Fiber Talk

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...

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...

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...

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...

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, or...

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...

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:...

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...

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 this show,...