What Are You Stitching?

We’re probably all counting a lot at the moment – counting the days, counting how many rolls of toilet paper we have left, counting how many more Netflix series we have to watch. But the best form of counting is the counting we do during counted embroidery sessions! Here are some fantastic projects completed by our readers to inspire you to get counting.

Peta McMillan

‘Through the COVID-19 lockdown I have stitched the following piece, which was a Westpac bank ad in New Zealand. It so caught my eye that I HAD to stitch it!’

Inspiration comes from anywhere, doesn’t it! We wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment and in the fact your stitching is wonderful, Peta.

Susan Hahn

‘Recently I’ve been doing longstitch and what fun it is!  It doesn’t involve counting exactly, but you certainly have to match one thread end to the other on the canvas while stitching. The project is from a vintage Australian kit by Myart titled Basalt Barn.’

‘I avoided anything akin to needlepoint for years, but after studying longstitch, I decided to try it and was pleasantly surprised at the result.  It stitches up quickly and I thoroughly enjoyed the process.’

Longstitch doesn’t seem to be as popular nowadays as it was in the past, so it is great to see you doing it, Susan, and with such fantastic results.

Barbara Nicholls

‘I am very happy to send some photos of my finished etui ‘Christmas Spirit’ from Inspirations issue #104 designed by Betsy Morgan.’

‘The help I received from Inspirations was so appreciated and assisted me in achieving the finished result. I proudly entered it into our local Agricultural Show, where I was awarded 1st prize in its class and Reserve Champion in the whole Embroidery Section.’

‘The design was so interesting to stitch, with each side a new challenge, but the construction was where I had to really concentrate. Thank goodness it all went together so well.’

Your prizes are well deserved. Not only is your stitching impeccable, but the construction looks just perfect. Well done, Barbara, and we’ll be looking forward to seeing more of your projects in the future.

Robyn Sutherland

‘When my daughter was overseas in the 1990’s I completed a Beatrix Potter cross stitch for her. It was stitched with one thread and took two years to complete.’

‘Since then I have done numerous cross-stitch projects and enjoy this form of embroidery.’

This looks like it was a labour of love, Robyn. Your delicate stitches and the gorgeous expressions on the faces of Beatrix Potter’s characters must have been very much appreciated by your daughter

Marla Redding

‘I have been stitching all my life although never more so than now in my retirement years. My stitching often takes the form of useful items for my home, like tablecloths, pillowcases or embellishments for towels.  I thought you might enjoy seeing my latest project.’

‘I have long wanted to do placemats with some needlework to the right. When I ran across this cross stitch pattern, I knew I finally needed to do it.  I’m also a sewer, so making them into placemats was an easy task.

I’m usually too busy before Christmas working on projects for others, so I didn’t get a chance to tackle this until after Christmas last year.

But these placemats will be ready to adorn my holiday table in 2020!’

We’re lucky that Christmas comes every year, aren’t we? We’re sure these placemats will come out year after year, though, as they are so well stitched and made.

This is just the first installment of our collection of counted projects you’ve sent us, so look out for more next week. In the meantime, if you’ve finished a counted project, or if you’re so tired of counting you went and finished a different project, let us know! We’d love to see a picture of your work and hear a little bit about your stitching journey at news@inspirationsstudios.com