Fiber Talk

The Embroiderers’ Guild of America sponsors the return of cross-stitch designer Lindsay Swearingen of Tusk and Cardinal. Lindsay’s new book, “Cross-Stitch from the Dark Ages,” is likely one of the most unique collections of cross-stitch designs you’ll encounter. She did a ton of research into medieval arts and practices to come up with a collection of 25 projects designed to “plague your walls.” T...

It’s Midweek Chat time a week early. The show is sponsored by CyberPointers at cyberpointers.org. This week it’s all three of us talking about needlepoint canvas at Avlea Folk Embroidery, top-quality embroidery ground cloth, shiny silk embroidery threads, a new line of silk needlepoint threads, Beth’s new portable magnifier light, slate frame, and slate-frame alternatives. Sunday: Lindsay Swearing...

Textile artist Carolyn Forster of Quilting on the Go is our guest this week. The focus of our conversation is her two new books, “20 To Make: Chicken Scratch Embroidery” and “1930s Quilts.” Carolyn has been sewing, stitching, and quilting all of her life. She tried cooking in school but things went wonky so she stayed with needle and thread. We have great fun learning about all of the things she d...

This week, Hazel Blomkamp returns to talk about her Workroom subscription program, her updated technique books, and the terrific new collaboration book, Crewelwork Then & Now, she wrote with Phillipa Turnbull. The show is sponsored by the Embroiderers’ Guild of America and Avlea Folk Embroidery. This is the second time we’ve had the privilege of talking with Hazel and, as the first time, it w...

Margriet Hogue, creator and owner of The Essamplaire, passed away on Sept. 14, 2026. As our way of remembering the tremendous contribution she made to samplers, and the needle arts in general, this week we re-play the conversation we had with her April 15, 2023. Margriet Hogue, from The Essamplaire, joins us this week to talk about the world of reproduction samplers, particularly from the 16th and...

Gabrielle Noe, of The Silk Snail, is our guest and the show is sponsored by CyberPointers, the online chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild. Learn about them at cyberpointers.org. Gabrielle and her partner Kylie met through TikTok, then IRL at a Houston needlepoint store. That meeting evolved into their new printed-canvas business, The Silk Snail. Their first set of canvases went on sale Tuesd...

When Wednesday arrives, we like to get together and talk about needlework. In this week’s Midweek Chat, sponsored by CyberPointers, Beth and Gary talk about portable magnifier lights and portable batteries; helping the people of Nepal by direct contribution or purchasing products from Fibres of Life; what Beth’s going to do with her wool felt eyeglass case; Beth’s MH 1656 sampler and her favorite,...

We learned all about Tatiana Popova, of Owl Crafts, in our Feb. 8, 2026 show when we talked about her background and her excellent book Contrast in Crewel Embroidery. At the time, she mentioned that a new book was in the works. The book, Modern Crewel Embroidery for Beginners, is now available and we spent a few minutes with Tatiana learning about it. If you’ve never done crewel embroidery,...

Natalie Tyler joins us this week in a show sponsored by the Embroiderers Guild of America at egausa.org. The pandemic was a turning point for Natalie, providing an opportunity to apply her art background to embroidery and develop her version of the art form. The result is a wide array of designs and design types, including pet portraits (including a snake), people portraits, 3D pieces, and using a...

It’s Midweek Chat time. This show is sponsored by CyberPointers at cyberpointers.org. This week Cindy and Gary discuss our sponsors, an Avlea Folk Embroidery discount code, Hazel Blomkamp, the Iowa State Fair (hooray Cindy and Robin), stitching in public, a book you should own, organizing your stitching library, and embellishing felt bowls. If we’ve enabled you, the links are below. Sunday: Natali...

Avlea Folk Embroidery is sponsoring this week’s conversation with longtime Fiber Talk follower, Deb De Crane. When you visit avleafolkembroidery.com, use the code FT10 to get 10% off of your order. Deb De Crane connected with recent guest Kris Andrews when she was working at Knox College in Illinois. That meeting introduced Deb much of what the embroidery world has to offer. Today, she enjoys most...

Beth’s sore stitching hands launched us into an unplanned fitness section. The conclusion: Sitting and stitching for long periods is not a good thing. We also talked about finishing a journal cover (link below), Jessica Grimm, needlepoint canvas from Avlea Folk Embroidery, and Gary stitching without thinking. The message: Read and follow the instructions. We’re taking a break after thi...

Cindy and Gary have gathered once again to discuss stitching topics we’ve encountered in recent weeks/days. This week’s topics include, the Tour de Broderie, eating while stitching, removing stains, whether wool is making a comeback, state fair entries and the techniques that are still alive, and the new Colour & Cotton store. They got it right. Sunday: Gimena Romero. Please consider supporti...

Lorna Bateman of Lorna Bateman Embroidery returns to Fiber Talk to talk about her flourishing embroidery design business — from her beautiful “Embroidered Country Gardens” book to stitching on Converse trainer shoes. In this episode: – Her book “Embroidered Country Gardens” and the inspiration behind it – Silk ribbon embroidery techniques and design – How...

Tammy McBean, the Needle Lady of Helvetia joins Gary to explore the beautiful world of Appenzeller whitework — a traditional Swiss embroidery style — and shares her experience with the Royal School of Needlework certificate program. This show is sponsored by Avlea Folk Embroidery at avleafolkembroidery.com. In this episode: —What Appenzeller whitework is and its Swiss cultural roots —Tammy’s journ...

Goldwork embroidery artist Clara Warschauer of Clara Stitching joins Gary to talk about her creative journey–how her design work has evolved over time, the surprising way teaching has made her a better designer, and the influences that shape her intricate goldwork pieces. In this episode:
 –How Clara’s goldwork designs have evolved over her career
 –Why teaching others has...

It’s time for another Midweek Chat. In this show, we gush about Judy Coates Perez and her creativity, learn what Gary does during sermons, applaud Yvette Stanton, remember Pam Mertes, and talk about some of the projects we’re stitching. Leave your thoughts/questions in the comment section. Sunday: No show so an opportunity to catch up on previous podcasts. Please consider supporting Fiber Talk by...

For this week’s show, sponsored by EGA, we had the privilege of spending time with textile artist Judy Coates Perez. Her textile arts career started with an extended family car trip when Judy was in 8th grade. In Guatemala, she learned how to do backstrap (not backstop ;)) weaving. That triggered a lifelong love of multimedia textile art creation. We spent a delightful hour learning about how she...

Our May 31 guest is Ruth O’Leary from Rostara. Ruth is a thread painting artist who uses her own version of the technique. Her stitching approach creates a different texture than “conventional” thread painting and provides Ruth with the color-transition flexibility she desires in her art. Equally interesting is Ruth’s design process. To make the art that’s in her head...

EGA is sponsoring our conversation with versatile textile artist Laura Wasilowski. After a short stint in theater, Laura built a career dyeing fabrics and threads while raising her children. That led to her captivating art quilts. These days she still creates quilts, but on the much smaller side of the art form and with a good deal more embroidery. She also teaches a large number of classes throug...