As we are currently nomads, in between houses and taking some time out from almost everything, this is just a quickie. After all that packing and initial displacement, life has been more relaxing in our temporary accommodation. However, my fingers have started to twitch a little and as I was starting to miss my needle, I reached for my box of threads and decided on a whim, to fill the pocket of my summer jacket with embroidered wildflowers.
Read MoreThis has turned out to be a great little project and has wildly exceeded my expectations. Begun on a whim and finished within a week, it just makes me smile when I look at it.
Read MoreAs part of my drive towards sustainable living, I have been wanting to attempt this for a while. There has been loads of inspirational images popping up on instagram and in the wider media about how to look at this, but it was buying, Flora Collingwood-Norris’ amazing book ‘Visible Creative Mending, that finally launched me on my way with it.
Read MoreThe real joy of embroidering is when you can make a special gift for someone you love and this project has been supremely joyous in every way. I wanted to make a gift for my sister and brother in law who have recently done a bit of a make over in their living room. As they have just got new sofas, I felt a cushion was a good option and In thinking what to make, I thought of the holiday of a lifetime that they went on a few years ago, on Safari in Africa and decided on a safari theme. Yumiko Higuchi’s beautiful (aren’t they always) book of embroidered animals is just so gorgeous that it is easy to get drawn into her world of spectacular sewing and feel inspired to have a go.
Read MoreEver since I saw the latest film adaptation of Gatsby, I knew it would be on my list of Literary Threads and here it is. I know I have been dragging my heels over here with this, but finally it is finished and you know what….. I am thrilled with it. It’s a dramatic statement for sure, but what else would you expect with F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby and indeed all his works provide a great backdrop for an embroidery pattern that encapsulates ‘The Jazz Age’. In fact it was Fitzgerald who coined that phrase and set it in gold as a tribute to an era that was just loaded with glamour and glitz.
Read MoreAdding a touch of hand embroidery to items of clothing that you have bought from a shop, can be a great and reasonably quick way to have a totally unique and bespoke garment. I think it is something people don’t often think to do and yet it is incredibly effective.
Read MoreA Cornish Sojourn - now that is just the tonic after a gruelling winter, a sick house and flagging spirits....and so it was. I am bubbling with inspiration from the sweeping coastline, the incredible gardens and the charming Cornish villages, peppered along the seashore. It is a land of myth and legend and I can see why - the imagination is free to roam around rocky islands, smugglers coves and ancient castles.
Read MoreMeanwhile, I have two new patterns up in the Etsy shop. They are part of a series of 4 'hashtag' patterns and I hope you will like them. I love this modern way of organising things in the digital world and hashtags seem to be so much part of life now that I decided to use them for a collection of patterns which reflect different emotions. #Remember and #Explore are the first two patterns.
Read MoreI am always in awe of the fine travelling accessories the ladies of Miss Austen's time had and remember especially going to visit Josephine Bonaparte's house in Rueil Malmaision, in the suburbs of Paris and seeing the most wonderful collection of absolutely beautiful accessories with little embroidered bags and embossed leather carrying cases. Somehow, chucking everything in a zip up holdall doesn't quite have the same feel....?
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