What Are You Stitching?

Who doesn’t love colour? It really is one of the pleasures of embroidery, isn’t it? There’s nothing much better than standing before a wall of coloured threads or digging through a drawer full of coloured fabrics trying to decide which ones to use. Some people prefer muted shades, but others love colours that just say ‘wow’! The projects we’re highlighting today fall in that latter category… and they look amazing.

‘I am doing the Diploma in Hand Embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework and I couldn’t resist sending you a photo of my project for the appliqué unit. It features two parrots, Persephone and Pamela. Their beaded talons are gripping a corded branch surrounded by stumpwork leaves and tropical ferns.’

‘It was great fun to stitch because of the bright colours and the endless possibilities for materials, threads and notions to add dimension and sparkle to the piece.’

What a beautiful pair of parrots, Tricia! They look so striking on the black background as well. We can see why they were so much fun to stitch, you have done a superb job.

‘I have just completed the Twitter cushion from Inspirations issue #102 and thoroughly enjoyed the embroidery. I am very pleased with the result. Sue Spargo is a very talented designer.’

‘Although the amount of cotton supplied was very generous, I still needed a bit more material for the backing. Luckily, I have a friend who makes curtains for a living so she finished the cushion for me.’

This is a fabulous finish, Jan it looks exactly like Sue Spargo’s original design. You have re-created all the details perfectly, including all the different shapes of each bird. We hope you get many hours of sitting pleasure accompanied by this bright and cheerful cushion.

‘This embroidery on felt was inspired by my childhood home on a farm in Minnesota. Our house was on the edge of the woods. The woods offered a peaceful, quiet place to stroll and view wildflowers, plants, and native birds. It is a free-form embroidery stitched on felt with hand-dyed threads.’

‘Wishing You Joy! is a holiday greeting card made for my daughter. I so missed seeing her last holidays. We are separated by the Canada /US border and by a tiny virus that affects our lives in big ways. But neither border nor virus can stop the joy of having a beautiful child or friend.’

Thank you for sharing your wonderfully colourful and creative projects, Laura that are fabulous. We love your positive attitude and all hope that the holiday season in 2021 allows us all to reconnect with our friends and family and once again.

‘I recently completed a series of workshops with students in a local secondary school showing them the benefits of sewing and once the world is back to ‘normal’ I intend to continue on my quest to promote the benefits of this ancient art.’

‘Creativity is a vital part of my self-development, resilience, well-being and positive mental health. Studies have shown that engaging in creative activities can improve happiness, reduce stress, improve cognitive ability, reduce dementia and boost the immune system. Just doing some sewing can help the body to release endorphins, the body’s natural anti-depressant!’

You are spot on Sally-Ann, very wise thoughts and ideas about the benefits of needlework indeed! Reading your encouraging words was inspiring, and we can clearly see the practical outworking of these benefits on display with these highly creative and wonderfully colourful pieces you have created. And the fact you are in turn teaching all of this to others, is just the icing on the cake. Brilliant!

Do you love to work with colour? Do you often wonder whether there’s such a thing as ‘too bright’? Or do you prefer pastels and muted shades? Whatever colour combinations you prefer, or however bright or subtle the colours you prefer to work with, we’d like to see the results. Send us a picture of your work with a bit of information about the project and your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com