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ISSUE 264, DECEMBER 11, 2020
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INSPIRATIONS. ALL Stitched Up!
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Hi There,
One of the many things we love about working at Inspirations HQ is sourcing props for our photography shoots. Let’s face it, there are worse tasks than going shopping, especially when your list includes all things needle and thread!

Inspirations’ hometown of Adelaide is fortunate to have the choice of two embroidery boutiques, both stocked with wares bound to set a stitcher’s heart aflutter.

And this is where we recently found ourselves, pouring through all things needle and thread at one of those two stores, The Bobbin Tree.

Whilst we went with a concise and specific shopping list - which for the record, we didn’t stray from - the process of sourcing that ‘just right’ item meant we looked at most, if not all, of the items on offer.

Not only were the wares merchandised in a way that makes you feel like all your needlework dreams have come true, but as we held each item in our hand, carefully considering the project it would be photographed with, a sudden sense of calm settled on us.

Did you know there is an actual term for this? We didn’t, but according to the Urban Dictionary, there is!
Oniochalasia | buying or shopping as a method of stress relief or relaxation.
Upon reflection, the sense of calm and relaxation came from being surrounded by things that speak to our passion for all things needle and thread and taking the time to consider the details of the colour and texture of each bespoke item, all the while letting our minds wander to the possibilities held within each of them.

Whilst strictly speaking not window shopping, as we did purchase several things, the majority of our time was spent admiring things we didn’t purchase – although we did walk out with a list of ‘must haves’ for future use!

Whilst the brick and mortar stores of old are harder to come by than they once were, spending some time window shopping online can also bring about a sense of oniochalasia as you let yourself become absorbed in all that the world of needlework wares has to offer.

Perhaps even, as our own writer for this newsletter Nancy Williams has inspired us to do over recent weeks, we could window shop within our own stashes and, as we carefully consider the possibility each item within our stash holds, find that same sense of oniochalasia within our own four walls.

Happy window shopping - we can’t wait to hear what you find! Make sure to email news@inspirationsstudios.com to let us know what treasures you uncover.
 
Have Your Say
Connections and Help for Caitlin
In All Stitched Up! issue #259 we talked about connections, a conversation which clearly resonated with many of you. It might be made more prescient because of all the difficulties of 2020, but the sense of connection with others, with family and with the past is something that many of us think deeply about.
For a number of readers, those connections were cemented through small items and keepsakes, particularly those made or given by someone who has now passed away.
Jackie Irwin maintains her connection with her late father through the many little things he made for her when he was alive. A talented painter and a very thoughtful man, Jackie’s father made her bookmarks, little models and paintings, all of which she treasures, and which still spark conversation about her Dad.
Jackie Irwin’s painting by her late father
Lena Taylor is the proud owner of a bonnet that her grandmother made and wore in the cotton field. Karen still uses a cookbook that her late mother not only contributed to, but wrote in, recording when she used a recipe and what occasion she cooked it for. In this way, Karen has a chronicle not just of her own life but that of her mother’s as well. Roberta Kenney and her daughters have all kinds of wonderful projects from previous generations, including blankets, doilies and shawls, all of which act as a memorial to the makers and the connections Roberta has with them.

But connection isn’t just with the past; connections with people in the present are equally as important. As Frances Gedzium observes, while many people are heading towards the holiday season knowing their celebrations by necessity will be virtual this year, now is the perfect time to reinforce our connections by making gifts for one another.
Christine Igot’s Cross Stitch
Indeed, Christine Igot discovered this fact to her joy when her friend Lorrie, who usually spends a week each year with Christine stitching and catching up, sent her this fantastic cross stitch. They might not have been able to be together, but each time Christine looks at this project, she can’t help but laugh and think of her friend.

Also in All Stitched Up! issue #259, Caitlin Doyle posed a question to the needlework community. She asked how people maintained their enthusiasm over the course of a large embroidery project. We were inundated with responses for you Caitlin, so hopefully these are of some help:

Ann Kenny recently completed ‘Strawberry Fayre’ by Carolyn Pearce from Inspirations issue #95 and after being so consumed by it for such a long time, she wrapped the completed piece in tissue and put it away in a drawer. After leaving it for a while, she got it out, looked at it again and found herself amazed that she’d actually done something so beautiful! Her advice?
‘Take a break if you want to and go back to it when you can enjoy it again. It will be very worthwhile.’
A couple of readers suggested tiny, daily steps. Karel Armstrong suggested doing 15 minutes a day and Ellen Chesney suggested 15-25 stitches a day. As the saying goes, every journey starts with a single step, and each tiny step gets you a little further forward. Ellen also said that at the end of each week she takes a photograph so she can see her progress. Jd Ormslaer documents work by taking regular photographs as well, which helps to maintain interest.
Trish Binkley employs a time-based goal. She stitches one project for a month, then switches projects for the next month. She then goes back to the original project for the following month and so on. In this way she avoids burnout and the project actually gets done.

Having a collection of small projects to do when you get bored with the large project was Roberta’s idea. We call them ‘easy wins’, as they don’t take long to finish and offer the sense of accomplishment that might be missing through the course of the large project. But we wanted to quote the lovely designer Alison Cole here who said:
‘No-one ever said that you have to only work on the one project until it is finished. I am working on five at the moment!’
Caitlin, we hope you’ve gained a few ideas from the community and we hope you can find the enthusiasm to keep working on those large projects, safe in the knowledge that we’re all there with you.

However, one final little piece of advice to bear in mind, which was also offered by Alison. She suggested that it is neither the journey nor the destination which is important; what matters are the friendships you take with you.
 
Needlework News
Inspirations #108 Kits | Final Call
It seems only yesterday that Inspirations issue #108 was released and the kits hit our shelves. What a wild ride we’ve had since then! But like all good things, eventually they must come to an end. Before we clear the kit room to make way for all of the delights we have in store in issue #109, we’re making a final call for #108 kits.
As many of you will know, kits for #108 have been particularly popular and were re-stocked several times over to try and keep up with demand. However, with our kit department already flat out working on new kits for all our exciting upcoming publications in 2021, any remaining #108 kits available on our website, are the last of the last.
So, don’t delay - head over to the website right now to secure your favourite #108 kit as no-one wants the disappointment of planning to start a project only to discover – disaster! - there are no kits left!
 
READY-TO-STITCH KITS
Browse Kits from Issue #108
 
Udderly Smooth, Udderly Handy Small Tube
By now you may have discovered just how fabulous the Udderly Smooth Hand Cream is for embroiderers. It is non-greasy, smells fantastic and results in silky smooth skin that doesn’t catch on your silk or fabric.
Having a tube of this magical stuff in your project bag is a must and having a pot of it in your sewing room is essential, but what if you’re out and about and need something more portable?
We have the solution – Udderly Smooth Cream is now available in a handy purse sized tube so it doesn’t matter where you are, you’ll have your favourite hand cream with you.
Buy one for your handbag, one for your toiletries bag and a whole lot for stocking fillers for your family and friends!
Rough skin will be a thing of the past, no matter where you are. But you better get mooving; we have limited stock and we’re not sure how much more we can milk the suppliers for…
New Digital Pattern | Home Sweet Home Cottages
We recently received an email from one of our readers, Jane Skotte:

‘I’m looking for the pattern for the cottage thimble and tape measure holders from last CENTURY! I’m hoping you can find the issue number or tell me how to get the pattern/issue.’

Yes, Jane, the project you were after really was from last century! In fact, Jane was referring to the gorgeous thimble box and tape measure by Carolyn Pearce, entitled Home Sweet Home Cottages.
This originally appeared way back in Inspirations issue #35 and was a project Carolyn designed well before her iconic Home Sweet Home - An Embroidered Workbox etui was released.

The project consists of two tiny little sewing accessories to house your thimble and tape measure. The two little cottages – Rose Cottage and Wisteria Cottage – are packed with exquisite detail, including ribbon flowers, embroidered initials and a roof which doubles as a pincushion.
Both cottages open up to reveal perfectly sized storage space for your tape measure and thimble.
If you love Carolyn Pearce’s work, then you are going to adore this project, which we’re pleased to now release as a digital pattern.
Get back to where it all started with Carolyn’s original Home Sweet Home Cottages and make the cutest, tiniest little stitching accessories around.
 
DIGITAL PATTERN
Home Sweet Home Cottages
 
Deadline for 2020 Orders
2020 will officially be over in less than 3 weeks. After another busy year producing your favourite weekly newsletter, your much-loved magazine and all of the kits and wares you could possibly dream of, the Inspirations team will be enjoying a bit of a break during the Christmas/New Year holidays.
For any online orders you would like fulfilled this side of the new year, please ensure you place them by 20th December at the latest.
That way we can process everything and get them into the post and on their way to you before our office closes, and hopefully your order might even arrive just in time to make the start of 2021 a stitching wonderfest.
Stitching on Ceramics
We can all understand embroidery on fabric, whether linen or canvas, cotton or silk. We can probably get our minds around stitching on more unusual things such as leather, vinyl or paper. But ceramics?
Caroline Harrius is an artist who has tackled that very problem and the results are simply beautiful. Caroline, a Swedish designer, creates ceramic pieces and then painstakingly pricks tiny holes into the work before firing them. Once hard, she then threads a needle and slowly, carefully, adds a stitched pattern.
We never cease to be amazed at artistic creativity. Seeing how some of these talented artists blend mediums and styles and push the boundaries of needlework can leave us speechless.
You can read more about Caroline HERE or view more of her work at her Instagram page @carolineharrius
 
Featured Project
Bright Baubles by Natalie Dupuis
Whenever you look at a gorgeous project in Inspirations magazine, you might find yourself wondering what process the designer has gone through to prepare the design for publication.
While we all get to view and enjoy it in all its finished glory, the creation of a project requires a lot of thought, planning and work.

Natalie Dupuis, one of our regular contributors from Canada, gave us just a little bit of insight when she delivered her fabulous project, Bright Baubles, to us as we were putting together Inspirations issue #108.
It is a fascinating exercise to learn how she works and the steps she took to bring this project to life and communicate to us everything we needed for inclusion in the magazine.

Natalie, as you can probably tell, is an artist with many talents. As well as being a beautiful embroiderer, she can draw, paint and take exquisite photographs, all of which combine to produce the kinds of projects we enjoy in the magazine.
Bright Baubles began life as a pencil sketch. Working out where the light and shade landed on a shining sphere was essential to providing Natalie insight into where to place her stitches when she finally took up her needle.
From an understanding of the shading, Natalie then turned her thoughts towards colour. Here, Natalie took up her brush and her watercolours and producing a painted version of her design.

By using paint, she was able to capture the nuances of the shading on each of the three baubles which in turn enabled her to colour match the DMC threads she would later use in the stitched version. Her painted facsimile also provided the scale and depth which are so important for the final piece.
With her artistic sampling and planning complete, Natalie then chose her fabric and started to employ her knowledge of or nué to translate what she had already drawn and painted into a traditional goldwork medium.
She began by transferring the design on to the linen to act as the guide for her stitches. This included drawing background guidelines, as the couching stitches on the background need to be evenly spaced to ensure a neat uniform finish.
This is a tiny detail, but it definitely stands as the difference between a good design and a great design, the latter of which Bright Baubles truly is.
With the background drawing in place, Natalie finally starts stitching. Fortunately, her skill with a camera meant that each step in her stitching was beautifully documented, showing exactly where the needle comes up and goes down, exactly how the design is worked using multiple threads simultaneously and the precise way to sink the gold threads and secure them along the back.
There is no doubt that Bright Baubles is a glorious project for Christmas and provides a wonderful introduction to the technique of or nué.

However, when you add in the knowledge of just how Natalie arrived at this design and what went on before it adorned the pages of the magazine, it offers a deeper appreciation of the project in so many ways.
Even we, at times, believe that our designers must be magic to produce the kind of work that they do. And when we consider the amount of work and the sheer number of stages that each of our talented contributors go through in order to arrive at their finished pieces, we think you’ll all concur; we’re very grateful and appreciative of all that they do.
Make Your Own Bright Baubles
Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Bright Baubles by Natalie Dupuis is a gleaming or nué design of Christmas baubles worked over silver threads.
 
PRINTED MAGAZINE
Inspirations Issue 108
 
 
DIGITAL PATTERN
Bright Baubles
 
Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Bright Baubles includes everything* you need to re-create this gorgeous design: Fabrics (unprinted), embroidery threads and needles.
 
READY-TO-STITCH KIT
Bright Baubles
 
*Please Note: To cater for flexibility of purchase, instructions are not included with our kits. For step-by-step directions on how to create this project, please refer to the magazine/digital pattern.
Looking for More Christmas Projects?
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol by Susan O'Connor from Inspirations issue #72 is a charming sampler that celebrates the songs of Christmas.
 
DIGITAL PATTERN
A Christmas Carol
 
Kris Kringle
Kris Kringle by Heather Scott from Inspirations issue #72 is a pretty gift bag - the perfect wrapping for any small gift.
 
DIGITAL PATTERN
Kris Kringle
 
Double Delight
Double Delight by Jennifer Kennedy from Inspirations issue #92 is a pair of pulled thread work Christmas stockings with contrasting lustrous perlé threads and satin ribbon with a hessian ground fabric.
 
READY-TO-STITCH KIT
Double Delight
 
 
DIGITAL PATTERN
Double Delight
 
 
PRINTED MAGAZINE
Inspirations Issue 92
 
Santa’s Helpers
Santa's Helpers by Jenny McWhinney from Inspirations issue #92 is six fun ornaments for your Christmas tree or home, bringing extra festive cheer.
 
PRINTED MAGAZINE
Inspirations Issue 92
 
What Are You Stitching?
As all the beautiful birds continue to sing their many and varied songs, so too do our wonderful readers continue to stitch all the many and varied forms they come in. Following on from our What Are You Stitching? segment last week, we have even more avian themed projects to share with you today. We’re sure you’ll be inspired by the magnificent work from your fellow readers.
Joan Kolar
‘I had wanted to do some crewel work for a while after completing a crewel needle case some years ago. I saw Percival Parrot designed by Jacqui Macdonald in the RSN Book of Embroidery. I thought he was gorgeous and hoped I might be able to do justice to the project. Once completed, I was fairly happy with how Percy looked, but I couldn’t decide what to do with the embroidery, so I packed it away, awaiting inspiration.’
‘I finally decided that I would make a needle book out of Percival Parrot. I had a picture of ‘Little Bird’ by Laurelin and used the thread left over from Percival Parrot to embroider him. Now my needle book has Percival Parrot on the front, Little Bird on the back and a selection of my needle packets inside.’

Percy is fantastic and you’ve turned the whole project into something wonderfully practical, Joan. Well done!
Mavis Brown
‘I have finally finished my Australian bird series; the kookaburra, magpies, rosella, and now the galahs.’
‘I did the kookaburra and the magpies as a pair. I have always had a fondness for galahs, so I designed this piece around a photo I saw. I still need to have the rosella framed, so I will have that done along with framing the galahs properly when we have access to the framer again after all the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.’
What an amazing series, Mavis! They will look absolutely fantastic all together on the wall; a little slice of Australia captured so beautifully in needle and thread.
Christine Wellnitz
‘For my embroidery masterclass at the International School of Textile Art, I was given a task to transform a 17th century picture of a bird sitting in a flower field into a modern design – without changing the bird!’
‘I decided to work a bag for my little slate frame. I chose a lovely Italian style fabric for the bag and used the back side of the fabric for my design on the flap. Even inside the bag I tried to be creative and worked some really useful details. Since then, I have used this bag nearly every time I have visited an embroidery exhibition or fair – with a bit of pride, I admit.’
Rightly so, Christine. It’s fabulous that you’re proud of your work and showing it off (as we should all be!) and having a bag for your slate frame is such a great way of doing it.
Elza Bester
‘When I saw this photo of a Golden Eagle, I just knew I wanted to stitch it. The photo was taken by a friend of mine, Annemieke de Witt from the Netherlands. She is also very gifted painter in her own right.’
‘The image was printed on cotton. I used no. 40 viscose sewing embroidery threads, stranded cottons and a bit of metallic thread for the eye. It took me about 8 months to finish.’
‘I used long and short stitch, French knots and stem stitch. Of course, it is much more colourful than the real Golden Eagle, but I used a bit of artistic licence. I call it my COVID-19 bird as it helped me to get through this difficult period.’

It is magnificent, Elza. You’ve caught the elegance of the subject so well, and the colouring just adds that bit extra to turn this into a really special piece. Congratulations.
Birds, insects, animals, plants – the truth is, all of them make fantastic subjects for embroidery. And we love seeing all of them! We don’t really mind what your inspiration is, if you’ve finished a project, we want to show it off. Just send us some pictures of your work, along with a bit of information about the project and your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com
 
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You May Have Missed
Peace Dove
Peace Dove by Cynthia Jackson is a sparkling ornament worked using silk, silver metal threads and crystals.
 
PRINTED MAGAZINE
Inspirations Issue 108
 
 
DIGITAL PATTERN
Peace Dove
 
 
READY-TO-STITCH KIT
Peace Dove
 
White Christmas
White Christmas by Yvette Stanton from Inspirations issue #56 is a beautiful white on white Christmas tree ornament.
 
DIGITAL PATTERN
White Christmas
 
Season’s Greetings
Season's Greetings by Ana Mallah from Inspirations issue #96 is four enchanting Christmas ornaments.
 
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Season's Greetings
 
 
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True Love
True Love by Susan O’Connor from Inspirations issue #68 is a stunning ornament celebrating the first day of Christmas.
 
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True Love
 
 
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Rejoice
Rejoice by Carolyn Pearce from Inspirations issue #47 is a lavish Christmas bell of gleaming metallic threads, glistening beads and brass charms.
 
DIGITAL PATTERN
Rejoice
 
 
PRINTED MAGAZINE
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This Week on Social
 
How cute is this little guy?! Garden dormouse design by Sophia Drescher @helioblue.design
 
Making our tummies rumble! @miu_embroidery created this with 40 colours!
 
Quote
‘Let’s go window shopping and make a list of what we would buy if we could.’
~ Unknown ~
What's On
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.
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
INSPIRATIONS
© 2020 Inspirations Studios

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