Hi <<First Name>>, Joy to The World. On our pin-up board in the kitchen at Inspirations is this funny quote: ‘I tried the Japanese method of decluttering where you hold up an object and if it doesn't bring you joy you throw it away. So far I have thrown out all the vegetables, my bra, the electricity bill, the scales, a mirror and my treadmill.’ We like where this is going and particularly like the idea of filtering things out of our lives that are negative.  There are days when it feels like the world around us is in a tail spin and more than ever we need to bring some ‘Joy to The World’. That’s where stitching comes in. Instead of reading the doom and gloom news, read about beautiful needlework.  Instead of listening to current affairs, put on some music and stitch yourself happy. For some, the festive season is not so festive, yet we all have the power to improve how we feel – picking up your needle and thread is a great start to help make you feel better. Let us all declutter our lives by replacing negativity and worry with the joy of needlework. After all, ‘Tis the Season to Be Jolly!

Share with us your joy of needlework by emailing us at: news@inspirationsstudios.com

With Christmas only 10 days away, there’s something you might need to know… this is the last week to order from Inspirations and have it shipped before Christmas!

Our offices will be closed from Friday 22nd until the week of January 8th, so make sure you place your orders by the end of day Thursday Dec 21st to ensure they ship before the break.

Here are a few suggestions of what might be on your MUST HAVE list!

INSPIRATIONS 2018 CALENDAR

What better way to start 2018, than by hanging the world’s most beautiful needlework calendar on your wall?

> INSPIRATIONS 2018 CALENDAR – Available for Purchase HERE

BEATING AROUND THE BUSH 2018 CATALOGUE

With bookings opening February 5th, if you are yet to get a copy of the Beating Around the Bush 2018 catalogue… what are you waiting for?!

> DIGITAL – Download Catalogue as PDF for FREE HERE
> PRINT – Purchase Catalogue in Print HERE
> CONFERENCE – More info about BATB 2018 HERE

READY-TO-STITCH KITS

Whether you embrace or escape the holiday season, you’ll need an Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch Kit to help keep you sane! With over 45 kits in stock, we’ve got something for everyone.

> KITS – Browse Inspirations Kits HERE

‘Hats Off to Our Hobbies’ by Donna Kennedy Fry

Tools of the trade are as important as the product they help create. Great collections can be amassed in the name of a hobby. As people who stitch, open our cupboards and you may find crumbling boxes filled with spools of thread, granny’s needle holder, an ancient hoop with unknown parentage, the good scissors, a silver thimble.

Some things stand out. The sentimental pieces, the hand me downs, the orphans (jar full of buttons anyone?) that no one else wanted. They wend their way into our homes and we love them. We feel safe in the knowledge that if the internet breaks and every haberdashery shop in the world simultaneously disappears we will have enough to be going on with. We love the ‘things’ of our hobby as much as the hobby itself.

What if you could wear your hobby? Beautiful embroidered dresses, shoes covered in beads, evening bags that look like they were stitched by mice tailors. Beautiful. Whimsical. But what if we take it one step further? UK Milliner, Stephen Jones has done just that in a design for his Spring Summer 2018 collection.

Designed to look like a spool of thread, ‘Sewing’ is an enchanting top hat constructed from printed cotton, silk yarn and a steel bodkin. It can be ordered in different colours and will be in store from Jan/Feb 2018. Of course, if there is a client who would like to see the piece in person, Stephen Jones Millinery can make special arrangements for them!

Stephen Jones enjoys an illustrious career as a milliner. Based in London and working with popstars, royalty, celebrities and fashion designers he has been trusted with some of the most famous heads on the planet.

We think that this design really reflects our tribe, maybe we could make it our uniform? What do you think?

Images used with permission | www.stephenjonesmillinery.com
36 Great Queen Street, Covent Garden, London England WC2B 5AA
Instagram @stephenjonesmillinery

RIBBONS AND RAINBOWS – INSPIRATIONS #94

It’s all ribbons and rainbows this week as we release another project from Inspirations #94 as a digital pattern.

‘Ribbons and Rainbows’ by Jennifer Clouston is a beautiful combination of fabric, threads and colours, brought together to create a charming purse with the added bonus of providing an ideal way to use up all those textile treasures you have secretly stashed away over the years!

Jennifer Clouston describes crazy patchwork this way: ‘It combines all that I love; colour, embroidery, slow stitching, patchwork, beading and a whole lot of whimsy.’

‘Ribbons and Rainbows’ by Jennifer Clouston is a crazy patch evening purse worked on a rainbow of silk fabrics.

> PATTERN – Ribbons and Rainbows Digital Pattern Available HERE

SPRING FEVER – INSPIRATIONS #28

For those in the southern hemisphere who are currently enjoying the warmer weather, here is a new digital pattern just for you!

‘Spring Fever’ by Lezette Thomason is a super cute yet practical outfit, perfect for warm sunny days. Digital pattern includes complete instructions and pattern sheets to make a midriff top and crop pants for kids sizes 4, 5 and 6 years.

> PATTERN – Spring Fever Digital Pattern Available HERE

THE BOBBIN TREE BY JENNY McWHINNEY

When it comes to solving problems, Jenny McWhinney is all over it. 

Need something to store your clothes pegs? No problem – ‘The Early Bird’ peg bag from Inspirations #75 is your best friend. Got embroidery hoops that need a home? All sorted – ‘Falling Leaves’ from the book ‘A Passion for Needlework’ provides an ingenious fix.

Jenny’s latest project is just the ticket for those of us lucky enough to have Bobbin Trees in our backyard and struggle to find a bag that is big enough to hold all the bobbins while we’re picking them.  You’re with us, right….?  Bobbins grow on trees and that’s where all our threads come from… the trees are quite hard work to harvest, hence the need for a nice big bag!

Well anyway, for those of us who still believe in magical Bobbin Trees, you’re going to love the project ‘The Bobbin Tree’ by Jenny McWhinney. For the unbelievers among us, the bag also has 101 other uses thanks to its generous proportions measuring 25.5cm x 38cm wide x 20cm deep (10" x 15" x 8") excluding the handles, but the incredibly cute design is what this project is really all about.

One side features the most adorable bunny (love her fluffy cotton tail!) climbing up a ladder to reach up and pick bobbins, collecting them in her basket below. On the other side is her cart all loaded up with bobbins, ready for market.

After the editorial team liased with Jenny for this new project, the day finally came when the finished design arrived, and it was even more magnificent than Jenny had described. Then we looked inside, and Jenny had surprised us all by going over and above by creating a matching bobbin holder accessory bag!

Beautiful enough to be a project on its own, the bobbin holder measures 6cm x 12cm in diameter (2 3/8" x 4 3/4") and is encircled with 20 cute as pie bobbin motifs in a rainbow of vibrant colours, all finished with a drawstring.

Special thanks to Jenny and her husband Ron for hosting us at their store ‘The Bobbin Tree’ for a recent Inspirations photo shoot, where several projects were photographed including The Bobbin Tree bag.

To learn more about Bobbin Trees, we highly recommend a visit to Jenny’s store – it’s the most gorgeous shop you’ll ever see, filled with the most amazing threads (hand-picked from Bobbin Trees of course!) a gallery of Jenny’s stunning projects and much, much more.

> Website - Visit The Bobbin Tree HERE

MAKE YOUR OWN BOBBIN TREE BAG
BY JENNY McWHINNEY

Purchase Project Instructions

‘The Bobbin Tree’ by Jenny McWhinney is a delightful sewing bag featuring a bunny ‘harvesting’ threads, with a matching drawstring pouch.

> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #96 Available HERE
> PATTERN – The Bobbin Tree Digital Pattern Available HERE

Purchase Kit

> THE BOBBIN TREE is also available as a kit to purchase from Jenny McWhinney direct HERE

LOOKING FOR MORE SEWING BAGS?

FRENCH STYLE – INSPIRATIONS #59

‘French Style’ by Angelique Benseghir-Vergnault is a superb sewing bag with accessories that oozes Parisian grace and charm.

> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #59 Available HERE
> PATTERN – French Style Digital Pattern Available HERE

SILKEN DREAMS – INSPIRATIONS #66

‘Silken Dreams’ by Monique Johnston and Kris Richards is two elegant silk sewing bags.

> PATTERN – Silken Dreams Digital Pattern Available HERE

PURE BLISS – INSPIRATIONS #55

‘Pure Bliss’ by Julie Graue is a truly feminine sewing bag decorated with a selection of sewing essentials.

> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #55 Available HERE

LITTLE BITS OF BLISS – INSPIRATIONS #57

‘Little Bits of Bliss’ by Julie Graue is the perfect companion to the ‘Pure Bliss’ sewing bag. The needlebook and needlecase are made from matching striped fabric embroidered with ribbon and roses.

> PATTERN – Little Bits of Bliss Digital Pattern Available HERE
> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #57 Available HERE

Bags - take your pick, they can be large or small, practical or decorative, plain or ornate and this week’s ‘What Are You Stitching?’ celebrates the beauty of the bag that’s been created by hand with needle and thread. Which bag will you covet for your own use, or collection, as the case may be?!

LYNDA HAWKES | UK

‘I am a member of Charnwood Threads Embroidery Group that meet every Thursday in Leicestershire in the UK. I began my stitching life just doing cross stitch for many years and then enrolled in a course at a local college eight years ago because I wanted to learn other techniques and the rest, as they say, is history! I particularly like Ribbon Embroidery, Stumpwork, Goldwork and Hardanger.

I have finally made the bag my daughter has been asking for from Inspirations #44, ‘Caprice’ by Susan O’Connor. She didn't want the beads or sequins and wanted the colours muted down a little so it is not exactly as shown in the pattern, but she is pleased with it.’

Linda, we love that you were able to take Susan’s design and fine-tune it to suit your daughter’s taste. The bag you’ve created could definitely be described as decorative and ornate, and would be a gorgeous addition to anyone’s wardrobe!

If you’d like to add ‘Caprice’ to your own wardrobe, printed issues of Inspirations #44 are still available for purchase, as is the Digital Pattern Download of the project itself.

CAPRICE – INSPIRATIONS #44

‘Caprice’ by Susan O’Connor is an exotic embroidered evening bag with lustrous silk flowers and leaves, surrounded by beaded berries.

> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #44 Available HERE
> PATTERN – Caprice Digital Pattern Available HERE

GILLIAN GAVSHON

‘Hello fellow needleworkers, what am I stitching now? Well, I have just revamped a bag I did many years ago from Inspirations Issue 7, Helen Eriksson’s ‘Bed of Roses’! I made it with a black silk instead of velvet and lined it with a very thin synthetic liner and added a long strap to it - hence, the use of it was not very often as it was all a bit floppy.

I now have a formal dress and function to go to and was wondering what bag would go - aha, the flimsy bag, but it needs altering! Fortunately, I still had Issue #7, so unpicked the whole thing and redid it using a thicker lining, backing it onto some black velour and turning it back into a clutch bag and et voila!

The tassel is unfortunately not homemade, but I had this one lying around doing nothing and it was the perfect match. I guess this really comes under UP - Updating Projects! Love your newsletters - so full of ideas and thoughtful articles.’

Gillian, they say that necessity is the mother of invention and we love that your formal occasion gave rise to the updating of a classic Inspirations’ project! Your ribbon embroidery is just gorgeous and is the perfect contrast to the luscious black fabric of the bag itself. 

If you’d like to make your own ‘Bed of Roses’, limited quantities of Inspirations #7 are still available for purchase, but be quick, they won’t last long!

INSPIRATIONS ISSUE #7

Discover the joy of embroidery with beautiful projects for your baby and floral inspired pieces.

> MAGAZINE – Inspirations #7 Available HERE

GILL DUNCAN | UK

‘My grandmother was a dressmaker and milliner and I remember watching her recreate the hat she wore to church each week so that it looked like a completely new one. My mother also did beautiful handwork and taught me to embroider when I was a little girl in the early 1950’s.

From there, I developed by own love of needlework and was lucky enough to attend a school with a fantastic Domestic Science department with inspirational teachers.’

‘In the 1990’s, I joined the Embroiderers’ Guild and became a member of the Smocking Branch. It was there was there I came across Australian Smocking and Embroidery Magazine and started my collection. I have made many of the projects as gifts for friends and family, such as the Italian smocked Fioro Bello bag from Issue #76. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to develop my passion for needlework.’

Gill, we love the use of smocking in Fioro Bello which gives the bag such an incredibly unique finish. After all the years since the project was originally published, it still has a contemporary yet timeless appeal.

FRANÇOISE KOENIG | FRANCE

‘About 25 years ago I decided to knit a patchwork sweater using left over wool, but unfortunately I ran out of inspiration after only about 30cm of one side! Then a few years later my mother thought it would make a nice cushion and she finished my knitting with ribs, but never sewed the cushion itself.

Now I've finally made a bag of it! It holds memories of several sweaters of the time when I was a teenager, sweaters of my long deceased father, a suit my mother wore when I was a child, plus a few forgotten items along the way.’

Françoise, that’s quite a journey your knitting has been on from start to finished bag! What beautiful memories you must be reminded of each time you use it.

JOYCE BARGH | UK

We first saw the work of Joyce Bargh in EN #116 (HERE) and this week we share a very useful bag she’s created using the Italian Castleguidi technique . . .

‘I developed an interest in embroidery from different countries of the world and after researching many of them soon realised that although we all do the same stitches, each country has its own unique presentation and use of those stitches.’

Joyce, we love that the contents of your bag are as elaborate and gorgeous as the bag itself!

Do you have a bag you’ve created with needle and thread? Large or small, practical or decorative, plain or ornate, we’d love to see it! Email photos of your bag along with a few details about you stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com

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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 FESTIVE FRUIT BY DENISE FORSYTH

‘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

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

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

What: Hannah Ryggen | Woven Histories
Where: Modern Art Oxford | 30 Pembroke Street Oxford, UK
When: to 18 Feb
Details: Click HERE

What: Fiber Fest | Artisan Textiles, Embellishments, Unique Fibers & Wearable Art!
Where: Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum | 703 South 2nd Street La Connor, WA USA
When: 24 Feb | Artist & Vendor Applications Now Available
Details : Click HERE

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

What: Days of Vines & Stitches | Greater Pacific Region of the EGA Biennial Seminar
Where: Sonoma State University | Rohnert Park California, USA
When: 20 to 25 July | Registrations Open 1 Jan
Details: Clcik 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