Gwen Dixon

‘I love spontaneous stitching and slow stitching. This collar is from a second-hand linen shirt that I could no longer wear. I started with three colours, one for the water, one for the sand and one for the froth where water meets sand.’

‘Then I added colours as I wanted to. These are all French knots. This was a time-consuming project but a great way to explore colour and stitch spontaneously and meditatively.’

Gwen, your meticulous stitches have given a new life to an old piece! The French knots are beautiful and create a lovely texture reminiscent of the ocean waves, flowing naturally - just like your stitches. Stunning.

Gerry Bates

‘I instantly fell in love with Floe the Fairy Penguin the month before last and just finished it this week, however reduced it by 50%.’

Your ‘Mini Floe’ has been stitched beautifully, Gerry. Great idea to reduce the size, we love that you modified the design to make it your own. We’re sure you’ll enjoy the company of your splendid new friend!

Jenny Russell

‘I am thrilled with a new sewing basket I made with handles so I can take it with me to the Guild or stand it beside my chair for when a get a few moments to stitch.’

‘My techniques are unique due to old age and poor eyesight. But I love to create original works, and this piece simply grew like Topsy.’

Jenny, what a gorgeous bag to house your gorgeous WIP’s. The garden you have stitched looks picturesque and we love the little orange butterfly. It doesn’t matter what techniques you use or how you approach each project, it only matters that you are still enjoying needlework and are able to create beautiful pieces of stitched art like this one.

Have you given a new life to an old piece? Do you enjoy stitching French knots? Or have you stitched a project to house your embroidery projects?

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