This week in All Stitched Up!...

May we charm you with some charms? Fill you with a book on filling stitches? Or perhaps kit you out with a final call on issue #120 kits?

Last week there was an outcry – bring back What Are You Stitching? they declared. Your wish is our command.

Plus we discover there is more to the Warwickshire Hare than her innocent outward charm as we continue our exploration of projects from Nicola Jarvis’s new book Life in Seasons | Winter & Spring.

All Stitched Up! issue 412 starts now…

It’s all in the details. The difference between a good finish and an outstanding finish is details.

Hands down the most popular project we’ve ever published to feature Susan Clarke charms has been Home Sweet Home by Carolyn Pearce.

This is one of the most beautifully designed and stitched pieces you’ll ever find, and when it came to adding charms, only the very best were used.

We’ve now added to our collection of Susan Clarke original charms available to purchase individually.

Click below to discover more…

Hardanger. If you’re a fan, this new book, Hardanger Filling Stitches by Yvette Stanton, is going to be your new best friend.

If you’re not familiar with this spectacular technique, which predominately features cutwork and traditional filling stitches, check out some of the Hardanger projects we’ve published HERE

Stunning right?

And if you’re not familiar with Yvette Stanton, having published numerous projects of hers over the years, we can attest firsthand there is no-one more passionate, no-one more dedicated or more of an authority on Hardanger than Yvette.

So, we have a book featuring the widest range of Hardanger filling stitches ever compiled, written by an undisputed expert, for a technique that is behind some of the most elegant projects we’ve ever published.

Sounds like a must have!

It was bound to happen. Try as we might, we just couldn’t keep up.

Inspirations magazine issue #120 was what some might call an embarrassment of riches.

Eight projects from some of the most talented needlework artisans of our generation all squeezed into one spectacular issue celebrating 30 years.

So, as a result there are very few issue #120 kits left, such was their popularity.

Now that said, all is not lost. We do have limited quantities of kits for three projects still available.

If you don’t want to be that person who never stitched a project from one of the most popular and iconic issues of Inspirations to-date, the link below is awaiting your click!

If you’ve just read the article above and realised you missed out on a kit for your favourite project from issue #120, we might have some options for you.

Firstly, it has come to our attention that, amazingly, we still have a few printed copies of issue #120 in stock. So, if you are yet to buy yourself a copy of the magazine, you’ll need one for the instructions:

Secondly, if there is a particular kit you had your heart set on it’s worthwhile letting us know as our kit department might be able to rustle something up for you.

We can’t make any promises, but send an email using THIS LINK telling us which project you’re interested in and who knows what magic might happen!

Finally, we’ve put together a selection of kits that are in stock from some of the designers that appeared in issue #120. You’re bound to find something equally as beautiful by clicking below:

Shop Susan O’Connor kits HERE
Shop Jo Butcher kits HERE
Shop Ana Mallah kits HERE
Shop Betsy Morgan kits HERE

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

A well deserving piece for first prize, Ching! Your creative interpretation of Allium Meadow as the name tag was such a clever idea, delightful.

‘So, here’s my dream project from 2002, and it was truly worth the wait. I took my time and enjoyed the stitching, and now I will always have a hummingbird and flowers to brighten my days.’

We love this story, Rebecca! You have stitched the piece immaculately. It was always meant to be…

Ligia, what bright, delightful friends you have stitched! We love that you were inspired by your travel to create them, carrying with them happy memories of time away amongst the hummingbirds.

Have you stitched a name tag? Have you completed a dream project? Are you inspired to stitch by your surroundings?

Whatever you are stitching, we’d love to see it! Email photos of what you’ve created with needle and thread along with a few details about your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com

When you first discover the beautiful project Warwickshire Hare from Nicola’s book A Life in Seasons | Winter & Spring, you’ll encounter a splendid hare wearing a cloak of fresh, stumpwork blossoms.

These magnificently stitched flowers are created using detached elements and represent spring bursting forth with the promise of new life.

The hare itself is brought to life with stunning shading using cleverly placed long and short stitches to achieve an uncannily lifelike finish.

A gorgeous garland of pussy willow, featuring some of the plumpest catkins you’ll ever find, made from Ghiordes knots, creates a wreath for our hare to rest in briefly as she poses elegantly for a moment of pause and contemplation before bounding off across the field.

Now… for everyone who likes to preserve their innocence and has no interest in having the wonderous fairytale quality of this piece sullied by a lurid back story, stop reading now.

If that’s you, skip this next bit and scroll straight to the end of this article, purchase yourself a kit and you’ll have nothing but blissful and pure thoughts as you enjoy stitching your own Warwickshire Hare!

We’ll let Nicola do the heavy lifting:

‘I have a memory that has stayed with me for many years, of a late afternoon at the end of March when I watched a pair of hares chasing across a ploughed field, coming together to spar in mid-air.

This was the first time I had seen these animals in the wild and witnessing this frenzied mating ritual was spellbinding. I assumed wrongly that these hares were a couple of males vying for the fertile females, but I have since learned that the jill will stand up and ward off the unwanted attentions of the dominant jack.

Female hares become very combative in the spring when they attempt to fight off the advances of amorous bucks who are looking to mate.’

So rather than depicting a docile hare posing for her glamour photo, Nicola has in fact captured her jill as a stoic, defiant goddess as she wards off unwanted, aggressive suitors as she searches for a more deserving mate.

Don’t let her graceful stance, the beautiful bristle of her coat or her delightful floral accoutrements fool you.

She’s going to stand her ground and show any jack who crosses her path who’s the boss.

This is not the Warwickshire Princess – it’s the Warwickshire Warrioress!

We have all the materials you need to re-create this project yourself, from easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions to a Ready-to-Stitch kit with everything sourced for you.

Gillian by Maria del Valle Olivera from Inspirations issue #97 is a fabulous hare using blackwork patterns combined with elegant surface embroidery.

Enchanted Forest by Zinaida Kazban from Inspirations issue #95 features the stumpwork world of a curious bunny.

Leaping Hare by Barbara Kershaw from A Passion for Needlework 2 | Factoria VII is a pretty linen sachet with a leaping hare worked in Casalguidi embroidery.

Warm Embrace by Jenny McWhinney from Inspirations issue #52 is a delightful wool cashmere blanket featuring the magical world of a rosy cheeked rabbit and his busy friends.

Become part of the Inspirations family by subscribing to the magazine... we'd love to have you join us!

Within the pages of Life in Seasons, Nicola Jarvis has masterfully harnessed the full extent of her expansive creative talent and layered together a multi-faceted story using her sketches, paintings, poetry, photography and of course, her embroidery. Life in Seasons | Winter & Spring is out now.

Avonlea Moth by Nicola Jarvis is a beautiful, diaphanous moth clothed in nettle flowers and leaves.

For a list of upcoming needlework events, click HERE.