Happy Thursday!

We are going to conduct an experiment in this newsletter.

The first half will be of my crafty projects and helpful information to inspire your own projects. The second half will be lifestyle.

I’m a nosy broad and love to know what other folks are wearing, slathering on their faces, or cooking for dinner. So, depending on how you found me or why you so generously stick around, there will be a little something for everyone!

Needlepoint and knitting not your bag? No problem! I have book recs and the dress I find myself wearing *at least* three times a week below. Only here for the needlearts content? Feel free to close out just before you get to Weekly Glimmers. I have a whole archive of dishy educational information in my archive.

Did you follow me by accident? I hope to earn your presence—feel free to let me know what you’d like to see. You’re very welcome to stay here.

Enjoy!

STITCH OF THE WEEK:

Bargello-Inspired Wave Stitch:

Stitch of the week! 🤍 A Bargello-inspired wavey stitch— a great vertical stitch for ocean-themed canvases, playful color stash-busters, and more.

The Bargello wave stitch is a beautiful, repetitive needlepoint pattern that forms flowing, wave-like shapes with upright stitches. It is created by changing the lengths of the straight stitches in an ascending and descending sequence to produce a gentle curve. Taller rows cover three canvas threads while only two are used for the shorter waves. For this variation, we have two kinds of rows of varying sizes to add a dynamic element, but you could certainly revise the stitch to be all tall waves or all short waves.

The stitch is typically worked each row at a time. With a smooth transition like this one, you could go for an ombré color approach or monochromatic (like above). It would also be beautiful to alternate between different textured threads in the same color family or an analogous palette.

While it is a full-coverage stitch, the canvas can show through, so I recommend deliberately pairing colors that complement each other or choosing threads that match the painted or printed canvas.

For my swatch, I used Artichoke by Silk & Ivory on 13 mesh.

CHARTS:

Compensating stitches:

Need help compensating stitches? I’ve got you covered:

Bookmark these for future inspiration, or feel free to browse my archive at a later date.

If you would like to tag along, I invite you to pick up a project hiding in your closet or start fresh to make a sampler on a blank swatch of canvas.

Want to jump ahead? I have two sampler guides available on my website. There is no overlap in the guides, so they build on each other. I’ll be jumping between them for stitchspiration. Volume II includes alphabet charts (unique to my other charts), a quick how-to paint guide, and more. They are digital only, as I live in Canada, but make for great access on the go on your mobile device.

Brooke's Sampler Guides

In the meantime, these posts will be free, and charts can be found below!

xo,

Brooke

Current WIP:

Sharing one of my favorite designs— it brings me back to searching for jackrabbits while camping in Utah or spending time with my girlfriends in Joshua Tree. It got a bit crumpled while moving a while ago, so please forgive the crease!

The design comes in a couple of different colorways and mesh sizes. They’re on sale at KC Needlepoint. $128 for 18 mesh and $156 for 13 mesh.

Recent finish!

This is what blocking and weaving in the ends feels like! 🧶I have been a needlepoint designer for the last ten years, but I'm a knitter first! I remember convincing my teachers to let me knit leg warmers for an 8th-grade school project, getting in trouble for knitting in geometry, and knitting hats on the bus up to snowboard competitions. While I love needlepoint dearly, there's something about having a finished project when you've completed your knitting WIP. 🩷This is a sweater I made for my sister-in-law who lives in France. She is a school teacher, so I decided to crop the length to wear with skirts and dresses, and added mother-of-pearl buttons to reference her life by the sea. Her favorite color is pink!✨ This is the Petite Knit Novice Cardigan, and I used two strands of mohair-- one hand dyed by Fleece Artist's Handmaiden and one sparkly solid silk mohair by Lana Gatto. While working on it, I was calling it the Glinda sweater 🫧

I used 125g of Handmaiden Superkid Silk Mohair by Fleece Artist (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in Rose Quartz and 125g of Lana Gatto (Italy) Silk Mohair Lux in 7259 Pink!

Note: This is a latergram!! Photo taken while visiting France in June. I wish this were my headboard!

Weekly Glimmers & Favorites:

Listening to on repeat:

Reneé Rapp’s new album! I learned about Reneé while watching Sex Lives of College Girls and was flooooored by her vocals.

2025:

2022:

Workhorse Wardrobe:

My measurements: Bust: 36 | Waist: 30 | Hips: 42

My uniform: British Columbia is suuuuuuper casual, so I tend to dress down 95% of the time, but still like to look somewhat put together. I've been wearing two one-and-done maxi shirt dresses by Frank & Eileen on repeat since I purchased them for a trip to Europe. I typically only buy a few pieces each season, and these two dresses were my summer splurges. I admire Frank & Eileen’s B-Corporation certification and the fact that they cover the duty fees to Canada.

Be sure also to scour their ReLoved program, as they have a built-in consignment feature for buying second-hand items at lower prices.

I bought a size large in the Rory Denim Maxi for a roomy fit and purchased the One Size Megan Linen Maxi in Sand.

Swimsuit: I accidentally lost my only two-piece swimsuit a few weeks ago and needed a new one for summer swims! So, I just splurged on this Left On Friday swimsuit after coveting my friend group’s go-to suit for *years*. For sizing, I am a size large in both top and bottom. If you are between sizes, I was told to pick the smaller size as the fabric can stretch a bit in the water. Left on Friday is a Canadian brand and Women-owned! It arrived yesterday and came in compostable packaging—win-win!

New Undies: It was time. I was in Spain washing my threadbare underwear (my dog is a weirdo) in the sink and had my “I’m thirty-two years old, this is ridiculous, I need to just suck it up and buy myself some new underwear” moment. After receiving countless ads for Hu-Ha, a Canadian women-owned business, I bought a few pairs on sale. I haven’t looked back. They are SO comfortable and I immediately told friends about them over dinner. Kelsey went and bought some shortly after and told me the other day that she thinks she can’t wear anything else— they’re so comfortable! I wear a large or extra-large top and a medium bottom—they’re super stretchy. Non-affiliate link: Hu-ha

Went out for dinner with my girlfriends Friday night in my linen dress and took a very rare selfie!

What I’m reading:

I am part of a romance book club called “Flirty Fiction” at a local indie bookshop, and this month’s book was A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell. It is a really sweet queer romance book set in coastal England during the Victorian Era. Kit is a pre-Raphaelite type painter, while Muriel is a naturalist. They both embark on a coastal cycling endeavor and get to know one another along the way (despite women’s typical attendance in such a thing).

I gave it a 7/10 while fellow readers gave it anywhere between a four and a nine.

As you can see, I borrowed it from my local library, but I will link the bookshop.org link here —> A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell from bookshop.org

Leaving room for magic: Three Good Things

1. We had a joyful symphony event in the harbor this past weekend in Victoria! A few friends and I went on Saturday for the Latin music show, while last night’s was John Williams-inspired.

2. We had a few friends drop off delicious baked goods! It was so thoughtful and sweet, inspiring me to start baking again. A former neighbor is dropping off fresh herbs from her garden later today.

3. There are certainly days when I long for the mountainous landscape I grew up in, but most days, I have so much gratitude for living in a walkable city. Last night I brought a peach, arugula, and burrata salad to our friends’ house. They were experimenting with a pizza recipe for an upcoming friends’ pizza competition. If you have any recommendations, I’m all ears!

Recipe for four:

• Simply a tub or bag of arugula

• 1/4 cup chopped basil

• 1 sliced shallot

• 1 burrata

• 1 handful of blueberries

• 2 peaches pitted and sliced (I made mine look like sunrays before realizing I needed more arugula after overdressing

• 3 tbsp of sliced almonds

• Dressing: leftover pickled beet brine, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, 1 tbsp grainy mustard, and a sprinkle of lavender. I love a peach lavender combo!

Each design featured on this site is either (1) the unique and original creation of Brooke Thorn McGowan and owned by Thorn Alexander LLC, or (2) is the unique and original creation of another artist with whom she has collaborated. Visitors to this site are hereby given notice that the copyright and all other intellectual property rights for all designs featured on this site remain the sole and exclusive property of their creator. No reproduction of any kind may be made of any of the designs without specific written permission from the copyright owner.