Hi <<First Name>>, The Butterfly Effect. Have you ever watched a chain of events unfold that you inadvertently created? The butterfly effect was certainly in play for Denise Forsyth, who, using her needle and thread, created a punnet of luscious strawberries for entry into her local needlework show, only for them to end up being featured on the front cover of Inspirations Magazine! The theory of the butterfly effect is that one small action can have significant future impact, dependant on a certain series of random events taking place.  We all understand the first part – one small act can lead to something bigger, but the second half regarding random events is reminding us that life is unpredictable. Denise’s original intent wasn’t to stitch a project for the front cover of Inspirations – she just used her passion and talent to create something beautiful, then sent in a photo to share. The events that followed were out of her control. The best any of us can do is start with a pure motive and then put our trust in God, the universe, or whatever it is you believe in, and go for the ride. Who knows… you might end up on the front cover of a magazine!

Email photos of your needlework to news@inspirationsstudios.com

It’s time for another ‘Have Your Say’ and this week we begin with Sherry Johnson from Minnesota in the USA, who is having her say with some words of praise:

‘Thank you for continuing to keep the love and enthusiasm for handwork alive! I learned to embroider with my grandmother as a young girl and have always enjoyed learning new handwork techniques throughout my many years. A few years ago, I discovered Inspirations Magazine while attending a crazy quilting event. 

I was so excited to find a magazine dedicated entirely to hand needlework! Living in the United States, quilting and knitting is popular, and cross-stitch and general embroidery has been available, but those of us wanting more detailed techniques were at a bit of a loss. Needless to say, I subscribed to Inspirations immediately, plus went on an extensive search and eventually found every back issue, so that I now have the complete set of all issues which I highly value.

People in Australia have been very fortunate to have had several publications over the years to inspire them, plus a widespread national love for handwork. Please continue to offer Inspirations Magazine and promote beautiful handwork skills. My ultimate dream is to visit Australia and participate in a needlework convention, take classes, and be among others with the same love of hand needlework that I share. Until then I shall continue to enjoy your wonderful magazine and the inspiration that your many contributors give me.  Thank you, again!  Sherry Johnson

	‘Simple Stitches’ by Chloe Redfern – Inspirations #96

Sherry, you are making us blush with all your kind words! We’re so pleased you are enjoying the magazine, there are some wonderful companies and organisations right across the USA that provide tuition and opportunities to join classes for hand needlework, so hopefully you can find some local options as well.  That said, we’d love to see you at Beating Around the Bush 2018 if you can make it!

	Kyrenia Harbour – Cyprus (image courtesy www.visitcyprus.com)

In Embroidery News #115, Debbie Marston emailed asking if there was anyone in the Inspirations community near her home town of Paphos in Cyprus, that she could get together and stitch with. Here are some of the replies we received:

Response from: Margaret Capewell

Hi, we visit Paphos regularly as we have a second home there. I read Inspirations on a regular basis and belong to my local Embroidery Guild. I find it very frustrating trying to buy threads etc. in Cyprus, so I have to be organised and bring everything with me. I live in North Shropshire in the UK, and can't wait to get back to the beautiful island of Cyprus, soon. Perhaps we could arrange to meet with Debbie on our next visit. Margaret
                                                     
Response from: Julia Guest

I visit Paphos every March for 3 weeks at a time and have lots of Inspirations magazines, please have Debbie get in touch with me.  Yours Julia Guest

	Fig Tree Bay – Cyprus (image courtesy www.visitcyprus.com)

Thank you, Julia and Margaret – how wonderful to see that even in a small location like Cyprus we have a sisterhood (and maybe even a brotherhood!) of stitchers who can connect and enjoy our common love of stitching.

Anything on your mind you want to share with the Inspirations Community?  Have Your Say by emailing us at news@inspirationsstudios.com

CALENDAR REVEAL - DECEMBER

And so it is for the last time this year, all the needlework fans around the world turn the page of the Inspirations 2017 calendar and to their delight, the month of December features the beautiful project ‘Winter’s Song’ by Trish Burr.

Ever since its release in Inspirations #88, ‘Winter’s Song’ has been a huge Christmas favourite with the design adapted for use on table runners, Christmas stockings, tote bags, on a bauble, in a hoop on the wall and even as a book end!

Now is the perfect time to come up with your own creative use for this sweet thread painted robin, with the magazine, kit and digital pattern all now available for purchase.

> PATTERN – Winter’s Song Digital Pattern Available HERE
> KIT – Winter’s Song Ready-To-Stitch Kit Available HERE
> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #88 Available HERE

PERFECT PETALS – INSPIRATIONS #94

Continuing with the release of each project from Inspirations #94 as digital patterns, this week the silk ribbon roses are in full bloom with ‘Perfect Petals’ now available.

‘Perfect Petals’ by Helen Eriksson features lush silk ribbon roses on a velvet ground.

> PATTERN – Perfect Petals Digital Pattern Available HERE
> KIT – Perfect Petals Ready-To-Stitch-Kit Available HERE

FESTIVE FRUIT BY DENISE FORSYTH

The pursuit of re-creating nature through an artistic expression has been an endeavour of mankind since time began. Whether we are painting, sketching, sculpting or stitching, the challenge of mimicking nature's colours, shapes and textures is seemingly never ending.    

Denise Forsyth has made quite the debut as a first-time contributor to Inspirations. Originally stitching together her strawberries to enter a local needlework show, she did such an outstanding job of re-creating these luscious berries, they found their way onto the front cover of the world’s most beautiful needlework magazine! 

The rise and rise of Denise’s strawberries all started when her project was featured in our ‘What Are You Stitching?’ segment back in Embroidery News #35. Here is what Denise had to say at the time: 

‘I made these strawberries for our local Treasures in Miniature show and sold them at the time. Now I am preparing to teach a class later this month at one of our local guilds, so I am making some more.  They are all different pulled thread stitches on 32 count linen with pearl cotton filled with ground walnut shells. Very fun to make.

I am so excited, we are coming to Beating Around the Bush 2016. I hope you enjoyed seeing my strawberries, Denise Forsyth’

From there, Denise did indeed attend Beating Around the Bush last year and at the same time entered her strawberries in our ‘Stitch Your Heart Out Competition’ where they ended up taking out first prize in the counted thread category.

With her strawberries now well and truly in the spotlight, the Inspirations editorial team selected them as a project for inclusion in issue #96. As it so happens, one of our Inspirations photographers is also a professional chef and food stylist, so when it came time for Brendan to take photos of Denise’s humble strawberries, he really knocked it out of the park. 

The photos were so stunning, they just had to feature on the front cover – and there you have it, what was originally intended as an entry for a local needlework show in Washington USA, went on to become a world-famous pin up model!

Thank you, Denise for your beautiful stitching – we’re so glad you took the time to email us when you did, we have no doubt the butterfly effect of your strawberries will continue on and on….

DID YOU KNOW – ‘Festive Fruit’ as it appears in the magazine consists of seven different strawberries, five featuring unique patterns, with the other two made using a variation/combination of these five patterns.

To make her needlework strawberries as realistic as possible, Denise filled them with crushed walnut shells giving them a similar weight to that of the real deal.

No needlework strawberries were harmed during the filming of the magazine… the real strawberries and the cake however were not so lucky!

MAKE YOUR OWN FESTIVE FRUIT BY DENISE FORSYTH

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

‘Festive Fruit’ by Denise Forsyth are fabulous strawberries made from linen, textured with pulled thread embroidery. The magazine and digital pattern include the requirements list, step-by-step instructions for five different patterns plus the green sepals, and details for construction.

> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #96 Available HERE
> PATTERN – Festive Fruit Digital Pattern Available HERE

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch Kit for ‘Festive Fruit’ includes everything you need to re-create six delicious strawberries: fabric, ground walnut shells, embroidery threads and needles.

> KIT – Festive Fruit Ready-To-Stitch Kit Available HERE

LOOKING FOR MORE FRUIT?

THE GOLDEN POMEGRANATE – INSPIRATIONS #61

‘The Golden Pomegranate’ by Margaret Cobleigh features a beautiful pomegranate in this richly ornamented goldwork study.

> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #61 Available HERE
> PATTERN – The Golden Pomegranate Digital Pattern Available HERE

SERENDIPITY | STRAWBERRY AND CORNFLOUR –
A PASSION FOR NEEDLEWORK

‘Serendipity | Strawberry and Cornflour’ by Susan O’Connor is a colourful pinwheel with Elizabethan inspired flowers and fruits.

> KIT – Serendipity | Strawberry and Cornflour Kit Available HERE
> BOOK – A Passion for Needlework Available HERE

HARVEST – INSPIRATIONS #63

‘Harvest’ by Susan O’Connor is a collection of your favourite fruits and vegetables captured in stitch.

> PATTERN – Harvest Digital Pattern Available HERE
> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #63 Available HERE

SWEET STRAWBERRY – INSPIRATIONS #76

‘Sweet Strawberry’ by Deborah Love - Delightful strawberry plants, complete with flowers and fruit, intertwine around the inner border of this captivating tablecloth.

> PATTERN – Sweet Strawberry Digital Pattern Available HERE
> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #76 Available HERE

Anyone familiar with the Pixar movie ‘A Bug’s Life’ may remember Heimlich’s enthusiastic announcement of ‘Finally, I’m a beautiful butterfly!’ The pieces showcased in this week’s WAYS can now claim the same thing – finally, after hours of being created with needle and thread, they too feature beautiful butterflies!

NINA BURNSIDES

‘I love all forms of embroidery and challenging myself to trying new things. This piece is a lace pattern I translated into embroidery.

I used split, back, button hole and chain stitch, bullion and French knots, then added sequins and beads to bling it up a bit!’

Nina, your method of translating lace into embroidery has indeed produced a beautiful butterfly. What a fabulous technique!

KIM SPRINGHALL

‘This is the last project I completed from Beating Around the Bush 2016. I have done a couple of Jenny McWhinney’s classes and they are always a hoot as well as being great learning opportunities. With Jenny’s pieces, it’s all about the eyes! I decided to make my blanket fit a cot and extended the borders with some additional blanketing I bought at BATB.

I then added the sweet strawberry fabric from my stash to the back of the blanket which I had originally bought from the Country Bumpkin shop over a decade ago… I knew it would come in handy one day!’

‘I also let my cricket show a bit of its feminine side, by adding eye lashes and a pink bow - I guess I can always change it back to blue if it ends up being given to a boy! It was a lovely project to work on, and I am happy with the final result.’

Kim, after watching the progress you made on your ‘Great Escape’ Baby Blanket while you were at Beating Around the Bush, it’s fabulous to see the finished result! You’ve done an amazing job of capturing the personality Jenny stitches into each of her designs.

WENDY OSBORNE

‘After years of being nagged by my husband and family, I finally bit the bullet and entered some of my stitching into the Callington (in South Australia) show.

As I’m self-taught, I have always felt that my embroidery was not up to standard. I combined all my knowledge of cross stitch, hand embroidery, ribbon embroidery and beading and my version of Carolyn Pearce’s ‘The Embroidered Village Bag’ won 1st Prize, Champion and Grand Champion in my category!

I felt quite humble as the items and work in this show were amazing.’

Wendy, it is your attention to detail and meticulous stitching that makes your rendition of ‘The Embroidered Village Bag’ just stunning. With work so fine and intricate, there’s bound to be many a prize awarded for your work going forward!

If you’d like to create your own Village Bag, Carolyn Pearce’s ever-popular ‘The Embroidered Village Bag’ is available for purchase as a Digital Book HERE.

PIERA TAVANO

‘Embroidery has been my passion since I was a child and I have been able to dedicate most of my time to it since I retired from work some 15 years ago. Since then I have attended all sorts of needlework classes and have also tried my hand as a teacher.

I am just learning Stumpwork and have gleaned ideas from Jane Nicholas’ wonderful book and from a small, but exhaustive publication by Sachiko Morimoto. I always look forward to the next issue of Embroidery News.’

Piera, you’ve taken to Stumpwork like a natural - your butterfly is just gorgeous, and its dimension and colour make it incredibly life-like.

PASCALE MICHAUX

After seeing Pascale’s monochromatic work in EN#113 (HERE), this week we enjoy her colourful ode to spring…

Pascale, your piece captures the colour and beauty of Spring in one fabulous piece! Your work is incredibly dainty and refined.

What have you created with your needle and thread that can finally claim, ‘I’m a beautiful… ?’ We’d love to see it! Email us photos of your work along with a few details about what sparked your love of needle and thread to news@inspirationsstudios.com.

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SUBSCRIBE TO INSPIRATIONS MAGAZINE

PRINT | For a print subscription fill in our secure online form with your details HERE.

DIGITAL | Digital subscriptions can be purchase through Zinio direct HERE or through the Inspirations APP which can be downloaded via the iTunes and Google Play stores, by searching ‘Inspirations Magazine’.

CALL US - If you have any questions regarding an Inspirations subscription or just want to have a chat, we’d love to hear from you.  You can call us from anywhere in the world on +61 8 8293 8600 anytime and if we’re not in, leave a message and we’ll get back to you.  For anyone within Australia, call us on 08 8293 8600.

Otherwise email us anytime at subs@inspirationsstudios.com

MAKE YOUR OWN SEASON’S GREETINGS
BY ANA MALLAH

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

‘Season’s Greetings’ by Ana Mallah – four gorgeous ornaments to stitch for Christmas.

> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #96 Available HERE
> PATTERN – Season’s Greetings Digital Pattern Available HERE

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kits

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kits for ‘Season’s Greetings’ include everything you need to re-create these four beautiful ornaments.

> KIT – Berry Wreath Ready-To-Stitch Kit Available HERE
> KIT – Poinsettia Ready-To-Stitch Kit Available HERE
> KIT – Snowflake Ready-To-Stitch Kit Available HERE
> KIT – Christmas Tree Ready-To-Stitch Kit Available HERE

LOOKING FOR MORE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS?

CHRISTMAS BOUQUET – INSPIRATIONS #88

‘Christmas Bouquet’ by Julie Kniedl is a stunning three-dimensional embroidered bouquet.

> KIT – Christmas Bouquet Ready-To-Stitch Kit Available HERE
> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #88 Available HERE

TRUE LOVE – INSPIRATIONS #68

‘True Love’ by Susan O’Connor - Celebrate the first day of Christmas with this stunning ornament, stitched with lustrous stranded silk threads onto silk satin.

> KIT – True Love Ready-To-Stitch Kit Available HERE
> PATTERN – True Love Digital Pattern Available HERE
> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #68 Available HERE

CELESTINA – INSPIRATIONS #67

‘Celestina’ by Carolyn Pearce is a fabulous glistening angel decoration.

> PATTERN – Celestina Digital Pattern Available HERE

What: May Morris | Art & Life
Where: William Morris Gallery | Lloyd Park, Forest Road Walthamstow, London
When: to 28 Jan
Details: Click HERE

What: Ruby Squares Exhibition | Solihull Emb Guild
Where:  Makit Christmas Fair | Cranmore Park Westmidlands, UK
When: 2 Dec
Details: Click HERE

What: Albury Wodonga Doll, Bear & Hobby Show 2017
Where: Mirambeena Community Centre | 19 Martha Mews Lavington, New South Wales
When: 2 & 3 Dec
Details: Click HERE

What: Jeanie Baker’s Circle Exhibition
Where: Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens | Brisbane, Queensland
When: 11 Dec to 25 Feb
Details: Click HERE

Send us details about events, exhibitions and celebrations happening in your place of stitch and we’ll include them in Embroidery News. Contact us at
news@inspirationsstudios.com

Happy Stitching
The Embroidery News Team