When it comes to your time with needle and thread, do you have a favourite part?

Does the excitement lie in the opening ‘chapters’ when you’ve chosen the ‘just right’ design, are sourcing the requirements and transferring the design onto fabric? Perhaps it lies in the middle where it’s just the push and pull of needle and thread through fabric as you lay each stitch? Or maybe you relish the laying of the final stitches?

Whilst we’ve heard from many of you that the opening chapters can often be the hardest to wade through as you’re eager to lose yourselves in the ‘actual’ stitching, we’ve also heard that once you’re there, you sometimes find yourself rushing towards the closing chapter as you aim to ‘finally’ lay the final stitch.

Life’s funny like that - we tend to love new beginnings, sometimes resent the long middles as we relish the excitement of completing what’s before us only to repeat that same cycle time and time again.

It was a piece written by Catherine Jackson that brought this idea front of mind for us.

Catherine wrote about her tendency to rush through the current season of life just to get to the next thing. She felt the middles were simply a transition from one thing to the next. Over time, however, she came to realise that as soon as she’d made her way through one middle another was upon her, and the security she was hoping to find at the end of the middle was all but fleeting as the next transition was already before her.

So, Catherine learned to appreciate the middle. After all, reaching our goals is all but a moment in time, whereas the long and sometimes tedious middle season is where the majority of our days are spent.

Catherine’s realisation helped us to find a new appreciation for the middle. Now, when we find ourselves rushing to complete what’s before us, we’ll remind ourselves that our lives are actually made of middles and we need to make these days – and the laying of stitch after stitch – count because that’s where our lives are made and our joy is found. Not in the excitement of a new beginning or the relishing of a task complete, but in the actual process of doing what’s before us.

For many needleworkers, a favourite aspect of the hobby is collecting threads. We never seem to have enough threads and whenever we find a new project that we simply must do, there’s a good chance we will probably need a few new threads for it too! Any excuse, we say! Having a healthy stash of threads is one thing, but then we are faced with the question of how do we store them? What is the most effective way to keep our threads to make them easy to find and, when it comes to it, easy to use?

There are many different ways of storing threads, and not every method works for every thread type. We’ll talk about a few possibilities here but as usual, we are writing this in anticipation of all of the other wonderful ideas we might receive from our engaged and clever readers.

Working with Skeins

One of the most common types of thread in our needlework world is stranded cotton. Most come as 6-stranded skeins, which have two labels or cuffs on them when you purchase them. Usually, the thread colour number is printed on one of the cuffs.

Some people simply keep their threads in their original skein. You can, of course, simply cut your lengths from the skein, although make sure you pull it from the correct end!

If you pull the other end, you’re almost guaranteed to end up with a knot!

However, if you’re only using one or two strands, the question is then, what do you do with the leftover piece? If you cut the strands you need, leaving the rest still attached to the main skein, how do you keep the length you’ve pulled out tidy? These are dilemmas to deal with as you go, but you also have to consider that, as you get towards the end of the skein, the cuffs no longer fit snugly and are liable to fall off.

A lot of needleworkers like their materials to be tidy. There’s pleasure in order, so having scrappy skeins with cuffs falling off and cut lengths hanging doesn’t suit everyone. Fortunately, there are other options.

Bobbins

One of the most popular options is to wind your threads onto bobbins. You can purchase bobbins that are cut to fit neatly into thread boxes, and comfortably take a full skein of thread. By writing the thread number on the end of the bobbin, you can then box them up in numerical order, which makes for easy, efficient stitching.

If you don’t want to buy bobbins, you can always cut your own from cardboard. There are plenty of templates available on the internet. You can also buy beautifully tooled wooden bobbins, or bobbins made from other materials and in other shapes.

We’ve discovered several variations on the theme of bobbins. We’ve seen people wind their threads onto pegs or empty cotton reels among other things. Your creativity is your only limit.

Thread Holders

A second popular option is to use a thread holder. This is a flat holder with holes around the edge and can be as simple as a piece of cardboard with holes punched out using a hole punch, all the way through to a gorgeous, custom-made wooden thread holder in various shapes. You loop each thread into the hole, and then, as long as you have cut one end to create lengths, you can easily remove a single strand by picking it up at the looped end and gently pulling.

The only problem with a thread holder is that you have a limited number of holes, so this is a perfect option for a project that only has a small number of different threads. It might not be the best solution if you have tens or even hundreds of different threads. However, it is also ideal for crewel wools, skeins of perlé cotton, broder or many other fibres.

Plaiting or Braiding your Threads

A further solution that works for stranded cotton but is also ideal for crewel wool or skeins of perlé cotton is to plait or braid your threads. This allows you to pull out a single thread with ease from the top without affecting the braid.

To create the braid, carefully undo the skein, then decide how long you want your lengths to be. Wrap the skein around a piece of appropriately sized card as if you were making a tassel, then cut it at the bottom. Holding the top carefully, divide the rest of the skein into three and braid it. You can tie the braid at the bottom with a piece of scrap cotton.

To ensure you keep the thread number with your skein, you can either thread the cuff up to the top before you braid, or you can tie a tag on to the scrap cotton with the colour number.

These solutions are ideal for working threads, but what about storing your stash whilst it waits for the perfect project? Once again, there are many different ways of doing this.

Thread Storage

Some people have multiple boxes and as soon as they get new threads, they wind them immediately onto bobbins and file them away. Others keep colours in separate ziplock bags, labelling each bag with the brand and colour number. This allows them to store multiple skeins of the same colour together.

Still others use some of the specialist systems devised by thread manufacturers. For instance, DMC makes thread ‘bows’, which fit a skein perfectly. Called their ‘Gold Concept’, the bows then fit into plastic sheets that come in a ring binder. You can purchase more plastic inserts as required.

These are just a few of the many possible ways to keep your threads. We’re sure there are hundreds more.

Do you have a specific way you store your threads? Do you have different ways to hold the threads you are using as opposed to the ones in your stash? Do you use different methods for different types of threads? We’d love to hear how you keep your threads tidy and organised. We love learning new things so please write in and tell us!

If anyone has a child or grandchild, they will probably be aware of how popular mermaids have become in recent years. Mermaids feature in colouring books, on T-shirts and as soft toys, and we’ve even seen real mermaids appear at children’s parties!

Mermaids, however, have been around far longer than our little ones could have imagined. In fact, the first stories of mermaids are from Assyria in around 1000 BCE. These mysterious creatures have consistently appeared in folklore all around the world, including in Europe, Asia and Africa. Traditionally, the mermaid had the body of a woman and the tail of a fish, and they have been associated with everything from floods, shipwrecks and drownings through to bestowing gifts and falling in love with humans.

Early sightings of mermaids, such as those reported by Christopher Columbus, were likely sightings of manatees, however actual ‘sightings’ continue to be reported to this day.

Betsy Morgan has honoured this beautiful and enigmatic creature in Mermaid Bag Etui from Willing Hands 2. She’s chosen a nautical theme for the project, starting out with a selection of blue and white linens.

The motifs on the main bag all fit with the theme, with ocean creatures such as crabs and fish; shells; sea birds; and ships filling one of the sampler bands that surrounds the bag.

Using Bargello stitch, she has created another band to represent the waves with birds soaring over them. She’s then added quotes from Shakespeare and Milton that refer to the mermaids and their mysterious song.

Whenever we see one of Betsy’s pieces, we are always looking for the clever details in the construction, and this project does not disappoint. The bag is designed to fit into a container that is created specifically for scrap threads or ‘orts’. When fitted into the container, the band of waves on the bag laps along the top of it in harmonious perfection. Then the whole piece is studded with ocean-themed charms.

It is only when you remove the bag and look inside the container that you will see the stitched mermaid on the base. This design is then mirrored in miniature on the scissor fob.

After you have finished the Mermaid Bag Etui, you may discover that a little girl will find it difficult to resist! But we know the love of mermaids is not something exclusive to children. This project allows you to embrace that inner child and give into the excitement and mystery that these gorgeous, historic and mystical creatures continue to invite.

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Mermaid Bag Etui by Betsy Morgan is a linen bag etui with enchanting mermaids and sea-themed spot motifs.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Mermaid Bag Etui includes everything* you need to re-create this enchanting linen bag: fabrics (unprinted), interfacings, interlining, buttons, mermaid charm, sand dollar charm, scallop shell charm, seed pearl, coral, sewing threads, embroidery threads, and needles.

Sea Breeze by Sandra Counahan from Inspirations issue #70 is a beautiful cushion stitched in Mountmellick embroidery.

Under the Sea by Jenny McWhinney from Inspirations issue #63 is a unique and stylish evening bag featuring seahorses on a blue silk background.

2022 is marching on and for the most organised of us, we’re setting our minds to getting everything ready for 2023. This means buying our calendars so they are ready on the very first day of the new year. Fortunately, the Inspirations Calendar for 2023 is out now, so you can get one for yourself and buy a couple as Christmas gifts. That will cross two things off of your list!

The Inspirations 2023 Calendar is filled with gorgeous images of some of the most inspiring projects imaginable. You can whet your appetite with Limonera Pear by Christine Burton on the cover, then enjoy magnificent projects throughout the year from Margaret Light, Christine P. Bishop, Trish Burr, Betsy Morgan and more.

Each month you get a stunning, full colour photograph that is accompanied by a generously sized full month planner with plenty of room to write in important dates, birthdays, appointments and your next few projects.

Order your 2023 Calendar today and get yourself completely organised for the new year and all of the fabulous stitching to come.

If you’re looking for new and creative directions in which to take your stitching, then employing your needlework skills to preserve your memories and create beautiful art out of personal items, trinkets or ephemera is just the thing. This is what you will learn from Tilly Rose’s new book, Stitched Memories.

Containing a range of beautiful projects, including a book cover, gift tags and a stamped fabric picture, this book also provides all kinds of guidance on using special items to create your own, unique projects.

Filled with gorgeous photography and packed with inspiration, Stitched Memories will get your creative ideas flowing and have you itching to pick up your needle.

Printed copies of Inspirations issue #92 have almost sold out, but we always try to be one step ahead, so we’re putting all of the projects from that popular issue together as digital patterns. The first three are available right now with the rest coming next week.

Shades of Christmas by Trish Burr is a stunning wreath stitched in Trish’s characteristic ‘whitework with colour’ style. It features stunning shading and gorgeous, Christmas motifs and would look perfect on the wall during the joyous, Christmas period.

Keeping with the theme of Christmas, Sugarplum by Hazel Blomkamp is an intricately beautiful, beaded bauble. This sparkling project would take pride of place on the Christmas tree.

Finally this week, Santa’s Helpers by Jenny McWhinney is an enormously popular project featuring six adorable threadpainted elves stitched on a series of ornaments. They would look simply stunning on your own Christmas tree or would make perfect, thoughtful gifts for friends or family.

It is never too early to start thinking about Christmas stitching, so these projects from Inspirations issue #92 are perfect and are now available to purchase and download immediately from our digital pattern library.

With our modern manufacturing processes, it may be difficult to believe that there is any kind of historical fabric that we are no longer able to make. However, up until very recently, this was exactly the case with the legendary and highly sought after Dhaka muslin.

This diaphanous fabric was originally made in what is now Bangladesh. Its manufacture required 16 painstaking and highly specialised steps, using a rare cotton that only grew in one place – along the banks of the Meghna River. The fabric was finer than anything else available, but the enormous cost of it indicated just how labour intensive and difficult it was to make.

The original fabric had thread counts of around 800-1200 per square inch, resulting in an almost impossibly fine weave. It became highly fashionable in Europe during the 18th Century, but the arrival of the East India Company marked the beginning of the end for the industry.

Saiful Islam has brought a group together who are trying to resurrect the original process of manufacture for Dhaka muslin. It has been no easy feat, as the original plant is now extinct. But by discovering the genetic sequence and then returning to the original site in Bangladesh, Islam and his team managed to find a plant that was almost the same. They cultivated it and started working from there.

They have now successfully made some hybrid muslin, there is still a long way to go for them to achieve the incredible thread counts of the original. But with the backing of the Bangladeshi government, they are continuing their quest. They hope that one day, this incredible fabric, which was so fine it was believed to have been woven by fairies or spirits centuries ago, will once again be available.

If you would like to read more about this fascinating story, you can do so HERE or look at the website for Bengal Muslin.

We were watching one of our favourite gardening programs the other week, and all of a sudden we saw that they were talking about the Nodding Greenhood Orchid. We were so excited, because we knew that we were about to write about Alison Cole’s stunning stumpwork pincushion from The Design Collective | Pincushions, which featured this delicate flower.

It was wonderful to see the actual flower and to learn all about it, then to compare it to Alison’s creation. It made us realise just how breathtaking this project really is.

The Nodding Greenhood Orchid is a little flower also known as the Parrot’s Beak Orchid. It is native to south-eastern Australia and can be found in moist, protected forest environments. The name for this plant comes from the fact that the flowers seem to ‘nod’ or lean forwards. When flowering, you see a crowd of straight, shining green stalks growing up to 30cm (12”) tall, with a distinctive curved flower on the top in a similar, beautiful green, often with orange or brown colouration at the very tip.

She spent many hours drawing them and carefully observing all of the details, then sat down to work out how she could recreate them in thread.

She thought that the hardest part would be the actual hood, but she managed to work that out the first time. In fact, the hardest part to design turned out to be the little petals at the sides, which Alison attempted several times before she was satisfied.

Unfortunately, by the time she’d worked it out, the actual Nodding Greenhoods in her garden had finished flowering.

The pincushion is seated in a round, wooden base and the three little orchids grow out of a wonderful ground covered in different types of moss. Alison has created this exquisitely using various stitches and fibres, so it looks exactly like a lush piece of ground.

This is the part where you would store your pins – this project is a pincushion after all – while your perfect nodding greenhoods watch carefully over them from around the side.

Three-dimensional stumpwork is wonderfully satisfying to do. Each tiny piece is stitched with care, but it is only when you construct the whole and see it stand up perfectly that you really get the effect. Alison has even added to the realism by stitching some dry leaves and twigs out of which the orchids are growing. Each element has been chosen to add to the realism and the ultimate satisfaction of this stunning pincushion.

We have heard a lot of people say that this project is just so exquisite, it almost seems a shame to put pins in it. However, it has been designed for you to do just that. It is certainly a pincushion like no other and one that you should be exceptionally proud. It is like capturing a tiny piece of southern Australian flora and placing it in a stand for you to use and admire.

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Nodding Greenhood by Alison Cole is an Australian bushland scene brought to life with a stumpwork study of native orchids on a wooden base.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Nodding Greenhood includes everything* you need to re-create this Australian bushland scene: Fabric (unprinted), wires, mount card, wooden pincushion base, embroidery threads, and needles.

Fleur by Heather Sterling from Inspirations issue #50 is an elegant, beaded glasses case featuring a pair of gracious orchids.

Bauhinia by Nikki Delport-Wepener from Inspirations issue #75 is an elegant bauhinia, or orchid tree, with distinctly lobed leaves and graceful flowers worked in a combination of surface and raised embroidery techniques.

The reason stitchers love flowers is that there are so many colours and textures available in the floral world, you have no end of possibilities to stitch. But the same could be said for the world of insects, particularly the most colourful butterflies and moths. Here are some butterfly projects for you to enjoy, with colours and textures to rival any flower!

‘This butterfly is from Inspirations issue #62. It is a design by Kathryn Borel called Serenade. The butterfly is only part of her overall design that I worked on dupion silk.’

This is a lovely piece, Sharon. We love how you’ve selected the one element from the overall design and made it your own. Congratulations.

‘There are so many other designers who inspire me, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do them all’

We completely agree, Karen. There are far too many projects that we want to do and not enough time to do them! You’ve done an exquisite job with this project, and we’re glad you feel so inspired by Trish and her designs.

‘I’ve since done more stumpwork pieces, although now most of my three-dimensional work is usually needle felted.’

This is an intricate and beautiful piece, Ann. It must have been really enjoyable to make with all of the different stitches.

Do you love stitching butterflies or moths? Or do you prefer other insects? Maybe you like to stitch creatures that are a little bigger?

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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The latest publication from Elisabetta Sforza, Rose to Rose, features the recreated sublime watercolours of artist Patrizia Silingardi. With trailing roses and other flowers in a range of glorious colours, Elisabetta has perfectly translated the paintings into stitch.

Hollyhocks by Jo Butcher features elegant spires, in shades of dusky pink and soft green, stretching towards the sky.

Cottage Garden by Jo Butcher melds together swathes of flowers, large and small, in perfect harmony.

Poppies & Cornflowers by Jo Butcher features papery, pink skirts of poppy flowers twirling amongst the cornflowers.

~ Richard Branson ~

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