Focus on: Gloriana Lorikeet Wool

A few months ago we built up our thread selection in the store, and one of the lines that we purchased was Gloriana's Lorikeet wool. It's a beautiful hand-dyed over-dyed 100% Australian wool. It is a great choice for embroidery, crewel, needlepoint, punchneedle and counted-thread. It comes in a skein of five yards, and is plyable to nine strands. One strand can be used on 32 count linen or in any combination of 1 to 9 ply depending on the fabric and use. We recommend using six strands on 13 mesh.


Above are some samples of how this beautiful fiber looks stitched. The bottom right sample is stitched in continental. The bottom left is continental again, but the threads are reversed. You can see how this creates a total different look! The top right sample is stitched in Basketweave, and similar to the bottom row, the left stitched square is stitched in Basketweave again, but this time the thread is reversed. It is really amazing how different the sample looks depending on how you stitch it!

Lorikeet has shades of colors within the rainbow, so you may find between one and five shades in each color range, which is great for shading!

If you're wondering what kind of stitches this thread looks great in, and how you would incorporate it into one of your pieces, I have some suggestions. The Ashley stitch would be really effective on a rug, as would the Irregular Jacquard. The Criss Cross Hungarian stitch in Lorikeet would look great on a beard, so if you're stitching a Christmas stocking, try out this stitch and the appropriate color for Santa's beard! The Dutch stitch, is a fantastic stitch for a stone wall. The Hungarian Stitch is also fabulous for cushions. Also, when you're stitching a person, whether it's santa, or a figure in a landscape or ornament, consider using a complimentary color and trying Turkey Work for hair! That would really make your piece stand out!

I invite you to come into the shop and check out all of the gorgeous colors we have of this thread. We have the full line, so there are a lot to choose from, and will give you lots of opportunities to try it out in whatever piece you're working on!