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Nature vs nurture is an age-old debate that centres around whether our personality characteristics and behavior are most influenced by genes and hereditary factors or if it’s the environmental variables, such as our childhood experiences, social relationships and the surrounding culture we’re raised with, that most impact who we are.
We wondered whether the same debate was applicable to stitchers - are some of us stitchers by nature or are we all stitchers by nurture?!
Many of us will have had someone or something that nurtured us into our love of all things needle and thread. We know the very moment our interest in stitching was piqued and can trace how our interest was nurtured whether it be via relative, friend, class or textbook. We wouldn’t be where we are today unless we’d been nurtured along the way.
Yet, there are some stitchers among us who seem as if they were ‘born with a silver needle in their mouth’. No doubt we all know at least one such stitcher – they’re the ones who seem to know no challenge or boundary in what they’re able to stitch and produce results that far exceed the ones we pour our heart and souls into nurturing!
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However, we think that reaching our full potential as stitchers requires each one of us nurture the gifts and talents that have been bestowed upon us.
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So, whether you identify as being a stitcher by nature or nurture, we’d love to hear how you nurture your love and talent of all things needle and thread. Email us at news@inspirationsstudios.com
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Every day we hear reports about how much damage is being done to the planet. Whether it’s plastic in the ocean, over-farming or our reliance on fossil fuels, it can seem like the future is dark. However, one unexpected industry is blazing forward in developing sustainable products – namely the textile industry.
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By exploring new discoveries and technologies, or even returning to centuries old practices, the textiles of the future may play a role in helping save the world.
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Most of us rely on cotton both to stitch with and stitch on, although unfortunately its production requires huge amounts of water and pesticides, so forward thinking organisations are exploring alternatives. One of these alternatives is hemp, and more and more big-name fashion companies are defying the questionable reputation of the base plant and adding hemp clothing to their lines. Hemp is an excellent textile fibre which dyes easily and rarely discolours, not to mention its temperature control capacity and the fact it is naturally anti-microbial.
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Alternative fibres, like hemp, are barely distinguishable from more familiar textiles such as cotton or linen ( source)
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Lotus fibre and banana fibre have also been turned into textiles for centuries in countries like Thailand and Japan, both of which produce soft, silk-like fabric, that the western world is finally taking notice of and experimenting with the results.
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Apparently, lotus fabric, as well as being butter-soft, can heal headaches or ease lung issues.
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What more could you want? Beautiful fabrics which aren’t only good for the environment, but good for your health as well!
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Coffee grounds have successfully been turned into fabric ( source)
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Other materials that have also been successfully converted into yarn and textiles, include kelp, stinging nettles and even coffee grounds. With the amount of coffee we drink nowadays, just imagine if all of those waste grounds could be reused to produce the thread we work with or the fabric we stitch on. Each time you buy your morning pick-me-up, you’ll be playing your part in a sustainable cycle, talk about a win-win!
While it’s unlikely we’ll ever stop wanting beautiful linen to stitch on, or gorgeous silks to stitch with, over time it seems likely that some of the alternatives out there will result in an equivalent, or even superior, material for embroiderers to work with. Caring for the planet is something we all have a role in, and these innovations mean we can do just that, one stitch at a time.
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New Digital Pattern | Spirit of Peace
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Cheryl Bollard, one of the foundation members of Inspirations Magazine, recently sent in a request for ‘Spirit of Peace’ by Carolyn Pearce from issue #56 to be released as a digital pattern.
Spirit of Peace is a superb Christmas tree ornament, richly embellished with beads and intricate stitches in shades of cream, violet and gold.
Now, thanks to Cheryl, you can stitch your own ‘Spirit of Peace’ in plenty of time for Christmas 2019. Thanks for the request Cheryl and for being a supporter of Inspirations since the very beginning.
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DIGITAL PATTERN
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Spirit of Peace
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Making the World More Beautiful, One Pin at a Time
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In case you’ve missed the news, over the past few months we’ve been releasing a series of enamel pins based on needlework projects featured in Inspirations Magazine. The last of the pins will be released in July along with issue #103.
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Each pin is a miniature work of art and looks gorgeous on the lapel of a jacket or shirt, on the strap of your needlework bag or even as decoration on a pin-up board in a sewing room.
With only two designs still available and just one more to come, get in quick while there's still time to make the world more beautiful one pin at a time.
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WARES
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Primavera Enamel Pin | Issue 101
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WARES
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Soft Landing Enamel Pin | Issue 102
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Calling all Adelaidean Stitchers…
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If you live in our home town of Adelaide, South Australia, entries are now open for the 2019 Royal Adelaide Show Handicrafts and Junior Textiles competitions.
Inspirations has the privilege of sponsoring several categories, so if you win you might just receive something from us as a prize!
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For more information on how to enter, click HERE for the Handicrafts category and HERE for Junior Textiles.
We look forward to seeing all the amazing entries on display later in the year.
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Crewel Whimsy by Ana Mallah
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Colour. Everywhere you look, you are assailed with colour and colour combinations. From the green of mountains framed against a blue sky to the subtle variation of pinks in the heart of a rose, colour fills our world. But colour also has a profound effect on the mood and appearance of an object. The same rose in vibrant red or soft peach creates a range of different emotions, even aside from their common symbolic meanings.
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Just as there are an infinite number of colour combinations, there are also an infinite number of feelings towards those combinations. Closely associated with this are our individual personalities. How many times have you heard people say they are a ‘pink person’ or a ‘purple person’ but not a ‘yellow person’? What makes one person ‘pink’ but not ‘yellow’? This is a complicated matter of personal taste, the way an individual views colour and history and experience.
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In the project Crewel Whimsy by Ana Mallah from Inspirations issue #102, Ana demonstrates how different colour can produce different moods. She starts with a traditional flower shape drawn from historical crewel design. She then fills it with a range of stitches which would not have been out of place in a Jacobean work room – stem stitch, satin stitch and trellis couching. Then she introduces colour, as she’s worked the flower with an unexpected range of purples, lilacs and soft pinks. This initial piece is subtle and soft, but don’t stop there.
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Turn over a few pages and there is the same design in rich rose pinks. Same shape – completely different mood.
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Very often we are afraid to play with colour, fearful that we might ‘get it wrong’. We rely on talented designers to tell us what colour to use and where. However, the lesson you can learn from Crewel Whimsy is that facing that fear and trying out a new colour palette can have a profound effect. Not a rose person or a lilac person?
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All you need to do is study how Ana has transposed one colour to another and then, choosing your favourite hue, have a try at working the design again.
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The fact that Crewel Whimsy is simple to work and highly achievable allows you the possibility of stitching it over and over. Scared your colour choice won’t work? Try doing a ‘floss toss’, (or in this case, a ‘wool toss’). Gather the colours you have chosen and lay them down together on your natural linen to see how they fit. And then thread up and give it a try.
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Both flowers have been stitched on neutral linen and one was designed to adorn the front of a journal - imagine the face of the recipient of the journal when you have selected their favourite colours, and lovingly worked the traditional stitches to create something unique, just for them! Once you’ve started with Ana’s suggested combinations, how about blues, golds, reds or a combination of many colours? As well as creating an embroidered piece you will have created an emotion. And just maybe you’ll see that by playing with colour you’ve actually made magic.
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Make Your Own Crewel Whimsy
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Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions
Crewel Whimsy by Ana Mallah is a pretty journal cover with gorgeous crewel flower design in two colourways.
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PRINTED MAGAZINE
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Inspirations Issue 102
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DIGITAL PATTERN
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Crewel Whimsy
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Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit
The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kits for Crewel Whimsy include everything you need to re-create these elegant book covers: Fabrics (unprinted), embroidery threads and needle.
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT
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Crewel Whimsy | Pink Flower
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT
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Crewel Whimsy | Purple Flower
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Looking for More Book Covers?
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In Writing by Jill Newton from Inspirations #78 is a pretty appliquéd journal cover that you can make in a weekend.
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PRINTED MAGAZINE
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Inspirations Issue 78
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Snow on the Mountain by Carol Hawkins from Inspirations #57 is a stylish embroidered book cover.
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PRINTED MAGAZINE
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Inspirations Issue 57
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Strawberry Fields Forever
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Strawberry Fields Forever by Kay Stanis from Inspirations #28 is an amazing goldwork book cover – the perfect design for a stunning framed piece or a cover for a favourite book.
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DIGITAL PATTERN
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Strawberry Fields Forever
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It always seems that no matter how many flowers we ‘pick’ from our What Are You Stitching? files, there’s always a bountiful supply waiting to be harvested. Such is the popularity of the stitched flower! This week we share our next bouquet of flowers that have been created by the needles and threads of the Inspirations Community…
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‘My slow stitching project is still a work in progress, but I feel it is close to finished. This piece has been a delight to stitch! I started it by dyeing the fabric with permanent markers and rubbing alcohol.’
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‘Adding the stitching has been slow and almost meditative. Not having a deadline for this piece has felt really good as often my stitching does indeed have a deadline.’
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Angela, your project sounds like stitching heaven – without deadline, slow and meditative. I think we all need at least one of these projects on the go at any one time! Although we can’t imagine what else would need to be added, we do look forward to an update once your slow stitch project is complete.
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‘Stitching has been a part of my life since my early years.
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I don’t remember a time I haven’t embroidered and have used it as therapy throughout my life, especially during some very difficult times.
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For the last eight years I have been studying Japanese Embroidery. It is such a joy and it appeals to my sense of illustration and perfection in embroidery. It is also very different to western embroidery.’
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‘Last year I finished my learning pieces with my Australian teacher and decided to have a break until I could attend a class overseas with the Japanese teachers to complete the final phase. The original piece was done in cream and gold, but I changed the colours to please myself and was very happy with the final result.’
Gina, we love the simplicity and elegance of your Japanese Embroidery. It is detailed, delicate and perfectly embroidered!
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‘I made this adorable bunny and teddy back in 2009 and now need to make two more because two new grandkids are here, a total of four now. They were a blast to make!’
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‘I used ivory wool for their bodies and different kinds of threads, ribbons and beads for the floral embellishment. The quilt in the background is a flying geese pattern and has antique buttons stitched on top.’
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Karen, the arrival of grandchildren is certainly keeping you busy with needle and thread! We love how much richer your toys are from the additional of flowers – they are bright, cheerful and comforting.
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‘I love your fabulous magazine and get so much inspiration from it! I embroider and quilt quite a lot, but this magnolia is my favorite piece.’
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Sheila, the subtle shading and perfect form of your magnolia make it hard to tell the stitched version from nature’s original!
If you’ve stitched something from nature’s garden, we’d love to ‘replant’ our What Are You Stitching? files with it! Email photos of what you’ve created with needle and thread along with a few details about your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com
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Subscribe to Inspirations Magazine
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Not a Subscriber? Join Today!
Become part of the Inspirations family by subscribing to the magazine... we'd love to have you join us!
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Gypsy by Deborah Love is an eight-sided tablecloth worked in textural Mountemellick embroidery with flower sprays surrounding flowing vines, edged with a knitted fringe.
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PRINTED MAGAZINE
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Inspirations Issue 102
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT
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Gypsy
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Threads of Love by Deborah Love from Inspirations #75 is a scented sachet with a delicate Schwalm design worked on ivory linen.
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DIGITAL PATTERN
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Threads of Love
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PRINTED MAGAZINE
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Inspirations Issue 75
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Eidelweiss by Deborah Love is a graceful Schwalm embroidery textured with seven different filling stitches.
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PRINTED MAGAZINE
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Inspirations Issue 86
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Stunning succulents displayed on a wooden spool by Julie Kniedl from Botanica.
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PRINTED BOOK
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Botanica | The three-dimensional embroidery of Julie Kniedl
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The Formal Garden by Lisa Moroney from Inspirations #31 features three striking detached chain topiary trees.
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PRINTED MAGAZINE
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Inspirations Issue 31
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Garden Party by Helen Eriksson from Inspirations #70 is a floral sampler showcasing an inspiring garden of beautiful silk ribbon blooms.
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DIGITAL PATTERN
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Garden Party
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Gorgeous little bird from Sarah Perry Designs
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White Rose by Jenny Adin-Christie
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‘Nurturing nature is about taking something we have and exercising it to its full potential.’
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~ Claire T Anderson ~
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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.
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If you’re holding an event or would like to suggest one to be added, we’d love to hear about it. Email us the details at news@inspirationsstudios.com
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© 2019 Inspirations Studios
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