What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Often referred to as a negative, I’ve always thought of obsessions as a lifeline to exploration, creativity, joy and boundless energy. Being obsessed with something (rather than someone) results in any number of truly awe-inspiring things, such as these artists who carve thread spools into amazing miniature works of art. Or Andrea Love whose website… Continue reading The Joy of Obsession

I spent at least 16 hours this weekend analyzing and stitching examples of the Trellis Stitch. Specifically the spiral trellis stitch, which was one of dozens of stitches that adorned the Plimoth Jacket, a women’s waistcoat, made in the early 1600’s. Another heavily embroidered jacket is in the costume collection at the Metropolitan Museum here… Continue reading What I Did Over the Weekend…

I think of color as having personality. I get a sense of colors much the way I get a sense of people at a dinner party. There are those who dominate the conversation, others who are quiet, yet have really interesting things to say once encouraged. Some people light up when seated next to someone… Continue reading The Personality of Color

I’ve been thinking about relationships a lot. Perhaps that’s because I’m coming up on my 20th wedding anniversary with this awesome man. Our relationship has seen its ups and downs, but we are committed to doing the hard work of showing up for each other no matter how painful and difficult that may be. As… Continue reading A Commitment to Show Up

Fans of hand embroidery will love Week 10 of our #MondaysWithMarcus series, featuring “Let It Snow,” a sweet little decorative piece by Tracy Souza of Plumcute Designs! Follow her lead with the stitching, and add a few embellishments to make it your own. And check out her Facebook page (Plumcute Designs) for her instructional video!

Be sure to continue your Likes, Follows and Shares of Marcus Fabrics across Facebook and Instagram, and all or our featured designers for the chance to win weekly fabric prizes, and a Grand Prize at the end! You’ll find all of their social links ...

a flounce for an edge

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hand embroidery,

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This is our last installment in our Hopeful Bluebird Sewing Smalls, and "hopefully" you have been joining in on the fun. This week we will be showcasing our Poppy Pincushion.

Hopeful Bluebird Poppy Pincushion

If you haven’t already, VOTE! Every single vote counts. So go vote. And if you’re like me, you’ll be taking a little bag with you filled with some fabric, lots of threads and a pair of scissors neatly protected in a hand stitched Scissor Case. Oh c’mon, you didn’t expect me NOT to link to… Continue reading Stitch, Vote, Stitch…

Needle books are a handy thing to have when you use a lot of needles, and our bluebird needle book is no exception. This little book has plenty of space for lots of needles, and the bluebird is even carrying one! The stitching on this goes together quickly, and we have put together the instructions to help speed you on your way.

As we said, our simple needle book can be made in a short amount of time and would be perfect for that stitcher who is a fan of all things bluebird. We stitched our ...

I’ve been working away on my latest project: “Stitch Along With Ariane”, which is actually a Zoom Series that will span 8 weeks, with a weekly Zoom meet-up to discuss the past week’s lesson, and the following week’s stitches. I’m working on the background stitching while awaiting the last of my threads to arrive. I’m… Continue reading Designing, Ripping Out & A Video From My Mother

Evidently the Dorset Button has a long and interesting history beginning with a soldier, Abraham Case, who saw buttons hand fashioned by his fellow soldiers during his time fighting in Europe in the early 1600’s. After the war he returned to his hometown, married and moved to Shaftesbury, where he decided to replicate the buttons… Continue reading Dorset Buttons: A Little History & A Lot of Fun

It all began with the Stem Stitch, a much over-looked stitch. I decided I needed to explore it and see if I could find a little excitement while doing so. I had no idea that this stitch would be the beginning of something wonderful! I pulled out some hand dyed linen that I’d bought and… Continue reading Design, Exploration & A Finished Piece

 Might as well just get to the meat and potatoes this week!  Last week's goals turned out to be overly ambitious:

✅ finish quilting Modern Baby Clam Shells, AND 

✅ get it labeled and   

❌ bound, AND  

❌ get my Letter Home baby quilt top and ready to load on my frame.  

After quilting the pantograph design over most of my Modern Baby Clam Shells quilt and stitching in the ditch around my butterfly appliqués  a quilter who was more goal oriented and focused than I am would have finished up the quilting with some monofilament or color matched thread to machine quilt ...

Every now and then my work space becomes unmanageable. I’m not the most organized person, but I know where everything is in my little chaotic work area, until it reaches a point when I can’t stand it any more. So yesterday I did what my husband always does (he’s a masterful organizer) when he’s organizing… Continue reading Organizing Threads, Stitching & Love

Let’s kick things off with a new design, shall we?! What? Didn’t she just unveil a new design a couple of weeks ago, you might ask. Yes. Yes, I did. I’ve been very busy! This last one is a companion piece to the Glasses Case. It’s a scissor case! Which, if you’re like me, you… Continue reading A New Design, A Stroll & Mischief

If you’d like to laugh and explore stitching (or in my case attempting to) with silk gimp and the thicker gimp that Painter’s Threads hand dyes, this was the live stream I did yesterday. Warning: We laughed A LOT. My attempts at using the crinkly silk gimp became more comedic than informative… However, I am… Continue reading Stitching with Gimp and a lot of Laughter

I am a bit tardy in getting this post out to the world as I went on a little adventure this morning and filmed it so all of you can join me, if you like, tomorrow morning, when I post it on my YouTube Channel: Ariane Zurcher ~ On the Other Hand. I rarely go… Continue reading A New York City Adventure And the Winner is…

This is the little promotional video I made for Instagram and below that is the slightly longer Youtube video I made. This is the first of two holiday projects I designed. They are small do-it-yourself projects that can be made up pretty quickly and are perfect gifts for yourself or someone else. I’m working away… Continue reading The Unveiling of a New Design & A Giveaway!