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
March 20, 2021
This year, we’ll be working our way through a series of tutorials for embroidering (blank) – that is, a number of different embroidery subjects.
We’ve already worked through how to embroider wheat five different ways, and we’re on our way through strawberries at the moment. You can see in the image below a sneak peek of what’s coming up after the strawberries.
March 18, 2021
Time to move along with our embroidered strawberries adventure!
Just to start, I made some corrections on the color list in the first article in the series. I corrected a typo on a DMC color (it should be 3705 in the pinks) and changed one of the House of Embroidery colors (it should be 4C, not “U”).
Last time we met on this project, we talked about blending thread colors in the needle and we stitched a very simple little strawberry.
Today, we’re going to fill one of the larger, plumper strawberries and crown it with some dimensional leafy bits for the sepals.
Let’s move on, shall we?
March 16, 2021
Last time we visited Stitch Fun 2021 – my yearly sampler that I am endeavoring to add a little to every singly day – I’d already laid the foundation for the composite stitch that makes up one of the decorative bands I’ll show you today.
There are a few things here I want to chat about. One is thread. We all like talking about thread, but today’s approach is more by way of a warning!
I need to branch off and get away from decorative bands for a while – and I started to do that the other day and then I lost my bearings.
So here’s where I am so far on this sampler. As we look at it, I’ll note a few thoughts, ideas, problems, and so forth.
March 12, 2021
On Monday, we started a series of tutorials on how to embroider strawberries five ways, and in that first article, which you’ll find here, there’s a materials list and a free pattern for the strawberry design.
You can stitch along with the series – it’s not too late to start – or you can come back to it here on the website whenever you want! If you’re on my Patreon membership page, you can also download the PDFs for the series to your own computer for future use or printing.
Today, we’re going to start very simply. We’ll chat about blending colors, and we’ll work through the first strawberry.
March 10, 2021
Last time we visited my M monogram from A Sea to Stitch, I was contemplating the tulip shell – that conch type shell in the center of the M. I wanted to make it striped, remember?
And it ended up a bit wonky some five times, and I had to keep picking it out.
I finally quit picking it out, determined just to consider it an anomaly: a wonky seashell.
I call it an anomaly, because most seashells are pretty nigh-on perfect. They don’t all look the same, but within their own little construct, they usually reflect a marvelous perfection of coloring, pattern, shape, and structure. Golly, I love seashells! I could contemplate them all day and never grow bored.
Maybe not this one, admittedly… though I’m not unhappy with it. I can see clearly what the problem is, but I’ve moved on to my overzealous crusty starfish, and I’m not going back. No siree, Bob.
March 8, 2021
Today, we venture into a new little project: embroidered strawberries!
In this series of tutorials, we will journey through embroidering a stylized, simplified bunch of five strawberries. Each strawberry is embroidered in a different technique, so that you can experience several ways to stitch your own scrumptious berries.
The series is suitable for beginners and beyond. I’ve tried to keep everything, from the design to the techniques, accessible to all levels of stitchers. You should know how to transfer a design and set up your project for stitching.
Today, we’ll talk about materials and I’ll give you the design! Let’s go!
March 5, 2021
Do you ever ponder the question of what fabric to use for your hand embroidery projects? Do you ever wish you could try out fabrics that you’ve heard of or seen, so that you can learn what you like and don’t like to stitch on?
In embroidery, we often think about embroidery thread more than we think about fabric, but believe it or not, the choice of ground fabric is as important as the choice of thread!
The right ground fabric makes a huge difference – sometimes, the key difference – between a-raging-success-of-a-project or a-ho-hum-it’s-ok-ish sort of project.
In the interest of giving folks the opportunity to try out different ground fabrics so that they can make informed choices, I’ve decided to put together sampler packs of various linens that I like, that make beautiful ground fabrics for hand embroidery.
