We’ve prepared a banquet for your senses this week. It’s a bumper issue with two feature projects, some wonderful new finds that we’ve added to our website, lots of stitching from the global needlework community to enjoy and more.

You’ll also notice somewhat of a fruity flavour to our offering today, which has all happened completely by chance, so if you’re feeling so inclined, grab some strawberries or grapes to eat as you’re reading, and you’ll fit in nicely.

Foxes, Fruits and Fabulous Finds await…

The book Life in Seasons | Winter & Spring is themed around the daily walks Nicola Jarvis enjoys with her golden retriever Quince as they explore the Warwickshire countryside together.

Their adventures inspired a collection of embroidered artworks that Nicola created for the book, to capture the changing seasons in the world around her.

This week we’re taking a closer look at the magnificent project ‘Fairhurst Fox’ that came about after a chance encounter one winter’s morning as Nicola explains…

‘He was very handsome in his strawberry blonde coat and bushy tail, bold yet timid, framed by the overhanging trees that are clad in streamers of ivy.

This incredible interlude continued for a few minutes and when finally, Quince turned his head, the fox darted away, an orange flash into the hedgerow.’

From this fleeting encounter, Nicola set about to capture the moment in stitch, embellishing a curious but shy young fox that she designed and then had printed onto a fabric panel.

Using a joyous combination of Appletons crewel wool; Au Ver à Soie Fine d’Aubusson fine wool; DeVere Yarns worsted wool; DMC stranded cotton and a few other threads thrown in for good measure, Nicola utilises only nine different stitches to produce a spectacular crewel embroidered portrait that tells the story beautifully.

With the finished design measuring 16cm x 25cm wide (6 ¼" x 10"), Nicola chose to finish her Fairhurst Fox as a footstool, however he could also take pride of place hanging on a wall, stitched onto a cushion, or emblazoned on the back of a jacket.

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.

Ophelia's Fox by Phillipa Turnbull from Inspirations issue #115 is a fabulous crewel embroidery panel of a red fox in his woodland territory.

The Red Fox by Susan O’Connor from Inspirations issue #40 is a luxurious throw featuring a majestic red fox.

We’re not sure about you, but whenever we read a headline like ‘Emma Bridgewater Craft Tins’ the first question that comes to mind is, who on earth is Emma Bridgewater?

Now, you may have already heard of Emma Bridgewater (especially if you’re from the UK) but for those who haven’t here are a few headlines:

Emma Bridgewater began in 1984, after Emma tried and failed to find a birthday present for her mum.

Well, that all sounds pretty good to us! If that’s what Emma Bridgewater is all about, we can get on board with that.

So, this week we’ve added a couple of her tins to our website that we think are pretty neat, could make a nice birthday present for your Mum (or yourself), but mainly we were thinking they are the perfect size to store our needlework bits and pieces.

We hope you like them too!

Tulips are a truly spectacular flower. They have a wonderful presence and vibrancy to them, instantly brightening up any room.

It just so happens that one of the world’s premium quality manufacturers of embroidery supplies is also called Tulip.

But to most of you this is old news – you’re already familiar with Tulip’s outstanding range of needles, pins and accessories.

What we can tell you is we’ve just re-stocked our range, including the best-selling Tulip Gift Set which is THE go to solution when trying to find a gift for a fellow needlework friend.

Click below to elevate your needlework with Tulip’s premium range of all things amazing…

Project: A Slice of Life
Publication: Inspirations Issue 116
Designer: Denise Forsyth

As stitchers, we are often re-creating nature using our needle and thread.

Denise Forsyth went one step further and decided to re-create not just nature, but a culinary icon!

You can read all about the project A Slice of Life HERE and if you prefer to stitch something than cook it, we’re provided some links below so you can create your very own pocket etui Pavlova.

Every month, we highlight some amazing work created with needle and thread that we’ve come across on social media. Here are the April highlights:

Don’t forget to follow Inspirations on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to receive your daily dose of the world’s most beautiful needlework from all over the world wide web.

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

‘While the magazine only had 5 patterns and suggested a mix and match of patterns for the 6th, I stitched 12 strawberries. The first pattern in the project I repeated at right angles on another strawberry and the other patterns are fan stitch, honeycomb, Elizabethan half and turn, wave, window filling, Algerian eye.’

‘I had a lot of fun deciding on the additional patterns, I chose some from a Schwalm project I did with the Wellington Embroiderer’s Guild, the Elizabethan half and turn from the RSN stitch bank and a couple from Mary Thomas’s Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches by Jan Eaton.’

‘The wooden bowl is a hand turned Rimu bowl made by a member of Kapiti Wood Turners.’ 12 strawberries, Mary! You’re practically a strawberry farm, with each one so beautifully stitched. You have wholly embraced the concept of this design and truly made it your own, including adding your own range of patterns. Denise will be absolutely delighted to see all your different versions of ‘Festive Fruit’!

What a lovely restoration project, Robin! You’ve done a beautiful job of bringing it back to life and what a creative idea to patch the holes with crocheted medallions. We love it. We’re sure you’ll enjoy having this cushion for many years to come, many more than if it had suffered a different fate…

‘I added to it as I went along, including many of the trees, flowers, and the sheep on the back field. Much of it was created freehand on the needle as I stitched. Hope you like it.’

Lucy, your idyllic landscape is divine indeed. We love the freestyle approach you used to stitch it, such a wonderfully spontaneous and creative way to design. Well done!

Have you stitched fruit? Maybe vegetables? Or do you find projects in need of restoring?

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 we announced the release of Inspirations magazine issue #122, in reference to its theme Bright & Beautiful, we suggested that everyone can make their own determination as to which projects were bright and which were beautiful.

Today we’re featuring the piece Strawberry Delight by Mary Jo Hiney which would have to be a prime candidate to win the project most worthy of being both Bright AND Beautiful!

Now, before we get into the specifics of how these beauties have been created, there is a wow factor here we need to tell you about that may not be adequately conveyed through the photographs.

We’ll start small then go big. The scissor fob measures 4.5cm x 3.5cm wide (1 ¾" x 1 ⅜") which makes it the exact, perfect size that you wish every strawberry in your punnet could be.

Mary Jo Hiney has struck that perfect balance here between realism and practicality. It could easily be mistaken for a real strawberry but is equally an ideal accompaniment for any embroidery scissors without being too large and annoying, or two small and superfluous.

The pincushion, however, is a completely different story. This is an oversized bounty of joyous fruit coming in at 14.5cm x 8cm wide (5 ¾" x 3 ⅛") that somehow brings an instant smile to your face.

Thanks to the sumptuous candy apple red velvet Mary Jo has used to shape the body of each berry, both look good enough to eat. Studded with sparkling glass beads to replicate the seeds, the lime green sepals are fashioned by cleverly folding a strip of organza for the pincushion and silk ribbon for the scissor fob. The stalks are formed with twisted cords.

Layers of sand and wool roving fill the large berry while emery powder and wool roving fill the small fob berry, perfect for keeping needles and pins bright and sharp.

All the step-by-step instructions you need to stitch, construct and fill both berries are included in issue #122 and this is the type of project that, once you’ve created a few for yourself, you’ll enjoy both the process and the end result so much, soon all your friends and family will be beneficiaries of your newfound passion for strawberries!

Thank you Mary Jo Hiney for creating such a deliciously delightful project.

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 almost everything sourced for you. The only item the kit doesn’t include is the sand required for the pincushion filling, due to the expense to ship!

Strawberry Still Life by Margaret Light from the book A Fine Tradition 2 is an appliqué bowl embellished with blue embroidery, overflowing with luscious strawberries worked with needlelace.

A Slice of Life by Denise Forsyth from Inspirations issue #116 features a luscious strawberry on this delicious dessert-inspired etui.

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

We’ve added a fine tip water-soluble and an air erasable pen to our website line up, both made by Clover.

Ribbons & Roses by Taetia McEwen is a softly coloured floral wreath with a symphony of textural elements.

~ Rachel Simon ~

For a list of upcoming needlework events, click HERE.