What Are You Stitching?

This issue of All Stitched Up! has turned out all things birds and the bees! We went to our What Are You Stitching? files to see if the theme could continue and were delighted to find the following flock of birds to share with you!

Josephine Symons

‘I thought my kookaburra threadpainting might be of interest. This is done with free motion machine embroidery, the same technique as I used for the yellow spotted pardalote and blue fairy wren that were featured in ‘What Are You Stitching?’ last year.’

‘Although I use a sewing machine, I try to emulate the softer look of hand embroidery by stitching extremely slowly in order to plot every single needle point as accurately as possible.’

What a wonderful collection of birds you are curating, Josephine. Your kookaburra is absolutely gorgeous, well done! We love its expression, which gives us the impression it’s up to some kind of mischief?!

Barbara Humphrey

‘I recently completed Spring Song from Inspirations issue #112. I decided to leave out the bird’s nest and replace it with a few flowers.’

‘I thought you might like to see the result. I greatly enjoyed working it. My daughter and I always anticipate receiving each issue of Inspirations magazine looking to enjoy something just a little out of the ordinary.’

Barbara, your version of Spring Song is charming! We love that you made the project your own with the additional flowers you added seamlessly and we’re so pleased to hear you and your daughter enjoy the magazine.

Annarine Chapman

‘My art has always represented some sort of cultural influence whether it be my love for the ocean or my intense enthusiasm and interest in different cultures, especially my South African heritage and also the South Pacific where my second studio is.’

‘I’ve always challenged the boundaries of my imagination and with this work I have combined fibre art/embroidery and textural acrylic work. I have large pieces and smaller pieces.’

‘I hope you enjoy my perhaps unusual work that comes from my heart, as I always love to think out of the box. I often try to put a round peg in a square hole and you can really see this shining through in this art.’

You have certainly created a prolific body of work, Annarine! It’s wonderful. Your clever use of acrylic paint and embroidery make these pieces beautifully bright and triumphant. Thank you for sharing them with us!

Do you use pre-printed fabric for your embroidery projects? Have you stitched any birds? Are you inspired by your local fauna?

Whatever you are stitching, 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