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
October 7, 2021
A whole book on Opus Anglicanum! An instruction book and a project book. Gosh! If you’re a lover of historical needlework, what more could you want?
Today, I thought I’d show you this new book on Opus Anglicanum by Tanya Bentham. It’s a practical guide the historical techniques of early English embroidery, and it is a fabulous book!
First, we’ll chat a bit about Opus Anglicanum and then delve into the book.
Come along…
October 5, 2021
Happy Tuesday and welcome to the first week of October. Good grief.
Fall is my Absolute Favorite time of year. When spring arrives, I wonder if my favorite time of year is spring, but when autumn arrives, I have no doubt it’s my Absolute Favorite. I love autumn!
As the year winds down, I usually start looking towards stitching for fall and then stitching for Christmas.
Sadly, I didn’t concoct a new autumn project this year. For autumn stitching, though, if you’ve been hanging around with me for a while, you’ve probably seen my Festive Fall (as a pre-transferred towel set and as an instructional e-book, with patterns) and the Autumn Variety pre-transferred towel set that’s also available.
And there’s the Leafy Tree project – available as an e-book now, and coming out as a kit again soon.
October 1, 2021
Putting together embroidery kits can be a lot of fun! If you’ve ever considered stepping from stitcher to designer or teacher, developing your own kits and so forth, it’s exciting to figure out the details and see the final plan come together satisfactorily.
But it can also be somewhat frustrating, especially recently as the supply chain grumbles and groans under the pressure of demand, slower production speeds, and slower shipping speeds. I don’t think I’m the only person out there who is eking out kits little by little as backorders are only partially filled – and slowly at that.
This is life at the moment, and we make the best of it!
Many of you have signed up for my advanced notice list for the Mini Sampler Stocking Kits that I’m running again. This year, I decided to make some changes in the kits that I think you’ll appreciate. As small bits of backordered threads make their way to my front stoop (I rejoice every time a box of thread arrives, even if it’s only the size of half a shoe box!), we’ve been assembling a few kits here and there.
September 28, 2021
Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Things are starting to level off here, and next week, I should be back to the normal Mon-Wed-Fri publishing schedule, if all goes as planned. Yay! More on that below…
Today, I wanted to share an online treasure with you, thanks to a friend who sent the link. There are So Many old needlework books online, that it’s hard to recall which ones you’ve encountered. I try to keep a list of favorites, and I always download them as PDFs, if there’s an option. There is an option on this one, so do download the PDF if you can. Then you can browse through the book at your leisure.
September 23, 2021
Tool #1 in embroidery, in my mind, is the needle. Without a needle, embroidery would be rather difficult, wouldn’t it?
Next up, Tool #2, is a good hoop or frame.
I know, I know! Scissor lovers out there might argue with me! A nice sharp pair of scissors is certainly necessary, but we can actually get away with a pair of kids’ scissors or household craft scissors if we had to.
But a good hoop or a good frame, used correctly, can make a huge difference in the finished results of a project.
Today, I’d like to pay tribute the The Embroidery Hoop by recapping some previous helpful articles on the subject, with tips so that you can make the most of your embroidery hoop.
If you’re knew to Needle ‘n Thread, you may not have seen these articles from the archives; if you’ve been hanging out with me for a while, a good refresher is always helpful!
September 21, 2021
Gosh, twice in one day! This happens when I make Big Mistakes.
So sorry to post again today and interrupt your inbox, but it came to my attention very quickly this morning that I messed up the time zones in my earlier announcement about tomorrow’s chat with the folks at SFSNAD.
Also, the spots filled very quickly and many of you were not able to register. So I reached out to see what we could do about that. Here are the details!
September 21, 2021
Gosh, I meant to tell you this last week. But it’s not too late!
Are you familiar with the San Francisco School of Needlework & Design (SFSNAD)? If you live in the States, and you’re into the embroidery scene, I’m sure you have. If you haven’t, do take a look at their website to learn what they’re all about.
