Attic of Dreams by Jackie du Plessis

A gorgeous petite embroidery featuring a dainty bouquet of pink florals, proudly standing tall in a delightful woven basket.

It sounds idyllic, doesn't it? And it most certainly is. Yet inside a secret awaits that we can't wait to reveal...

This week we're giving a huge warm Inspirations welcome to Jackie du Plessis - who may be appearing in our pages for the first time but is very far from a newcomer to the needlework world.

Jackie designs and teaches under the wonderfully named label It's Fine-ally Finished - a clever play on words that speaks to both the exquisite quality of her work and a very frequently used phrase among stitchers!

If you are not familiar with Jackie's work, she has a devoted following in the American needlework community. She runs workshops and Extended Study Programs for the Embroiderers' Guild of America, and her speciality is stitched objects that are as functional as they are beautiful - etuis, needle books, workboxes, sewing rolls - projects with that magic combination of creating something that you'll treasure and actually use.

Jackie’s first project for us, Attic of Dreams from The Handpicked Collection 7, is a perfect introduction to everything she does best, which includes hiding little surprises waiting for us to find...

The first surprise is that the basket and the flower panel are two entirely separate pieces, connected by the most elegant ribbon handle.

The second surprise is that the flower panel is a fold that opens up to reveal a miniature sewing world - needle pages, a scissor keep, a tiny pair of embroidery scissors, all tied together with hand-dyed silk ribbon and gold jump rings.

Attic of Dreams is, in fact, a fully functional stitching etui, dressed up as a basket of flowers. We are completely charmed.

The finished piece measures just 9cm x 6.5cm (3½" x 2½") - small enough to slip into your work basket, as Jackie puts it - and is worked on 36-count cream linen. The upper section features a cluster of delicate pink flowers in Smyrna stitch, whipped spider web and loop stitch, with a tiny golden butterfly hovering nearby.

The lower basket section is filled with darning patterns in variegated slate blue - quietly satisfying, beautifully geometric, and exactly the kind of counted thread work that gets better the longer you look at it.

The palette is all soft vintage charm: maidenhair fern, antique roses, yellow blush, slate blue and lemon citron.

There's a lovely range of techniques on offer - back stitch, four-sided stitch, queen stitch, darning stitch, loop stitch and whipped spider web - and the construction process, while detailed, is wonderfully well thought through.

Step-by-step diagrams are included for the trickier stitches, and Jackie's characteristic attention to detail means every edge, fold and finish has been considered.

It is such an honour to have Jackie join the Inspirations family, and with a project as perfect as this on her debut with us, we are giddy with excitement - not only to make Attic of Dreams for ourselves, but also to see what other magic tricks she has in store for us.

Speaking of making our own Attic of Dreams - Ready-to-Stitch kits for this project are now available and include all the materials you need to re-create this very special piece exactly as the original.

And if you'd like to discover more about It's Fine-ally Finished by Jackie du Plessis, you can visit her website HERE.