Hi <<First Name>>,

PASSION {noun} : strong and barely controllable emotion. Does that definition resonate with you?  Are your emotions towards needlework strong and at times barely controllable?  JOIN THE CLUB! There are so many descriptive words that can be used to articulate how needlework affects us, from addictive to meditative, liberating to exhilarating, this is a high emotion, high enjoyment craft. This week we have chosen the word PASSION to describe needlework for a very special reason… it’s the name of our brand new book: ‘A Passion For Needlework’ by Inspirations.  Available for purchase for the very first time today, we wanted to take a moment and celebrate the occasion with you all and tell you a bit about the passion that went into making this extraordinary publication.  Plus, we learn the back story behind the article in issue #91 ‘A Sense Of Place’ which yet again highlights the positive transforming power craft and needlework can have in our community.  Proceed with passion and enjoy all this and more in EN 62.

Do you have something to share?  We’d love to hear from you!  Email us at:
news@inspirationsstudios.com

                              - L A S T    C H A N C E -

                                               With only 2 weeks to go, this is the
                                                FINAL CALL to book for BATB 2016

      CLASSES AND ACCOMMODATION STILL AVAILABLE!

20 of the world’s best tutors, 62 of the world’s most beautiful needlework projects, 7 of the best days of your life.

       Last Chance, Don’t Delay, Last Call, Book Today!

> Digital PDF of the catalogue available to download for FREE – Click HERE.
> Registration online and see list of classes and accommodation – Click HERE.

ALREADY REGISTERED?

BATB 2016 Special Events Calendar Now Available.   To check out all the fun you can get up to after class, click HERE.

In mid-2015 the Inspirations team held a planning meeting to determine what products we would develop for the following year.  Naturally there would be 4 issues of Inspirations magazine and we had already begun work on another calendar, however we all had a desire to present our hugely loyal and passionate community with something extra special.  Should it be a fifth issue of the magazine?  A collection of the best projects published to date? 

Inspirations Studios CEO Kristian Fleming, explains it like this: ‘Creating the world’s most beautiful needlework publications comes with high expectations, intense scrutiny and leaves no room for complacency.  And that is why we love it; it energises and compels us to strive for more.  More beautiful, more stunning and more of the world’s best.’

And so it was, we decided to set out and create the world’s most beautiful needlework book.

‘A Passion For Needlework’ by Inspirations is our brand new needlework book dedicated to showcasing exquisite and innovative projects with lavish galleries of gorgeous photography for the admirer, plus meticulous and detailed instructions for the hands-on.

Is it a coffee table book or a how-to guide?  The answer is both!  What makes this book so unique is the first 75 pages are double page spread after double page spread of nothing but lush, rich images of some of the world’s most beautiful needlework.  Then in the second half of the book, just like in the magazine, we break down every project into our trademark step-by-step instructions, complete with detailed diagrams, how-to guides, expert tips and tricks and illustrated stitching glossary.

‘A Passion For Needlework’ features 12 brand new pieces from some of today’s most creative and gifted needle artisans, including:

Lorna Bateman; Trish Burr; Jo Butcher; Alison Cole; Julie Kniedl; Deborah Love; Jenny McWhinney; Jane Nicholas; Susan O’Connor Elisabetta Sforza and Judy Wilford.

‘Our team has poured their heart and soul into this book and we can honestly say it has exceeded even our expectations, which is no easy feat!  We believe ‘A Passion For Needlework’ sets a new benchmark for needlework books and it is our great joy and privilege to produce it for the sole purpose of inspiring our stitching community with the world’s most beautiful needlework.’   Kristian Fleming

‘A Passion For Needlework’ by Inspirations is what needlework dreams are made of.  12 brand new projects covering techniques from surface embroidery to Schwalm, thread painting, raised and even three-dimensional embroidery. 

‘A Passion For Needlework’ is out now and can be shipped directly to your door wherever in the world you may live.

This book is 164 pages, printed on premium quality art paper, finished with a soft matte laminated cover embellished with foil, 6mm ribbon bookmark, and includes two perforated lift out pattern sheets.

> ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY – CLICK HERE

The biennial “Stitch Your Heart Out” needlework challenge is open to ANY SKILL LEVEL, ANY TECHNIQUE, USING ANY MATERIALS and you don't need to attend Beating Around the Bush to enter – it’s for everyone!

Whether it’s your own design or someone else’s and with amazing prizes on offer, this is a needlework challenge for every stitcher and their needle. New or existing projects, there is a category just right for you.

GRAND PRIZE - A full set of magnificent Au Ver à Soie, Soie d’Alger silk threads valued at more than AU$3,500 will be awarded to the overall winner.

This is a wonderful opportunity to share your talents with fellow stitcher’s so don’t be shy – we want to see your work!

ENTER TODAY!  For more information, including how to enter, download the entry form HERE. 

The current issue of Inspirations #91 features an inspiring and uplifting article about how the Yarrenyty Arltere Art Centre in central Australia is transforming the lives of their local community through craft and needlework. Researched and written by our uber talented Inspirations roving reporter Ansie Van der Walt, this really is a must read piece and is worth buying the magazine for in its own right. This week we have an extra special treat for you as Ansie has written a follow up report to this article especially for Embroidery News….

Woman with Cooloman by Marlene Rubuntja (L) & Good Body To Live Marlene Rubuntja (R)

The first time I saw the work of Dulcie Sharp and the other artists of the Yarrenyty Arltere Art Centre was at the Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in Adelaide in October last year. Their soft sculptures and hand embroidery jumped out at me. I immediately felt a connection. It is as if every figure had a soul.

They Come from Nowhere by Rhonda Sharpe (L) Family by Dulcie Sharpe (R)

I spoke to some of the artists at the Adelaide event but did not have the opportunity for an in-depth conversation. While working on the article for issue 91, I communicated with Sophie Wallace, art coordinator at the centre via email and phone, but I longed to see how and where the artists work and to experience the place that inspires them so much. When our family holiday plans to Central Australia came together I made sure a visit to the Yarrenyty Arltere Art Centre was on the itinerary!

My visit on a perfect autumn day in April could not have happened at a better time! I arrived at the centre just as a blanket was pulled out of the dye vat. Opening up a blanket bundle has everyone in suspense. The rusted metal pieces and the natural plant dyes used in the process ensure that the final product is always an eagerly awaited surprise. This one had subtle green and charcoal patterns which would eventually find their way into another unique artwork.

I was fortunate to see the whole artistic process in action. From the newly dyed blankets all the way to the finished sculpture. The artists come up with concepts for their work which are then translated into pattern pieces. The figures are cut from the blankets, machine stitched and stuffed before it is meticulously filled in with hand embroidery. The story behind each piece dictates the pattern and the colours used for the embellishments.

Rosabella, Dulcie, Trudie & Candy the dog at YALC

All the work is done at the art centre where the artists come together around a big table piled with yarn and thread in every conceivable colour. Works in progress, and new ideas scribbled on sketchpads find a space on there too. Candy the mascot dog keeps watch under the table, making sure everyone is happy and safe.

Seeing where these sculptures are conceived I now understand where their soul comes from. It comes from the hearts and lives of these women who tell their stories with their hands. Needle and thread translate the soul of the Larapinta Town Camp in Alice Springs into artworks worthy of the best art collections in the world.

It was an honour to be welcomed into their work place. Thank you.

Ansie van der Walt | www.ansievanderwalt.com

Read the original article ‘A Sense Of Place’ in Inspirations issue #91. Printed copies available for purchase HERE.

Precedent / prɛsɪd(ə)nt /
An earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances.

This week saw a ‘Can You Help?’ first – we posed three new conversation starters last week and are yet to receive a single response from anyone in the Embroidery News Community! Usually our conversation starters surrounding travel create the most chatter and we’re sure someone has something to add to the conversation so we’ll refresh your memories . . .

Images courtesy of Koekoek, Mary Mack & Pretty Little Barcelona Cross Stitch

Lis has Cambodia & Vietnam in her sights, Colleen is off to Greece & Sue’s next travel destination is Barcelona & they’re all hoping to be pointed in the direction of a store or two that will help them indulge their love of stitching, patchwork, textiles & embroidery!

We’d still love to be able to point Liz, Colleen & Sue in the direction of their travel dreams, so please email us at news@inspirationsstudios.com with anything you have to add to their conversations – no matter how big or small!

To celebrate the launch of our new book ‘A Passion For Needlework’ the first Inspirations Ready To Stitch Kit from these 12 new projects has now been launched.

‘White Linen’ by Deborah Love is a simple yet elegant form of the garden tulip, richly ornamented with intricate drawn thread and surface stitches, worked with a subtle palette of white on pristine white linen to create a delightful boudoir cushion.

Kit includes: fabrics, buttons, threads and needles.

> TO ORDER YOUR KIT, CLICK HERE

Everyone this week are regular contributors to ‘What Are You Stitching’ and it’s great to see them back again with more innovation, more inspiration and more Passion For Needlework!

Joanne Crane from Massachusetts in the USA fires things up first with her stunning cushion:

‘This is my version of Deborah Love’s “Harmonies” from Inspirations issue #88 which took me a while to decide how to finish it off.  Hope you like it.  This one was quite a challenge for me — I’m left-handed and had to do some fancy figuring to get things done.  Like copying stitches and turning the page upside down.  

The New England laid stitch almost did me in!  Right now I’m hot-to-trot on counted Xstitch for Xmas gifts while I plan my next embroidery adventure!  Keep up with the excellent work!  I look forward to every issue of the magazine and the newsletter.  Joanne Crane’

Superb work Joanne, the quality of your stitching and the finish of the cushion itself is just excellent.  Loved hearing the ingenuity of a left hander battling through in a right-handed world, good on you for pushing in and not giving up, the end result is so worth it!

Printed copies of Inspirations issue #88, featuring the project ‘Harmonies’ by Deborah Love are available for purchase by clicking HERE. 

For any fans of Deborah Love’s work, don’t miss the opportunity to attend a class with her at Beating Around The Bush 2016 in October, Adelaide Australia.

> Places still available, register today by clicking HERE.

Lynda Hawkes from Leicestershire in the United Kingdom has created a delightful project for a milestone birthday gift:

‘Hi, I thought I would send you something I have recently done that I adapted from the monogram pattern of ‘Love Letters’ by Elisabetta Sforza in issue #89.

I based the number 90 on the design of the monograms and then used the filling flower designs from the magazine and added some ribbon embroidery to it. I am pleased with the result.  Lynda’

Well done Lynda, you have really captured the essence of what Elisabetta was teaching in ‘Love Letters’ which was to do exactly what you have done here and mark out the characters and then fill it in with a range of different sized flowers and motifs.  Your selection, placement, and finish of all the elements have come together beautifully.  Sensational job.

Printed copies of Inspirations issue #89, featuring the project ‘Love Letters’ by Elisabetta Sforza are available for purchase by clicking HERE.

Kathleen Klein from Michigan USA has a really creative imagination and has another fantastic fantasy piece for us to admire:

‘Thank you for showing my Steampunk/CQ work back in EN 48, it was what I needed to get my motivation back after having a total knee replacement, and hadn't been stitching.  I went into my sewing area and put the finishing touches on my Dragon set, Flubdub, Fern, and their baby, Fangburt. It is a combination of steampunk, metal work, Brazilian, silk ribbon, beading and crazy quilting. Hope you enjoy my Dragon family. Kathleen’

Amazing as always Kathleen!  Trust your knee is back in good working order and we’re glad we could help in some small way with your recovery. 

For our final project this week, Piera Tavano has sent in this gorgeous piece all the way from Camino, Alessandria in Italy:

‘Greetings to you at Inspirations!  I am always very eager to scroll through the Newsletter when it arrives and I found the flowers recently very lovely. I would like you to see my flowers, stitched some time ago but of which I am very proud.   My best wishes to you all for the upcoming Beating Around the Bush Convention.  Piera Tavano’

Thus is such a delightful design Piera, we’re so pleased you shared it with us.  Excellent shading work on both the leaves and the petals and we especially loved the style of characters you’ve used for your monogramming.  Terrific!  Also thank you for the well wishes regarding BATB this year, we’ll definitely be sharing lots of photos with everyone in Embroidery News so you can very much feel a part of it. 

What Are YOU Stitching?  We’d love to see it… send your photos, a description of the project and a little about yourself including where you live, to news@inspirationsstudios.com.

NEW DIGITAL PATTENS ADDED JUST THIS WEEK

‘Snow Belle’ by Anna Scott Elegant silk bag embellished with beads and sequins.		‘Autumn Feast’  By Kelly Fletcher Elegant embroidered linen placemats.
> Click HERE to purchase		> Click HERE to purchase

‘A Passion For Needlework’ by Inspirations is the world’s most beautiful needlework book and is now available for purchase through our website.  To view a comprehensive photo gallery of each exquisite piece, along with a full list of the included projects and their designers click HERE.

Beautiful Needlework.  Sold Here.  www.stitchology.com.au

Inspirations issue #92 Update

Dispatch for Inspiration issue #92 will begin shortly.  If you normally pay for your subscription via PayPal please ensure your invoice is paid to avoid delay in receiving your magazine.  If you have a new credit card or your mailing details have changed and have not already notified us, please email us this week at subs@inspirationsmagazine.com.au

Not A Subscriber?  Join Today!

Have the world’s most beautiful needlework magazine delivered right to your door 4 times a year,

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@inspirationsmagazine.com.au

BACK IN STOCK

The Dandelyne™ Mini-Hoops as featured in issue #91 have been so popular, we sold out!  The good news is, they are now BACK IN STOCK! 

Dandelyne™ Mini Hoops are tiny replicas of the real thing that are just begging for you to stitch something to put inside. It can be as simple or as complex as you like as long as it’s small enough to fit!  The best thing is, they come as either a wearable brooch or can hang from a chain so that you have a perfect, personalised piece of embroidered jewellery.

> Explore our range of Dandelyne Mini Hoops by clicking HERE

SPECIAL REMINDER – MINI HOOPS COMPETITION

To celebrate our discovery of these super cute hoops, Inspirations is running a competition as announced in issue #91.

We want you to discover just how much fun these mini hoops are… so stitch up a design that will fit in one of the Dandelyne hoops and send it in to be in the running to win some fantastic prizes.

Winning entries will be published in Inspirations magazine so don’t forget to keep a list of the threads and stitches that you have used and a copy of your design.  You can pop your entry into a mini-hoop or un-hooped, either way is fine, if you don’t include the hoop just remember to tell us what size hoop your design is intended for.

Send your entries to: Inspirations Magazine Mini Hoop Competition PO Box 10177 Adelaide Business Hub South Australia 5000 Australia Entries close September 30th 2016.

INSPIRATIONS 2016/2017 CALENDAR STARTS THIS MONTH

Be inspired all year around with the World’s Most Beautiful Needlework Calendar.  And it all starts right now in September!

The first project to be featured in our 2016/2017 calendar for the month of September is ‘Gathering Lillies’ by Nettie Morris from Inspirations issue #66.  One of the stand out features of this piece is the extraordinary precision of Nettie's stitches which can be seen on the delightful faces of these two girls gathering arum lilies from the garden.

To celebrate the month of September heralding the start of our calendar, we have added the project ‘Gathering Lilies’ as a digital download making the calendar a very practical inspirational tool indeed.  Now not only can you admire this extraordinary piece, you can stitch it for yourself!

‘Gathering Lilies’ by Nettie Morris More than ninety shades of stranded cotton thread have been used to create this stunning thread painted masterpiece. > To purchase Digital Pattern click HERE.

DON’T HAVE A 2016/2017 INSPIRATIONS CALENDAR YET?

Copies are still available and can be shipped directly to your door anywhere in the world.  To order click HERE.

What: Slipstitch
Where: Castlemaine Art Galley & Historical Museum | 14 Lyttleton Street Castlemaine, Victoria
When: to 24 Sep
Details: Click HERE

What: Making the Australian Quilt: 1800 to 1950
Where: National Galley of Victoria Australia | Federation Square – Flinders Street & Russell Street Melbourne, Victoria
When: to 6 Nov
Details: Click HERE

What: RSN | Stories in Stitch Exhibition
Where: Hampton Court Palace
When: to Mar 17
Details: Click HERE

What: The Embroiderers’ Guild ACT | Annual Exhibition
Where: Albert Hall | Commonwealth Avenue Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory
When: 16 to 18 Sep
Details: Click HERE

What: The South Coast & Country Quilters Guild | 13th Bi-Annual Quilt Exhibition
Where: Batemans Bay Soldiers Club | 2 Beach Road Batemans Bay, New South Wales
When: 16 to 18 Sep
Details: Click HERE

What: Victoria Pearce – Director of Endangered Heritage in Phillip | Lecture
Where: Albert Hall | Commonwealth Avenue Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory
When: 17 Sep
Details: Click HERE

What: SAGA Convention | Anchored in SAGA
Where: Embassy Suites | 1700 Coliseum Drive Hampton, Virginia
When: 20 to 25 Sep
Details: Click HERE

What: Annemieke Mein Exhibition | Habitat
Where: The Gallery at Bayside Arts & Cultural Centre | Corner of Wilson & Carpenter Streets Brighton, Victoria
When: 24 Sep to 6 Nov
Details: Click HERE

What: Geelong Fibre Forum
Where: Geelong Grammar School | 50 Biddlecombe Avenue Corio, Victoria
When: 26 Sep to 2 Oct
Details: Click HERE

What: The Embroiderers’ Guild of Tasmania | Biennial Exhibition
Where: Punchbowl Christian Centre | 100 Punchbowl Road Punchbowl, Tasmania
When: 28 Sep to 1 Oct

What: Kingham Quilters Guild 2016 Show
Where: Beale Celebrations Building | 201 N Fourth Street Kingman, Arizon
When : 30 Sep to 1 Oct
Details: Click HERE

What: Bodalla Embroiderers Exhibition & Sales Event
Where: Bodalla Memorial Hall | Princess Highway Bodalla
When : 1 to 2 Oct
Details: Marg Downey | 0458 645 252

What: The Brisbane Craft & Quilt Fair
Where: Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre | Merivale & Glenelg Street South Brisbane, Queensland
When: 5 to 9 Oct
Details: Click HERE

What: The Embroiderer’s Guild of Victoria | A Secret Garden
Where: Embroidery House | 170 Wattletree Road Malver, Victoria
When: 8 to 23 Oct
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
embroiderynews@inspirationsmagazine.com.au

Happy Stitching
The Embroidery News Team