What Are You Stitching?

It’s Susan O’Connor’s project ‘Peas & English Daisies’ – an embroidered pinwheel with Elizabethan inspired botanicals – as featured in All Stitched Up! Issue 171 that’s set the scene for this week’s What Are You Stitching? Enjoy the elegant florals and carefully constructed pinwheels that have been created with needle and thread by the Inspirations Community…

Joan Blackman

‘I have truly enjoyed your newsletters and magazines over the years. Issue #157 of the newsletter that focused on passion HERE, I found so enlightening and true. How lucky I am to have found my passion in life! I am attaching pictures of a project that took me some time to complete, maybe 5 years, but who is counting when you’re having so much fun?!’

‘I discovered this French Botanical Alphabet designed by Benedicte Reveilhac on The French Needle’s website and purchased a few of the kits and before I knew it, I had to have all 26!’

‘Each of the letters incorporates a flower into its design – for example the B is designed with a Bleuet. The kits included the design printed on white linen, instructions and the recommended DMC thread colours. Although the stitches are all very simple – Stem, Chain, Long, Short and French Knots – their effect is really pleasing and just so much fun to do. I loved each and every one!’

‘My last and final letters D, M, and I are yet to be framed and although they may not be expertly stitched, I really enjoyed this project. Now to the set of Botanical Letters for which I have all 26… oh boy!’

Joan, what a fabulous project to pour your time and talent into! We look forward to seeing your Botanical Letters and hope they provide as many hours of stitching joy.

Peggy Miltier

‘This is a silhouette I stitched of my first and only grandchild. She is 19 months old and the light of my life! My daughter drew her profile and I stitched whatever flowers came to mind. This was an absolute labor of love! Your beautiful magazine has been such an inspiration for me and I thank you for all of your hard work.’

Peggy, what a labour of love indeed! What an incredibly timeless and unique way to commemorate your granddaughter.

Phyllis Harrie

After asking how your house reflects your love of textile rich pieces in All Stitched Up! #154 HERE, we heard from Phyllis Harrie who shared a unique and inspired piece of furniture from her home…

‘This is an example of my inclusion of textiles in my home. The chair seat was a kit from the 1980’s. The designer suggested it be a pillow top or simply framed, but when I realized it would fit this chair seat perfectly, I ordered more linen and wool threads and adapted the design for the back and the back of the back as well!’

‘What fun! I always look forward to your weekly newsletter and of course, to the arrival of Inspirations Magazine.’

Phyllis, your colourful and lush florals instantly provide a sense of delight and joy! We love that you were able to adapt the original kit in such a unique way and have been able to incorporate textiles into your home from the work of your own needles and threads.

Peggy Kimble

‘I have been busy making wee gifts for my friends who have shared my passion for embroidery over the years. The larger pinwheels are 3 inches (7.5cm) in diameter, and the smaller ones, well there’s a story behind them!’

Pinwheels – Front

‘Supplies of pins are not readily available in my small town so a good friend went looking for pins in the big city and found some, including one box which contained much smaller pins and although they’re not so useful for needlework, they were perfect for smaller pinwheels which measure just 1 3/4 inches (4.5cm) in diameter.’

Pinwheels – Back

Peggy, the saying ‘waste not, want not’ came to mind when we saw your stitching – we love your resourcefulness to make a smaller pinwheel to suit the size of the pins your friend found! As always, it’s an absolute joy to be able to continually share in your needlework journey.

If your needles and threads have stitched a botanic inspired piece or a pinwheel, or two, we’d love to see them! Email photos of what you’ve stitched along with a few details about your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com