To Bead or Not To Bead?

That is this week’s question, and in case you were wondering what the answer is, by the time you’ve finished reading this newsletter hopefully it will be an emphatic To Bead!

To help convince you of such truths, we have prepared a little bead embroidery festival for you to enjoy below.

The festival even includes the launch of a brand-new book, so we’ve really pulled out all the stops for you.

Without any further ado… Let’s Bead It!

PS – Plenty more bead-utiful puns ahead too…

Do you have a copy of The Art of Bead Embroidery Japanese-Style, book 1?

If you do, turn to page 116 and read the year it was first published. Now work out how long ago that was. That’s right, seven years.

This week it’s our great privilege to officially release a brand-new book that has been seven years in the making.

Seven years ago, Maragret Lee lit up our needles with the sparkle of beautiful, shimmering beads. Now, her passion for teaching this time-honoured tradition continues, as she reveals even more secrets of this spectacular needlework technique.

Consider the following:

Rationality | Sensitivity | Spirituality
These are the three pillars of Nuido: ‘The way of embroidery’.

Welcome to a master class in Japanese-style bead embroidery.

Once mastered, you will be equipped to add a new dimension to your embroidery and create beaded masterpieces like never before.

With nine extraordinary projects to further enrich your experience, Margaret has also included case studies from projects stitched by some of her students showing the same design, re-created using different colourways and finished using a variety of construction methods.

If you have a copy of The Art of Bead Embroidery Japanese-Style, book 1, you’ll absolutely want to complete your set.

If you don’t have either… there is a magical world of bead embroidery just waiting for you to discover.

You can read this headline one of two ways…

‘Jolly Beads!?!?!?’ which is often heard after the tray of beads you’ve just carefully counted and separated out spills onto the floor with every individual bead running off in a different direction all at once. We’ve all been there!

Or, Jolly Beads! As in beads that are jolly, or the ones that make you happy! We have two kits for you that fall into the latter category.

Christmas Cheer by Katherine Diuguid is a sparkling Christmas tree ornament that has been embellished with metal thread, beads and crystals to really make a jolly good festive tree statement.

Pat's Bonbon by another Queen of the Bead, Hazel Blomkamp, is a super clever bonbon design that you can use and re-use every year. Adorned with sparkling poinsettias, flowers and leaves in three-dimensional beading, it’s a jolly spectacular spectacle!

Get your jolly bead kits below…

Sometimes all you need is a little bead of this and a little bead of that.

And that’s exactly what we have for you available from our online store, a little collection of beads to add some dimension and texture to your next project.

Click below to explore a collection of digital patterns featuring projects created using Bead Embroidery.

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

Ursula, using needle and thread to showcase the monuments of all the cities you have visited is a wonderful idea! We love how you have positioned each element to create your collage. Maybe a new family tradition? Also, special shout out to how lucky you are to be tutored by Jenny Adin-Christie, it doesn’t get much better than that.

‘I had embroidered Julie’s project ‘Little Bits of Bliss’ from issue #57 in 2008, but waited until I had more time before tackling the matching bag. It was fun stitching all the pretty roses, pretty motifs, and assembling the bag. I am very pleased with the result!’ Pleased you should be, Birgit! Your patience in waiting 14 years has been well rewarded as you have created a beautifully stitched bag, along with the matching accessories to use. We hope to see even more completed projects from your stash…

‘I loved working it and making each arm in a different medium. I hope you like it!’

We sure do like it, Sheralyn! You’ve chosen a variety of techniques to show off all your talents and created a charming character. Well done. Have you been inspired by your travels to stitch? Found some time to stitch a project that has been a long time in the making? Or been busy designing your own project?

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

Apparently in 2022, it is estimated that more than 90 percent of people aged 55 upwards, occasionally wore glasses.

That’s quite a few people!

It also means that a high percentage of those who receive this newsletter are probably wearing glasses to read it right now.

That’s good for two reasons. The first, it means you’re a prime candidate to make use of the feature project we’re about to share with you. The second, it also means that, assuming you are actually wearing your glasses, you’ll be able to see clearly all the delights and beauty that bead embroidery offers.

This project, which features in our new book The Art of Bead Embroidery Japanese-Style 2, was designed with overlapping groups of patterns inspired by mandala designs.

Mandala patterns lend themselves well to bead embroidery. They are fascinating, possessing the intrinsic characteristics of individual patterns arranged in a harmonious manner into a wider circular shape.

Originating in Buddhism, it was Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung who popularised mandalas in the West, theorising that they represent self and are ‘archetypes of wholeness’.

He observed that creating mandalas had a calming and focusing effect. Which is handy, seeing as for this piece we’re using a mandala to decorate a vessel to house a device to help our eyes focus!

POINTS OF INTEREST

Some of the points of interest to appreciate in Jewels include the colour scheme, which takes on the shades of precious stones and metals – rubies sapphires, emeralds, gold, silver and bronze – all of which combine superbly for a rich display.

Also, colour plays an important role in creating overall visual movement here with a mixture of metallic and non-metallic beads used to maintain pattern groups and their respective movement.

When it comes to the all-important part of constructing your glasses case, it is comprised of two sections – an upper section to which the beaded fabric is attached and a lower section that is covered with adhesive vinyl.

Detailed instructions for the beading and the construction are all included in the book.

A DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION

As an added treat, within the book The Art of Bead Embroidery Japanese-Style 2, Margaret Lee also includes a case study of Jewels stitched by one of her accomplished students, Sue Fox. Sue stitched the alternative project and chose her own colour scheme along with making some alterations to elements of the pattern that made the design a better fit for her chosen scheme.

‘There is just something about the beauty and simplicity of the Japanese approach to design and colour, combined with the lustre and texture of beads in all shapes, sizes and colours, that really speaks to my creative spirit.’

You can read all about Sue’s own journey into the world of bead embroidery and her experience in creating her own version of Jewels on pages 40 & 41 of the book.

So, there you have it, a superb hand-embroidered glasses case embellished using gorgeous beads. With so many of us apparently using glasses, it must be about time to elevate our cases to a new level and show the world just what beautiful needlework is all about.

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

In Plain Sight by June Godwin from Inspirations issue #67 features an elegant twining stem winding its way up the front of this pretty crewel embroidered glasses case.

Kokeshi by Jenny McWhinney from Inspirations issue #71 is a delightful wool glasses case, decorated on both sides with charming Japanese imagery.

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

Floral Parade by Margaret Lee from The Art of Bead Embroidery Japanese-Style is a beautiful glasses case adorned with beaded flowers.

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Learn to Smock includes all the essential information you need to begin your journey to create exquisite smocking, from choosing fabric to working accent stitches.

~ Marianne Williamson ~

For a list of upcoming needlework events, click HERE.