What Are You Stitching?

Inspirations issue #104 has glitter sprinkled all through it! From the metallic threads used in A Kingfisher Christmas, Paisley which features the goldwork technique of Or Nué, Carnation Tile which has been embellished with tiny beads and lines of lustrous gold right through to Golden Glow, an ornamental candle that gleams with goldwork perfection, there’s more than just a touch of gold to be found within. 

Inspired by these sprinklings of glitter, this week we’re sharing projects from our What Are You Stitching? files that have a touch of sparkle to them as well…

‘I have just finished stitching Jenny Adin-Christie’s Wren. I think her designs are fabulous! Her directions are so good, and the stitching makes the whole project so much fun that you just want to keep stitching to see how the next section works up.’

‘I also used Jane Nicholas as my inspiration to stitch a group of copper bugs and butterflies.’

‘I designed a powder room that has copper pennies on the floor and wall and wanted to have more copper accents in the room, so I decided to stitch four copper beetles, four butterflies and one dragonfly and frame them to go in the room. They were so much fun to do but now I have quite a collection of copper thread and shall have to create more copper critters! I hope they can inspire other stitchers.’

Carolyn, when it comes to intricate design and immaculate stitching, the work of both Jenny and Jane are second-to-none and you’ve done a spectacular job of recreating the works of their hands! We look forward to seeing what’s fashioned next from your copper threads.

‘This is some of my work from the past year. I started the year with the Jade Dragon from Roseworks Embroidery Designs in South Africa. This piece took me a long time to finish because of the many new stitches I had never done before. I couldn’t stop myself and just had to add a splash of color and a gold tooth! I love this design although still don’t know how I will finish it, so any suggestions are welcome. Thanks a lot for the Inspiration!’

Ginette, we love that this piece allowed you to learn myriad new stitches and that you were able to add a little bit of yourself to Roseworks’ design to make it truly unique.

‘I love doing all types of sewing, embroidery and collages! I designed a couple of dragons using these techniques, both are made with cosplay leather for the scales, chain for dimension, crystal eyes and free-standing leaves.’

‘The silver dragon is 38” square (96.5 cm) and the bronze dragon is 44″ x 48″ (112 cm x 122cm). The autumn season has started here in Michigan, USA which means more stitching time with the cooler weather.’

As always Kathleen your work has a certain magical whimsy about it! Your dragons are rich in detail, scale and sparkle. Enjoy the autumnal stitching you have before you!

‘My winning piece from the recent Royal Adelaide Show in South Australia was Alison Cole’s series of mythical animals in stumpwork and goldwork. There’s a red dragon, unicorn, cockatrice, and gryphon.’

‘I love the three-dimensional effect of stumpwork, and I loved these pieces because of all the intricate details – needle lace petals, detached wings and so many other different embroidery techniques. It took me four years to stitch them all, but it was worth it!’

Susannah, what an incredible labour of love! Your piece is meticulously stitched and the time and talent you’ve poured into makes it a most deserving winner.

Whilst not everything that glitters is gold, if you’ve stitched something with a little shimmer to it, 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