Another print deadline is all but upon us at Inspirations HQ.

As the finishing touches were being put on Inspirations issue #116 and A Passion for Needlework | The Whitehouse Daylesford, our attention turned to the next title on our production schedule – the long-awaited reprint of Susan O’Connor’s ‘Flowers for Elizabeth’.

Not only will the original blanket be photographed afresh, but Susan has recreated each of the motifs from the blanket in fine silk thread, all of which will need to be captured for inclusion in the book.

And so the hunt for a location began!

Our thoughts immediately turned to Carrick Hill, a Tudor-style house located at the foot of the Adelaide Hills that is best known for its extensive artwork collection and expansive grounds. However, what was of most interest to us, was its vast collection of Jacobean oak furniture that we thought might just provide the perfect backdrop for Susan’s blanket.

Although we were supposed to be concentrating on the furniture on our recent location scout, as we stepped into the foyer, we couldn’t help but be distracted by an exquisitely embroidered three-fold screen.

The screen was embroidered by Mary Isobel Barr Smith as a gift to her daughter Ursula Hayward, who along with her husband, was Carrick Hill’s original owner. Heavily inspired by motifs used by Morris & Company, it was a true labour of love with each of its panels measuring 199.5 cm x 83.5 cm (78.5” x 33”).

Almost every room of the house contained within it something created with needle and thread. Open fireplaces housed fire screens with needlepoint inserts. Privacy screens as well as many of the footstools and chairs were similarly decorated with needlepoint. Opulent curtains were edged with intricate tassels. Beneath a lavish dinner set, the formal dining table was set with delicately embroidered placemats.

It was an informal sitting room, however, that provided the most personal of insights into how important needle and thread was to the home’s occupants. Most likely a space occupied by Ursula, alongside a lounge chair sat an open box filled with skeins of thread along with a piece of fabric, complete with transferred design, just waiting to be stitched. Above the chair, an unfinished William Morris ‘Apple Tree’ panel stitched by Mary Isobel has been preserved in glass.

It was Mary Isobel who imparted the love of stitch to Ursula and one can only imagine how often the two of them sat together in Isobel’s sitting room passing the time with needle and thread, perhaps creating much of the enviable collection that remains intact within the house today.

The anthology of pieces created with needle and thread speaks not only to their creators, but also to the owners of Carrick Hill who appreciated the value of that created by hand. It is truly a collection to be admired and envied.

We spent the last few issues of All Stitched Up! addressing the problem of transferring embroidery designs. We only scratched the surface of the issue, so we were gratified to receive some wonderful thoughts and ideas from our readers on how they tackle this. The articles also raised a few more questions and prompted a few people to want to try some of the suggestions, so we feel it has been a success all around.

Several people wanted to share some advice on Frixion pens and responded to our question asking why you’d want to freeze your embroidery. Alison Tolhurst was taught by her mother that if natural fabric has stubborn creases that won’t iron out, dampen the fabric and then place it in the freezer until frozen.

Glenda told us that one very good reason for putting your needlework in the freezer is to get rid of bedbugs! Although hot water and a hot cycle in the dryer usually takes care of them, this isn’t suitable for everything, especially your delicate embroidery. Glenda puts these pieces in the freezer for a week or so, which does the trick.

Lorraine Knox told us she knows of someone who transported their quilts to a quilt show in the aeroplane hold, only to discover on landing that all the lines made using a Frixion pen had reappeared! We can imagine there was quite a bit of last-minute ironing going on.

She also told us that a friend had used a Frixion pen to write an address on a parcel, which was then left in the car in the sun for a while. Her friend returned to discover the address had completely disappeared!

Line McBride now loves Frixion pens, but before she discovered them, she used to use a 2B lead pencil. Because the lead is softer than a regular HB pencil, she never had any problem removing the marks. She would use a soft toothbrush, cold water and a bit of detergent and they’d easily disappear.

Line did agree with us about exercising a bit of caution with Frixion pens as she has discovered some of the pen colours, especially the darker ones, can leave a mark even after you’ve used heat. This just confirms the importance of testing any pen on a corner of your fabric before you start, just to ensure it can be adequately removed.

In relation to using a lightbox, we also had several ideas sent in. Bridget O’Brien admitted that she doesn’t have a lightbox and finds it very tiring trying to draw up against a window. Her solution has been to use the plexiglass tray that is attached to her sewing machine. She tapes her fabric and pattern to the tray and with a bright LED light underneath, she has her own, homemade lightbox to use.

Ann has also found a way around having a lightbox. She removed the drop-in seat from a dining chair and placed a piece of Perspex over it. With an Anglepoise lamp underneath, Ann could transfer designs kneeling in front of the chair.

Ann also told us she has used all three types of erasable pens, although she discovered that the marks from the air soluble pens usually disappear long before she is ready! She loves Frixion pens and, when she first discovered them, would use them to transfer pattern markings from dressmaking patterns. However, she learnt the hard way to only iron a seam or dart that had already been sewn, not the whole piece. It only took her a couple of frustrating sessions of losing all her carefully drawn marks before she got into the habit.

We’ve had plenty more responses to the series that we will share in coming weeks, but it is never too late to get involved in the conversation, so don’t hesitate to write in.

Now, a little bit of sad news. Many of you may remember Peggy Kimble from Canada, a wonderful lady and talented stitcher who was a frequent contributor to All Stitched Up! She would regularly send us a story about what she was doing for World Embroidery Day and we always enjoyed hearing from her.

Friends of Peggy informed us that she passed away in April. She had recently celebrated her 99th birthday in December 2021. Peggy was an inspiration to everyone who was fortunate enough to meet her and she will be sadly missed.

When we got together to discuss this issue of All Stitched Up!, everyone in the meeting said ‘2023 Calendar? Already?’ Like most of you, the general feeling here is that keeping up with the pace of 2022 is hard enough!

However, that is the perfect reason to be thinking ahead to 2023 – so that you are completely organised. You can pre-order your 2023 Inspirations Calendar right now and have the comfort of knowing that it will be ready for you when the new year does finally arrive.

The 2023 calendar features 12 stunning, full colour photographs of some our most popular projects from our previous magazines and books. Each month you’ll gain new inspiration from the featured project, while enjoying the practicality of a month-at-a-glance calendar page with ample room to write in all your engagements, special events, appointments and birthdays.

2023 is coming and although it is still several months away, why not pre-order your 2023 Inspirations Calendar today and beat the rush!

Any time is a good time to spoil yourself, and what better way to spoil yourself than with some luscious new threads! We have two thread packs available that are guaranteed to get your creativity flowing and make your stash even more appealing.

The Pipers Silks thread pack has 16 shimmering skeins of super fine silk floss. You get 80m of floss in each skein so there is plenty of gorgeous silk for you to use in all your upcoming projects.

The Gumnut Yarns thread pack contains 24 skeins of thread from their Buds, Stars, Poppies and Daisies ranges. These include perlé silks, stranded silks, fine silk/wool blends and extra fine wool threads in a varied range of colours.

Now is the time to add some Pipers Silks and Gumnut Yarns to your collection and add that extra special touch to your needlework.

We’ve been really enjoying revisiting some of the early editions of Inspirations magazine as we’ve been creating digital patterns especially for you. It’s wonderful to take a trip down memory lane, but it is even more wonderful to rediscover some of our past projects and realise how much we still want to stitch them. We suspect that you might too, so here are the first series of digital patterns from issue #35 for you to enjoy.

Eternal Rose by Susan O’Connor is a stunning paperweight, with a gorgeous design of bullion roses cleverly stitched around a delicate lace heart.

Enchanted Moments by Helen Eriksson is a luxurious moiré cushion festooned with plump ribbon roses, which would look gorgeous on a day bed or chaise longue.

You can get started on these projects straight away by purchasing and downloading them from our digital library. And keep your eye on the newsletter in coming weeks for more projects from Inspirations issue #35.

Like many people nowadays, Yasmin Jeffery was finding herself spending more and more time on her phone, often aimlessly scrolling through social media posts or news feeds. She knew it was affecting her mental health, and her phone kept informing her that at least four hours of her day, every day, was being spent staring at it.

So, last September, Yasmin decided to try and knit a jumper. She went out and bought yarn, a pattern book and needles, then sat down to cast on.

Eight months later, she’s completed five jumpers, several cardigans and a beanie among other things. Best of all, she’s cut her phone use by half and of the time she does spend on it, most of it is either for work or looking for new knitting projects!

Yasmin is certainly not the only one to rediscover her love of a particular craft and how spending time with it is so much healthier and brings far more happiness and satisfaction than that little screen.

If you would like to read about Yasmin’s journey, you can find the full article HERE.

Of all the traditional farmyard animals, probably the most beloved is the chicken. Recently, more and more people have been choosing to keep these jolly creatures in their suburban backyards. The farm animals that were once only viewed for their practical use have now become cherished pets.

There is good reason for this. Aside from the fact that having your own chickens almost guarantees you a supply of delicious eggs, chickens love to eat kitchen scraps and they fertilise the garden without chemicals or expensive store-bought fertilisers.

But this is just the beginning. Anyone who has kept chickens will have a collection of stories about them. Every one of their birds will have its own distinct personality, and they are known to do hilarious and clever things, from pecking at the back door when they know dinner time has arrived, to waiting by the gate when they sense their owner is coming home.

Unlike a beloved pooch, chickens keep bugs down in the garden, ensure everything grows beautifully, and you get the pleasure of the gentle sound of them clucking as they settle down each night.

Every local area has some rules and restrictions on keeping chickens, but most places allow you to have several if they are well kept and have adequate food and shelter. If you’ve ever thought about doing it, it is a wonderfully satisfying hobby and you’ll soon fall in love with your new feathered family members.

If you aren’t ready to keep your own chickens, then Anna Scott’s latest project in Inspirations issue #114 is the next best thing. Even if you already have chickens, Little Brown Hen is the perfect project to celebrate these gentle creatures.

Worked in a combination of surface and raised embroidery, the soft colours and varied textures in this project make it a joy to stitch and an even bigger joy to admire afterwards.

Both the picture and the needlebook are stitched on an elegantly patterned background that complements the colours beautifully. The hen is worked in a variety of stitches, including fly stitch, blanket stitch, and trellis stitch, that all come together to give the perfect impression of feathers.

The tiny chicks are each worked in detached chain so they look as fluffy as can be, cuddled up to their mum.

Surrounding the hen is a gorgeous, trailing vine with blue periwinkle flowers and leaves in a subtle olive-green. The framed picture features open flowers highlighted at the centre with a sparkling bead. The needlebook has a delicate periwinkle bud rather than open flowers, but the whole piece is surrounded by beads to give it a luxurious finish.

Anna’s hen may not be able to provide you with eggs, but it will still give you the sense of peace and serenity that comes with having chickens happily pecking around your backyard.

Little Brown Hen will bring you that peace and serenity as you carefully stitch the design, revelling in each stitch and delighting in the project as it comes together. It will also continue to offer it each time you reach for your needlebook to take out a needle, or glance up at your framed picture on the wall.

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Little Brown Hen by Anna Scott is a garland of pretty periwinkles around a plump brown hen and her sweet yellow chicks.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Little Brown Hen includes everything* you need to re-create this charming little family: Fabric (unprinted), felt, wire, wadding, comic board, press stud, sewing threads, embroidery threads, beads and needles.

Break of Day by Jenny McWhinney from Inspirations issue #41 is a charming hessian garlic bag with an elegant, crowing rooster.

The Magic Rooster Rug by Susan O’Connor from Inspirations issue #5 is a stunning red blanket with four proud roosters.

Feathered Friends by Ruth Orvis from Inspirations issue #59 is a bright, colourful cushion with a family of chickens.

Cock-a-doodle-doo by Deidri Blay from Inspirations issue #69 is a rustic lavender sachet featuring a silk ribbon rooster.

Whitework is the collective name given to a range of different needlework techniques. The thing that unifies them is they are traditionally worked using white thread on white fabric. Various types of whitework have been practiced for centuries in all parts of the world and they are still being practiced today by our talented readers.

We can definitely understand the compliments and we would like to add our own, Barbara. This is a stunning purse that you have stitched beautifully.

Congratulations, Carol. It is obvious why you won so many prizes for this exquisite piece of embroidery. It is simply gorgeous.

This is certainly a challenging project, Mavis, but you’ve completed it beautifully and you should be very proud of your finish. Congratulations.

Do you love whitework? Do you gravitate towards projects that feature white thread on white fabric? Or do you just love colour?

Whatever it is you love, and whatever 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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This Corinne Lapierre felt kit contains all the materials you need to create three absolutely adorable little Lavender Houses.

Rainbow Bee-eater by Wendy Innes is a brilliantly coloured stumpwork panel with colourful bee-eater and sun orchids.

Anise by Wendy Innes from Inspirations issue #53 is a stunning stumpwork butterfly picture.

Nature’s Jewel by Wendy Innes from Inspirations issue #36 is a ruby-throated hummingbird picture to challenge you.

Cardinal Pocket by Betsy Morgan is a captivating pocket designed to be worn as a handy necklace, keeping stitching essentials close by.

Simply Red by Judy Jeroy from Inspirations issue #63 is a stunning embroidered red cardinal box top.

Red Robin by Helen M. Stevens from Inspirations issue #67 is a vibrant threadpainted picture featuring a scarlet breasted robin that forms a wonderful centrepiece for a charming garland of foliage and berries.

~ Erin Flett ~

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