Have Your Say!

A Rainbow of Wonderful Thoughts

Just in case any of you were unaware, all of our past issues of All Stitched Up! are available on our website. The reason we mention this is that sometimes we receive emails asking us to resend a newsletter or remind someone about an article, so we happily direct them to our archive. Here, you can go all the way back to the very first Inspirations newsletter and read all the articles as many times as you like.

Knowing this, we thought we should also tell you that if you have any thoughts, questions or responses to past newsletters – and it really doesn’t matter how long ago they were originally published – there is never any time limit. We welcome responses to ASU issue #245 or even ASU issue #145 just as much as those to last week’s issue.

This week, we received responses to various past newsletters, which really warms our heart. It is great to know that our articles continue to give you pleasure, even long after we’ve published them.

Jane Masenas’ Crazy Needlepoint

Jane Masenas read All Stitched Up! issue #339, which prompted her to share with us her recipe for needlework play.

A Crazy Needlepoint Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 thread palette of colours from your stash.
• 1 needlepoint canvas with the outside perimeter marked.
• As many needlepoint stitches as you like, which you may find enjoyable to experiment with.
• Several needlepoint books or internet pictures for inspiration.

Method:

Select any part of your canvas and stitch a small pattern. Fill in the block with compensating stitches around your pattern to make a rectangle. Repeat this step with different patterns and different sized rectangles.

Leave as much or as little space as you like between blocks to make borders. Nothing needs to be measured; just stitch anything that makes you smile. There are no mistakes. Play and have crazy fun.

Jenny Mann had seen the pictures in All Stitched Up! issue #342 that reminded her of a photo she had seen (above), taken by Sue Horder in April of 2017. It was taken in the Liberty department store in London. Jenny described it as ‘tactile and visual heaven’.

Sheila Southwell was inspired to write to us after reading All Stitched Up! issue #337 sharing her thread storage solution. She separates all of her colours into families i.e., pale green; yellow green; dark green; bronze green etc. She then puts each colour into strong plastic envelopes and stores them, light to dark. She puts a label on each envelope with the name of each colour family as well as a painted sample of the colours enclosed!

She goes through this process because, she says, it keeps the colours separate and very easy to find. She can’t bear to have her colours mixed up, so at the end of each session she puts the skeins away and ensures her envelopes go back in the right place.

We received a fascinating idea from Gerry Kendall who responded to the article about rituals in All Stitched Up! #329. Gerry said that every time she receives her magazine, she goes straight to the step-by-step stitch examples and she stitches them all. She then puts her samples into a binder for future reference. We thought this was a wonderful way to master the stitches and keep a fantastic record for the future.

Embroiderers’ Guild of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada pincushion challenge – winning design by Sharon MacDonald

Finally for this week, we received two emails in response to our segment on Challenges that appeared in All Stitched Up! #340. Irene Allie wrote from the Mayflower Sampler Guild in Massachusetts, USA. She said that her guild is currently running a UFO challenge. Members had to make a list of UFOs that they wanted to complete in 2022. Over the year they have been doing a show and tell of their progress and in January 2023 there is going to be a ‘big reveal’ of all the members’ finished pieces with prizes to be determined.

This sounds like a fantastic challenge that probably a few of us could do with setting ourselves…!

Anne Shields told us about a challenge that the Northumberland Hills Needlework Guild in Canada had set for its members. They were challenged to make a replica of their home in any needlework technique. Anne apologised as she only has photos of her own contribution, however we were particularly impressed by that. We can only imagine how fabulous all the entries must have been.

It doesn’t matter what you’d like to chat with us about, we always love to hear it, even if it’s after you’ve spent some time in our archive and would like to share any inspiration you gained from it. It’s never too late to get involved in the conversation.