Do you have a space that’s just for you? Somewhere you sit with needle and thread set aside so you can escape the hustle and bustle of the world around you and simply concentrate on the meditative push and pull of needle and thread through fabric?

For some of us this may be a dedicated room, whilst for others it may be a seldom used dining room table or a comfy chair that has our name written all over it. Wherever it may be, there’s a chance that the lockdowns over the past year have meant the space you once called your own has had to transform as our homes have doubled as our office, school, gym and perhaps even local coffee shop!

In a recent email, David Hieatt challenged us to ensure that despite the changes our homes may have been through, we find a way of ensuring that the spaces we call our own still have our wellbeing as their primary focus.

David encouraged us to start thinking about our space from the inside out, and instead of latching onto ideas that others have shared across their social channels, we consider what our space needs to do for us and nurture it accordingly. Over time, David’s come to realise that beauty, light and air quality are the most important factors to consider when planning a space to call his own.

We love this, as no matter the size of our space or the other functions it may still be performing whilst we wait for life to return to ‘normal’, surrounding it with things we consider beautiful, ensuring the lighting suits the task at hand and the ventilation allows for a supply of fresh air, will ensure that our space facilitates our time with needle and thread in the best way possible.

We’d love to hear about the space you call your own and how you’ve cultivated it so that it in turn nurtures your time with needle and thread. Email news@inspirationsstudios.com and let us know what it is about your space that makes it truly your own.

The subject of Stitch-alongs (SAL) turned out to be a popular one after we wrote about them in All Stitched Up! issue #270. Particularly during the trials and tribulations of 2020, lots of stitchers enjoyed the challenge and community offered by online stitch-along groups.

Sarah Kerkin was one of the many stitchers who was involved in the featured Peppermint Purple blackwork stitch-along last year. She had wanted to try blackwork for a while and felt that the small requirement of a block a week didn’t seem too daunting.

Sarah’s experience with the group accompanying her on the SAL was uplifting, especially with all of the lockdowns and border closures. It allowed like-minded stitchers to come together over their shared love. But Sarah states that it went beyond simply stitching.

She felt that her experience over the year gave her a huge amount of confidence in her blackwork, but it also opened her up to the vast range of creative ideas that her fellow stitchers shared so generously within the group.

Although she didn’t quite get the 2020 stitch-along project finished, she’s still working on it along with several other SALs this year. It seems that Sarah is definitely a convert!

Trudy Pohawpatchoko had never stitched a SAL before as she wasn’t sure about stitching something without knowing what the finished piece would look like beforehand. But she was captivated by the colours on the first month of Lesley Teare’s Birds and Blackwork Flowers SAL and soon found herself hooked.

Trudy loved the sense of accomplishment she experienced as she finished each month’s square. As the year went on, her feeling of anticipation grew along with her eagerness each month to see the new chart. She couldn’t wait to see what the whole piece would end up looking like. By the end of the year, she was literally counting the days until the final chart came out. She found it immensely rewarding.

If you have any experiences from participating in a stitch-along, it’s never too late to jump in on the conversation, we’d love to hear from you.

Moving onto a different subject, we received an email from Annie Bowers from Canada who was delighted to receive her copy of Inspirations issue #109 with Emillie Ferris’s ‘Helena Gum Moth’ design on the cover. She had encountered Emillie’s work before through a seasonal subscription company called Craftpod.

When you sign up for Craftpod, each season you receive a pack filled with lovely stitching projects and surprises in the post. In Autumn 2020, the project was by Emillie and Annie had loved working it. She’s now a lifelong fan, and eager to start stitching her own Helena Gum Moth.

Has anyone else signed up to a subscription service like Craftpod? There are a lot of them around, covering all kinds of crafts from embroidery to crochet, quilting to knitting. Especially nowadays, receiving something wonderful in the post is a very rare treat, so we wonder how many of you have tried these services? What have your experiences been and are there any which you’d recommend?

Finally, Jackie Williams wanted to make a comment about noise and stitching, following on from our article in All Stitched Up! issue #268. She took issue with the idea that stitching brings quiet and eliminates noise. She stated:

We completely agree, Jackie. The glorious sound of thread through fabric is something many of us find soothing. Sometimes, turning off the TV, radio, music or audiobook, or finding a quiet space away from other people, can bring a sense of calm punctuated by nothing but the timeless sound of our craft.

Thank you to all those amazing people out there who take the time to write to us - receiving your emails each day is like receiving wonderful treasures in amongst the daily routine. Please keep them coming!

If you’d like to tell us about your stitch-along or subscription service experiences, or even just any thoughts you have about needlework, email us at news@inspirationsstudios.com

The wait is over! Today is the official launch of the new Home Sweet Home | 10th Anniversary Edition.

To mark the occasion of 10 years since Carolyn Pearce’s workbox became an international phenomenon, Home Sweet Home has been refreshed and extended.

A Timeless Masterpiece
Rich in detail and lavished with an extravagance of stitches, Home Sweet Home is worked in the finest of materials. A fully functioning sewing workbox disguised as an English cottage that opens to reveal a lift-out tray with 12 coordinated stitching accessories neatly stored inside.

During planning for production of the 10th Anniversary Edition, we all felt it was important to ensure there was something new inside for everyone.

Updated
The internal fabric lining in Carolyn’s original workbox is no longer in production, so a gorgeous ivory and fern green spotted fabric has been chosen, to brighten the inside as well as making construction a little easier with no patterns to line up.

Expanded
Inside the 10th Anniversary Edition, you will find three additional accessories bringing the total to 12. The Bodkin Holder, previously available only in Inspirations issue #92, has been included in the book for the first time, plus two new, never before released pieces, the Scissor Sheath and Pinwheel, especially created by Carolyn for the 10th Anniversary, are also included.

Refreshed
With new photography, revised easy to read layout, a complete requirements list added to help make sourcing easy, errata updates, three pattern sheets now included and a special forward by Carolyn, this is one house renovation you can’t miss out on!

Home Sweet Home | 10th Anniversary Edition is a special publication worthy of this milestone anniversary celebration. Be sure to purchase your collectors’ copy today.

Interested in purchasing a kit for Home Sweet Home? Click below for more information…

Although only native to certain parts of the world, the tiny hummingbird is a creature everyone is familiar with. Perhaps it is because of its diminutive size; maybe it’s because of its amazing ability to flap its wings faster than the eye can see; or it could be the exquisite colouring.

The glorious green and blue hummingbird designed by Trish Burr is the project featured for the month of April in the Inspirations Calendar.

First appearing in Inspirations issue #105, like all of Trish’s projects, this one was incredibly popular. The range of colours required to complete the project was dazzling, and the personality of the main subject shone through.

Worked in Trish’s characteristic threadpainting technique, Hummingbird & Flower will provide hours of stitching pleasure. The finished piece doesn’t just benefit from the gorgeous combinations of colours, but the dramatic dark outlines really highlight the design. It is definitely a stitched masterpiece and will take pride of place in any room, no matter the month of year.

If you’ve been reading about all of the gorgeous Au Ver à Soie products we have available over the past few weeks, but you found yourself wondering which one to choose, we have just the solution for you.

Au Ver à Soie produces some of the finest silk threads in the world and are suitable for all types of needlework applications. Their range of threads include:

Soie d’Alger = spun silk thread, stranded (7 strands)
Soie de Paris = filament silk thread, stranded (6 strands)
Soie Gobelins = filament silk thread, 2 ply non-divisible
Soie Perlée = filament silk thread, 3 ply non-divisible
Metallise Tressé = braided thread with metallic appearance

If you’re not sure which thread will work with what, or would like to experiment with a few first, then our Discovery Packs are exactly what you need.

This week we are pleased to announce we have the Au Ver à Soie Discovery Packs back in stock, plus the arrival of a brand-new colour option – Glazig.

Spring Discovery Pack includes a range of soft pastel colours, with a fabulous Metallise Tressé in a subtle rainbow sparkle.

Glazig Discovery Pack is bursting with bright vivid colours, including orange and blue and a glorious sparkling pink.

Once you’ve experienced these fabulous threads, you’ll never want to use anything else. Order your discovery pack today for a stitching experience like no other.

Are you ready for another line up of amazing textile artists to admire and follow in your social media feed? Here are our favourite recommendations this month:

Emily Botelho is a textile artist from Manchester, whose nature inspired hoop art is truly magnificent. Imagine your wall covered in these exquisite works of art! Check out more of Emily’s work HERE.

Ana Diab weaves amazing panels in a dizzying array of sizes, patterns and textures, with gentle experimentation being her forte. You can view Ana’s work HERE.

Laura produces adorable textile creatures and cushions from soft cotton velvet, corduroy and wool felt which are specifically made to be held. More of her adorable creatures can be seen HERE.

The first thing to strike us about Brandi’s work was the subtle, pastel colours. She uses a wide variety of techniques to produce a gloriously coherent body of work, more of which can be seen HERE.

Don’t forget you can also enjoy our daily social media posts showcasing needlework designs, embroidery artists and other fabulous stitching centric musings. Follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram today.

From wares to kits and all kinds of tricks, if it is just in or has recently come back in stock, you’ll discover it below.

Presently over 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, with the UN predicting that number to rise to 68% by 2050. That means a good proportion of us spend much of our lives in built up areas, separated almost entirely from nature.

Recent studies are showing how important trees and plants are for our well-being, and how our disconnection from nature is affecting our mental health.

You may have heard of Arcadia from various science fiction shows, or even read about it in novels. The term came from a Greek province that existed during the time of antiquity and boasted a stunning landscape and sparse, pastoral population.

Even back then, city dwellers longed for the simplicity of that kind of life, and it wasn’t long before the term Arcadia became ubiquitous as a poetic description of an idyllic, unspoilt wilderness which was wonderful, but virtually unattainable.

The idea of this kind of landscape remains in the modern, collective imagination and can be seen in films and TV shows to this day. If anyone remembers seeing James Cameron’s film, Avatar (2009), you’ll recognise how the idea of Arcadia, populated with virtuous and uncorrupted individuals, still captures our hearts and minds today.

As such, the name suits those embroidery designs which display a glorious, natural world filled with colour, light and fantastical creatures – something that describes Brenda Sortwell’s latest design as seen in Inspirations magazine issue #109 perfectly.

You may remember Brenda’s piece ‘Morris Magic’ from A Passion for Needlework | Blakiston Creamery, which featured William Morris inspired crewel embroidery. In her new project Brenda combines a fascinating and beautiful collection of real and imagined flowers with an elegant bird sporting brilliant plumage, blending in perfectly with the natural surroundings he inhabits.

Brenda’s colour selection really enhances the effect of this unique work of art. By combining the jewel tones of teal, aqua and pink, with muted browns and greens and hints of purple, the idyllic nature of the scene is captured beautifully.

From fluffy Ghiordes knots through to plump satin stitched areas, festoons of French knots and a fabulous mix of open space and dense stitching, the array of stitches provides perfect balance to this piece.

To achieve success while stitching Arcadia, stitch placement and direction is vitally important, particularly for the large sections of satin stitch and long and short stitch that make up the main bird.

His cheeky face, formed exquisitely by the shape of the beak and a carefully placed eye, is perfectly expressive.

Although most of us don’t have the luxury of living in a pastoral paradise surrounded by unspoilt nature it doesn’t mean we can’t dream about it, imagine it, or try to emulate it in our art. By stitching Brenda Sortwell’s latest project, you are giving yourself a chance to rest in the peace of the mythic Arcadia, as well as promising the opportunity to revisit it in your imagination every time you see this wonderful project up on the wall.

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Arcadia by Brenda Sortwell is an ornate bird surrounded by flowers and foliage using the fabulous traditions of Jacobean crewel embroidery.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Arcadia includes everything* you need to re-create this stunning bird: 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 magazine/digital pattern.

Jacobean Stag by Phillipa Turnbull from Inspirations issue #101 is an elegant crewel panel featuring a splendid stag overlooking leafy hillocks.

Can’t See the Forest by Betsy Morgan from Inspirations issue #96 is a superb sewing box featuring an enchanting forest, full of beautiful trees and alive with the sounds of birds and animals.

Garden of Earthly Delights by Margaret Light from Inspirations issue #62 is a stunning cushion with a wonderful design of colourful parrots amidst stems of exotic foliage, flowers and berries, echoes the lavish style of the Jacobean period.

Jacobean Hunt by Phillipa Turnbull from A Passion for Needlework | Factoria VII is a magnificent crewel design filled with dynamic motifs.

For anyone who has ever tackled a large cross stitch project, you’ll know that completing it is always a cause for celebration. They take many hours of painstaking work and for every completed cross stitch in the world, there are probably 100 abandoned projects sitting in drawers and cupboards. So, the finished cross stitch projects we have for you today all deserve a round of applause, what amazing achievements!

‘This is a design by Ekaterina Volkova which I finished recently. She has her own following online because of how thoughtful her patterns are. They contain an exceptional blending of colours and it is a pleasure to work with them. She creates her own original patterns and also reworks famous works of art into cross stitch.’

The detail is fabulous and your finish is exceptional, Lyudmila. The combination of a great designer and a great stitcher has produced a masterpiece.

‘Many years ago, my beloved Dad brought home for me a DMC collection of cross stitch patterns based on Pre-Raphaelite paintings.’

‘I asked him to choose the one he liked the best. He chose Convent Lily, based on a painting by a female Pre-Raphaelite artist named Maria Spartali Stillman. I finished it for him in 2007, two years before he died at the age of 87. It had pride of place in his house and now hangs in mine.’

‘Now, I have decided to stitch another one of these as I am an admirer of the Arts and Crafts movement and the Pre-Raphaelite painters. I have chosen one based on the painting Il Ramoscello (The Twig) by Dante Gabriel Rosetti painted in 1865.

I love to do surface embroidery, hooking and needlepoint but do a lot of cross stitch too. The counting is meditative. Of course, when you make a mistake, it is very frustrating to unpick, but that is part of the process.’

These are beautiful projects, Christine. It shows what incredible results come out of persistence and dedication, well done.

‘I am a mom of four and wife to a Coast Guard. I love cross stitch and recently completed ‘The Departure’ which took over 5 years to finish.’

‘I started it when on bed rest with my third child after he knocked out two of my ribs! The pattern I had was not colour coded, so I coloured the pattern while recovering. The following year, I began stitching.

We moved three times, added a fourth baby to the mix, and then a dog and a cat. No wonder it took five years! Finished, the sewn picture is 20” x 12” (51cm x 31cm) or around 312,000 stabs!’

What an impressive finish, despite everything else in your life that was going on! Remarkable effort, Crystal, congratulations.

‘During lockdown I finished this piece, which had taken 2 years and 8 months in total to complete. It is 34” x 30” (86cm x 76cm). I added my own element to this piece by designing the Herdwick and including it alongside the other sheep. The original design is by Thea Gouverneur.’

What an impressive finish, Luiza. This should have pride of place on your wall.

Are you proud of a large cross stitch project which you’ve seen through to completion? Or do you prefer to stitch little projects that can be completed quickly? Whatever you like to stitch, we’d love to see it! Send us a picture of your completed work as well as a bit of information about the project and your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com

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Pretty in Pink by Trish Burr is an adorable Australian rose robin resting on a splendid magnolia depicted in threadpainting.

Christmas Robin by Nicola Jarvis from Inspirations issue #108 is a royal robin resplendent in his sequin-studded Yuletide robes.

Robin by Trish Burr from Inspirations issue #69 is a superb threadpainted study of the dainty European Robin (Erithacus rubecula).

Red Robin by Helen M. Stevens from Inspirations issue #67 is a vibrant threadpainted picture featuring a scarlet-breasted robin amongst a charming garland of foliage and berries.

Winter's Song by Trish Burr from Inspirations issue #88 is a sweet threadpainted robin resting on a sprig of holly.

~ Mary DeMuth ~

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.