What Are You Stitching?

Nina Burnsides’ ‘Flights of Fancy’ from Inspirations #102 featured HERE  contrasts the vivid colours of stumpwork butterflies with the sparse outlines upon where they’re perched. Inspired by the striking contrast she produced with needle and thread, we searched through our What Are You Stitching? files for similar projects created by the Inspirations Community.

‘After reading a nostalgic email from Mary Corbet recently about a 1920’s style traced linen tablecloth, I thought I’d share some of the stitching of Kathy Wilson from The Stitchery.’

‘These designs are not only fabulous decoration for practical use in the home, but a great simple introduction to Fancy Work as well.’  

Annette, we love that you’ve taken us on a trip down memory lane to the Fancy Work of ‘old’! It’s amazing how timeless, yet effective, a black and white line outline can be when it’s embellished with rich colour.

‘I just completed my second module for the RSN Certificate. I have been in Williamsburg studying with the brilliant tutor, Helen McCook – just named British Embroiderer of the Year!’

‘Fabulous tutor and brilliant in goldwork. I took a photo of my beloved poodle, Jean Pierre, and used it as inspiration for my stitching.’

Darcy, what gorgeous contrast you’ve created between luxurious goldwork and the negative space of your background fabric! We love that you’ve been able to celebrate your beloved poodle with needle and thread.

‘I wanted to share a few pictures of finished projects I’ve completed in the last two weeks. I can hardly believe how much the stitching bug has come back after such a long hiatus!’

‘In October of last year, I found out that I was going to need open heart surgery to fix a defect I was born with. I always knew someday I would start to have symptoms, but I was hoping it would be much later in life. The stress of preparing for such a major surgery completely sucked all inspiration out of me and the recovery has been difficult to say the least.’

‘In February I was able to take a short class with Alison Cole and she 100% inspired me to not only work on technique but also to experiment with my own style. And these pictures are the result. The outline embroideries were free patterns that I drastically changed and then embellished.’

Tawney, the contrast you’ve been able to achieve in your stitching is every bit as striking as Nina’s! We hope you’re well on your way to a full recovery and that your time spent with needle and thread is helping you through what must be an incredibly difficult time.

Have your needles and threads stitched something with striking contrast? We’d love to see it! Email photos of your work along with a few details about your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com