Gathering with one another in person is something few of us have done in recent weeks.

We have, however, most likely done some gathering of a different kind as we used the extra hours we’ve found in each day to bring together our UFOs in one place, collect supplies from far and wide as we window shop our way through the internet, assemble our wish list of future stitches, techniques and projects, or we may have simply gathered our thoughts as some of the hustle and bustle of daily life was no longer with us.

However, we were inspired to think about gathering a little differently recently.

In the March/April issue of ‘Needle Pointers’, the magazine of The American Needlepoint Guild, their president echoed a challenge she’d previously issued where she encouraged her readers to gather new people to their group.

Now, while not all of us belong to a formal stitching group of one kind or another, how often do we think about encouraging a love of needle and thread to those who are yet to experience its joy?

There are countless ways to do this, but perhaps none as simple as the idea put forward in ‘Needle Pointers’…

What a fabulously easy way to evangelise our love of needle and thread, by simply engaging with our passion in front of people who are yet to pick up a needle and thread of their own!

No doubt, there are many among us who’ve found ourselves sitting with needle and thread in hand whilst out in public who can testify to the comments and queries it evoked, but I wonder if there’s a more deliberate way we could each approach venturing out with our stitching in the hope we plant the seed in a curious onlooker?

Not only will they thank us for it as they come to appreciate the truly meditative and transforming qualities of the push and pull of needle and thread through fabric, our craft will thank us for it too as we ensure our passion is taken up by those who will steward it into the future.

Thank you all so much for the responses you have sent in regarding our recent articles on Stitching Failures. We just had to bring you a few more this week, as there is some wonderful advice as well as an academic research paper from one of our readers on this very issue.

‘Thank you for pointing out that making an error is not a ‘showstopper’. When I teach embroidery classes, I encourage students not to worry about whether their stitches are perfect or not, or that their flower doesn't look perfect.

My schtick goes as follows: go and look at flowers and trees. They are rarely symmetrical. Different parts of the trees and flowers grow at different rates. Insects chew on them. Bees land on them creating small distortions. If your petal doesn't look like a petal and you really hate it, take it out.

It's OK, no one will see the original and if you don't point out your mistakes, no one will know that you altered the piece to suit your skills. It will be beautiful because you made it.

I see so many people wasting their time tearing out stitching that is off by one or two threads. Be creative and adjust the pattern. It will rarely make a difference to the overall design.’

Your advice is absolutely perfect Stephanie, well said. The truth about nature itself being replete with individual variations including insect holes and petal distortions, when taken to heart, could save many of us a lot of time and frustration.

‘I was so pleased to read about other stitchers owning up to the fact that we all make mistakes with our work. The below photo will show you one of my pieces, which took some time to make as you can imagine.’

‘The oval insets were reverse appliquéd and over the weeks and months of quilting, one of them (unseen to me) frayed so badly around the edges, a little hole had appeared by the time I started work on it.

So, after a sleepless night, I got out my PVA glue and with a very fine long needle stroked the glue along the frayed threads. This had the effect of covering up the hole and all was well again.

The christening gown went on to win the National Quilt Championships here in the UK, so I was very lucky the judges didn't notice it! However, it did teach me never to use silk again unless all the pieces are oversewn! Well, they do say we learn by our mistakes and I certainly did with this one.’

Although as embroiderers we often think of glue as a four-letter word, it can come in very handy sometimes! Thank you for that wonderful story Jacquie.

‘I very much enjoyed your coverage of mistakes and stitching failures as part of the creative process. My colleague and I have also done research on the role of failure in the creative process of crafters which may of interest to your readers.’

Marybeth’s academic article is a fascinating and in-depth study. Using a quantitative analysis, Marybeth and her colleague, Therèsa Winge, explore the value of failure in relation to the creative process and indeed, how poor that process would be without mistakes. They spoke to ‘leisure’ artists and needleworkers to record their experiences and came to the conclusion that:

The reference for Marybeth’s article is:

Stalp, M.C. and Winge, T.M. (2017) ‘If at first you don’t succeed, rip it out and try again: The benefits of failure among DIY handcrafters’, Clothing Cultures, 4:2, pp. 87-104.

The June project from the Inspirations Calendar is a showpiece of traditional Jacobean crewel embroidery. Lovers of traditional embroidery and elegant reproductions will be thrilled by this Jacobean stag, standing proudly on his hillock amongst large red flowers and ornate leaves.

Jacobean Stag by Phillipa Turnbull was featured in Inspirations issue #101. The elegant stag, surrounded by characteristically Jacobean foliage, is stitched with Appleton’s wool onto traditional linen twill. Jacobean Stag is the perfect project for a cosy weekend at home and is available in print with issue #101 or as a digital pattern.

As stitchers, we all love to have the best tools available in our tool kit.

Stitching with the best needles we can buy, cutting with a fine pair of scissors or laying thread with a beautifully shaped mellor can mean the difference between a frustrating stitching session and a wonderful one.

This is the same with tweezers. If you’re still using that old pair of eyebrow tweezers which you found last year in a Christmas cracker, the time has come to get rid of them.

The Pinzette Tweezer is specially designed for stitchers and offers grip like no other pair of tweezers you’ve ever used before.

Shaped so that you can continue to hold them, even whilst working out the most difficult of threads, and with a point so accurate it will hold the finest silk, the Pinzette Tweezer should be an essential part of your kit.

Ideal for drawn thread work, but also indispensable for removing those pesky fibres left behind after cutting your Ghiordes knot, or removing the last of those unpicked threads, once you’ve used these beautiful tweezers you’ll never go back.

The Pinzette Tweezer also comes with an elegant leather storage case to keep the points sharp and perfectly aligned.

PS – Don’t just take our word for it, you can read a review of these wonder tweezers by Mary Corbet HERE and view a video about them created by Cathe from Needle in A Haystack HERE.

There’s something lovely about neatly filed project boxes or handmade project pouches to store your WIPs in, isn’t there? So, here’s a fabulous pattern for a really cute storage bag, using some scrap fabric and an old wicker basket.

Better still, it can be made out of bits and pieces that you’ve got at home.

And the best thing of all about making a new storage bag or two? It just might justify a new bit of stash to put in it! For more information including instructions, visit the frankie website HERE.

Despite the materialism, technology and mad speed which characterises the modern world, there has been a wonderful trend taking hold.

Passionate gardeners, wanting to invite a little bit of magic back into their lives, have been setting apart a section of their gardens especially for the fairies.

People have believed in fairies for centuries. During the middle ages, fairies were often seen as mischievous and cruel and were blamed for failed crops, badly behaved children and even unexplained death.

As time went on, the view of fairies became more benign, although the desire to keep them content remained.

One of the most popular ways of pleasing the fairies was to create a special fairy garden for them. Probably originating from the miniature gardens produced by Japanese Bonsai artists, fairy gardens have become very popular in recent years, delighting children and adults alike.

It could just be a little door attached to the base of a tree trunk, or a tiny cottage nestled between two plants. However, some fairy garden lovers have expanded their gardens into whole fairy villages, complete with bridges and brooks, streets and squares.

And of course, setting the fairy garden off are the plants and flowers which these passionate gardeners select specifically for their diminutive size, adorable names or aesthetic beauty.

When we first saw Ana Mallah’s project ‘Into the Forest’ from Inspirations issue #106, we immediately thought of these fairy gardens. The perfectly constructed needlebook adorned with three plump toadstools, as well as the tree-stump pincushion upon which a butterfly has just settled, would be as at home in the garden as they will be in your sewing kit.

Ana’s designs are packed with tiny details and offer a wonderful array of techniques. Constructed from felt and embellished with various stitches and exquisite stumpwork, these delightful projects are sure to raise a smile in anyone who sees them.

The success of these two projects lies primarily in the construction, so taking the time to get it right is worthwhile. If the word ‘construction’ leaves you cold, you are not alone!

However, although these two projects might look complex, the construction is not difficult. Nor is it something that happens at the end after all of the stitching is complete. By stitching, then partially constructing, then stitching again, you can almost forget that you are doing construction in the first place. It just becomes a part of the process.

We could all do with a bit of magic in our lives. So, who knows? Just as those meticulously created fairy gardens are built in the hope that the fairies might come to visit and bring good luck, the same might be the case with Into the Forest.

Who’s to say you won’t wander past your needlebook or pincushion late at night, and, just out of the corner of your eye, spot a shimmer of a silver wing and hear the tiniest sound of a giggle?

Into the Forest by Ana Mallah is a set of woodland themed felt sewing accessories charmingly embellished with raised and surface embroidery.

Flower Pots by Ana Mallah from A Passion for Needlework | Factoria VII is two gorgeous trinket pots embellished with exquisite stumpwork flowers.

Autumn Flowers by Ana Mallah from Inspirations issue #104 is a glorious stumpwork garland celebrating stunning autumn leaves.

Crewel Whimsy by Ana Mallah from Inspirations issue #102 is a pretty journal cover with gorgeous crewel flower design in two colourways.

Spring Delights by Ana Mallah from Inspirations issue #98 is two pretty, zipped pouches featuring hollyhocks and roses.

What Are You Stitching? is all about tiny things this week, and what can be tinier than the world of insects? We’ve got a carnival of tiny flying creatures to razzle and dazzle you - who would have thought that insects could be so gorgeous?

‘Inspired by the designs from ‘Flights of Fancy’ by Nina Burnsides from Inspirations issue #102, and using a photo taken at my son’s wedding, I decided to be brave and give stumpwork a go.’

‘I read the article from the magazine, plus Mum had done lots of stumpwork so I remembered everything she told me. I was even able to use her leftover bits and pieces. I was happy with the finished item and gave it to my son and daughter-in-law for their 1st wedding anniversary. They liked it!’

‘Like many, I have always done embroidery, wishing for the world to stop long enough for me to catch up and get out all of my projects and wish lists. The world has now stopped – unfortunately due to COVID-19.’

‘Despite my wish, I am now more than ready for the world to start again! I want to give my children, grandchildren and mum, now in aged care with dementia, the biggest hug ever, and never let go.

Your re-creation of that beautiful photo is amazing, Lorraine. You should be very proud of what you’ve achieved. And we wholeheartedly agree about the hugs - we’re all so looking forward to hugging and being hugged again!

‘Thank you for the opportunity to share these two little guys. They’re both 4-inch pinwheels on silk dupion.’

‘The Beetle is primarily goldwork with metallic thread and glass beads for the eyes and trim.

The Bee is turkey work, straight stitches with wool, metallic thread and goldwork wings. I used my late grandmother’s costume jewellery beads for the eyes, thorax and edges, so I remember her every time I see the bee.’

What a clever and thoughtful use of your grandmother’s jewellery, Leslie. It gives this gorgeous bee such a personal touch.

‘This is an embroidered work that I designed featuring free form and bead embroidery.’

‘Dragonflies are an important part of my life and often appear in my work. The finished size is 8” x 10” (20 x 25 cm) and it has been stitched using DMC floss.’

This is a beautifully designed and stitched project, Karen. The colour and detail is just gorgeous.

‘This is my Bee from Trish Burr. I was really chuffed with him as it was a present for my sister who keeps bees.’

‘I am currently working on an Embroidery Book with each page being a project from every Inspirations magazine issued. It will be my tribute to a wonderful magazine, the hard-working people behind the scenes and to all those fabulously talented embroiderers out there.’

That sounds like a project of a lifetime, Helen! Completing over 100 projects is going to be an incredible achievement. We’re so glad you’ve been inspired by the magazine and we definitely can’t wait to see your magnum opus when it is done.

Have you been inspired to stitch something from the miniature world of insects? Or are you inspired by different aspects of nature? Whatever it is that gives you a ‘buzz’ of excitement, we’d love to see it. Send us pictures of your work and a little bit about your project and your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com

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Pane di Casa by Elisabetta Sforza is an Italian linen bread bag adorned with poppies, cornflowers and wheat in surface embroidery.

Secret Possessions by Elisabetta Sforza from A Passion for Needlework is a beautiful monogram surrounded by flowers on a linen sachet.

Love Letters by Elisabetta Sforza from Inspirations issue #89 features an elegant floral monogram on a pristine linen cushion.

Picture This by Elisabetta Sforza from Inspirations issue #98 is a handmade zigzag photo album featuring a delicate frame with pulled thread embroidery and a spray of roses.

~ Alice Waters ~

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.