Caron

For those who don't know yet, Caron has completely redone their website, and I am so thrilled.

Caron is one of the best-known specialty threads manufacturers in the US, and I've used all of their major product lines. Watercolours, Waterlilies, Wildflowers, and Impressions (a wool/silk blend thread). They've got many impressive colorways which you can now easily see on their site here, and while you're there, check out their lesser-known threads. If you like variegated thread, you'll love Caron. If you like free patterns, well you'll just have to love them twice then. I'm getting ready to do their Byzantine Xmas ornament (needlepoint), and there will be pictures.

Want to compare?

Randomness

My current WIP (work in progress), a hardanger butterfly. Doing the border now and then I switch to detailing. I'm trying out these Rainbow Gallery threads and this hand dyed fabric.



These goodies arrived while I was on vacation. Don't mind the shirt in the middle, it's an inside joke. But...I did get my first issue of Piecework Magazine in quite a while and I got the book I won in a contest on http://needlework.craftgossip.com a while back. I haven't gotten a chance to do more than leaf through it for the moment, but I'll have some more time shortly.

Look what I found!

A new thread, and a new contest to win some of your very own! The thread is Lecien Cosmo embroidery floss from Japan and oh man, I can't wait to get my hands on some. She found a local distributor, so she's lucky, but you can order from them too :) Just follow the link from her blog.

Contest ends: 3-25-09 at 11pm PST. GOGO!

March is Mending Month!

According to Craftzine, March is now mending month. Check out their site for some great tips on upcycling, tutorials on things like darning (not nearly as hard as it looks!), and more.

As for me, I'll be mending and taking in a lot of things this month...some that have needed doing for a while. Feel free to get inspired with me! It'll help me get through altering these pants (I lost weight, now I have to take them in) and fixing this comforter. Ugh...rabbits. At least they only chewed on the bottom side and not the top.

Remember, if you don't fix holes, they just get bigger, so fix it while you can!

In other news, been finding some good stuff for beginners and freehand embroiderers on Amazon.com and putting it in my store. I like to stick with DMC (or better quality) threads...bundle packs of cheaper threads can seem economical but let's face it...if you're going to do the work, you want it to hold up well no?

Probably this week I'll do a tutorial on washing your needlework, which is a daunting task for some. I'll also let you in on a little secret about threads that are 'color safe'.