We find ourselves here again at the start of a New Year. Yet somehow the beginning of this year feels a little different to most.

As we thought about the New Year unfolding before us, our minds quickly turned to the not-yet-planned days and all the possibilities, hopes and dreams contained within each. Whilst normally these thoughts come with nothing but anticipation, we felt a hint of unease alongside them this year.

For many of us, 2020 will be remembered as our most unpredictable and uncertain year to date and, whilst we had hoped the heralding of a New Year would bring with it a much-needed antidote to such adjectives, it’s become apparent we’re not quite there yet!

So, what do we do when our usual New Year’s expectancy is a little battle worn and tarnished?

It was Laura Carrocci who reminded us of this in her first email of the year.

January can be a messy month regardless of the year it’s following and sometimes the pressure we place on ourselves to embark upon New Year’s resolutions, choose our words for the year and/or plan those not-yet-planned days can bring with it unwelcome stress and unease.

And so, we need to remind ourselves that regardless of what’s going on around us or what we may or may not have achieved, each day is a gift. It may be messy, imperfect and ordinary, but it’s also incredibly beautiful if we take the time to look at the many details that fill it.

This year we’re determining that, despite the conflict of anticipation and unease within, we’re going to tackle 2021 one day at a time, knowing that a full and beautiful life is composed of a million ordinary, messy and sometimes challenging days.

The first All Stitched Up! for 2020, issue #218, was authored as Australia was amidst a bushfire crisis, the likes of which we hadn’t before seen. In light of what was being experienced both in our home country and the world over, we wrote the following:

‘With all the continual changes, uncertainty, and natural disasters in the world today (especially the fires…) there has never been a better time to lean into the wonder of needlework for comfort and peace.’

At that time Coronavirus was but a whisper, but it wouldn’t be long before the whisper became a roar, heard the world over. In an instant, life as we knew it was changed, and left us feeling a little disorientated. It was now best lived one day at a time as the luxury of forward planning was no longer feasible.

It also impressed upon us the need for something to centre and ground us amid the uncertainty.

Along with the challenges 2020 presented, it would also bestow upon us the gift of time. With our usual diary entries up-ended and the need to isolate coming and going depending on where we lived, our place of distraction and refuge grew as we leaned ever further into our needles and threads.

Despite the challenges COVID-19 brought our way at Inspirations HQ, we were continually encouraged and inspired by the number of people who picked up needle and thread for the first time or returned to it after many years.

They practiced the words Jennie Allen aptly penned:

‘There is an art to living that is far above the base human instinct of survival. We want to live beautifully.’

And live beautifully we did! Despite the chaos swirling around us, many of us took to needle and thread to calm our minds and make our lives more beautiful one stitch at a time.

As we welcome in 2021, we do so realising how adaptable and resilient we really are, perhaps more so than we ever thought possible, having attested our love and necessity of all things stitching.

This carries us boldly into the New Year with all the possibilities it holds as we strive to continually bring you the world’s most beautiful needlework in the most beautiful ways.

We appreciate the time you make available as together we share our passion for all things needle and thread.

With a New Year filled with new designers, projects, kits and publications now before us, we look forward to partnering with you throughout 2021 as we continue to make the world more beautiful one stitch at a time.

Kristian & Andrea Fleming
Inspirations Studios

While most people who crochet can’t start until they have tracked down a pattern they like, textile artist Trevor Smith has a mind already filled with patterns. An artist all his life, in what he sees as the ‘third (and final) phase’ of his career he has become a master at dreaming up (and then hooking up) quirky and clever crochet creations which are now exhibited all over the world.

Trevor grew up in outback South Australia where his siblings spent most of their time playing sports or being outside with the animals. Trevor, however, was more interested to learn from his mother who was skilled at knitting, crochet and sewing amongst other things.

His passion for textiles led him to art school where he started to experiment. His ‘first phase’ saw him creating soft sculptures which satisfied his fascination with individual characters. He achieved some success with these works, but as the 1990s wore on, his interest shifted to patchwork.

His body of breathtakingly beautiful, embellished patchwork items was extensive, but like all good artists, he followed where his creative energies took him and by 2007 he had returned to crochet which had always been a childhood love.

Trevor’s crochet output is delightfully esoteric, informed by history, nostalgia, culture and humour. Anyone who lived through the 1960s and 1970s in Australia will be charmed by his crocheted versions of a Mixmaster, vitamiser and a feast of brightly coloured dishes which could easily have adorned the pages of a Woman’s Weekly magazine from the mid-1970s.

However, Trevor has also continued to explore his interest in the human form and the many varied characters he dreams up. Each and every crocheted figure he makes is an individual, bursting with details which give each piece its own very distinct personality. Each item has no pattern. It is a creation born directly out of Trevor’s imagination and rendered with his very clever hands.

Now retired from his 9-to-5 job as the cultural collections officer for the Glenelg Shire Council in Portland, Victoria, Trevor can happily crochet up to 16 hours a day if the inspiration has really taken hold. He sits in front of the TV, with re-runs of his favourite old programs playing and inspiration simply flowing from his fingers into his new creation. And he never seems to run out of ideas. Indeed, he predicts that he has enough ideas to last the rest of his life right now, and more come to him each and every day.

Trevor represents the kind of artist who has learned, experimented and perfected different techniques and ideas and has allowed his passion to go where it will. This freedom and joy are evident in each of his pieces, which are now displayed in galleries and private homes around the world. Who would have thought that the domestic art of crochet could create such a stir, but Trevor’s work is evidence that with imagination and passion, great things will surely come.

You know that feeling of frustration when you reach for a pair of scissors, only to not have any at hand? It doesn’t seem to matter how many pairs of scissors we own, they are never where we want them to be.

From the smallest sewing box to a place on your keyring, tucked into a pocket in an etui or nestled in amongst one’s bobbins.

You’ll be pleased to hear that not only do we have the blue, yellow and pink mini scissors back in stock, we now have even more colours to add to the collection - green and grey.

After spending some wonderful time over Christmas finishing off a number of projects and sorting through your stitching kit, maybe it’s time to ensure you’ll never reach for the invisible scissors again? We’re thinking several pairs should do the trick, right?

Are you ready for some cute overload? Margaret Lee recently shared with us a priceless video of young children tyring to thread a needle, which you can watch on YouTube HERE.

As cute as these little people are, can’t we all relate to their childish frustration?

As threading needles is something we simply cannot avoid, a good needle threader is essential. The problem with many needle threaders is the same problem with threading needles in general - sometimes our eyes just aren’t quite up to the task of being able to see properly.

That is where the fabulous Taylor Seville needle threader comes in… and what a tool it is.

With an ergonomically designed, easy to hold handle, a light and a magnifier, there isn’t a tool on the market which makes threading needles any easier. The designers have thought of everything that a passionate embroiderer whose eyes aren’t as good as they used to be might need. And this is the result.

To accompany this fantastic tool, Taylor Seville have also released a thread conditioner. Threading needles is hard when the thread is fluffy or out of control. With thread conditioner, you can tame your thread so that it slides through the eye of the needle and subsequently your fabric with ease.

This is the perfect combination to ensure that your unavoidable task becomes so easy, you’ll wonder why you ever got frustrated with it. You’ll be the envy of your stitching friends and, as cute as those children might be, that frustration will be a thing of the past.

We recently received an email from a reader asking about the instructions for a project from an older issue of Inspirations magazine:

‘I bought an embroidery kit from an Estate sale. It was for the design Roses and Daisies from Inspirations issue #35. I was wondering if it is possible to buy a copy of the instructions at all?’

Designed with the beginner stitcher in mind, Roses and Daisies by Rae Wilson and Cathy Gunn is a gorgeous knee blanket which can be completed in no time and will introduce you, if you’ve not already discovered it, to the pleasure of embroidering wool blankets.

The front of the rug is sprinkled with sprays of roses and daisies and the whole blanket is fully lined with a pale pink check twill, bound with matching pink satin. You’ll learn a variety of stitches, as well as the skills to back the blanket and you’re guaranteed to want to do more.

Thanks to our lucky reader who was fortunate enough to find the kit, we have now released Roses and Daisies as a digital pattern available for immediate purchase and download. Get ready to discover the joys of embroidered blankets with this stunning project.

We love that for many of you when it comes to searching for needlework supplies, your first port of call is the Inspirations online shop. That’s why we’re always hunting for new products to satisfy our loyal community.

One query we often receive is where to buy high quality fabrics for needlework. Having scoured the globe for our own kits, along the way we’ve created a bit of a treasure map as to where all the best fabrics can be sourced.

Now we’ve decided it’s time to share our spoils and start stocking those hard-to-find fabrics on our website, so you’ll no longer have to compromise or do without.

To launch our new range, we’re beginning with Graziano linens, with more fabrics and even wool blanketing coming online in the following months.

Graziano linens are perfect for all types of surface embroidery. Firmly and finely woven, these linens are available in 38ct Natural and White, and 45ct Ivory.

The ivory linen is 70cm wide (27 ½ inches), and the natural and white linens are 180cm wide (5’11”), and all are available in lengths of 50cm (19 ½ inches) so if you need a larger piece, just order multiple ‘units’ and we’ll cut a single piece to length based on your specific order.

The world’s most beautiful needlework starts with the world’s most beautiful fabrics. Happy shopping!

To help us all get connected and stay connected with the needlework community, this year we’re introducing a new segment called Stitching on Social, where each month we’ll be highlighting a few social media accounts that have really caught our eye, so that you too can follow them and enjoy their work as much as we do.

For January, we suggest you take a look at:

@petraheidrich - Petra Heidrich is a textile artist from Germany who creates unusual, colourful and unique pieces by combining embroidery with vintage postcards and photographs.

@pocketsnailart – Ashley Gilland creates quirky, funny embroidered pieces which always make us smile.

@ravenkiannad_art – Raven Kianna D creates truly breathtaking portraits in cross stitch.

@jaynie_himsl_fibre_artist – Jaynie Himsl combines quilting with landscape painting to fabulous effect.

Now speaking of Stitching on Social, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and/or Facebook to receive your fully immersive, world’s most beautiful needlework fix. We post daily links to more amazing artists, designers, embroiderers and stitchers to help you continually discover all the inspiration one could possibly need.

Any lover of textiles will be well versed in the influence and accomplishments of Williams Morris, accredited as the driving force behind the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain in the late 19th Century.

To this day, there is still so much admiration for the sinuous, repeating patterns which characterised William Morris textiles.

But Morris was also a poet, a novelist, an architect, a painter and illustrator, as well as a translator and political activist. His incredibly busy life resulted in a broad and varied range of work, of which the familiar textile patterns form only a small part.

One can’t help but be astounded at how much the man achieved during his lifetime. It is particularly gratifying that his legacy continues to live on, even if predominantly via the famous William Morris textiles which formed such an important part of his extensive creative output.

The cheeky thrush, stealing plump, ripe strawberries, has been one of the most endearing characters created by Morris and has appeared over and over in textile design and embroidery.

However, no matter how many times we encounter this familiar design, we never tire of seeing different interpretations of it.

Brenda Sortwell’s unique project ‘Morris Magic’ from the book A Passion for Needlework | Blakiston Creamery, is yet another wonderful creation featuring Morris’s purloining bird.

Brenda’s knowledge of the original design is evident in this fabulous piece of crewel embroidery.

The gorgeous symmetry of the piece is highlighted by the brilliant scarlet of the hanging fruits and the elegant lines of the circular shape. Employing muted colour and a range of stitches, Brenda has produced a beautifully tactile design which finds the perfect balance between realism and symbolism.

Worked on heavy cotton/linen twill with Appleton’s wools, Brenda has combined the traditional techniques of crewel embroidery with this more contemporary design.

She has selected stitches which are commonly found in traditional crewel pieces, such as long and short stitch, Ghiordes knots and trellis couching as well as introducing more unusual, textured elements, in particularly the stunning needlelace strawberries.

If you are a lover of crewel embroidery, then this project offers pure enjoyment and something a little bit different in terms of design and finish.

Morris Magic is guaranteed to be a head turner once it is mounted, showing just how effective the combination of design, technique and colour can be in the hands of a talented needle artisan, such as Brenda.

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Morris Magic by Brenda Sortwell from the book A Passion for Needlework | Blakiston Creamery is a splendid crewel embroidery of thrushes with strawberries, inspired by an iconic William Morris design.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Morris Magic includes everything* you need to re-create this delightful image: Fabric (unprinted), embroidery threads and needles.

*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 book.

Bluebird by Nicolas Jarvis from Inspirations issue #82 is a cheeky bird filled with William Morris inspired floral patterns.

Forbidden Fruit by Nicola Jarvis from Inspirations issue #93 is a vibrant bird with colourful plumage using crewel techniques.

Michele Hill’s best-selling book ‘William Morris In Appliqué’ features six magnificent projects including quilts, wall hangings, a cushion, and more than 40 individual appliqué designs.

Artichoke by Michele Hill from Inspirations issue #67 is a vibrant William Morris inspired cushion, worked onto a jet-black background in shades of olive, gold, brown and red.

Embroidered blankets are an Inspirations specialty. We’ve been publishing patterns for embroidered blankets right from our inception and they have always been popular among our loyal readers. It is always gratifying to see how much our community love creating blankets, both from our publications and from elsewhere, so here are a few fantastic finishes to get you inspired.

‘Here is a baby blanket I recently completed for a friend’s daughter’s baby girl, Nola. She requested the theme of ‘Spot the Dog’, so I embroidered the book covers of nine of the Spot books.’

‘I didn’t include ‘Spot Visits his Grandparents’ as my dear friend lost her life to ovarian cancer 2 years ago. Thus, Nola doesn’t have a grandmother hence my reason for making a special treasure for her.’

What a beautiful gift, Marlene. You’ve made a wonderful blanket which I am sure little Nola will treasure for years to come.

‘I started the project ‘Arabian Nights’ by Jenny McWhinney in 2004 without realising what a massive undertaking it would be. Having had only a couple of years of embroidery experience at the time, it was probably a bit challenging for me, so I put it away for a few years.’

‘With the recent lockdowns, I thought it would be the perfect time to finish a few projects so out came the camels again. My skills have improved over the years, so I was much more confident with my stitching. Although slow, it came together really nicely.’

‘The only part that gave me a bit of grief was the corner tassels. I decided to make pom-poms with all the leftover wool and I have to say, I’m really happy with the result.’

‘Jenny McWhinney’s ability to create wonderful facial expressions on animals is unique and I think the snooty look she gave each individual camel is priceless. A wonderful project and a beautiful keepsake.’

This is certainly a project to be proud of, Louise. You’ve done a magnificent job in getting it finished and we love your ‘snooty’ camels as much as you do.

‘My housebound aunt, Wietske Altmann, is 96 years old and an avid embroiderer. I gave her the Susan O’Connor book ‘Flowers for Elizabeth’ last year and, after gathering all of the materials from various parts of the world, she got started.’

‘Now, a year later, here is the finished blanket. I am now it's lucky owner!’

Lucky indeed, Saskia! This is a spectacular project and the finish just goes to show what a fantastic embroiderer your aunt is.

Do you love making embroidered blankets? Have you got patterns lined up in the hope you’ll have at least 50 grandchildren to make them for? Or have you preferred to employ your embroidery skills in other items?

Send us pictures of your work, along with a bit of information about your stitching journey and the project itself to news@inspirationsstudios.com

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~ A Life in Progress ~

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.