What Are You Stitching?

When it comes to choosing subject matter to stitch, animals are not only extremely popular, they are also fascinating to study and can be rather tricky to capture in needle and thread. Some of us are so committed to the cause, we take as much love and care over an animal portrait as the Renaissance painters took over a portrait in oils! In celebration of such pursuits, here are some gorgeous animal portraits for you to enjoy.

‘I am new to threadpainting but have fallen in love with the technique. I had stitched a few pre-bought patterns but I wanted to try doing something of my own so I rather optimistically chose a portrait of my Border Terrier, Sorrel.’

‘I traced my guide lines from a photograph of her and then got out every shade of brown and gold thread I had in my stash.’

‘It took me three weeks, stitching a few hours every day to finish it but I am really pleased with the end results. Maybe in a few years I will re-stitch this to see how I have improved my technique!’

Wow Lisa, that is amazing… it looks fabulous! You’ve done a magnificent job and created a really striking portrait.

‘Boswell is a piece of threadpainting I have just finished. This is a design by Tanja Berlin. I enjoyed working this very much as the instructions are excellent and very easy to follow. Tanja has several wild animal and bird designs and I would love to do them all.’

‘The Burrowing Owl is found in North and South America. Not sure if there are any in Australia but we have it here, in Canada, on the prairies.’

Firstly, Sharon this fellow you have stitched is very striking and your needlework skills have done him proud. Secondly, while we don’t have the Burrowing Owl in Australia, if ever we wanted to find one abroad, thanks to your piece we know exactly what we’re looking for.

‘I love being able to make something small for my grandchildren’s birthdays. One of my granddaughters has a great love of lions. She always enjoys the lion enclosure at the zoo, she’s studied the Serengeti at school, she was a lion cub in the school production and then there was the movie ‘The Lion King’.’

‘I took some time on Pinterest to find an idea to work from. I found a photo of a mature male with a ‘kind’ face, so here he is.’

This beautifully stitched portrait is absolutely perfect for a granddaughter who is so passionate about lions Ruth, well done. No doubt your lovely piece will take ‘pride’ of place in her bedroom!

Do you love stitching animal portraits? Or perhaps portraits of people are more your thing? Or do you avoid portraiture altogether, directing your passions towards the abstract? No matter what your style, we’d love to see it. Send a picture of your work and a bit of information about the project and your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com.au