JO in NZ has put together a tutorial for Oglala stitch — a bead-embroidery technique that creates “ruffles.” Lovely. The many excellent photos make this lesson easy to follow. See the tute.

TipNut’s Garden Harvest series of free vintage embroidery patterns continues with this dear carrot tableau. Get the pattern.

Wouldn’t a hand-made needlepoint rug look beautiful on your wall or floor! Before you attempt to make one, be sure to read Janet Perry’s rug-making tips on Nuts About Needlepoint. You’ll appreciate her great advice. See Janet’s post.

Oh, no! I forgot to tell you about Andrea Zuill’s free embroidery pattern for August! But it’s not too late. Run over to her blog and download this awesome buffalo.

This fabric art picture frame by Alma Stoller makes me sing! If you’re in the New York area, you can make one of your own with Alma, herself, to guide you. The two-session class begins Saturday, August 8. Get the details…

Shawkl invented this adorable beaded snail, along with some other equally charming “critters.” I hope she’s going to tell us how she did it! For more photos, see her blog post.

To celebrate her birthday, Mimi Kirchner is giving away a custom calendar that features photos of her embroidered and appliqued dolls. To enter, post a comment on her blog post by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern USA time) on Wednesday, August 5.

Here’s how Conni (The Scoop, Score and Deal) rose to SharonB’s latest Stitch Explorer Challenge. The assignment: Incorporate something unconventional into an embroidery project. Look closely and you’ll see that Conni has overlain her background with a plastic mesh onion bag! Get…

Jude Hill explains how she created these stuffed dots (hint: needleturn applique) on the what if blog. See the post.

The pattern for this sweet, sleepy cat is free for your personal use from Paula Storm. Yes! Get the pattern.

And many thanks to Deepa of This and That for pointing out this great find.

Lakshmi of Hand Embroidery from Sadalas demonstrates using herringbone stitch as a fill stitch. She says this easy stitch is appropriate for beginners. See the tute.