We’re going to help you get creative this week. From soluble pens to transfer your designs, a pincushion base to stitch on, a book series full of inspirational projects and pre-printed fabric panels just waiting for you to embellish, we have the ways if you have the means.

In our feature article we celebrate the technical creativity on display in a floral garland by designer Taetia McEwen and we also have some creative creations as stitched by our own needlework community for you to enjoy.

Creativity is all around us. Get amongst it starting now…

Using a soluble marker for our needlework is somewhat of a magical innovation, however it can at times can be a little more sleight of hand than divine intervention.

Most of us can attest to experiences where the marker wasn’t quite as ‘soluble’ as expected.

To help us all with this cause, this week we’ve added a fine tip water soluble and an air erasable pen to our website line up, both made by Clover.

Clover is a tried and true Japanese brand that produces quality and dependable needlework supplies you can trust.

To read more about the virtues of each different pen and place your order, click below.

In the meantime, if you have any stories, good bad or otherwise, or have advice for others on using soluble markers, we’d love to hear about them. Email us HERE to share your experiences.

Let’s say that on your projects list is a pincushion. To make that happen you would need three things… a design, the materials/threads and a base.

If you already have a design in mind along with the materials on hand, then all you need is the base… which can actually be surprisingly hard to find!

To help solve that problem for you, we have sourced a hand-turned, oak pincushion base with the cushion area already built for you, suitable for any design with a finished stitching area measuring 10cm (4″) in diameter.

Click below to order your oak pincushion base today and tick another ‘To Stitch’ project off your list…

PS – If you’re also looking for some design inspiration to stitch onto your wooden pincushion, or maybe even a complete Ready-to-Stitch kit with the wooden base already included, check out these links:

If you are new to needlework, you might be wondering how big the global community of stitchers is. While we don’t have an exact number for you, we can tell you that it never ceases to amaze us just how many people stitch and come from every corner of the globe.

One of the key ingredients of success to having a vibrant and thriving needlework community is the supply chain. From designers, teachers, manufacturers and even publishers like ourselves, everyone plays an important role.

What you may not realise is that the world’s largest publisher of arts and crafts publications is a family run company called Search Press based in the UK, who are very passionate about all things needle and thread.

A few years ago, Inspirations Studios and Search Press collaborated to produce a series of three technique books, based on projects from some of the world’s most talented designers.

Simply called the ‘Inspirations’ series, each book specialises in a different technique and within the series we cover Whitework, Crewelwork and Stumpwork.

If you are yet to add this collection to your library, click below to learn more and order your copies today.

Thank you to everyone who has expressed their love and adoration for our latest book release ‘Life in Seasons | Winter & Spring’ by the uber talented Nicola Jarvis.

It’s been lovely to read how excited everyone has been when their copy of this magnificent book arrived – so much awe and joy!

Many of you have been asking whether the pre-printed fabric panels that Nicola has used to create her fabulous designs will be made available to purchase separately, outside of the kits.

A few weeks ago we released the Small Blue Butterfly pre-printed panel and from today you can now purchase the fabric panels for the remaining seven projects from the book.

Now you can follow the step-by-step instructions provided in the book and source your own threads to re-create each project, either exactly as it appears in the book, or get creative with your own colour variations to stitch these exquisite designs.

Click below to view the entire range of Life in Seasons Pre-Printed Fabric Panels, and for those yet to order the book or anyone looking for Ready-to-Stitch kits, we’ve included links for you as well.

‘I do not know if I have made embroidery my calling, but I certainly enjoy it. My mother did not do anything similar. Neither of my grandmothers did anything similar. I learned to quilt by taking classes when I was 49 years old. Through a quilting magazine, I was introduced to redwork and from there I have moved on to other forms of surface embroidery.’

‘Perhaps it would be interesting to find embroidery artists who did not have any early exposure to embroidery? What brought them to embroidery and what attracted them to it? I enjoy making small embroideries and turning them into cards. Above is a photo of a piece that is waiting to be turned into a card. Also, a photo of a table runner that I made - it combined my love of embroidery with my first love, quilting. The pattern is ‘Woodlands Table Runner' from the book ‘Stitches from the Garden' by Kathy Schmitz.’ This motif is lovely, Kate and will make a delightful card! We love that you combined your love for quilting with stitching to make the table runner, showcasing your wonderful talents in both. Also, these are interesting questions you pose and maybe they will encourage others to share their similar stitching journeys…

‘I have done the giraffe, elephant, cardinal, owls, and cat. I am also a needle turn appliqué quilter. I love to embellish with embroidery stitches.’ So many pleasurable hours stitching Trish’s designs, Denise! Your threadpainting is gorgeous - thank you for sharing it with us.

‘I love the idea of bringing the worlds that these women created to life in 3D and in miniature, as well as showcasing how well stumpwork translates to modern fine art.’

We’re sure Carlotta Bonnecaze would be thrilled to see her designs shared over 100 years on! Holly, your floats are charming. What an intriguing way to re-purpose the copper mesh. The bright red thread you have used on the second float is striking and we also like the use of blended colours on the leaves. We look forward to seeing what you come up with next.

Like Kate, was your introduction to needlework something that happened later in life? Have you threadpainted a Trish Burr design? Or have you brought an artist’s previous work to life in stitch?!

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

Creativity can be elusive. It often arrives in waves, sometimes staying for only a fleeting visit, other times taking up residency for a while. Even when it is present, our ability to fully harness and capture its true potential can be inconsistent at best.

Oh, but when we do manage to truly channel the formidable power of creativity into a tangible manifest, the results are always spectacular!

Whether you believe creativity is a learned skill, a natural talent, a combination of the two or perhaps something different entirely, hopefully we can all agree that there are some disciplines one can deploy to enhance the outcomes of our creative pursuits.

Ribbons & Roses from Inspirations issue #122 is a delicate wreath of softly coloured flowers designed and stitched by the very talented, and highly creative, Taetia McEwen.

If you take a moment to have a look at the collection of projects we’ve published by Taetia HERE you’ll immediately notice a certain whimsical and joyful quality to her designs. Whether Taetia is stitching a story told through her gorgeous characters or making a statement of beauty through a stitched floral arrangement, there is always something to catch your eye.

What you may not realise is just how creative Taetia is in her choice of materials and techniques.

On the surface, Ribbons & Roses is a dainty, circular floral wreath that would look equally stunning hanging finished in a hoop as it would sitting atop a hat box lid.

When you look closer, what you will discover is an inventive and curious mind at play with a huge array of different stitches and unusual techniques that Taetia has used to stitch this piece to life.

The floral arrangement includes roses, clematis, cotton blossoms and berries, gently tied with a blush pink ribbon.

The materials list comprises an eclectic collection such as knitting yarn, braided rayon, gimp, metallic mesh ribbon, silk taffeta, stranded silks and a generous sprinkling of beads and sequins (such is the Taetia way!).

When it comes to the stitch list, there are a few usual suspects you’ll be familiar with, such as blanket stitch, long and short and stem stitch, but from there we quickly move into the exotics category.

In this department you’ll find fishbone stitch, two-colour fishbone stitch, needlewoven bar, double drizzle stitch, whipped stem stitch and Boutis variation, which is a method of padding shapes using wool thread.

We’re talking lace, padding, detached elements, raised elements, sequins, fuzzy tufts and a potpourri of everything in between.

What Taetia has taught us about creativity here, is that sometimes less is more, other times more is more and the trick is to have the skill and confidence to try a bit of both. You can’t be afraid to do something different and unusual.

You could say, creativity frequents the brave and those willing to try something new and different. In this case, Taetia has indeed harnessed the power of creativity, and the result is a design that is captivating to stitch.

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.

Summerberry by Taetia McEwen from Inspirations issue #119 is a summer garland in soft, shimmering shades of silk, beads, sequins and metallic mesh ribbon.

Angel's Breath by Taetia McEwen from Inspirations issue #111 features pretty ribbon and velvet flowers, combined to decorate a lampshade and wreath.

Spring Song by Taetia McEwen from Inspirations issue #112 is a delightful spring scene of delicately shaded flowers, dainty bird and nest with three blue eggs.

Dream a Little Dream by Taetia McEwen from Inspirations issue #114 is an enchanting lampshade with characters dancing to the music of a frog band.

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

We’ve re-stocked supplies of these iconic sewing shears and legendary epaulette embroidery scissors, plus we’ve added a new star performer, the rose gold embroidery scissors.

Ladybird, Ladybird by Trish Burr is a superb study of a ladybird, worked with stranded cotton onto fine white linen.

~ Albert Einstein ~

For a list of upcoming needlework events, click HERE.