Have you ever heard someone use the words, ‘Oh, she’s just creative’ to describe your temperament and skillset?

These words were most likely spoken without the intent to criticize or wound, but there’s a certain dismissiveness about them that can make us question the value of our creativity.

The Three Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic were most likely the primary focus of each of our educations, with creative subjects such as art relegated to a single lesson each week - if we were lucky!

Whilst creativity is used to solve problems in school, business and everyday life, somehow the creativity we employ when it comes to our love of needle and thread isn’t always valued as highly, hence the phrase, ‘Oh, she’s just creative’.

In a world that so often focuses on consumption rather production, our time with needle and thread allows us to be creative contributors to the world around us and the value this adds to the people and spaces that surround us should never be diminished.

We’d love to hear how you celebrate your creative tendencies and how your love of needle and thread allows you to contribute to the world around you. Email us at news@inspirationsstudios.com

One of the things we love about the Inspirations calendar hanging in our office, is seeing the featured projects in large format print. As the dimensions of the calendar are larger than any of our magazines or books, the designs adorning each page come alive in a way not seen in any of our other publications – you can really immerse yourself in every stitch and every minute detail.

When you turn the page on your calendar to reveal the month of August, you’ll see ‘Cornus’ by Julie Kniedl from our book A Passion for Needlework in all its glory.

This beautiful, lifelike spray of soft pink dogwood magically fashioned from fabric, silk thread and slender wires, is perfect to the last botanical detail.

For the very first time, the project Cornus is now available to purchase as a digital pattern, so now you can bring your Inspirations calendar to life and stitch your very own Cornus flower.

For anyone who appreciates the fine art of stitching, there is no bigger, bolder and more beautiful way to celebrate needlework than with the Inspirations 2020 wall calendar.

12 of the world’s most beautiful needlework projects reproduced in high definition print, so large and so real it will take your breath away.

Buy a copy for yourself, your friends, your family, your pets… we’re confident anyone and everyone who sees this calendar will appreciate needlework in a whole new way.

What was once old is new again. Vinyl records, Apricot Chicken, 1980’s fashion - there are a lot of things the world is re-discovering, and print is one of them. The age of the digital revolution is a wonder to behold, but for some of us, that tactile experience of physically holding something can never be replaced. And so it is with Inspirations Patterns!

We get it – it’s not always practical to follow instructions off a digital device and printing large pattern sheets at home can be tricky. So, as of today, we’re bringing back Printed Patterns!

Inspirations Printed Patterns are premium quality booklets with a laminated cover, pull-out pattern sheet and comprehensive step-by-step instructions for the featured design, exactly as they appear in Inspirations Magazine.

Starting with Inspirations issue #103, every project will be available individually in both digital and print.

Plus, we’ve just released projects from Inspirations Magazine issue #100 as printed patterns as well – which is handy seeing this issue is now out of print!

Then, there is our huge back catalogue of over 1,000 designs we’re looking to make available in the future, so if you have a specific project you’d like to purchase as a Printed Pattern, email us HERE and we’ll try and add it to our line-up for you.

Printed Patterns are an ideal way of keeping your magazine in pristine condition, make a terrific gift for a friend or family member or are simply a much lighter and portable way of carrying around the instructions for a project you’re working on.

Browse our new range of Printed Patterns today.

Although the conclusion of the television series ‘Game of Thrones’ may have left some fans devastated, a tapestry in Ireland’s Ulster Museum depicting events from the series will provide fans the craving they need.

After being garnered from The Embroiders Guild and Northern Island Patchwork guild, volunteers set to work creating a tapestry clocking in at 77 metres long!

The remarkable art piece heavily utilises the genius of the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry, both in style and concept. They both characterise intense battles, illustrated through the elegant art form of embroidery.

Six volunteers worked in tight, cramped conditions around an 11-metre-long panel at any one time.

Learn more about this astonishing piece in this article from The Irish News HERE

After featuring Jenny Adin-Christie’s project ‘Blackwell Roundel’ in issue #194 of our newsletter, so many people fell in love with it that we received numerous enquiries asking if we’re planning on creating any more Ready-To-Stitch kits.

Down here in the south of Australia where the Inspirations offices are, it is well and truly winter! The weather has got colder, the nights have got darker and all our winter coats have come out. Unlike many parts of the world which enjoy fruit from all over regardless of the weather, we tend to be at the mercy of the seasons.

At this time of year our fruit choices diminish significantly to predominantly apples and pears. But what an array of apples we have! Just walk through the fruit and vegetable aisle of any supermarket and you’re spoilt for choice. In every shade from rich ruby red through to shiny green, yellow and pink, there are so many types of apples available we never feel as if we’re missing out during the colder months.

So, when nature already gives us such flawless little pieces of beauty, why, I hear you ask, would you want to recreate it with needle and thread? Well, it is because they are flawless little pieces of beauty that it feels right to preserve them. Julie Kneidl was, without a doubt, a master of three-dimensional embroidery. Her ability to observe the intricacies within nature and then translate them into embroidery was second to none. Each kernel of corn, each flower of a cauliflower or, in this case, each splash of colour on the surface of this delicate apple was simply perfect.

This particular piece has been worked using wools rather than the regular stranded cotton or silk. As such, it makes use of the wonderfully forgiving nature of the fibre to produce the dappled effect on the side of the apple in long and short stitch.

Many of us are glad to see the back of winter and look forward to longer days, warmer temperatures and all the summer fruits arriving in the shops that go along with it. However, by working Julie’s apple, or better still working two, three or even a whole bowlful, you can enjoy the colours and delights of autumn in your house all year around.

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

An Apple a Day by Julie Kniedl is an irresistible red apple in three-dimensional embroidery.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for An Apple a Day includes everything you need to re-create this luscious apple: Fabric (unprinted), wool felt, wires, embroidery threads and needles.

Special Note: Instructions are not included in our kits. Please refer to the magazine for detailed information on how to create the project.

Step 3 – How About A Hoop?

Festive Fruit by Denise Forsyth from Inspirations issue #96 is a selection of fabulous strawberries made from linen textured with pulled thread embroidery.

Natural Beauty by Fiona Hibbett from Inspirations issue #87 is an 18th century naturalist's study interpreted in stitch.

Plums and Honeysuckle by Susan O'Connor from Inspirations issue #57 features plump purple plums and sweet golden honeysuckle.

The Golden Pomegranate by Margaret Cobleigh from Inspirations issue #61 is a stunning pomegranate, beautifully represented in this richly ornamented goldwork study.

The back cover of the book ‘Botanica | The Three-Dimensional Embroidery of Julie Kniedl’ explains her work by stating that ‘Drawing subject matter from the natural world, simple materials and techniques are combined with ingenuity and a meticulous approach to create stunning flowers, intriguing succulents, graceful foliage and much more.’

This week we’re sharing the work of the Inspirations Community who have also taken their inspiration from nature, combined it with simple materials and techniques that have allowed them to produce simply stunning results!

Cynthia, your pouch speaks to your love of natural fibres. Combined with your inspiration from nature, your stitching has created a pouch that is warm, textured and somehow invites us to hold it so we too can enjoy its warmth and texture!

‘I bought this kit for the project ‘Graceful Butterfly’ when Inspirations Magazine issue #52 arrived but had not had time to get stitching until recently. A few more years of experience have probably improved the finished piece, especially a couple of goldwork classes from Anna Scott and Nicola Jarvis.’

‘My grandmother taught me lazy daisy, satin and stem stitch when I was eight years old and I have always had something on the go, but career and children meant it took a very long time to complete anything. I am still working but now have an empty nest - even my granddaughter has started school, so time is finally available!’

Elaine, your version of Tanja Berlin’s Graceful Butterfly is as every bit as graceful as her original! We love that inspiration from nature combined with the eye-catching technique of blackwork can produce such simple, but incredible results.

‘I designed a wool fish quilt with lots of embellishments!’

As always Kathleen, you work is interpretive, colourful and has a certain whimsy about it. We love that nature can inspire such joy!

Has nature inspired you to create something with your needles and threads? We’d love to see what it inspired! Email photos of what you’ve created along with a few details about the inspiration nature provided to news@inspirationsstudios.com

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Tuscan Lace by Maria Elide Melani is a stunning cushion cover worked with Deruta Sfilato embroidery, perfect for a contemporary setting.

Songbirds by Marie Suarez from Inspirations issue #61 is a superb whitework cushion.

A Fine Tradition by Susan O'Connor Inspirations issue #55 is a perfectly stitched monogrammed cushion.

Grace by Jacquie Harvey from Inspirations issue #70 is an elegant quilted silk cushion, embroidered in soft shades of cream and coral pink.

Splendour by Angela Dower from Inspirations issue #64 is a stunning cushion with silk ribbon flowers and Celtic knot border.

~ Albert Einstein ~

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.