What Are You Stitching?

Sometimes the things we create with needle and thread serve no other purpose than making the world around us more beautiful one stitch at a time. Whilst at other times they are equal parts form and function – and so it is with this week’s ‘What Are You Stitching?’ as we highlight the projects that are not only beautiful, but also useful!

Case | Willy Meulenbroek

‘In anticipation of my retirement, I was looking for new, meaningful ways to fill my days. I came into contact with a group of Dutch Gold Embroiderers and thanks to the lessons I took with them, I developed a true passion for embroidery. I also learned about Inspirations Studios from them and immediately subscribed to your magazine.’

‘In the first issue I received, Inspirations issue #95, my eyes were immediately drawn to Margaret Lee’s Hanabatake.

I was amazed to see what stunning results you could achieve with beading.

Last year I completed a course of Japanese Bead Embroidery with Margaret in Nantes, France, where she taught me the basic techniques to create this fabulous sea of flowers. I had a wonderful time completing the work back home.’

Willy, it would seem you’ve found a passion that will absolutely fill your days in retirement! As with all her students, Margaret obviously taught you well as your version of Hanabatake is a picture-perfect rendition of her original. We hope you continue to enjoy many meaningful hours with needle and thread.

Scissor Fob & Case | Kim Spry

‘Looking back through some issues of Inspirations Magazine, I remembered that I had completed ‘Buttercup’ from issue #47 which is a scissor fob and case by Wendy Innes. In fact, I made four of these and gave some away as gifts.’

Kim, they say all good things come in small packages and this definitely fits that bill! The time and talent you poured into each gift will be well used and appreciated by their recipients for years to come.

Tooth Fairy Boxes | Cathy Lysnes

‘I have recently completed Betsy Morgan’s Tooth Fairy Boxes from Inspirations issue #99 for my six-year-old twin grandsons. My grandson Eddy was quite intrigued with how I made the boxes and even said he would like to try making a box sometime!’

‘I cannot say enough about how generous the Ready-to-Stitch kits were in the materials supplied. I had enough threads in one kit to complete both boxes and didn’t need to use the thread pack from the second kit.

All in all, I enjoyed the process and am looking forward to making the yellow Tooth Fairy Box for my granddaughter. Thanks again for your wonderful magazine and the fabulous kits!’

Cathy, you’ve done a beautiful job of completing the boxes for your grandsons and we hope the seed of interest you’ve planted with Eddy sees him picking up needle and thread for himself in the coming years.

We appreciate your kind words about the kits and think your granddaughter might just be looking forward to receiving her box as much as you’re looking forward to stitching it!

Have you stitched something that is equal parts form and function? 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@insirationsstudios.com

Projects Featured in This Week’s What Are You Stitching?

If you’ve been inspired by the projects showcased above, the good news is digital patterns, complete with step-by-step instructions, are available for each of the designs: