November 2, 2023

Stella Lights for Embroidery & Other Tasks

Lighting technology has changed a lot over the years.

With the advancements in lighting technology, these are some of changes I’ve noticed in task lighting in the past two decades:

LED task lights have vastly improved in color spectrum and in brightness (kelvins and lumens), making it less necessary to invest in bulbed task lights that require expensive replacements, that are heavier to move, and that generate heat.

The structure of task lights has changed significantly. They are lighter. They have better diffusion screens. Good quality task lights are made out of better materials for longer lasting use, and for better flexibility on the shafts and heads.

Cordless technology has significantly improved, allowing for longer-lasting battery-operated lights that don’t dim as as their life-juice drains. (This is a game changer for those who travel with lighting or who attend workshops and the like.)

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October 30, 2023

Best Sources for Good Embroidery Needles

You can’t embroider without a needle.

Every time I say something like that, I pause and think about it. It sounds so definitive. After all, maybe someone out there does embroider (in the standard way we think of embroidering) without a needle.

Thinking…. Thinking….

But no. I can’t fathom it – not in an efficient, easy, comfortable way, anyway.

So I’ll stand by that statement: you can’t embroider without a needle.

You can get away with stitching without a hoop. You don’t even need scissors, since there are other things that will cut thread. But a needle? It’s pretty essential.

When it comes to needles, there are needles. And then are Needles.

Because I’ve gotten some inquiries about needles lately, it’s a good subject to revisit.

Best Sources for Good Embroidery Needles

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October 27, 2023

How Many Beads

We’ve been weighing mountains of beads here in the studio.

When assembling supplies for kitting, I buy beads in bulk and then we break them down into little packages based on weight. I’ve written about weighing beads here, if you want to read about how we do it.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I want to make a distinction in types of embroidery involving beads. The way I see it, “embroidery with beads” implies that you’re working an embroidery project that involves beads, usually as accents. The majority of the work is regular embroidery with thread, and the beads are added for a bit of sparkle and zing.

On the other hand, “bead embroidery” is a type of embroidery that is worked with beads, and beads pretty much make up, or are involved in, the majority of the project.

For the most part here at Needle ‘n Thread, it works like this: I embroider, and I happen to accent some of it with beads, especially when creating festive ornaments and the like.

So I call it “embroidery” … with beads.

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October 25, 2023

Smooth & Flat – The Key to a Good Finish

As we finish up all our sample embroidery projects for the next Stitch Snippet – and for a new Christmas ornament PDF that we’ll be releasing next month (oh, and for a kit!) – it occurred to me that this is an ideal time to reiterate one of the most important steps that you don’t want to skip when you’re finishing an embroidery project.

It is by far the most satisfying step of the finishing process. It’s easy, too, so there’s no reason to skip it, as long as you’ve allowed yourself just a little bit of time for its magic to happen.

The step is damp stretching, and if the concept is new to you, then here’s the how and the why you should do it.

damp stretching Christmas embroidery close up

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October 23, 2023

For Sampler Lovers All!

I love embroidered samplers. It doesn’t matter what era they come from, it doesn’t matter if they’re structured or not, whether they’re just marking samplers, whether they’re exquisite or rough, sophisticated or juvenile – it doesn’t matter. I love samplers!

I’m referring mainly to the extant samplers of history – those that served as records of stitches, as catalogs of designs, as testaments of skill, or all of the above. I find them charming, informative, and captivating.

Samplers serve as records of more than just stitchery, although that was certainly the primary purpose of the sampler.

Before the advent of printed designs and instructional materials, the sampler served as reference material for the embroiderer. They were repositories of design and technique.

And while they were often an exhibition of skill, they attested to the discipline, patience, and artistry of the stitcher as well.

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October 20, 2023

The Plymouth Tapestry – Wonderful Update!

Way back in November of 2019, in this little news snip here on Needle ‘n Thread, we chatted briefly about a major work going on here in the US, just outside of Boston – the Plymouth Tapestry:

A visual exploration of history, memory, and culture, the Plymouth Tapestry illustrates the experiences of the Wampanoag people who inhabited the region for thousands of years, and the Pilgrims, the English settlers who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 to establish a new home. Stitched in wool and silk on linen, the Tapestry is comprised of twenty 6-foot-long panels, each one narrating through imagery and text the contexts and events that shaped Plymouth Colony’s beginnings. ~From the Plymouth Tapestry website

Since that mention back in 2019, the tapestry has come a very long way!

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October 18, 2023

Bead Embroidery Tips, Sources, and Big Mess

I was going to title today’s article In Which I make Big Mess, and talk to you all about my current Big Mess.

But after last week’s article on incorporating beads in embroidery, a lot questions came in on different aspects of embroidery with beads. I think the answers to those might be more useful to you than a whole lot of chatter about my Current Big Mess. But I’ll use pictures of my Current Big Mess as illustrations and share some insights into the Mess, too.

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

Stella Lights for Embroidery & Other Tasks

Best Sources for Good Embroidery Needles

How Many Beads

Smooth & Flat – The Key to a Good Finish

For Sampler Lovers All!

The Plymouth Tapestry – Wonderful Update!

Bead Embroidery Tips, Sources, and Big Mess

Connect with Mary

How-To Videos

Embroidery Tips & Techniques

Connect with Mary

How-To
Videos