Through the Needle's Eye
Dimensional Cotton and Wool Appliqué Designs
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Woolie Friends Stitch-A-Longs
During the summer of 2020, we were honored to join eleven other designers to create the Woolen Oak Stitch-A-Long quilt. The adventure was such a success that we have continued to work together, creating various quilts, runners, and projects. What a fun group, and what fabulous stitchers we have met throughout these stitch-alongs! We would love to have you join the fun. Check out the Facebook page for examples, block sharing, inspiration, and updates. It's never too late to try a project you may have missed: we still have availability for kits and patterns. The designers' websites are linked below for your convenience. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and pay them a visit to see what they have to offer!
Curly roving for the beard is included in our wool kit, but it can be made with white wool.
Owl charms provided in our wool kit may vary in style, or you can stitch it in brown wool.
Small gold beads create the candle flames, and gold thread is stitched into the chain and bow for some sparkle.
Our delightful gnome family is decking the forest tree for a magical Christmas, with gilded paper chains, lit candles, and a bright star—all under the supervision of a wise owl and a little red bird. While there are many special details to this block, they are all created with simple embroidery stitches. Patterns are available in printed and digital formats. The digital format of the pattern is free from Monday, 11/21–Sunday 11/27. You will just have to put it in your cart and checkout. Easy as pumpkin pie!
We have wool and thread kits available for purchase as well. Our wool kit can be purchased with or without a printed pattern. It includes background homespun fabric, eight pieces of beautiful hand-dyed wool, and an embellishment kit: curly roving for the beard, beads for the candles, a hand-dyed wooden star button, and an owl charm. (Owls may vary in style due to availability.)
Our thread kits include hand-dyed wool threads by The Gentle Art, pearl cotton threads (size #5 and #8) and floss by Weeks DyeWorks, and gold blending filament by Kreinik. Seven skeins provide everything you will need to add character and sparkle to your appliqué.
Deck the Forest
OPTION: We have created Garden Gnomes, which have cheery faces. However, if you prefer,
you can cut the hat a bit longer and make the noses out of skin-tone wool as shown below.
Spotlight Week Designer (websites linked below)
Sep 12-18 Calico Patch
Sep 19-25 Red Button Quilt Company
Sep 26-Oct 2 Linen Closet Designs
Oct 3-9 The Woolen Needle
Oct 10-16 The Cottage Rose
Oct 17-23 Sew Cherished
Oct 24-30 Blueberry Backroads
Oct 31-Nov 6 Traditional Primitives
Nov 7-13 My Red Door Designs
Nov 14-20 Yellow Creek Quilt Designs
Nov 21-27 Through the Needle's Eye
Nov 28-Dec 4 Rusty Crow
December 5 Calico Patch (Finishing Pattern)
Scroll to the bottom of the page for live links to each designer's page to learn about their patterns and kits.
To order,
click the button below.
You can order wool kit, thread kit, printed or digital pattern,
or a complete kit at a bonus price.
Want to learn more? Click HERE to read our flyer!
For FREE digital PDF download, click below; it is the first item in our shop.
Full Kit:
Bundle and Save!
Past Woolie Friends Mystery Stitch-A-Longs
Nesting Nuthatch
The ubiquitous blue Mason jar has been around for nearly two centuries and has been used by generations to preserve food from our gardens. Today, it serves many, various functions. Ours is a vase filled with Queen Anne’s Lace and Strawflowers, inviting our nesting nuthatch to the scene.
Our lovely wool kit will include a printed pattern, homespun background, eight different wools—several hand-dyed by Dawn Shuck from Sew Cherished—and several embellishment materials to make this block unique and full of fun textures. Sari silk ribbon with wool strips and wool roving make for a dimensional and unique nest for our nuthatch's eggs. And then there is the sweet dragonfly charm flitting amongst the flowers. This is a kit you won't want to miss! Remember: our kits come with a printed pattern, so you will not need to purchase one if you buy a kit!!
Our beautiful thread kit comes with a selection of hand-dyed threads from Weeks DyeWorks and includes 5 skeins of floss, and one each of #3 pearl and #8 pearl cotton threads. The variety of thread weights help to add interest to your work. You will love the lustrous sheen of the white #3 pearl to create your Queen Anne's lace!
For a tutorial for stitching
the Nesting Nuthatch,
click the button below.
April Showers
April showers bring May flowers is the theme of this springtime block that is filled with all the things one might need for a fun, rain-filled day—rainboots, an umbrella, and a spring bouquet. When spring rains darken your day, this colorful block will bring a little brightness into it!
Our complete wool kit includes a homespun background and a variety of ten beautiful wools—hand-dyed by our Woolie Friend, Dawn Shuck from Sew Cherished. Additionally, the kit will have silk ribbon in two sizes and a charming embellishment—to be revealed later. You won't want to miss these delicious colors and wools, we promise! Our separate thread kit will include a lovely selection of hand-dyed threads by Weeks DyeWorks: pearl cotton thread in two sizes and three colors of floss. Our wool kits will have the bonus of a printed pattern, for your convenience.
Tea and Blooms
Brew a pot of tea and stitch some blooms as you anticipate spring! Dimensional wool appliqué, embroidery, and embellishment add life to this pot full of violets and cup of chamomile. It is one of 12 blocks in the Potted Petals Mystery Stitch-A-Long. The finished block size is 12 inches square.
Our wool kit includes background homespun fabric, all wool pieces needed to create our block, as well as several embellishments, including wool roving, beads, lace, ribbon, and antennae.
Our thread kit includes a variety of hand-dyed threads from Weeks DyeWorks: one card of #5 pearl cotton, 4 cards of #8 pearl cotton, 2 cards of six-stranded floss, and one card of crewel wool.
Pattern is sold separately, in either printed or downloadable digital PDF format.
Going to Grandma's
If you would prefer to make a little boy rather than a girl, just sub in the boy with the included templates.
We had such fun with our 2020 Wooly Block Adventure Block—Going to Grandma’s. Our little girl (or boy!) is on her way through the woods to Grandma’s house but makes a quick stop to feed a sweet little cardinal. Embroidery with three different types of fibers adds dimension to this woodland scene, and while our little girl (or boy) is going to her Grandma’s, your sign can say whatever you would like! The pattern now include templates for both a boy and a girl, depending on your preferences.
Finished block size: 8-inch square
The kit includes the complete printed pattern with templates, black wool for the background, all wool needed to complete the block, 1.5 yards of Valdani white #8 pearl cotton thread, and a snowflake button. Also included is some extra wool for an optional finishing project, the Into the Woods Runner, designed by our Woolie Friends. This charming runner will take you through the winter, topping a table, the back of a couch, or the bottom of a bed.
An optional thread kits includes the threads that we used to complete the block: Weeks DyeWorks floss, crewel wool, and #8 pearl cotton; and The Gentle Art floss and wool thread.
Our beautiful, hand-dyed wool kit comes with fabric to piece the background acorn block and all wool to create the appliqué design, as well as a bit of wool roving and a sweet little bee charm.
The thread kit includes a collection of hand-dyed threads from Weeks Dye Works—2 skeins of floss, 1 skein of #5 pearl cotton, 2 skeins of #8 pearl cotton, and 1 skein of crewel wool.
Pattern is sold separately, either in printed or downloadable digital PDF format.
Week #9: Harvest Basket
This delightful Harvest Basket echoes the bounty of autumn with its colorful contents. Embroidery brings the basket to life—we hope you enjoy stitching and embellishing this little taste of fall! It is one of 12 blocks in the Woolen Oak Mystery Stitch-A-Long. The finished block size is 16½ inches square.
We have created a few videos demonstrating various techniques we used in creating the Harvest Basket.
We hope you will find them helpful!
Overview of Harvest Basket Embroidery Stitches
Tutorial for Wool Basket Weaving
To learn about the techniques we used to prepare our wool appliqué for the block, go to our blog,
Telling Stories Through the Needle's Eye.
Tutorial for Wool Roving Flower Centers
Tutorial for Pekinese Stitch