Linda Stephen

‘This is a collage of embroidered pieces that I have thoroughly enjoyed stitching over the past few years. There was no plan for the finished pieces, so I tucked them into a lovely box in my sewing room.

Occasionally, I would find them and think I should do something with them, so I finally did.

On a large background linen fabric, arrangements were placed and rearranged until I was satisfied; they were then either appliquéd or big stitched in place and each piece was outlined with pearl cotton.’

‘The pieces include either patterns, kits or original designs from various sources such as Quaker Tapestries in Kendal England, Alliums by Jo Butcher, Beatrice Floral by Madaher, a bee by Emilie Ferris, some green cyanotype from a workshop with Sylvia Pippen as well as other kits and pieces thought up by myself.

The lily-of-the-valley is a piece that I made for my mother at least forty-five years ago and on the lower right is a piece of silk cocoon stitched in place by a button purchased in Japan. Finally, these much-loved pieces have a home in my sewing room.’

Linda, this is a terrific way to display your incredible work, and a great way to see the development of your stitching over many years and many projects. After so long in the making, we’re pleased you’ve made the perfect home for these pieces.

Dawn Robinson

‘I recently finished a tissue holder for those small purse packets. I designed it myself, taking inspiration from other designers and designs.

It is posted on Facebook's EGA stitch along. I made a very simple how-to video as well.’

‘The hardest thing for me was to figure out how to fold the end panels so that the embroidery showed. It was a real Origami challenge!’

This is a beautiful project, Dawn, and a great way to incorporate embroidery into the little everyday things. We love your design and the perfectly executed end panels to display your embroidery. We wish our tissue holders had such beautiful embellishments!

Kim Springhall

‘Every 2 years, our local Rotary Club organises a Quilt Show and Makers Fair to help raise funds for our community palliative care service.

Our informal stitch group, affectionately known as Ruby Tuesdays (on account of that’s the day we get together), have been asked to put on a display of our embroidery for the past few shows.

Last year we presented our embroidered boxes. It was our annual themed project for 2024.’

‘It was such a buzz seeing them completed and all together in one place. The interest and positive comments from spectators at the show was overwhelming.’

‘You will recognise many of the designs, as they were inspired by the myriad projects from the pages of your beautiful magazines. Others were original designs by the more artistic among us. Now all we have to do is decide on a common project for the next show!’

What a fantastic group project, Kim; everyone from Ruby Tuesdays has created a stunning box. The variety of designs and techniques from each person is terrific to see and each project has been embroidered expertly. This exhibition would have been a hit; we’re thrilled you chose to share this with us and would love to see your next annual project.

Have you found a great way to display your projects? Do you enjoy creating pieces with a challenging design element? Or have you recently been involved in a group project?

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