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
May 3, 2021
Good morning, and a Happy Monday all around!
Just a quick little note to kick off the week with some really good reading material about embroidery – a beautiful and valuable resource, worth reading and bookmarking as a reference.
April 30, 2021
To my rather tunnel-visioned brain, there’s nothing quite as lovely as an abundant collection of glorious silk thread all gathered into one mass of twisty, colorful, smooth, shiny Possibilities.
A few weeks ago, we chatted about this collection of overdyed Soie de Paris from Chameleon threads that are new to the studio, and since then, I’ve started some tentative planning with them.
I have Ideas, you see.
April 28, 2021
I’m so excited that Inspirations Studios decided to print a 10th Anniversary Edition of Home Sweet Home by Carolyn Pearce!
This is a fantastic book – it was when it was first published ten years ago and it is even more so today. The new edition features a few changes. I’ll tell you about those below.
I’ve also been putting together the next offering of embroidery linen samples, the White Linen Fabric Sampler Pack. I’ll tell you all about it below, too. It is… oh golly! It contains a little bit of everything I love about beautiful, crisp, lovely white linen! If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to stitch on the type of linen used to make those time-tested antique linens used for fine whitework, monogramming, ecclesiastical use, and more, read on!
April 26, 2021
Last week, we began our exploration into embroidered daisies, using the design & materials list that you’ll find in the first article in this series, here.
Today, we’ll start stitching!
We’re going to dispatch the first two daisies – they are very simple – and a little bit of the stem.
As we progress with this project, you’ll find all the articles for this series of tutorials on daisies listed in this index, so if you’re just joining at some point and you want to see what we’ve already done, check in there. Links to each tutorial in the series will be added as the project develops. You’ll also find other tutorials in this collection of How to Embroider (Blank) available in the same index.
As usual, members over on Patreon will find today’s tutorial (along with all the previous tutorials) available later today, as a downloadable PDF.
Ready?
April 23, 2021
When I started this 2021 year-long sampler project on January 1st, I had no idea where it was going.
And you’ll be happy to know that, in honor of All Things Random, I still have no idea where it’s going.
Even though it’s been a while since I shared an update, you’ll see that the sampler hasn’t moved along too far!
April 21, 2021
Over the years, I’ve solidified how I keep track of my embroidery journey – whether it’s ideas I’m trying to develop, designs I’m working on, projects and their materials, mistakes and adjustments, and so forth.
While my website Needle ‘n Thread is probably the most thorough record of my journey, I keep lists and notes while I work through projects, and all of these lists, notes, designs, ideas, adjustments, and what-have-you end up in a project notebook.
Still, with each project or each idea, I still find small adjustments that I make in the information that I record and my methods of recording it.
Keeping these notes and tidbits of information all in one place helps me in numerous ways, not just in developing ideas for projects, but also in answering your questions, ordering supplies, or simply remembering!
Lately, I’ve started adding real-thread color cards to my project notes. Let’s look at The What, The How, and The Why!
April 19, 2021
Good morning, and happy Monday!
It’s spring here in Kansas (no comment about the expected 2-4″ of snow tonight and tomorrow!), and what better time to start thinking about embroidering summer flowers – specifically, daisies! Or, if you want, any of the daisy’s many varieties and relatives – from ox-eyes to marguerites to gerberas to asters, black-eyed susans, common sunflowers, and on and on and on.
What I love most about daisies is their distinct petal pattern and overall shape and structure. And while I like the simple common daisy, I’m drawn mostly to colored versions, like asters or gerbera daisies, or Kansas’s ubiquitous common sunflowers that grow wild by the roadside or more tamely in garden beds.
No matter what variety, daisies are happy flowers. There’s just something ever-so-cheery about them!
And that’s why the daisy is the focus of this third collection of lessons on How to Embroider (Blank).
In today’s first installment, you’ll find the design and the materials used for the stitched sample.
