The current issue of The Magnolia Journal has ‘made ready’ as its theme. It reminds us that in every season of our lives, we are capable.

As we journey through life it can be easy to forget this as we find ourselves struggling though a ‘winter’ that is far longer than we’d anticipated and sometimes, it’s not until we find ourselves in the harvest season on the other side, we’re able to acknowledge that what was already inside us was enough to get us through the difficult season.

Despite our own doubts and insecurities, we’ve already got inside us what it takes to achieve great things!

The same is true for our needlework. Many of us underestimate our ability with needle and thread and shy away from some of the opportunities that come before us because we’ve forgotten just how capable we really are.

Do you remember the time when threading a needle was something you had to think about? Chances are you can almost do it with your eyes closed now. Can you recall the first stitch you learnt? We can only imagine how far you’ve come since then and how the stitches you lay with each passing of the needle and thread are now more intricate and precise.

We encourage you to take a moment and reflect on how far you’ve come since first picking up a needle and thread and remind yourself that whatever it was inside you that got you from that point to where you are now, is everything you need to tackle whatever the next step in your needlework journey may be.

Remember, you are capable. More than you may ever realise.

‘I stitch whenever I have time. I have a separate room in my house set up as my studio, with a hard and fast rule that I do not bring stitching into other rooms. I work at a table with a Posturepedic chair, proper lighting and a handy magnifier. I listen to music or TV while stitching. I find I can focus, see well and produce more, especially since I don’t have to pack up to make room for other activities!’

‘I get up at 3:45am, go into my sewing room and am faithfully stitching by 4:00am. This is a time when all is quiet, I can plan and organize my day and accomplish so much.’

‘I love to spend time with my husband and after 56 years of marriage and many TV sporting events, I find the sports on TV provide the perfect spot for my stitching and bead work. If there is anything worth seeing it is always replayed at least once so I never miss an important play and we get to spend many hours together, both doing what we love.’

‘A stitching friend of mine tells me that we should lay down a thread every day, so that is my goal. Maybe not hours of stitching, but at least a thread a day. She is so wise!’

‘I use every available minute, including waiting rooms, though the lighting often limits my choice of projects! I also make a concerted effort to have one mostly free day to stitch each week. Being retired helps with that.’

‘I spend most of the time in my favorite spot surrounded by a half a dozen projects in progress with a cup of coffee at hand and the TV on for background noise and although I’ve stitched almost daily since February, not much has been accomplished with needle and thread as I stitch slowly and have been recovering from cataract surgery and a reaction to medication.’

‘I stitch where and when I can. As an owner of a small business I don't have as much time to stitch as I’d like so it takes me a long time to complete anything. All year long I have been working a series of wool felt ornaments for Christmas gifts. These are simple and folk arty, but lots of fun. I stitch at my library every Friday night with a group of women who knit and crochet while I stitch. I can also frequently be found in the morning sitting in the back of my local Starbucks stitching something. Now that the ornaments are done I am stitching a crazy quilt Christmas stocking for my 1st grandson which won't be completed for this Christmas, but at least I’ve started! At home I stitch in front of the TV or the fire. I've thought about setting aside a specific time every day, but then it might feel too much like a chore.’

Ana-Maria, Carlos, Helen, Karen, Lynn, Roberta and Sarah we thank you for joining in on the conversation and for pointing us in a new direction that might just help each of us accomplish more with our own needle and thread!

Broadly speaking there are two types of needlework fans – the admirers and the doers. The admirers are happy to look at some stitched eye candy within a book or magazine, revere the designs with the wonder and awe they deserve, and occasionally stitch something themselves. The doers get stuck right in amongst it and stitch anything and everything they can.

Whichever camp you’re in, our new book A Passion for Needlework | Factoria VII has something for everyone. Not only is it a smorgasbord of eye candy, for those who want to get hands-on we now have a huge range of projects from the book available as Ready-To-Stitch kits.

Who can resist such beauty? Why would anyone want to resist such beauty?! Order your Ready-To-Stitch kit from A Passion for Needlework | Factoria VII today.

It’s finally happened – you’ve hung your latest framed embroidery and now have to accept there is just no more wall space in your house. So, what do you do when your fingers itch to pick up a needle, but you haven’t worked out how to hang a framed piece on the ceiling?

The solution? Open your wardrobe!

Converse, the famous shoe maker, have released a range of sneakers sporting beautifully embroidered flowers. Entitled ‘Floral Parkway’ they come in a range of colours and styles for the discerning fashionista.

So why not get your sneakers out and start stitching, then after that you can embroider your jeans, jackets, shirts….

If you have ever wanted a beautiful cottage garden but are unable to have a real one, our new digital pattern this week is for you.

My Cottage Garden from Inspirations #95 is by Lorna Bateman who is famous for using silk ribbons and cotton threads to create charming garden scenes.

Creating your very own cottage garden is now easier than ever before, forget needing dirt and a packet of seeds, now you can just purchase a digital pattern and we even have a few Ready-To-Stitch kits for this project still available. Gardening has never been this easy!

‘My embroidery story began around the same time as Inspirations issue #1 was published. I was unfortunately involved in an extremely traumatic incident where I worked in 1991. Without going into detail, there were three people shot at my workplace in a violent sniper attack. For three years I continued to work but the PTSD, recurrent and chronic health problems forced me into medical retirement in 1995 when I was only 38 years old.’

‘At first after my retirement, I was unable to leave my house, so I sewed and embroidered at home. Inspirations become my inspiration. I completed several embroideries on my own and my skills began to grow. Eventually my health improved, and I attended TAFE as a full time Fashion Technology student and excelled. I continued to collect every Inspirations and always found something to do or something to truly get me thinking. After TAFE I began attending embroidery classes locally. Soon my embroidery skills and yearning for more embroidery knowledge saw me attending embroidery conventions and workshops whenever I could.’

‘The rest is now history. I am an avid convention attendee in Australia and abroad and attend workshops as often as I can manage. I find great strength and pleasure in looking at how my embroidery skills have developed over the years. They tell such a story.’

‘When I look back through older issues I think of where I was skill wise, geographically and health wise. Inspirations serves as an infinite source of knowledge and a map of my life. Inspirations is definitely a long-term friend! I am proud to be able to say I am an Inspirations Foundation Member.’

Barbara, we admire the steps you took to start and continue your recovery from PTSD and are proud that Inspirations was able to accompany you throughout your journey with needle and thread.

Over the following weeks we’ll be taking a closer look at each of the projects from Inspirations #100, but with a slight difference to how we usually do things.

Join us as we catch up with each designer and ask them not just about their project, but about their journey as part of the Inspirations family over the years, and we’ll even share with you some personal insights as to what it’s like for us to work with such needlework royalty. Let’s get started with Hazel Blomkamp and our new best friend, Clive. Enjoy!

If it’s true that our needlework is a mirror into our souls, then you must be curious as to what Clive the Chameleon says about its creator Hazel Blomkamp. In actual fact, Clive reflects everything he should about Hazel and they share many similar characteristics. No, that does not mean Hazel looks anything like a reptile! (We love that we have such a close relationship with Hazel that we know she won’t be offended by our banter!).

Clive is vivacious, he is a work of art, he is meticulous in detail, he’s colourful, he’s engaging, and he was a delightful surprise when we first met him. And you are 100% correct in assuming Hazel herself is all those things as well.

So how did Clive come be? We asked Hazel for his backstory:

‘Clive came about when Susan O’Connor asked me to do something for Inspirations issue #100. I was busy on the Crewel Creatures book at the time, so was in ‘creatures’ mode. It seemed natural to make one more. Besides, I had developed the freestyle filling technique that I used in Clive’s body while I was doing Roger the Rhino. By the time I had finished Roger I realised that this technique was the perfect vehicle for space-dyed, over-dyed and variegated threads, so couldn’t wait to try it out with some of the DMC Colour Variations, threads that I’ve never really known what to do with.'

When Clive first arrived at the Inspirations office, it was such an occasion we took photos of his unveiling and were thrilled to meet him!

We’ll never look at the photos of Clive the same way again – all one can see is a dog hair! All in all, we are incredibly grateful for Hazel’s contribution to Inspirations over the past eight years, we cherish our friendship with her and look forward to celebrating more of her needlework in future publications.

We can’t either, so you might want join Hazel at the Perth Guild’s anniversary convention in September next year, and look out for her upcoming books featuring birds (Hazel says she’s mainly featuring male birds because of their dramatic plumage), and a bead embroidery stitch guide which will include all the ins and outs of 3-dimensional flowers/bugs etc.

Plus, you can check out her website and Facebook page.

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Clive the Chameleon by Hazel Blomkamp is a fabulous chameleon with opulent beaded camouflage.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Clive the Chameleon includes everything you need to re-create this fabulous chameleon: Fabrics (unprinted), fibre-fill, beading threads, embroidery threads, beads, needles.

From the moment Hazel Blomkamp’s ‘Clive the Chameleon’ arrived in our office, he captured our attention! From the bright colour palette right through to the exquisite beading and intricate stitching Hazel is renowned for, there was just something about him that captivated us. This week it’s the animals that have been created with the needles and threads of the Inspirations Community that have caught our eye…

‘I have been stitching for the last 15 years and join a group of ladies who get together every Saturday morning at an embroidery shop on the West Rand in Gauteng South Africa. These are our therapy sessions and the inspiration and excitement when we discover something new about embroidery is contagious!’

‘I noticed one of Trish Burr's patterns and that was it, the pattern spoke to me and I could just see the soft pink colours I wanted to use for it. This is my interpretation of Trish Burr's ‘Katerina’. I decided to keep only two of the flowers on the pattern, then just went along and added what I felt like using ribbon and beads. A big thank you to Trish for creating this beautiful pattern for us!’

Amanda, we love that you took one of Trish’s patterns and truly made it your own by using a colourway that spoke to you and then adapting the details of the design to create a finished piece that was unique!

Having previously shared the work of Christiane in many of our What Are You Stitching? segments, it was her recently completed animals that captured our attention this week!

Christiane, again we thank you for sharing what you’ve created with needle and thread! We love the details and character you’ve been able to stitch into each of your animals.

‘I have recently finished a kit by The Crewel Work Company.’

Liz, you’ve done a spectacular job of stitching your Crewel Rabbits and we love the sense of tradition that is clearly evident in your piece that is traditional in both technique and design.

‘A friend who knows I love cats gave me a tapestry with two cats on it. I embellished it with material from an old skirt and some lace. It was a pleasure to find everyday items I could embroider with.’

‘I stitched everything by hand as I cannot sew straight with a machine! I now use the bag to carry my threads and materials to my embroidery classes.’

Sabine, we love your resourcefulness and creativity in creating the perfect bag for your needlework supplies, or cat as the case may be!

If you’ve created an animal with needle and thread that we’re yet to share, what are you waiting for?! Email photos of your stitched critter along with a few details about your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com

Become part of the Inspirations family by subscribing to the magazine... we'd love to have you join us!

Everything we do at Inspirations is about making the world more beautiful one stitch at a time, and with the release of the Inspirations Index for Issues 1-100, our hope is we’ve made it a little easier for you to do the same.

The very first project to ever appear in Inspirations was called ‘Embroidered Slippers’ by Susan O’Connor. It is also the very first project from issue #1 to be made available as a digital pattern.

~ Unknown ~

Stay informed of upcoming needlework events taking place all around the world in our new What’s On page on the Inspirations Studios Website HERE.