Laura McGarrity found her creative voice through embroidery, where she could finally “draw” with needle and thread. From detailed animals to everyday inspirations, her work celebrates nature, curiosity, and the joy of learning by doing.
What first got you excited about embroidery?
My first creative outlets were crochet and knitting, and later cross stitch. With each, I followed patterns created by other artists. Over time, I became eager to create my own designs but didn’t feel I could achieve enough detail for the imagery I wanted to create with these crafts.
The initial appeal of embroidery to me was the fact that it seemed to have no limits. There are, of course, patterns for embroidery, but the idea that you could just pick up a needle and thread and start ‘drawing’ or ‘painting’ with your stitches without the need for a pattern was very exciting to me.
I’ve since seen beautiful art in each of those other crafts, and I still engage in them, but embroidery was the first medium I tried that I felt really allowed me to tap into my creative side.
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How did you learn to embroider? Self-taught or did you have someone guide you?
While I have learned a lot about crafting over the years from my two very crafty and creative older sisters, with embroidery I am entirely self-taught.
I learned by Googling, watching video tutorials, and following artists I admire on social media. That’s the great thing about the internet today. When I was younger, to learn a new skill, you either had to get all your questions answered through books, through trial and error, or by being lucky enough to know someone who could teach you. These days, you can learn just about anything you put your mind to online.
When did you decide to open your Etsy shop, LauraMbroidery?
When I first got into embroidery, I had no intention of opening a shop. I make my art for myself simply as a means of honing my skills at the craft.
The more I posted my art online, the more requests I got from followers to sell my pieces. I felt so bad saying ‘no’ all the time.
I have a full-time job and do not have the time or inclination to run a shop with finished products that need to be packed and shipped, but I realized I could sell patterns to give those who were interested in my work access to my designs. I had to learn how to create digital patterns (which is no small task when it comes to thread painting!), but I found I enjoyed being able to help others bring my embroidery designs to life.
How did it feel to make your first sale?
It felt great! It’s so validating when people appreciate your art to the degree that they’re willing to part with their own hard-owned money for a piece of it. I’m so grateful for that. That said, I’m not in this for the money.
I greatly admire (and even envy) those who’ve made a career out of their embroidery, but for me, embroidery is my creative outlet. Pattern sales are a wonderful bonus (the small income I get goes right back into funding my embroidery addiction!), but I primarily use embroidery as a way to escape the pressures that life throws my way and let my mind and soul relax.
Where do you find inspiration for your designs? / When thinking about a new design, do you have a schedule or plan? Or just go with feels right next?
Perhaps 90% of the subjects I stitch are animals and insects, so it’s safe to say I find my greatest inspiration in nature.
That said, I sometimes find inspiration in the mundane, in everyday things. I never quite know how and when inspiration will strike. (I wish I knew so I could bottle it!)
Sometimes, I’ll plan on stitching a particular subject (say, an animal) and spend hours or even days researching and drawing out different designs for it, only to be randomly reminded of a cookie I used to eat in childhood and instantly drop everything to stitch that (a true story).
I have learned that I can’t force a particular design or subject that I want to stitch. I have to feel it too, or it won’t happen.
Do you have a favorite subject to embroider? Animal or bug?
Yes and no. I certainly prefer stitching subjects from nature over anything else. And if you count up the number of animals I’ve stitched and compare it to the number of bugs, you could say I prefer stitching animals.
But really, my favorite subject is whatever I’m stitching at that moment. When I’m stitching a beautiful butterfly, I can literally envision a future in which I stitch nothing but butterflies for the rest of my life because there are so many amazing species that it’s impossible to limit myself to just one!
When I’m stitching a bird, I cannot imagine stitching anything else ever again, for the same reason. But then, as soon as I finish the piece, I find I’m ready to move on to the next thing. I love keeping it fresh, and I’m always on the lookout for the next big idea.
What are your ‘must-have’ tools for stitching?
My biggest must-haves for stitching are my Nurge embroidery stand and my magnifying lamp. It’s a bit of a curse, really. I honestly can’t stitch without either one of them now!
Do you have a favorite spot for stitching? / Describe your creative space.
I’m a part-time stitcher with a full-time job, so I have a combination office-and-craft space.
I have a very large L-shaped desk (made of two 8-foot kitchen countertops that I screwed together, with storage cabinets for ‘legs’), which gives me enough room to both work and create. I use my computer to search for ideas and my iPad to draw my designs.
As I’ve practically made craft organization a second hobby, I keep everything (my floss, hoops, and fabric) right at my fingertips so I can begin stitching whenever inspiration strikes.
What’s one challenge you often face when designing your patterns?
The biggest design challenge I face is accurately representing my ideas onto paper. It often surprises people to learn I have no background in art. Drawing is definitely not my strongest suit so it can be very frustrating to have an idea and struggle to make it a reality.
Since beginning embroidery, I’ve slowly worked on improving my drawing skills, and now I thoroughly enjoy making my designs come to life. It sometimes takes two or five or twenty tries, but I get there eventually!
What advice would you give to someone starting embroidery for the first time?
Honestly, to just start! It can be difficult and intimidating to learn a new skill. No one likes being a beginner at something because it’s so easy to stumble.
I put off learning embroidery for quite a while because I was intimated and assumed it would be hard. Of course it was in many ways, but I found I learned something with each new thing I stitched, which meant each project was better than the last.
This leads me to my second piece of advice: don’t compare your work or your progress to any other artist’s. It can be very disheartening to compare your skill to another’s and feel it doesn’t measure up.
What people don’t think about is that they may be at a very different stage in their stitching journey, which means you’re simply comparing apples and oranges.
I’ve had so many beginning stitchers see my work in my eighth year of stitching and say, “I’ll never be able to stitch like that!” Well, I couldn’t stitch like that in my first year of stitching either! It took me eight years to get to this point.
Don’t worry about how your work measures up to someone else’s. Try only comparing your latest piece to your past work. This allows you to better see your progress, how much you’ve learned, and how far you’ve come.
Where can people see your work?
I post all of my work on Instagram @a_warm_garlic_yurt ,and my patterns can be bought from my Etsy shop @LauraMbroidery.
Interview posted September 2025
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