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March 7, 2022

Bee-Jeweled Pincushion: Adding the Beads!

 

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It’s time to bling up the Bee-Jeweled Pincushion with a sumptuous line of beaded flowers along the pincushion’s sides!

This is, to me, the really fun part of this project, but it takes a little time. There’s also a method and order to it that you want to follow, especially if you are relying on the materials kit for the pincushion.

If you’re just joining in here on Needle ‘n Thread, the project that we’re working on is called the Bee-Jeweled Pincushion. You can find all the previous articles on this project listed in this Bee-Jeweled Pincushion Index, so that you can stitch your own pincushion, too. The pincushion is the first in the Stitch Snippets, 2022 series of step-by-step embroidery projects that you’ll find developing here on Needle ‘n Thread throughout this year.

If you happen to be a member over on my Patreon page, you’ve already seen this lesson on adding the beads. I’ll be uploading the finish work lesson over there early this week.

So let’s look at how to bead this little thing up!

Bee-Jeweled Pincushion: Bead Embroidered Flowers
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March 4, 2022

Oh, the Guilty Pleasure of Stitching What You Want

 

You might find it hard to believe that there are times when I feel guilty about embroidering. Weird, huh? Especially considering I do it for a living!

There is a certain guilty pleasure in stitching what you want to stitch, when you know you should be stitching what you need to stitch, when you stitch for a living.

Do you remember, growing up, your parents explaining to you the difference between a want and a need? I’ve always tried to keep the difference in mind when I prioritize things.

But sometimes… sometimes… you just have to capitulate to the guilty pleasure of want as opposed to need. And this week, even though I needed to get some other stitching accomplished, I really wanted to get this thing started.

And so I did!

White & Peri Project
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March 2, 2022

The Well-Laced Slate Frame Wins

 

After we chatted last week about slate frames, tensioners, and the like, I thought I’d revisit the topic today after making adjustments and playing around further with slate frames all week.

Just like Bach and his well-tempered claviers (which I happen to be listening to as we speak), I say you can’t go wrong with a well-laced slate frame.

And that point is pretty much the upshot of this week’s toying about. But! There’s more to it than just that.

For those of you exploring framing options, slate frames and their tension is a topic worth pursuing a little more, think. There were some questions that rolled in last week – and some ongoing discussion back and forth with some readers on the topic of frame tension – so I thought I’d bring up the questions and some of the points that were discussed.

lacing a slate frame for embroidery
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February 28, 2022

Bee-Jeweled Pincushion: Supply Information

 

At long last, I’ve lassoed the supply list for the Bee-Jeweled Pincushion project and, after a bit of a struggle, fought it to the ground.

Below, you’ll find the supplies I used on the sample version of the pincushion and on the various in-progress sections that you’ve seen along the way. I’ll include substitutions that I had to track down for some parts, and a few suggestions for other possibilities.

I do have more supply kits coming out, and I’ll try to keep at least some stocked on the website after the initial demand is met. At this point, much depends on supply availability.

Bee-Jeweled Pincushion Supply Information
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February 23, 2022

Slate Frame, Tension, and Tidbits

 

Today, we’re not really chatting about embroidery on the cutwork project we’ve been discussing lately. Instead, we’re going to go on a little detour.

I often find myself meandering into diverging paths, away from embroidery, when I’m trying to figure out solutions for tools, work station set-up, and the like for larger projects.

Oh, who am I kidding? Not just for larger projects – for any projects! I like the tool side of embroidery, I admit it. And given the opportunity, I will explore toolish ideas like a dedicated hound dog, if my interest is piqued and I think there’s value to the tool or it offers a unique or efficient solution.

I’m not into tools that are beautiful but completely impractical. I like tools that do their job well, and if they can be beautiful to boot, well, that’s just icing on the cake! When it comes to tools, I love nothing better than those that are both practical and beautiful.

Slate Frame tensioners and work area
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February 21, 2022

Bee-Jeweled Pincushion: Little Floss Flowers

 

Today’s lesson for the Bee-Jeweled Pincushion is rather short and sweet!

The longest stretch of stitching on this project is in the next lesson, where we tackle the bead embroidery. Oooooh, fun! I love sewing on beads!

But in the meantime, you’ll want to get all the floss embroidery finished. I always try to leave bead embellishment on any particular area on a project for the last, because it’s sometimes a pain in the neck to embroider with floss around beads. The floss can catch on the beads, and I always figure why put up with those little frustrations that slow you down while you’re stitching?

So today, I’ll tell you how to stitch these very very very simple little floss flowers across your flower line.

Floss Flowers on Bee-Jeweled Pincushion
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