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Hi There,
2018 is shaping up to be a big year at Inspirations Studios. The wheels are well and truly in motion as we prepare to host the 10th Beating Around the Bush convention in October which coincides with the release of Inspirations issue #100, along with the launch of an updated and refreshed Inspirations Index and the next volume of ‘A Passion for Needlework’ – but more about each of those as the year unfolds!
In order to ensure we stay ahead of the timelines for each project and keep up with the ‘usual’ day to day workload, we hit the ground running after the Christmas/New Year break just a few short weeks ago and before we knew it the office was filled with To Do Lists! Some were scrawled on whiteboards during staff meetings, some jotted on pieces of paper as thoughts came to mind, others formalised as Outlook Tasks, while the significant milestones for each project found their way onto our Production Schedules. We’ve even implemented Work in Progress meetings on Monday mornings where we gather as a team, review each of the many lists and ensure we all stay focused on the same end goal. Anything and everything goes to ensure we don’t ‘drop a stitch’ amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy year!
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But then we realised, what about our Stitching To Do Lists?! Aren’t they just as important? |
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Perhaps even more so as we look to the escape our needle and threads provide, renewing and refuelling us, ensuring that our work-life balance remains intact so we can conquer those ever-growing lists at the office!
The thing about lists is that they’re not static, they change over time as we add new things that come to mind and tick off those we’ve completed. By starting our stitching list, it will ensure that any time we spend with needle and thread will be focused and productive. |
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Do you have a Stitching To Do List of your own? We’d love to hear what’s on - or what’s going to make it on – your list! Email it to news@inspirationsstudios.com |
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An Australian Summer in Stitch
Needlework by Meg Nicholson, Words by Donna Kennedy Fry.
Summer in Australia. Most of the country is hot, hot, hot. The white-hot sun beats metal roofs to a shimmering blur, bush cottages heat up becoming sweltering ovens and not much moves.
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Ice-cream trucks weave a languid path around suburban streets and kids dance on the hot bitumen as they place their orders at the window. |
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Adults head for the shade and ‘a bit of air’. Lawn sprinklers are turned on and kids are encouraged to go for a run through the water to cool down, the challenge is not letting the water hit your ice-cream because it will melt all the faster. |
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School finishes for its long break a week or two before Christmas. As the hype of yule festivity recedes, a lot of Aussies settle into a lazy January. |
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Some families go on holidays, the lucky ones return year after year to beach shacks or lake cottages. Lots stay home close to pools and friends and endless cricket on TV. |
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The spirit of Aussie summers is gorgeously captured in the work of contemporary artist Meg Nicholson. |
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Meg uses old photo imagery, fabric, paint and thread to create these stunning artworks that remind us of the long, lazy, easy days of summer. |
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Bold use of colour and a fearless approach with needle and thread remind us that the dog days are fleeting, best to make the most of them.
Meg lives on this patch of the internet HERE
Why not drop by some time and check out more of her amazing work… but maybe wait until the cool of the evening!
Do these designs by Meg remind you of some favourite summer memories? Days spent indulging a hobby perhaps or learning needlework at the side of a grandparent? Share your needlework stories with us at news@inspirationsstudios.com |
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Mythic Crafts
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The global needlework community is not just a group of people who share a common interest inspired by their love of needle and thread, it’s a community of people who genuinely look for ways to support each other and that’s one of the many things we love about our tribe! |
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Mary Corbet recently brought Mythic Crafts to our attention to let us know they were running an Indiegogo Campaign to allow us to acquire their exquisite slate frames, trestles and other goods at discounted prices. Plus, our support would help establish a manufacturer in the needlework industry to ensure we would all have access to these beautiful tools for years to come.
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Who could resist such an offer?! It turns out not many of us and we’re thrilled that Mythic Crafts have now surpassed their original campaign goal which means you’re now guaranteed to receive whatever perk piques your interest!
To find out more, check out Mary’s blog HERE or link straight to Mythic Craft’s Indiegogo Campaign HERE
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Needlework Competition – Entries Now Open |
The world’s most beautiful needlework competition is on again. Entries for the biennial Inspirations ‘Stitch Your Heart Out’ needlework challenge are NOW OPEN. |
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The ‘Stitch Your Heart Out’ competition is open to any skill level, any techniques, any materials. Whether it’s your own design or someone else’s, new or existing projects, there is a category just right for you. |
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Some of the winning entries from 2016 |
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With amazing prizes on offer and many past winners now published regularly in Inspirations magazine, this is a needlework challenge no stitcher or their needle should miss.
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COMPETITION ENTRY FORM |
‘Stitch Your Heart Out’ Entry Form |
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Cornus by Julie Kniedl
In issue 117 of our newsletter we paid tribute to the late Julie Kniedl, whose stunning projects have featured prominently in several issues of Inspirations magazines over recent years. Julie was an incredibly innovative needlework artisan and the fact she is no longer with us is a great loss. The only saving grace is her legacy will continue on through her amazing projects which we can still admire. |
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This week we’re featuring the project ‘Cornus’ which has been the poster child for ‘A Passion for Needlework’. It is one of our favourite designs by Julie and is beautifully showcased on the front cover of the book.
Stumpwork, or raised embroidery, has enjoyed enormous popularity for many years but Julie took the technique a step further by liberating her subject completely from the fabric, creating a lifelike, three-dimensional piece. Perfect to the last botanical detail, this beautiful spray of dogwood is magically fashioned from fabric, wire and lustrous silk threads and perfectly captures the transient beauty of this elegant plant.
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To fully appreciate the complexity and intricacy Julie achieved with Cornus one should compare the piece to a reference photo of the actual flower.
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From replicating the blending of colours that shade from pink to white, to the irregular shape of the bracts, to the wrapped beads that form the actual flowers, no detail has been left unattended. |
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With the finished piece small enough to fit entirely in the palm of your hand, sometimes it’s hard to believe this has been created using needle and thread, it’s that lifelike – such is the trademark quality and realism of Julie’s work. |
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Why the name Cornus?
Cornus florida is better known as the flowering dogwood and is an ornamental tree native to North America and Mexico. The wood from this tree is particularly hard and it is thought that the name dogwood is derived from ‘dagwood’ (Middle English word dagge, or ‘dagger’) as the hard, thin stems were used for making daggers, skewers and arrows.
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Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions
Cornus by Julie Kniedl from A Passion for Needlework, is a beautiful, lifelike spray of soft pink dogwood. |
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PRINTED BOOK |
A Passion For Needlework |
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Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit
The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Cornus includes everything you need to re-create this beautiful three-dimensional flower: fabrics, wire, crimpers, threads and needles.
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT |
Cornus – A Passion for Needlework |
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Looking for More APFN Kits?
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A Passion for Needlework showcases exquisite and innovative hand stitched pieces presented like never before. Several projects from the book are still available to purchase as Ready-To-Stitch kits:
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Proud Peacock by Alison Cole is a stunning peacock encircled by a stumpwork garland.
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT |
Proud Peacock |
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Secret Possessions by Elisabetta Sforza features a beautiful monogram surrounded by flowers on a linen sachet.
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT |
Secret Possessions |
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Serendipity by Susan O’Connor is two colourful pinwheels with Elizabethan inspired flowers and fruits.
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT |
Serendipity | Rose and Heartsease |
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT |
Serendipity | Strawberry and Cornflower |
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Woodland by Jo Butcher is a charming scene of foxgloves amongst birch trees.
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT |
Woodland |
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Whilst our ever-growing office To Do Lists point us forward by focusing us on what’s to come at Inspirations during 2018, we thought we’d take a moment in this week’s What Are You Stitching? to look back; look back at the Christmas Season of 2017 and see how the Inspirations community turned to their needles and threads to help make the festive season just that little more festive.
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Halide Celiker | UK
‘I never felt confident in my stitching abilities and then I saw a copy of Inspirations Magazine. I realised that I wanted to be as good as the stitchers in the magazine, so I attempted a few new stitches that I had never heard of such as Palestrina, Trellis Stitch, Buttonhole Stitch and even the French Knot. They all seemed beyond me as I could never get the stitches to sit correctly.
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I actually gave up stitching for a number of years. However, I recently picked up needle and thread again and have never looked back!’ |
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Halide, we’re so glad you picked up your needle and thread again! None of us should feel compelled to compare ourselves to the stitchers in the magazine, as needlework is about the process itself and the joy the craft brings, more so than the finished product itself. That said, your version of Trish Burr’s Winter’s Song is as every bit as captivating and appealing as the original that appeared in Inspirations #88.
Jenni Davill | Australia
‘This is what I've stitched for my 2017 Christmas Tree – ‘Take Joy’ by Shepherd's Bush and ‘Noel Quadrielle’ by The Sweetheart Tree.
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I found the frame for ‘Take Joy’ in an Op Shop for only $5 and couldn’t leave it there. It wasn’t until after I purchased it that I learned it is actually a coaster for a wine bottle!’
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Jenni, we love that you took the time to stitch something bespoke for your Christmas Tree. We wonder what new additions you have in store for 2018 and can’t wait to see them!
Joke Koolschijn | Netherlands
‘When I was a child I made dolls clothes from left over fabric from my father’s interior decorating shop, I used all kinds of stitches and beads without knowing if I’d used them correctly. I went to fashion school, and then worked with the Dutch fashion designer Frans Hoogendoorn - I just loved being able to work with the most beautiful fabrics from all over the world! After devoting my time to being a wife and mother, it is only now that I am 55 years of age that I have the time to embroider again.’
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‘I started with cross stitches and then a few years ago I went to a class on Bead Embroidery with Margaret Lee. That was a point of no return - I wanted to learn more! I bought books and did a class on Ribbon Embroidery. I now follow classes at the House of Textile Arts, and my gosh, I had no idea that there were so many stitches and materials to work with!
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I think life is too short to be a perfect embroiderer, so I simply learn to make stitches look better and more beautiful every day by doing a lot of practice, and I love it. |
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I read Inspirations and All Stitched Up! and love that I’m a part of a community of embroiderers. To all the embroiderers around the world - all the best wishes for 2018, especially good health and a lot of stitches!’
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Joke, we love that you’ve found the time to return to your love of needle and thread and we’re honoured that Inspirations and All Stitched Up! have become a regular part of your embroidery journey.
Linny Earl | South Africa
‘At the beginning of last year, I drew a name for a Christmas Gift at our Stitch Circle. With this friend in mind, I selected a project to stitch from Inspirations. However, all I did was think about it, as somewhere along the way I seemed to have lost my mojo. The gift had to be completed by the beginning of December, so by the first week of November I was starting to stress!
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The project I had chosen was Christmas Bouquet, but I had never done Stumpwork before and didn’t even have the supplies. So, the rush to read up about the technique started, and once I bought the supplies I got cracking.
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By the time I had finished the first flower, my mojo was back and I was really enjoying the stitching. |
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I made some mistakes along the way, and had to adapt as I went along, but I am happy with my first Stumpwork effort. I am now going through all the Inspirations to find other such projects, so thank you Inspirations for helping to get my mojo revving again!’
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Linny, with stitching as beautifully executed as yours, we would never have guessed that this was your first attempt at Stumpwork! We look forward to seeing what’s next in your needlework journey.
They say time flies when you’re having fun and before we know it, Christmas 2018 will be upon us! If this week’s WAYS has inspired you to ensure next Christmas is just that little bit more festive because of what your needle and thread can add to the occasion, make sure to add ‘Christmas Stitching’ to your To Do List today. Don’t know where to start? Make sure you check out the inspiration below!
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PRINTED MAGAZINE |
Inspirations #88 |
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DIGITAL PATTERN |
Winter’s Song |
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT |
Christmas Bouquet |
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READY-TO-STITCH KIT |
Winter’s Song |
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New Year, New You?
Inspirations, All Stitched Up! #122 HERE unpacked the idea of replacing New Year’s resolutions with three words that would become guideposts to help shepherd us towards achieving lasting results for the coming year. We encouraged you think about what your three stitching words might be and think you did! Below are some of the words the All Stitched Up! Community have chosen to help guide their stitching journeys in 2018…
Betsy – GENEROSITY, GIVING, GRATITUDE
Carolann – COLOUR, DARE, EXPERIMENT
Gloria – COMFORTING, REGULAR, SECURITY
Heather – TREASURE
‘I treasure the time I stitch. I make it my treasure. It is a treasure I am stitching so ensure I afford it the gravitas of mindful stitching. Thanks for the fun idea!’
Jean – COURAGE, GRATITUDE, NON-PROCRASTINATING
‘Courage is for me to keep trying. Gratitude is that I’m in remission for the second year from Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer. Non-procrastinating is because I will get more done if I stop putting it off. That is a handful for 2018, but a joy to be able to think this way.’
Kaethejean – DETERMINED
‘Determined to finish what I start, and not to start anything I am not serious about. Determined to think through whatever project I choose ahead of time so that I don't sabotage myself with poorly made plans and preparations. Determined to buy and use the best supplies that I can afford because I am worth it, the projects are worth it, and the recipients of my stitching are worth it.’
Lorraine – HAVE A GO!
We love that you were motivated to think about your words and appreciate you sharing them with us, they were inspiring and uplifting!
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Subscribe to Inspirations Magazine
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Not a Subscriber? Join Today!
Become part of the Inspirations family by subscribing to the magazine... we'd love to have you join us!
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The Embroiderer’s Handbook – Back in Print |
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The Embroiderer’s Handbook is the essential step-by-step guide to creative stitches and versatile techniques, features our award-winning, photography and detailed instructions taken from the A-Z series and Inspirations Magazine.
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PRINTED BOOK |
The Embroiderer’s Handbook |
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The books that make up the A-Z series are among the most comprehensive manuals for needlework ever published and are suitable for beginners through to the advanced embroiderer. Here you will find every stitch and technique fully explained with step-by-step photographs and clear instructions.
Whichever technique you need help with, there is a new, refreshed
A-Z title to help!
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PRINTED BOOK |
A-Z Series – 20 Titles |
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The Inspirations ‘Learn’ booklets are a great way to teach yourself new needlework techniques. Each booklet includes a starter project, detailed stitch instructions and over 40 step-by-step photographs and illustrations.
Titles Include: Learn Stumpwork Embroidery, Learn Bead Embroidery, Learn Crewel Embroidery, Learn to Stitch Fabulous Insects and Learn Ribbon Embroidery
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DIGITAL CALENDAR |
Inspirations 'Learn' Books |
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How bright and beautiful is this stumpwork piece? |
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Wow, this is very cute and so well done. |
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“I made a huge to do list for today. I just can’t figure out who’s going to do it.” |
~ Anonymous ~ |
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NOW TO 18 FEB |
Hannah Ryggen | Woven Histories |
Modern Art Oxford
30 Pembroke Street Oxford, UK |
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NOW TO 25 FEB |
Jeanie Baker’s Circle Exhibition |
Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens
Brisbane, Queensland |
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NOW TO 28 FEB | GALLERY HOURS |
San Francisco School of Needlework & Design Stitch at Home Challenge | Multi-Media Self Portrait Exhibition |
San Francisco School of Needlework & Design
Suite 604 / 360 Post Street San Francisco |
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17 TO 22 JUL | REGISTRATIONS CLOSE 1 MAR |
Bridging Stitches / Un pont entre les points | EAC Seminar 2018 |
University of Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
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NOW TO MAR |
The Royal School of Needlework’s Embellishment in Fashion Exhibition |
Royal School of Needlework
Hampton Court Palace Surrey, UK |
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22 TO 24 FEB |
The Art of Needlework |
Moorings Park Auditorium
120 Moorings Park Drive Naples, Florida |
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24 FEB |
Fibre Fest | Artisan Textiles, Embellishments, Unique Fibers & Wearable Art! |
Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum
703 South 2nd Street La Connor, WA USA |
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1 to 4 MAR |
The Spring Knitting & Stitching Show |
Olympia London
Hammersmith Road London, UK |
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1 TO 31 MAR | EXCEPT TUE |
2018 Woodlawn Needlework Show & Sale |
Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House
9000 Richmond Highway Alexandria, Virginia USA |
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© 2018 Inspirations Studios
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