Making an embroidered bobbin candlestick

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Making an embroidered bobbin candlestick

Living in West Yorkshire, the landscape is peppered with old mill buildings that tell the story of our industrial past. Some of these mills are vast affairs and reflect the huge scale of the cloth industry in this region. Sadly it is all long gone and while many of the old mills have been restored and repurposed, many also stand deserted and decaying. Not long after we came to this area, I came across these old mill bobbins and I loved how tactile they are, steeped in the history of wool production and heralding a day when we produced high quality cloth here in the north.

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City Threads : Paris

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City Threads : Paris

“Whatever one is doing in Paris, it is necessary to do it in style. There is also no doubt that Paris holds within it’s City limits, everything you can imagine to help you find your own style and embrace the love of fru…fru and all that jazz. It is always the place to be.”

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Making a Safari Cushion

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Making a Safari Cushion

The 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.

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Swimming Days embroidery pattern

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Swimming Days embroidery pattern

What strange and difficult times we live in with this cover 19 lockdown. I know it is hard for so many people, but am heartened by the wave of creativity that is popping up everywhere. Perhaps some small and good things will come from this pandemic and if people find time to pick up some stitching rediscover the art of ‘making’ even if it is a small project. Creating something hand made is so special and I thank everyone who has bought my patterns and kits over these last weeks and am thrilled to have sent little parcels of Ruby’s designs to as far away as New Zealand and California.

Two of my patterns ‘Skiing Days’ and ‘Skating Days’ have been really popular so I decided it was time to switch to a more warm weather theme and the new design ‘Swimming Days’ is certainly that.

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Little Women Embroidery Pattern - a new Literary Thread

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Little Women Embroidery Pattern - a new Literary Thread

Hi there, I do hope you are doing ok in these difficult days. For creative spirits it is not as bad as for a lot of people and I wanted to thank everyone who has ordered patterns and kits recently and I hope maybe out there are a few new converts to the lovely world of sewing. I’ve been a bit slow with my new pattern because there has been so much going on, but finally the next in my series of Literary Threads is ready to share. I may have mentioned in an earlier post, how enamoured I was with the new movie version of ‘Little Women’, so it was almost a given that I would chose it for the next bookish pattern.

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