In last week’s All Stitched Up! we spoke of gathering. Gathering people to our love of needle and thread, not only for their benefit but also to ensure our passion for all things stitched is stewarded into the future.

That got us thinking about our own stewardship. Do we steward our love of needle and thread well?

Stewardship can be defined as ‘the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.’

For some, it was as though they were born with needle in hand as seemingly everything they put their needles and threads to turns to gold. For others, their stitching journey has been, shall we say, a little more nurture over nature!

Either way, the enjoyment we now experience with needle and thread is frequently seen as a gift by those around us. Whilst it is a gift we’re usually incredibly grateful for, there are times it’s easily taken for granted and it’s at that point its stewardship can be neglected.

But how do we care for our love of needle and thread?

We begin by reminding ourselves that it truly is a gift to be able to lose ourselves in the push and pull of needle and thread through fabric and from there will flow a natural stewardship.

A stewardship of time, talent and resources that will see our love of needle and thread not only continue, but also grow and duplicate as we plant the seed of our passion in those around us.

As we contemplate our own stewardship of needle and thread, we would love to hear how you are stewarding its gift. Simply email news@inspirationsstudios.com and let us know how you care for your passion for all things stitched.

We opened All Stitched Up! issue #233 with a discussion on being grounded and what we can do to achieve that state. We thought we would share with you some of the responses we received as it has been fascinating to hear what everyone has been doing to stay grounded.

‘I am doing a 90-day creative stitching 1” circle on Instagram and Facebook which is keeping us all grounded here at Sue Spargo’s.’

‘Many people from all over the world are participating and sharing. It has been a lot of work but very fun. Everyone waits anxiously at around 11am for the new circle of the day.’

Doing a daily meditation is an excellent way to keep grounded and what better form of meditation than stitching?! Sue is one of our fabulous magazine contributors, and her work is bursting with colour and variation. Take a look at the circles produced so far at her Instagram and Facebook pages.

‘I am reading the poetry that I love: AE Houseman, Matthew Arnold, Richard Lovelace, WE Henley, Shakespeare’s sonnets, some Keats and William Blake.

My Gran and I used to read poetry to each other when I was a teenager. I loved my Gran so much. Our family was a very unhappy one and Gran was my sanctuary.’

Lana we also love poetry, it really can be the perfect retreat as it requires you to feel the words as much as read them, encouraging the mind to contemplate the meaning and appreciating the lyricism produced. Coupling that with your happy memories, we can totally relate how this is an excellent way of you finding calm and gaining perspective.

‘I have spent many hours stitching. It lowers my blood pressure and helps me cope. I have finished two crewel projects and I’m starting a knitted sweater.

Our beaches reopened this week so we can walk on the beach. There is something very soothing about listening to the waves. I am also doing lots of cooking and baking.

We are fortunate to be healthy. For now, travel is on hold but hopefully by December we can visit Europe again. It helps to plan trips.

It sounds like you have found some wonderful ways of staying grounded Shirley. There are multiple studies attesting to the fact that being in nature is beneficial for all aspects of our health, both mental and physical. It has been difficult to be restricted from doing that, but even just spending time looking at pictures of nature can have a positive effect.

And stitching, of course, has been the ‘go to’ method of grounding ourselves for many of us. Thank goodness we have needle and thread.

‘I’ve never been very good at long and short stitch and satin stitch. Having had tutoring with Jenny Adin-Christie on a Needlework Tours trip I’m happier with my satin stitch but still long and short was a challenge.’

‘I fell in love with Jennifer Bee’s new Oriental needle book design but there is a lot of long and short stitch in the cover design.

Daily stitching, taking it slowly and aiming to complete just a small area at a time is grounding my thought process and my needle with very pleasing results.’

That is an excellent approach Paula as indeed is evident in your results. Not only do you have a lovely piece of embroidery for us all to admire, you have also boosted your skills and confidence in long and short stitch.

It is great to hear how everyone is grounding themselves right now. These techniques aren’t just relevant at the moment but are valuable even into the future. No matter what is happening in the world, there is always stress, chaos and uncertainty around us so having a way to find peace in amongst that is vitally important.

You only need to ask, and we shall deliver! We received an email from Annette Haggerty asking about Susan O’Connor’s exquisite whitework project entitled ‘A Fine Romance.’

‘I was excited to see the newly released book on whitework by Inspirations, but there is one design in there I would love to be able to purchase as a digital pattern. Would you consider making Susan O’Connor’s design ‘A Fine Romance’ in digital?’

Annette, it is our pleasure to produce this pattern for you.

‘A Fine Romance’ from Inspirations magazine issue #49 is a delicate sachet worked using traditional Madeira embroidery techniques.

The sachet features a silk organdie oval set into white handkerchief linen. Fine pin stitching is used to attach the oval insert and to appliqué the leaves and petals, then texture is achieved with eyelets and raised granitos.

Cleverly enhanced with shadow work, the sachet itself is finely finished with a scalloped blanket stitch edge.

The digital pattern for A Fine Romance is now available for purchase, all ready for you to get started on this beautiful project today.

We received feedback from readers asking us to stop bringing you so many beautiful books, because your shelves are already straining under the weight. But we can’t help ourselves! And actually, we know you all secretly love seeing each new publication as they virtually fly out of the warehouse as soon as we present them to you.

So, we hold up our hands – we’ve done it again. If you haven’t already seen them, we still have in stock the trio of Crewelwork Inspirations, Stumpwork Inspirations and Whitework Inspirations.

Each book brings together eight of our most popular and beautiful projects from back issues of the magazine. Complete with comprehensive step-by-step instructions and gorgeous full colour photography, these three books are a must for all embroiderers.

Whether you’re a fan of crewel embroidery, whitework or stumpwork or all of the above, these books are not to be missed.

We’re confident you’ll be able to find just a little bit of extra space on that bookshelf if you squeeze everything together!

A little while ago we let you know that we were bringing some of the in-depth articles from past issues of Inspirations magazine to our website.

Thanks to our hard-working website team, we now have quite a few of them published online, ready for you to read with your feet up and a cup of tea or coffee handy.

Fans of Inspirations magazine will already know how fascinating these featured articles are, so now you can either enjoy them all over again online, or for those new to Inspirations, discover them for the first time.

Visit our website HERE to see our progress to date, and don’t forget to check back as new articles will appear regularly.

As you’re all aware, in many parts of the world, hand embroidery is a lifeblood. Embroidery has provided employment for women as well as helped maintain traditional practices in countries as diverse as Cyprus, Laos and parts of India.

Traditional Toda embroidery, worked by women from the Nilgiris district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is characterised by bold colour contrasts and geometric shapes.

However, as tourism for Toda dried up and the market for their embroidered items declined, the enterprising embroiderers of the region have found another way to earn an income.

Using their skills, they produced beautifully embroidered masks for local residents, police and sanitary workers.

Realising that masks had quickly become part of their everyday attire, these gorgeous objects allowed the local people to earn:

It’s a wonderful example of the amazing resourcefulness we embroiderers have, the world over. To read the full story click HERE.

We’ll admit that not all of us here at Inspirations HQ are early risers. Especially with our mornings getting quite cold of late, some of us are more content to stay tucked in a nice warm bed than get up and watch the break of dawn.

Bird lovers and early risers alike will be familiar with the cacophony of song which greets their ears on a sunny morning.

More common in the spring and summer months, the dawn chorus is produced by many different bird species, all singing their little hearts out as if in celebration of the new day.

However, the dawn chorus isn’t just music to our ears. It is actually an expression of a territorial claim, as well as an important element in finding a suitable mate. Singing loudly uses a lot of energy, so female birds will favour males who have the strength to lift their voices above others.

The dawn chorus is also believed to occur at that hour because the insects are not yet buzzing, the light it not yet good enough to fly and the predators are not yet on the prowl.

As the sun comes up and the air gets warmer, the chorus fades as the birds fly off to their daily activities.

The dawn chorus happens all over the world. In Australia we’re often woken by magpies and kookaburras; in Britain it will be song thrushes and blackbirds, while in the USA depending on where you live, the dawn chorus might be led by cardinals and robins.

Anna Scott’s project ‘Dawn Chorus’ from Inspirations magazine issue #106 is inspired by this wonderful natural phenomenon.

Her striking crewelwork songbird is lifting his head and thrusting out his breast in such a way that if you close your eyes, you can almost hear his voice. As he is likely looking for a mate whilst scaring off any potential rivals, his wings are raised and his exquisite tail feathers are splayed for all the world to see.

Anna is well known for her wonderfully vibrant crewel designs and Dawn Chorus does not disappoint. Her selection of deliciously muted tones for the bird’s body and the surrounding foliage ensure that the brilliance of the tail feathers is the first thing to catch your eye.

Incorporating various crewel stitches such as trellis stitch, wheatear stitch and long and short stitch, Anna’s piece is packed with texture and bursting with detail.

One of the things we love about this project is that once you’ve stitched it, you can turn it into a gorgeous tote bag. What could be better than showing off your embroidery every time you head to the shops or go out for a walk?

Lots of us are lacking wall space for the many projects we want to do, so making a tote bag is the perfect solution.

Heading out into nature is one of the best things we can do for our mental health and, especially as the weather gets warmer for our northern hemisphere stitching family, taking the time to enjoy the dawn chorus seems like a wonderful way to do it.

Even we could force our way out of our cosy beds to immerse ourselves into the music of nature. Of course, we would have to have our Dawn Chorus tote, holding a thermos of hot coffee and perhaps a warm croissant or two…

Dawn Chorus by Anna Scott is a handy tote showcasing a pretty songbird in engrossing crewel embroidery.

Pomegranate & Rose by Anna Scott from Inspirations issue #100 is a superb silk and goldwork design of flowing stems laden with fruit and flowers.

Fragrant Dreams by Anna Scott from Inspirations issue #74 is a delicate heart-shaped sachet, filled with sweetly scented lavender - perfect for hanging in a wardrobe or popping into a drawer.

Spring Sonnet by Anna Scott from Inspirations issue #68 is a cosy throw and matching hot water bottle cover, with a superb profusion of vibrant blooms in glorious shades of marigold, hot pink and cranberry.

Garnet by Anna Scott from Inspirations issue #71 is an elegant bag decorated in striking dark red flowers and leaves.

While we’ve been talking about the dawn chorus and all things avian, it seems the ideal time to bring you some more beautiful bird projects from our talented readers.

‘Here is a picture of a recent commission I was asked to stitch.’

‘My client loves watching buzzards circling lazily in the sky on a hot summer's day in the village where he lives in Somerset, UK. He asked that I stitch two buzzards for him.’

‘I designed the pair so that one was indistinct in the background, with the focus being on the one in the foreground.

The finished buzzards were then mounted onto an antique piano stool, as he didn't want any more pictures to hang up on his already overcrowded walls.’

The detail on the buzzards is magnificent, Liz. We have no doubt the client would have been thrilled. This is one stool which will never be sat on!

‘Here is a project I have completed during the lockdown we’ve had in the UK.’

‘It is a 1 inch, three dimensional stumpwork wren, which I have put in front of a bird house I made from bark and pine tree scales. I gathered the bark from a local park before the pandemic.’

It is so tiny and so perfect, Alison. We love how you’ve combined your stitching with nature to create such a fabulous result.

‘The magpies are my latest effort from Rajmahal Designs. I did it to complement the kookaburra which won viewers’ choice at our Guild Open House last year and was given a first place at the Aberfoyle Fall Fair.’

‘My favourite projects involve birds. I have taken many pictures of birds on my visits to Australia because they are so colourful. Currently I am finishing a project of a rosella which was by my feet in a park in Victoria. I have found that padding out the birds with felt gives them a better dimension and allows for better shading.’

You’ve captured these Australian icons beautifully, Mavis. Make sure you send us pictures of your rosella when it is completed as well, we’d love to see it!

‘Here are a few projects I've done recently.’

‘In the bird series, I completed two pieces from Inspirations magazine including ‘Forbidden Fruit’ by Nicola Jarvis from issue #93, as well as a piece of Idrya lace and a woven tapestry I designed.’

You’ve mastered a stunning array of different techniques, Jenny. We love how you’ve interpreted a theme in so many different ways.

‘I did some stitching more than 30 years ago but nothing much since then. Recently our museum store got in some sweet little kits so I picked one up.

My first attempt was a rabbit ‘plushie’ with vegetables embroidered all over him. He has since gone to my niece without me taking any good pictures. He turned out really well, in spite of a rather unfortunately placed eggplant on the front side!’

‘This is my second project. The stitching is not first rate but I hope you’ll agree it’s a first rate second original design project.’

We do agree, Amy. He’s got real character. It’s such a pity about not getting a picture of the rabbit. We’re now all curious about that eggplant!

If you love birds and have paid homage to them in needle and thread, we’d love to see your work. Or if you are passionate about any other subject matter, we’d be thrilled to see that too.

Send us some pictures of your work and a little bit about your inspiration and stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com

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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.

~ Tim Challies ~

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.