So you want to make beautiful crewel embroideries. I’m assuming here that you want to stick to the original idea of wool thread. That said, I’m also going to take a looser definition of “crewel wool” and discuss some threads that aren’t technically crewel wool, but are absolutely lovely when stitched as if they were!… Continue Reading
The fern stitch is actually a combination of three straight stitches. These are then stacked on top of each other to create the look of a plant or sea-plant. This is a really easy stitch – as it’s just sets of three straight stitches stacked on top (or beside) one another. I like to use… Continue Reading
Remember this painting of two cardinals I posted about a while (forever) ago? I’m finally ready to get started on the actual needlepainting! Life does intervene, doesn’t it? Anyway. Picking colors is one of my favorite parts of needlepainting. I love petting threads and deciding which colors should be optically mixed and what get their… Continue Reading
A sketchbook, for me, was always something “other.” All the examples I had ever seen seemed perfect – little books of art worthy of publication. I couldn’t live up to the expectations! A note: the above is objectively not true. My mother’s sketchbooks were full of fits and starts and stops, but I adored her… Continue Reading
Satin stitch is both a simple stitch and a tricky one. It’s one of those things where the basics can be learned very easily, but perfecting it can take a long time. Ideas for Satin Stitch Satin stitch is great for small areas. You don’t want your stitches to be more than about 1/2 an… Continue Reading