In last week’s issue of All Stitched Up! we unpacked the idea that when we discover a way to see familiar sights as if for the very first time, a renewed sense of wonder surrounds us, and that when we remember that starting never ends, any day becomes the perfect day to start starting.

Since penning those words, we came across an article by Tom Vanderbilt that unpacked this idea a little further. Tom’s article was entitled ‘The Joys of Being an Absolute Beginner - for Life’.

After his daughter, who at the time was almost four, pleaded with him to play chess, a game that Tom knew about in theory but certainly not in practice, he decided to learn the game so he was able to teach his daughter.

He began his quest for learning, as many of us do, by consulting Google! Whilst he quickly became proficient at beating the weakest computer opponent, the complexities of the game became all too apparent and as he didn’t want to try to teach what he knew badly, Tom decided to hire a coach.

Like many of us, Tom was hoping to pass through the all too awkward stage of being a beginner as quickly as possible. However, he soon realised that the beginning stage of anything is one we should pay close attention to as once it is lost it's hard to get back.

This idea appears foreign as is testament in our quest for improvement and command and the speed at which we hope to traverse the gap from beginner to master. However, as Tom discovered throughout his journey to learn chess, once the beginner’s mindset is lost, you begin to notice less and your behaviour becomes more automatic as you find safety in the knowledge you’ve acquired.

Now whilst there are benefits to progress as we become more efficient in our problem solving processes and the efficiency at which we’re able to complete a set task, it’s also been shown that ‘doctors learning a spinal surgery technique committed the most errors not on the first or second try, but on the fifteenth, and that pilot errors meanwhile seem to peak not in the earliest stages but after about 800 hours of flight time.’

We guess there really is some truth in the adage that familiarity breeds contempt!

Although Tom acknowledges that we all want to get better, his hope is that ‘even as our skills improve, and our knowledge and experience grow’, he hopes to ‘encourage the preservation, or even cultivation, of that spirit of the novice: the naïve optimism, the hypervigilant alertness that comes with novelty and insecurity, the willingness to look foolish, and the permission to ask obvious questions – the unencumbered beginner’s mind’.

We appreciated the food for thought that we found in Tom’s writing and hope that next time we pick up needle and thread we’re able to approach our time as if a beginner once more, with fresh eyes that are less burdened by past experience and find ourselves open to the wider possibilities our needlework can afford us all over again.

Threading needles is one of those things we can’t avoid doing. It’s often said that once you’ve threaded a needle 10,000 times, you can’t help but become adept at it, but we’re all open to learning new tips and techniques to make this necessary task easier.

Lalah offered a tip that works for all kinds of thread, from cotton through to wool. After trimming the end, pinch it between your thumb and forefinger so the end is hidden. Without letting up the pressure, slide the eye of the needle between your fingers where the thread end is, and hey presto! the thread ends up in the needle.

It means you can get your needle threaded quickly, and happily get on with your stitching.

Alice Person wrote to us about licking the thread. She learnt to do this from her mother, who was a talented seamstress. Her mother advocated licking the thread end, then flattening it between thumb and forefinger. This flat end will then slide through the dry eye of the needle. It doesn’t seem to work as well with plain water, as the water doesn’t hold the thread fibres together.

But Alice also wanted to dispel a belief about licked threads ‘rotting fabric’. She described a gorgeous wedding gown covered in tiny pearls. Her mother had painstakingly sewn the pearls on, licking her thread in her usual fashion. Alison said that 50 years later, the gown is still in perfect condition without the slightest sign of deterioration.

Also, Heather Blair directed us to an online article HERE showing a failsafe way to thread a needle. The piece is written by a tailor and Heather has said she’s used the technique with success every time.

Responding to the discussion about using scraps, we were charmed by a message from Cristina Casoli from Italy. Cristina has written in before, describing her beloved cat, Teodolinda. It seems that nothing goes to waste in Cristina’s house. Every morning she brushes her cat (something Teodolinda loves) and collects up all the fur. She is planning on her creating her own very special biscournu based on Rosewood Manor’s Lighthouse Island, stuffing it with Teodolinda’s hair.

Dawn Beck informed us that a lot of charity shops in the UK are happy to take bags of scrap wool, thread and fabric that they sell to fabric manufacturers to make ‘shoddy’. Shoddy is where old materials are used to make new cloth. It was something done frequently in the Yorkshire Mills in the past, but is now coming back into vogue. If you’re curious, you can read about the history of shoddy HERE.

In Have Your Say in All Stitched Up issue #284, Pat Demharter had asked what drew other stitchers to particular projects. Anne Shields wrote in with a wonderful story about her family and how they had shaped her own choices.

At one point she had wanted to learn to crochet, so her mother had given her a book and, although had offered help if needed, had expected Anne to read the book and figure it out… which, she did!

Anne’s father had been a draughtsman and had handmade everything from a sewing machine cabinet to the family’s winter coats. The inspiration from both her parents led Anne to draw and paint, and now, with walls full to bursting already, she has turned to making practical items with her needle and thread to give away as gifts. The self-sufficiency that she learnt from her upbringing has led her to where she is today.

Finally, Judy Lawrance was encouraged by the welcome in All Stitched Up! issue #284 that included the quote ‘you are enough’, as she so often feels like she is not enough with her sewing and quilting. However, she acknowledges all of those ‘poor, unfortunate souls’ who don’t know the joy of stitching and how none of them ever see the imperfections of her work, so perhaps we should try and ignore our imperfections too. And to that sentiment we whole heartedly agree.

Thank you for everyone’s participation this week and as always please keep on writing in and sending us your thoughts. Our inbox is always open.

We were just pondering the thought here at Inspirations HQ whether it was possible to ever have too many needle threaders? This is partly because you always need one on hand, but also because so many of them simply don’t last.

Or for those having trouble mastering the manual techniques suggested in this week’s Have Your Say segment, this is where the Clover Embroidery Threader comes into its own.

Rather than a fine wire to put through the eye of the needle, this needle threader has a flat metal loop that slips through the eye of an embroidery needle effortlessly and then slides your thread back through with ease.

Beautifully designed, easy to hold and with a handy cover to protect the metal loop, the Clover Embroidery Threader leaves all others in the dust. You’ll want to have one of these in every place you need to thread a needle – your embroidery kit, by your stitching chair, tucked into each etui. You’ll wonder what you ever did without them!

Despite the funny name, it seems that the needlework community is very enthusiastic about the Twizzler, a fantastic wooden tool designed specifically for helping you tighten the wingnuts on your hoop stand. No matter how young or old we are, or how strong we feel, sometimes we need a bit of help to get that pesky wingnut tight enough. That is where the Twizzler comes into its own.

They are beautifully made and perfectly shaped to fit every hand so why not take the effort out of tightening your hoop stand and order one today.

For those of us who love digital patterns and the ease and convenience they offer, this week we have three more from Inspirations issue #78 to whet your appetite.

Baby Bunting by Nancy Lee is an adorable baby blanket dotted with the cutest baby motifs imaginable. It is perfect for that new arrival, be it a boy or girl. Worked in a combination of stranded and perlé cottons, this blanket is ideal for a beginner or for anyone needing a project finished sooner than later, especially if the arrival date is getting a bit too close for comfort!

For lovers of journaling or sketching, In Writing is a stunning floral journal cover designed by Jill Newton. Worked in appliqué, this design is one that can be completed in a weekend making it perfect for gifting. The instructions include everything you need to construct the journal cover and can be adapted to suit any size book.

Finally, for anyone currently shivering away whilst enduring the winter cold, Roses Delight by Heidi Reid is a cosy hot-water bottle cover made with soft cashmere velour and a stunning raised embroidery design. The design is so beautiful that it’s way too nice to stay hidden under the covers.

The above projects are all available to purchase from our website now, and while you’re there, why not look through our huge library of digital patterns – with over 550 to choose from, you’re sure to find the perfect next project to stitch.

Trish Burr is undoubtedly a firm favourite with the stitching community, due to her skills as a designer, her ability to teach challenging techniques effectively and her beautiful, friendly personality.

Trish is a master of long and short stitch and has spent years producing stunning, photo-quality designs with glorious shading and she has a knack for colour, including her unique whitework with colour designs.

Here at Inspirations, we stock a whole range of Trish’s kits, including her long and short stitch designs as well as a number of her whitework designs.

You may be new to Trish Burr designs or you might be her biggest fan; whichever camp you fall into why not have a look at the kits we have in stock so you can enjoy her work for the first, or hundredth time.

Each kit comes with full instructions and all the materials you need to create a piece to be proud of, and if you’re not already a member we’re pretty confident you’ll be joining the Trish Burr fan club very soon!

Crochet often makes you think of fawn-coloured doilies or thick baby blankets, but the lace-like structure of crochet is something that makes it unique. Choi+Shine Architects have embraced the ethereal nature of the craft and have become renowned for designing large scale art installations made exclusively out of crochet.

These beautiful pieces have appeared all over the world, from Scottsdale, Arizona in the USA to Liverpool in the UK. Designed particularly to capture the light, the artworks appear lacy and airy and harmonise beautifully in the vast array of settings they have been installed in to date.

The Urchins series is one that really takes your breath away. Each crocheted urchin is gigantic yet appears as if it might dissolve at the slightest breath of wind. It is no wonder the work of this incredible team enjoys international acclaim.

If you’d like to see more of the amazing work of Choi+Shine Architects, you can check out their website HERE.

Jane Nicholas is renowned the world over for her beautiful stumpwork designs. The reason her work is so popular is that she has an uncanny ability to capture nature and translate it into needlework in such a perfect way, it is sometimes difficult to believe her pieces are stitched at all, such is their realism.

Dogwood & Lacewing from A Passion for Needlework 3 | Blakiston Creamery, is right up there with some of her finest designs and is a stunning project to stitch.

There are leaves, flowers, fruits and insects, all vying for attention and all adding to the perfection of this intricate project.

On one side of the floral wreath sits the lacewing. This beautifully named insect is a gardener’s friend as the larvae love to feast on aphids, mites and whiteflies. When they become adults, they lay their eggs in a U-shape on the underside of a leaf for protection, laying up to 600 eggs across their three to four week lifespan. The larvae hatch, and the cycle begins again.

If they weren’t already a welcome visitor to the garden because of their appetite for eating unwanted pests, the sparkling, diaphanous wings of these little creatures are just gorgeous, making them a joy to watch on a warm afternoon.

As your eye travels around Jane’s circle, it passes the plump, tactile berries and alights upon a colourful butterfly.

It seems to have settled on the stalk of a flower, pausing on its busy hunt for nectar. It is so realistic, you can almost see the wings gently opening and closing as the butterfly cools itself before taking off again in a flash of colour.

The next delight on the visual journey are the dogwood flowers. There are four flowers in this design, each showing a slightly different colour gradation, indicating how mature the flower is. The dogwood, or more accurately the flowering dogwood, is a tree or shrub that comes in several varieties.

The most commonly known is Cornus florida that, when in bloom, produces a mass of soft pink or white flowers and is a favourite of bees and insects alike. Although a native of North America, this tree grows in many parts of the world, and the flower has come to symbolise reliability and durability as well as purity and a signal of affection.

When the eye finally returns to the shimmering wings of the lacewing, it has taken in all of the glories of this fantastic project, and it is almost guaranteed that the fingers will be itching to stitch it.

Dogwood & Lacewing offers so much to delight the stitcher, from beading and detached elements, through to subtly shaded petals and leaves stitched in luscious silks in long and short stitch.

Without doubt this design is both luxurious to stitch and will result in an heirloom piece to be proud of once framed and hanging on the wall.

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Dogwood & Lacewing by Jane Nicholas from the book A Passion for Needlework | Blakiston Creamery is a beautiful stumpwork study of dogwood blooms arranged in a wreath, with a caterpillar, butterfly and lacewing.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Dogwood & Lacewing includes everything* you need to re-create this delightful scene: Fabrics (unprinted), wool felt, fusible webbing, dressmaker’s carbon, wires, embroidery threads, beads 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.

Cherry Delight by Jane Nicholas from Inspirations issue #97 is a superb stumpwork roundel with goldwork and beading.

Punica Granatum by Jane Nicholas from Inspirations issue #73 is an elegant pomegranate tree and goldwork beetle personalised with the embroiderer's initial.

Lacewing & Dogwood by Jane Nicholas from Inspirations issue #88 is a superb study of a dainty lacewing resting on a stem of pink dogwood.

Corncockle and Dragonfly by Jane Nicholas from the book A Passion for Needlework 1 is a superb stumpwork study of the corncockle and insects.

The technique of stumpwork can be intimidating at times to the new stitcher.

But stumpwork projects in general, and Jane Nicholas’s designs in particular, continue to grow in popularity.

As anyone who has tried one will know, if you follow the instructions, you’ll end up with a stunning raised embroidery project and you’ll wonder why you ever felt afraid. Here are a few projects from our community to inspire you:

‘This is my first attempt at stumpwork. It’s from a class I did with Jane Nicholas last year. I did the dragonfly's wings three times before I was happy with them.’

What an amazing first attempt, Jenni! The finish is fabulous – you should be very proud of what you’ve accomplished and kudos for your perseverance in getting the wings just right.

‘Over the years I have tried my hand at many different needlework techniques. I had a difficult profession and found relaxation in embroidery! This is a piece I embroidered from Jane Nicholas’s books on stumpwork. It was quite demanding, but I really enjoyed the challenge.’

It’s a fantastic piece, Norma. It sounds like the extra attention to detail required to stitch a project like this was a welcome distraction from your job. Jane’s designs are really beautiful, particularly when they are completed by such talented stitchers!

‘Since we have been in some form of lockdown now for over a year, I have managed to complete a number of projects. I needed a challenge! I seem to gravitate towards stumpwork, so I checked all my books and magazines.’

‘I don't like starting a new project but once I am involved, I love every minute of it. I did three small Jane Nicholas designs and really enjoyed stitching the dogwood spray from A Passion for Needlework 1.’

‘My most recent project is the poppies designed by Alison Cole. In all cases I tried to hone my techniques and enjoyed the creativity of the designers.’

You are a true inspiration, Mavis! Your prolific catalogue of work is amazing to behold. We always love receiving pictures of your finished pieces and we know our readers love to see them as much as we do.

Have you tried your hand at stumpwork and fallen in love? Or did you try it once and haven’t quite got the hang of it yet? Maybe you are one of those people who can’t get enough of Jane Nicolas’s anatomically perfect designs, or perhaps you have another designer you keep gravitating towards? Whatever it is you like to stitch, we’d love to see it. Send us a picture of your work, with a bit of information about your project and your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com

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Nigella & Honesty by Margaret Light from the book A Passion for Needlework | Blakiston Creamery is a superb embroidery featuring gorgeous blooms and seed pods worked using luxurious wool and silk threads.

A Cottage Garden by Kris Richards from Inspirations issue #53 is a pretty needlecase showcasing a glorious cottage garden in full bloom.

Summer Days by Jo Butcher from Inspirations issue #101 is a delightful garden in full bloom with busy bees flying to and from their wooden hive.

Garden Party by Helen Eriksson from Inspirations issue #70 showcases a garden of beautiful silk ribbon blooms in this floral sampler.

Potpourri by Lorna Bateman from Inspirations issue #85 is a monogrammed scissor sheath adorned with an abundance of flowers, with matching fob.

~ Mastin Kipp ~

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.