After determining to get ‘Back to It’ in All Stitched Up! issue #316, working our way through our sense of being overwhelmed in ASU #317, we have ‘Day Stacked’ ourselves into this issue, ASU #318!

After recalling the idea of Day Stacking just a week ago, we decided that our small, daily step to get through the folder of emails we’d accumulated was to begin with a single author. We started with Hiut Denim Co.

Julie Beeler grew up in Oregon and developed a deep love and curiosity for the natural world, finding herself drawn to mushrooms in particular. After many years of experimentation, Julie has created an index of beautiful and subtle colours derived from mushrooms. If you’re looking for a resource to inform your time with needle and thread with the most natural of colour stories, Julie’s Mushroom Colour Atlas is indispensable.

After noticing the thread of kindness in comments they’d received from their readers, Cup of Jo thought they should share as many as possible. They started with a heartwarming collection of 12 stories of kindness from all around the world.

Creative Bloom have become one of the United Kingdom’s leading platforms dedicated to delivering news, inspiration, insight and advice to creative industries the world over. After being intrigued by their article on ‘The 10 Pieces of Photo and Video Kit that Changed the Game’, we found ourselves wondering if it’s possible to create a similar list for our time with needle and thread. Is there a tool in your needlework toolkit that’s changed your stitching ‘game’? We’d love you to email news@inspirationsstudios.com as we look to compile our very own list - ‘The Pieces of Needle and Thread Kit that Changed the Game’.

Whilst we’re yet to read it ourselves, Hiut Denim Co pointed us in the direction of ‘Rituals for Every Day’. Think giving thanks before you eat rather than eating on the run, reading an inspirational book instead of scrolling through social media or writing in a gratitude journal as an alternative to switching on the TV. These small, simple suggestions encouraged us to add Rituals for Every Day to our Reading List for the year ahead and we think it might just be the antidote we need to help press the pause button on the sometimes-hectic pace of modern life!

Until our next installment of inspiration from Hiut Denim Co’s Scrapbook Chronicles…

Inspirations is home to the world’s most beautiful needlework, encompassing a hugely diverse category of all things stitched. This includes the much loved technique of smocking, which is enjoying a resurgence in popularity of late.

In All Stitched Up! issue #312 we featured the article ‘The Enduring Appeal of Smocking’ covering this very topic. This article struck a chord with many of our readers, who in return sent in lots of kind comments and messages as well as some wonderful stories about their own smocking journeys.

Lynda Matthews told us how much she missed the Australian Smocking & Embroidery (AS&E) magazines. She was never really interested in smocking until she came across AS&E issue #26 in an heirloom sewing shop. This started her collection, which she continued all the way through the final issue #100. She’s still hunting for the AS&E issues missing from her collection (#1 through #25) and while she’s found a couple, she hopes to come across them all someday. We wish you luck with your search, Lynda. Some of those early issues should be about somewhere on eBay, in second-hand shops or needlework shops, although they're not always easy to find.

Janet Henry says she loves seeing smocked dresses, but she’s only really ‘played’ at doing it herself. Janet agreed with the article finding that, in her experience, smocking is just as relevant now as it used to be. Her own granddaughter used to receive a smocked dress every Easter from one of her grandmas, and loved every one of them.

We had a request from Anne Johnson asking about where she might find instructional resources and smocking supplies, as she has a smocked Easter project in her craft closet that has been languishing because she’s not sure how to proceed with it. Anne is in the USA, so if any of our American readers can help, she’d be very grateful. Anne, we also have smocking resources available in our online shop HERE including our publications, A-Z of Sewing for Smockers and A-Z of Smocking that are filled with step-by-step instructions on smocking stitches. We hope you can find what you need and we’d love to see the project when you get it finished.

Laraine thanked us for the article and told us that she’s been smocking for over 50 years. She started when she was in high school and she still has a baby dress that she smocked in 1960. She’s always smocked for her family and has loved doing it for them, as well as for friends and their families. Laraine helps to exemplify what we meant when we said that smocking is just as relevant today as it was in the past!

Also in All Stitched Up! issue #312 we featured a news item about historic embroideries for sale at auction in the UK. This prompted Mary Trounson to share with us a story about her own historic sampler (shown below) stitched by Elizabeth Eady Hawes in 1831 when she was 9 years old. Elizabeth had four children, but died around age 30.

The sampler was passed down to Mary, coming to her in an old-fashioned frame, with silverfish holes and smoke damage. She had it cleaned and restored and it now hangs safely in her house, out of the sunlight and with museum-quality glass. The restorer told Mary it had been stitched in silk on wool, and the historic selvedge markings can still be seen.

Even when Mary was a child she was intrigued by the stitching when she would see the sampler at her Grandmother’s house.

The verse featured on the sampler read:

Contemplate when the sun declines
Thy death with deep reflection
And when again its rising shines
The day of resurrection

Mary is proud to be the custodian of this small historical record. She says it may be the only acknowledgement that Elizabeth ever lived, so it is very important. She hopes that she may be able to pass it on one day to someone who will take as much care of it as she has.

Finally this week, Lalah wrote to us about family. She grew up with a big family around her, so special occasions were always busy. She thought that could never end, but now many of her family members have passed away, and those that are still alive are in different parts of the country.

Particularly in these past couple of years, it has been impossible for Lalah to see them, so she’s advised people who have family near to them to hug them tight.

Without family close by, Lalah said she’s grateful that every Friday she receives All Stitched Up! in her inbox as it makes her feel that she’s part of a big family. She recognises so many names of contributors and has favourites who she loves to get ideas from.

We’re so glad that we can bring you together with all the other wonderful people in the All Stitched Up! community, Lalah. It is why we do what we do and in a small way, helps to bring the (needlework) world closer together.

One of the most widely used and loved crewel wool brands simply has to be Appletons. Known across the world, including being the crewel wool of choice at the Royal School of Needlework in London, Appletons has a huge range of colours and is beautifully fine. The result is always exquisite detail in crewel and other wool projects.

If you’ve never had the opportunity to use Appletons before, we have just added a thread pack to our website offering you the perfect introduction.

With a glorious selection of bright colours, the pack contains seven skeins of wool and is ideal for traditional crewel work, embroidered blankets, canvas work or any other technique you can think of.

Find out why everyone raves about Appletons wools today.

Is your stash looking a bit light on after some serious crafting over the Christmas and New Year period? Perhaps it is time to replenish it with a cost-effective bundle of Liberty fabric! The finest quality and with prints like no other, this bundle would be perfect for quilting, sewing or a whole range of textile projects. The only limit is your imagination.

The bundle includes five medium weight fat quarters (50cm x 55cm) in the following designs:

- Hampstead Meadow Pink
- Forget-me-not Blossom Pink
- Arley Garden
- Mary Rose
- Emily Silhouette Flower Red

A healthy stash is just what you need for a happy stitcher!

We received a request from a reader for a pattern from way back in Inspirations issue #41. It is a beautiful embroidery, so we’re so glad Beth Marshall contacted us as we’re sure everyone will appreciate it.

Beth wrote: ‘I'm wondering if you can help me find a pattern from Inspirations issue #41. It is a lovely pattern of a grapevine that I would like to attempt. Unfortunately, I have mislaid my copy of this issue. I have probably lent it to a friend as I've looked high and low and still can't find it.’

This is an enormously satisfying form of whitework that originated in Italy in the 19th century and is traditionally worked in monochrome. The texture of this technique is amazing and Vintage is an heirloom project if there ever was one.

Vintage is now available to purchase and download as a digital pattern.

If you have a project from a past issue of Inspirations you would like released as a digital pattern, just send us a request and we’ll add it to our list.

A lot of people have had difficulties in the past couple of years, with businesses failing and income sources drying up. However, Norlisa Mohamad Nor from Malaysia decided to do something about it. When her family’s photocopying business started to struggle, Norlisa turned to online learning.

She did a course to learn how to crochet large portraits, called ‘graphgans’. These amazing pieces are worked like cross stitch or picture knitting, where each square is worked in a particular colour to create a large image. Working from complicated charts, Norlisa soon perfected the art.

She’s turned her new skills into a business, with her beautifully crocheted portraits now available for sale online. It goes to show that in difficult times, turning to handcrafts can sometimes be exactly what is needed to get through.

You can read more about Norlisa’s spectacular work HERE.

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

Christine Burton has been a beloved contributor to Inspirations for a number of years now. Many readers will know her work as she produces exquisite, three-dimensional pieces that are stitched using traditional blackwork techniques and constructed into something quite unique.

Christine is certificate trained from the Royal School of Needlework in London and has a particular passion for embroidery from the 17th Century, as well as a love for the Arts & Crafts era.

These twin areas of interests inform a lot of her designs, but she enjoys adding something extra to her pieces, making full use of the wonderful range of threads, beads, sparkles and accessories available to us in this day and age.

There is no doubt that our readers have loved Christine’s designs, such a Limonera Pear that appeared in A Passion For Needlework | Blakiston Creamery. On occasion we’ve heard people say that they adore Christine’s projects, have never done blackwork before and are looking for somewhere to start.

We present Squarely Check – a fantastic beginner’s blackwork project that Christine has designed to introduce every stitcher to this historical technique. There couldn’t be a better way to start out than with this delightful pincushion. The blackwork motifs are complicated enough that a beginner will really get the hang of how to do it, while an experienced stitcher will still gain huge pleasure from it. The results are simply gorgeous.

The pattern for the design is incredibly clear, so even a stitcher who tends to avoid counted work will have no problem following the steps. Naturally, careful counting is required to ensure everything squares up and the lines and balance between the different motifs are even.

As you work this project, you’ll soon discover the pleasure that comes from seeing the pattern emerge with each stitch.

Squarely Check does require construction skills, but once again, they are not so insurmountable as to put a nervous stitcher off. The careful touches, such as a checked piping around the edge and the tiny tassels on each corner, ensure that this pincushion will be one to be proud of, and they set the central blackwork design off perfectly.

If you’ve ever looked at one of Christine’s projects and dreamed of being able to do it one day, here is the stepping stone to get you there. Once you have completed Squarely Check, we guarantee you’ll have the confidence to try out all her other projects.

Squarely Check is also perfect if you’re looking for a smaller project to do, or you just want to relax with your stitching and produce something beautiful in less time. It really is a project for everyone, and is sure to become yet another favourite amongst Christine Burton’s collection of fantastic designs.

Please note: Our team work tirelessly to ensure the information included in our publications is accurate, however every now and then an error does sneak through. Since publishing the instructions for ‘Squarely Check’ it has come to our attention that there were errors in the chart printed on page 83 of the magazine. Please refer to the Errata document on our website HERE for the updated chart.

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Squarely Check by Christine Burton is an elegant pincushion with timeless flower and star motifs.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Squarely Check includes everything* you need to re-create this sweet pincushion: Fabrics (unprinted), mini piping, fibre-fill, firm card, embroidery thread and needles.

Spanish Lace by Christine Burton from Inspirations issue #105 is a gorgeous blackwork embroidered cushion with golden highlights.

Aurora by Christine Burton from Inspirations issue #97 features timeless crewel designs on a handy, zipped pouch.

Celeste Fig by Christine Burton from the book The Design Collective | Pincushions is a three-dimensional fig with beaded blackwork designs creating texture and shading.

Limonera Pear by Christine Burton from the book A Passion for Needlework | Blakiston Creamery is an inventive three-dimensional pear pincushion featuring contemporary blackwork.

When samplers were first stitched, they were designed as instructional tools. The making of the sampler would teach the embroiderer how to do the stitch, and then the finished piece would be used as an ongoing reference. Today, we stitch samplers because we love them. They come in all shapes and sizes, using all types of techniques and stitches. Here are a few from our readers that give you an idea of the myriad samplers out there.

Congratulations, Nancy, on finishing this incredible project and on your book. Both take talent and dedication, which you clearly have in spades!

You’ve combined a fascinating range of stitches and fibres, all brought together in beautiful autumnal shades, Holly. We’re not surprised this is your favourite ever piece.

‘Finishing the sampler into a cushion was tight, completed 20 minutes before the rehearsal on the evening before the wedding. So, the cushion and my dear Mum had a central role in my daughter’s wedding the following day. The bride and groom were delighted with the special cushion and will treasure it for years to come.’

What a lovely story, Judith. Thank you for sharing how stitching allows people to remain with us forever, even after they have passed. The quality of your stitching is superb, and we can only imagine how emotional it would have been to have the ring cushion play a role on your daughters’ special day.

Do you love stitching samplers? Do you swoon every time you see a sampler pattern, knowing you have to buy it even though you’ve already got 500 others at home? Do you like to make up your own samplers, playing with stitches, motifs and words to create something personal?

Whatever it is you like to stitch, we’d like to see it. Send us a picture of your work with a bit of information about the project and your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com

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Sweet Eglantine by Cynthia Jackson is a graceful, soft pink rose beautifully depicted with silk and metal threads.

Chatelaine by Susan O'Connor from Inspirations issue #89 is an elegant set of sewing accessories worked in rich reds and creams for the Tudor rose and soft pinks and creams for Rosa eglantine.

Gloriana by Betsy Morgan from Inspirations issue #98 is a stunning counted work reticule with needlebook and scissor fob depicting the eglantine rose of England, thistle of Scotland and shamrock of Ireland.

Bristol Bag Etui from the book Willing Hands 2 is a stunning red and white linen bag etui featuring a sampler alphabet, spot motifs and English paper piecing.

Silken Dreams by Kris Richards from Inspirations issue #66 is a pattern for two elegant silk needlework bags perfect for carrying your needlework supplies.

French Style by Angelique Benseghir-Vergnault from Inspirations issue #59 is a superb sewing bag and accessories simply oozing with Parisian grace and charm.

~ Zig Ziglar ~

Stay informed of upcoming needlework events taking place all around the world with our new What’s On page on the Inspirations Studios Website HERE.