‘When Jane Nicholas’ book came out, decades ago, I’d been wanting to bring some of her beetles to life myself. Ever since, it’s been in the back of my mind to one day stitch my very own.’

‘The lid made for a perfect specimen display box, so I finally got around to recreating one of her iconic beetles. Using threads and notions that I had already accumulated, I got as close as possible to the original while utilising a little artistic license.’

‘I decoupaged the outside of my box to make it a bit different, and it now stores silk embroidery ribbons.’

What a magnificent work of art on so many levels Kim. The decoupage is beautiful and complements the overall project perfectly, but of course the real hero is your embroidery, and it really is excellent.

If you ever have the opportunity to see any of Jane Nicholas’ boxes of curiosities in person, they are exquisite, and she will be thrilled to be reading this and see what you have accomplished Kim.

The level of detail and quality of finish you have achieved is superb, congratulations!

Nina Burnsides

‘I set out to create a completely 3D project using different stumpwork techniques, titling my finished piece ‘Bloom Where You Grow’, inspired by the fact that in nature, beauty is often found in unexpected places. I once saw flowers growing out of a pile of dead sticks and branches and it caught my attention.’

‘After a few missteps along the way, including a valuable lesson in ensuring I have enough thread in the same dye lot, I’m thrilled with how it’s come together.’

‘The bumblebee was a last-minute addition, and although making him small enough to fit on the petal proved to be the hardest part of the whole project, he turned out to be my favourite part of it all. I’ve never done anything quite so small in turkey work before as he measures in at just under an inch, or a little under 2.54cm.’

‘My grandson also helped by bringing me a few ‘sticks’ to work with, and I’ve included a picture of him after he completed his very first embroidery project last year. I had to laugh once I was finished, I was holding the bee in my hand and my grandson thought I had caught a real bumblebee when he first saw it. This was a fun project to plan out and bring it to life!’

What an adventure of discovery you’ve been on Nina. Many of the needlework designers we publish have shared with us just how many hours of experimentation, trial and error and perseverance are required to create a complex three-dimensional embroidery design such as yours Nina, so you really set yourself a huge challenge.

And what a superb result! There is so much to admire about your work we’re very impressed. Well done and how lovely to have a young embroidery artisan in the making as your very capable assistant.

Nicole Martin

‘The inspiration for designing this embroidery came from a travel magazine of places tourists can no longer visit. The picture of some of the arches from the Pink Mosque in Shiraz, Iran, immediately said embroidery to me.’

‘The main part of the image that captured my imagination was the pink trellis. As this was an arch I had to mirror image it to make the design symmetrical. I then went down the rabbit hole of investigating Persian tiles for ideas to fill the centre.’

‘A must was to include their stylised carnations. Persian architecture has so much to offer to quilt block design, English Paper Piecing and embroidery. The whole design and embroidery process was thoroughly enjoyable!’

There is nothing like an exotic location to inspire creativity and the architecture of Iran certainly has that in spades, so you’ve chosen your subject matter well, Nicole.

We love so many elements of the design you have created, the colour palette is gorgeous and introduced just the right amount of shading and variations of pink complemented by that stunning red centre.

Your stitch and technique selections are also spot on with careful consideration given as to how each element was to be treated and you’ve done that to great effect. Great work.

Have you created a cabinet of curiosities, embarked on a three-dimensional odyssey of your own or maybe been inspired by an exotic location to create your own homage in stitch.

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