Flower Pots by Ana Mallah

Every day at Inspirations HQ we have the great fortune to surround ourselves with some of the world’s most beautiful needlework by some of the world’s most talented designers and stitchers. Often the projects we get to work with evoke feelings of delight, joy, admiration and even awe.

And sometimes we are even completely smitten. That’s exactly what happened when we opened a parcel from Ana Mallah to reveal her enchanting project Flower Pots!

Flower Pots from the book A Passion for Needlework | Factoria VII, consists of two designs with the hydrangea pot featuring exquisitely shaded petals arranged on the lid over an embroidered barrel, and the rose design showcasing a posy of vibrant, pink flowers enjoying a visit by a tiny ladybird.

The embroidered pot for the roses resembles neatly gathered stems as seen in an elegant bouquet. Together, they make the most charming pair of embroidered trinket pots we think we’ve ever seen.

What was Ana’s inspiration for these beauties? The starting point, Ana told us, was something considered by all needleworkers, or anyone who spends time making things, regardless of their area of passion. Storage! As many of us do, Ana has boxes of different shapes and sizes that hold her embroidery items. Often, we lose track of what’s in them.

‘Sometimes, I’ll open one for something and it’s like I’m discovering the contents of that box for the first time! I’ll be excited anew at the treasures within, not unlike when I was a young girl and used to make believe that fairies had left me gifts in a most valued little trinket box I had.

One day, after opening a box and being inspired yet again by items I'd forgot I had, it got me to wondering what types of boxes fairy folk might keep their most precious items in.

I thought that, instead of straight lines and square angles, they might make their storage out of things much more whimsical such as within a bunch of roses or under a mop head of hydrangea, and so the flower pots were born from this little reverie.’

Ana’s passion for stumpwork embroidery really shines in this project, and the trinket pots are a delightful way to display the lovingly-stitched wired petals and leaves of the hydrangeas and roses. There are a lot of little petals to stitch but there’s a stitching hack for this! It’s also Ana’s main tip for working on the flowers.

‘Put together a pencil case of what you will need for the petals and keep it with you wherever you go. I started by cutting and shaping the wires and putting them in a ziplock bag. I put them into a pencil case along with a small hoop with fabric, scissors, a needle and whatever colour thread I needed for a particular petal and took this with me wherever I went.

When I was waiting for the kids to come out of school, I’d get a petal done, waiting at the kids’ basketball training I’d get another few done, and any moments I had like these, I’d pull out my pencil case and, before I knew it, I’d made them all up.’

After stitching your petals, it’s time for beauty to bloom. As Ana says, ‘Each part of a stumpwork piece may seem very simple on its own but it’s when you assemble it that it comes alive. I love the magic of having all the components become something wonderful once put together.’

Cleverly handmade, the embroidered pots and stumpwork lids are a perfect match and make very special containers for holding cherished keepsakes or stitching treasures.

Make Your Own Flower Pots

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Flower Pots by Ana Mallah from A Passion for Needlework | Factoria VII is two gorgeous trinket pots embellished with exquisite stumpwork roses or hydrangeas.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kits

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kits for Flower Pots include everything you need to re-create these beautiful trinket pots: Fabrics (unprinted), felts, wadding, wire, template plastic, embroidery threads, needles, cord (rose pot), ribbon and beads (hydrangea pot).

Special Note: Instructions are not included with these kits. Please refer to the book for detailed information on how to create the projects.