Mounting Needlepoint Canvas on Stretcher Bars
Feb 04, 2026
Mounting needlepoint canvas on stretcher bars the first time can be a bit intimidating. In this video, we take you through the process using standard stretcher bars. Once you’ve done it, you’ll see that it’s a rather simple process. If you’re using Ever-Tite or Adjust-A-Frame bars, the process is the same. But don’t tack the corners so the bars will be free to expand. Leave questions if you need help or comments if you want to share tips.
Exploring the Counted-Canvas World of Kathy Rees
Feb 01, 2026
Liberty is the 2026 Mystery design from Kathy Rees, available at the Shining Needle Society.Colorwaves design by Kathy Rees.Counted-canvas needlepoint is this week’s technique and we got to talk about it with Kathy Rees, one of the best designers in that world. Kathy earned a business degree, got tired of the corporate world, worked with her parents in their needlework shop, then owned her own shop. When that era came to an end, she committed herself to full-time designing and teaching. One of her signature series is annual mystery projects. She just announced her latest mystery, Liberty, through the Shining Needle Society. Registration is open for that class which offers four color ways. Deadline for registering is Feb. 16, so act quickly. Kathy is also planning a stitching cruise with Toni Gerdes. That nine-night Caribbean Cruise sails in April 2027. We learned a lot talking with Kathy and encourage you to visit her website and explore her catalog of terrific designs.—Cindy and Gary
Summer Logs design by Kathy Rees.You can listen by using the player above or you can subscribe to Fiber Talk through iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Audible, iHeart Radio, TuneIn, Podbay, Podbean, and many other podcast sources. To receive e-mail notification of new podcasts, provide your name and e-mail address below. We do not sell/share e-mail addresses.
We hope you enjoy our conversation with Kathy Rees. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.
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Midweek Chat: Needle Delights Gush Fest
Jan 28, 2026
Color Waves by Kathy Rees, Needle Delights Originals.Summer Logs by Kathy Rees, Needle Delights Originals.It’s Midweek Chat time. This week we started out with the planned topics and were doing well until the subject of “Land of the Free” by Kathy Rees came up. That led to her new Shining Needle Society class, then we remembered Color Waves, and then it was all over. We simply went to needledelights.com and gushed and remembered all of the great designs. The spending of money will happen in the next few days. Our apologies to the folks who listen to the show on podcast apps. We also cooked up a live show to kick off National Embroidery Month. Join us on the FiberTalk YouTube channel at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Sunday, Feb. 1 for a couple of hours of stitching fun. Be sure to check out our first Fiber Talk Canvas video and leave any questions or comments to help us put together the next show. Also, consider becoming a Patreon supporter at patreon.com/FiberTalk.—Cindy and Gary
Christmas Rounds by Kathy Rees, Needle Delights Originals.You can listen by using the player above or you can subscribe to Fiber Talk through iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Audible, iHeart Radio, TuneIn, Podbay, Podbean, and many other podcast sources. To receive e-mail notification of new podcasts, provide your name and e-mail address below. We do not sell/share e-mail addresses.
We hope you enjoy the show. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.
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Discussing Issues of the Day with Ruth Cartwright
Jan 25, 2026
Pineapple design by Ruth Cartwright.Variegated Swan by Ruth Cartwright.Our guest this week is Ruth Cartwright of Craft with Cartwright. The show is sponsored by the Embroiderer’s Guild of America at egausa.org. In our conversation, we learn about Ruth’s business, her Friday free designs, and her 2026 365 Days of Crafting challenge. Our main focus is discussing topics Ruth has posted on her Instagram account. Among those are copyright infringement, granny crafts, why cross stitch is viewed as needlework’s “poor cousin,” organizing floss by color or number, and those magic moments when the house is empty and you’re left to stitch in peace. We hope these topics will get you thinking and invite you to offer your reactions in the comment section.–Beth and Gary
You can listen by using the player above or you can subscribe to Fiber Talk through iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Podbay, and Podbean. To receive e-mail notification of new podcasts, provide your name and e-mail address below. We do not sell/share e-mail addresses.
Visit the EGA website at egausa.org and consider joining.Here are some links:
We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Ruth Cartwright. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.–Gary
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Fiber Talk Canvas: A New Needlepoint Series
Jan 21, 2026
Anasazi Spirit from StitchPlay Designs.Poppers from Needle Delights.This is the first of a new needlepoint series we’re calling Fiber Talk Canvas. The purpose of this video series (there will be a new video on the third Wednesday of each month) is to help people have success with needlepoint. To accomplish this, our focus will be on counted-canvas needlepoint. In our first show we talk about what we hope to accomplish with the series, stretcher bars and getting a canvas ready for stitching, and the projects we are working on as part of the series. All of the projects we are doing are available for free or can be purchased through some retail outlet, i.e., you don’t need to take a class to do them. We hope you’ll find this series informative and that it will prompt you to give needlepoint a try. Please let us know in the comment section if you have questions, suggestions for future shows, and/or ideas for topics you want covered.—Beth, Cindy, and Gary
Adjust-A-Frame stretcher bars: Send email to adjustaframesales@gmail.com for price list. Gary wrote to them the evening of Jan. 20 to confirm that they are still making the product. I’ll update when I hear.
Kate Cross Loves Teaching, Whitework, and More Teaching
Jan 18, 2026
Schwalm whitework, designed and stitched by Kate Cross.Pulled work and drawn-thread design by Kate Cross.Kate Cross, of Bespoke Embroidery, joins us this week. Kate is a lifelong artist who connected with textile art when her grandmother suggested she visit an exhibition at the Royal School of Needlework. That led to studying and graduating from the RSN and she now teaches students and future tutors for the school. In addition, she has her own Bespoke Embroidery business. That involves design work using a long list of whitework and other stitching techniques, commissions, and more teaching, her second love after stitching. She’s a multi-faceted and highly talented artist and we had a great conversation about her career and love of needlework. Enjoy the show and visit her website to learn more and see more of her work. Teach Me Tuesdays are your chance to learn from Kate in online classes.—Gary
“Garden View” fine whitework by Kate Cross.You can listen by using the player above or you can subscribe to Fiber Talk through iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Podbay, and Podbean. To receive e-mail notification of new podcasts, provide your name and e-mail address below. We do not sell/share e-mail addresses.
We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Kate Cross. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.–Gary
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New Videos on the Fiber Talk Patreon Site
Jan 17, 2026
If you’ve considered supporting Fiber Talk through a Patreon subscription but haven’t yet pulled the trigger, maybe our latest offerings will tempt you.
Midweek Chat: “WIPing” into 2026
Jan 14, 2026
Beth’s Christmas card, stitched by Cindy Russell.Gary’s Christmas card, stitched by Cindy Russell.Our long Holiday Hiatus is finally over and we’re back to our regular schedule. This week we talk about our upcoming needlepoint series (send us questions and things you want us to cover), a cool hand massager Beth got for Christmas (enabling alert), our stitching plans for the coming year, what we’re stitching for our needlepoint series, and we gush over Christmas cards Cindy Russell sent us. We also invite you to support Fiber Talk by becoming a Patreon subscriber at patreon.com/FiberTalk. Sunday’s guest: Kate Cross of Bespoke Embroidery.
Beth’s Blessing sampler, S.A. Marsham from Sassafras Samplers.You can listen by using the player above or you can subscribe to Fiber Talk through iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Audible, iHeart Radio, TuneIn, Podbay, Podbean, and many other podcast sources. To receive e-mail notification of new podcasts, provide your name and e-mail address below. We do not sell/share e-mail addresses.
We hope you enjoy the show. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.
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Fleur Woods Puts Art on Ground Cloth
Dec 21, 2025
“The Untamed Thread” is a new book from Fleur Woods.Close up of Summer Blooms by Fleur WoodsOur topic this week is needle art, our artist is Fleur Woods, and our sponsor is Avlea Folk Embroidery (avleafolkembroidery.com). Fleur started her career in the corporate arena to “see how the world works.” It worked by suppressing her creativity. She left the 9-to-5 world and dabbled in various art media as she tried to find what it was that allowed her to express what was in her mind. A conversation led her to needle and thread and she hasn’t quit since. Woods also just published her first book, The Untamed Thread, which is designed to provide a structure to help you discover your creative voice. Purchase it from your favorite bookseller and be sure to visit Fleur’s website and follow her social-media accounts. Also watch for an upcoming Fiber Talk live show with Fleur in which we’ll explore her art.–Beth and Gary
Please support our sponsor, Avlea Folk Embroidery, at avleafulkembroidery.com.You can listen by using the player above or you can subscribe to Fiber Talk through iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Podbay, and Podbean. To receive e-mail notification of new podcasts, provide your name and e-mail address below. We do not sell/share e-mail addresses.
We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Fleur Woods. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.–Gary
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Wendy Moore’s Counted-Canvas Artwork
Dec 14, 2025
Moon on the Water by Wendy Moore.NOLA’s French Lily by Wendy Moore.We’re joined this week by brilliant counted-canvas artist Wendy Moore. The show is made possible by CyberPointers (cyberpointers.org), the online chapter of ANG. The need to be creative transported Wendy from the science world to stage costume design. She moved to the Midwest and was exploring her love of Shakespeare when she was invited to an EGA meeting. That meeting opened the door to the counted-canvas-design career that we all enjoy today. In our conversation, we learn the details of Wendy’s interesting career path and her process for creating terrific needle art. Wendy’s pieces are available through online, in-person, chapter, and regional and national events. “If you can get six people together, I’ll teach a class.” We hope you enjoy the show and will consider taking a class from Wendy. To learn more, contact Wendy at wendymooredesigns@gmail.com.—Cindy and Gary
Join CyberPointers at cyberpointers.org.You can listen by using the player above or you can subscribe to Fiber Talk through iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Podbay, and Podbean. To receive e-mail notification of new podcasts, provide your name and e-mail address below. We do not sell/share e-mail addresses.
Contact Wendy Moore at wendymooredesigns@gmail.com
We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Wendy Moore. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.–Gary
To add yourself to our mailing list and be notified whenever we post a new podcast, provide your name and email address below. You won’t get spam and we won’t share your address.