About

Mary Corbet

writer and founder

 

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

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D is for Dillmont – Dive Down this Rabbit Hole!

 

Amazon Books

D is for Dillmont – as in Therese De Dillmont.

Credited with a prolific amount of authorship of the old DMC publications (among other needlework books), Therese De Dillmont (an Austrian by birth) was a veritable force in the embroidery world in the latter half of the 1800’s.

If you’ve ever scoured about online for old DMC publications, you’ve likely heard of her.

I’ve highlighted her works here on Needle ‘n Thread several times in the past, so I thought we’d revisit those.

We’ll start with a free embroidery pattern that I re-created as a vector line drawing, using one of Dillmont’s public domain works, so that it would be easier for stitchers today to use.

Tulips & Blooms embroidery pattern a la Therese de Dillmont Continue reading “D is for Dillmont – Dive Down this Rabbit Hole!”

May Morris Designs by Lynn Hulse – Book Review

 

Back in August, I bought a copy of May Morris Designs: The Essence and Soul of Beautiful Embroidery by Lynn Hulse, published by the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.

Of course, my intention was to review it for you pretty quickly.

But Did I?!? Nooooo.

Last week, I heard from Lynn, which prompted me to make a concerted effort to finish reading the book, so that I could write a thorough review.

But Have I finished it? Noooo.

And yet here I am, telling you about a book that I haven’t finished reading yet. But look, I’m more than halfway there! I Just don’t like to rush through this kind of book!

If you’re a fan of Morris and the era and you didn’t know this book is available, now you’ll know, and you can add it to your library.

Why would you want to add this particular book about May Morris’s work to your library? Well, numerous reasons – but I’ll quickly highlight the reasons that I think are most compelling.

May Morris Designs by Lynn Hulse
Continue reading “May Morris Designs by Lynn Hulse – Book Review”

C is for Crewel, of Course, but also for so much more…

 

It was so hard to decide what to write about, that represents by the letter C in my A-B-C Revitalization Challenge.

When it comes to the letter C, there are a lot of options!

On my Facebook page – which is also running an A-B-C Revitalization Challenge – I think I focused on “C for Cat.” But I really only have one cat here on the website – that’s this one in the Thousand Flowers design collection.

This seemed to be rather restrictive.

So I picked Crewel instead, and today, I’m going to highlight some crewel-related do-dads from the archives.

Come along! Let us cavort about with crewel…

Crewel Rooster
Continue reading “C is for Crewel, of Course, but also for so much more…”

Time for Tea – as in, Embroidered Tea!

 

Good morning and Welcome to Friday!

Today, we’re launching a little Tribute to Tea.

I know there are a lot of people in the world who are not avid tea-drinkers. Here in the US, coffee (and I use the term loosely) is much more of A Thing.

But tea is a regular part of life here at the studio. Anna and I are both committed tea drinkers. Good times or bad, stressful days or relaxing, happy or sad, a cup of tea mayn’t be the answer to everything… but it comes pretty close!

Tea Towels - Embroidered Tea-Themed Flour Sack Towels
Continue reading “Time for Tea – as in, Embroidered Tea!”

Adding a Touch of Silver

 

At first I was… and then I wasn’t… and then I was… and then I wasn’t going to add a touch of silver to the outlines of the letters on this embroidery project.

For those just joining in, I’m embroidering some text on a strip of linen called a “maniturgium,” which I explain in this article.

When we last looked at the project, I was testing out a different affect on the lettering, and I think that worked out ok. I’m going to keep that approach.

From the beginning, I have toyed with the idea of adding a touch of silver around the lettering, just as a tiny (tiny-tiny) outline. Just a hint, you know! But again, I was plagued with indecision. Should I? Shouldn’t I? The only way to know for sure was to try it out!

Adding silver around embroidered lettering
Continue reading “Adding a Touch of Silver”

B is for Birds!

 

Continuing with my A-B-C Revitalization Series here on Needle ‘n Thread, today, we’re on the letter B.

In this case, B is for Birds!

It wasn’t until I started exploring b-words that I realized just how many birds I’ve featured in embroidery over the years.

Let’s take a look…

Jacobean Bird embroidery project
Continue reading “B is for Birds!”

We Do Shakespeare, plus Elizabethan Embroidery Explorations

 

Today, I’m going totally off topic and giving you a glimpse into a different part of “Studio Life” (the flexible part) that isn’t really studio at all. At the end of the article, you’ll find some Elizabethan needlework resources for your weekend browsing.

There are two weeks every autumn that sees us out of the studio for three (and sometimes four) day weekends.

During the last weekend of September and the first weekend of October, you see, we do Shakespeare. And when we do Shakespeare, there’s just no time for needle or thread.

I’ll tell you about it!

The Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival
Continue reading “We Do Shakespeare, plus Elizabethan Embroidery Explorations”