laid out in a logical and systematic way. It’s a fabulous book for those who have ever wanted to capture their pets in needle and thread – or anyone who wants to learn to stitch realistic animals.

I thought I’d show to book to you up close. It’s hard not to love it, if you love animals!

Uncategorized

March 9, 2022

The Forest & the Trees: Lessons from Whitework

Recently, I had a conversation about embroidery with a friend who was obsessing about stitch length and stitch spacing.

She found herself using a ruler to measure the exact length of her stitches, marking 1/8″ on her fabric along her design line so that she achieved Mega-Precise stitch length and spacing.

She was frustrated on two accounts: it was taking her a long to stitch and she felt like she wasn’t getting the hang of stitch length and spacing like she thought she would if she meticulously marked out her stitch lengths.

So we had a long discussion about things we sometimes obsess about – in needlework and other things – and why it’s important to step back.

The whitework altar cloth that I’ve been showing you lately is a really good example of what we were talking about. It illustrates well why it’s important to step back from your embroidery now and then.

Cutwork embroidery on linen: altar cloth

Uncategorized

March 7, 2022

Bee-Jeweled Pincushion: Adding the Beads!

It’s time to bling up the Bee-Jeweled Pincushion with a sumptuous line of beaded flowers along the pincushion’s sides!

This is, to me, the really fun part of this project, but it takes a little time. There’s also a method and order to it that you want to follow, especially if you are relying on the materials kit for the pincushion.

If you’re just joining in here on Needle ‘n Thread, the project that we’re working on is called the Bee-Jeweled Pincushion. You can find all the previous articles on this project listed in this Bee-Jeweled Pincushion Index, so that you can stitch your own pincushion, too. The pincushion is the first in the Stitch Snippets, 2022 series of step-by-step embroidery projects that you’ll find developing here on Needle ‘n Thread throughout this year.

If you happen to be a member over on my Patreon page, you’ve already seen this lesson on adding the beads. I’ll be uploading the finish work lesson over there early this week.

So let’s look at how to bead this little thing up!

Bee-Jeweled Pincushion: Bead Embroidered Flowers

Uncategorized

March 4, 2022

Oh, the Guilty Pleasure of Stitching What You Want

You might find it hard to believe that there are times when I feel guilty about embroidering. Weird, huh? Especially considering I do it for a living!

There is a certain guilty pleasure in stitching what you want to stitch, when you know you should be stitching what you need to stitch, when you stitch for a living.

Do you remember, growing up, your parents explaining to you the difference between a want and a need? I’ve always tried to keep the difference in mind when I prioritize things.

But sometimes… sometimes… you just have to capitulate to the guilty pleasure of want as opposed to need. And this week, even though I needed to get some other stitching accomplished, I really wanted to get this thing started.

And so I did!

Uncategorized

March 2, 2022

The Well-Laced Slate Frame Wins

After we chatted last week about slate frames, tensioners, and the like, I thought I’d revisit the topic today after making adjustments and playing around further with slate frames all week.

Just like Bach and his well-tempered claviers (which I happen to be listening to as we speak), I say you can’t go wrong with a well-laced slate frame.

And that point is pretty much the upshot of this week’s toying about. But! There’s more to it than just that.

For those of you exploring framing options, slate frames and their tension is a topic worth pursuing a little more, think. There were some questions that rolled in last week – and some ongoing discussion back and forth with some readers on the topic of frame tension – so I thought I’d bring up the questions and some of the points that were discussed.

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

February 28, 2022

Bee-Jeweled Pincushion: Supply Information

At long last, I’ve lassoed the supply list for the Bee-Jeweled Pincushion project and, after a bit of a struggle, fought it to the ground.

Below, you’ll find the supplies I used on the sample version of the pincushion and on the various in-progress sections that you’ve seen along the way. I’ll include substitutions that I had to track down for some parts, and a few suggestions for other possibilities.

I do have more supply kits coming out, and I’ll try to keep at least some stocked on the website after the initial demand is met. At this point, much depends on supply availability.

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

Monday Musings, News, and Interrupted Programming

Pet Portrait Embroidery – a Fabulous Book!

The Forest & the Trees: Lessons from Whitework

Bee-Jeweled Pincushion: Adding the Beads!

Oh, the Guilty Pleasure of Stitching What You Want

The Well-Laced Slate Frame Wins

Bee-Jeweled Pincushion: Supply Information

Connect with Mary

How-To Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos