Hello everyone

How are you hope your week is going well?

Johannesburg Class

There are a few places left for the Johannesburg Class in October – see details here,  so if you are interested in attending please email me.

Jane Austen Kit

Over the past few years I have had numerous requests for a certain blue & white design that I had stitched many moons ago and was avidly being pinned on Pinterest.  My students encouraged me to re-create it so I set about re-designing it and am delighted to announce that it is now available as a kit in the ETSY store.

I have named it Jane Austen as I love all her books and movies and wanted the design to pertain to that era and the lovely soft hues that were so prominent in their fashion and decor.  The design is a “Shades Of Whitework” project stitched in soft, smokey blues with touches of parchment, pale gold and white, on a premium linen fabric.   I have always loved blue and white and the shades were so pleasing to work with, I have promised myself to use them more often in the future.

Jane Austen

Meantime, wherever you are in the world, remember “Embroidery forever, housework whenever!”  Keep smiling and happy stitching!  Trish

Hello everyone

Hope your week is going well.  For several months I have been working with the idea of providing tutorials on my website – am still tinkering with the idea of uploading some videos as I know these are really helpful but have not found the best method of filming myself yet – work in progress!

If you remember my amusing little incident some years ago with the trials and errors of self video you can read about it here.  It seems that although I seem to be making progress in some areas of my work others are harder to perfect!

These tutorials are aimed at providing basic information on the stitches, materials and preparation if you would like detailed information then it is recommended that you refer to either my DVD or any of my books.  Of course each book is a reflection of my work at that period, what I have learnt and what I feel works best and this has evolved over the years so you may find that my current  methods differ slightly to those outlined in previous publications.  Having had no formal training I am not regulated by rules of any kind and hope that my method of long & short stitch allows for a certain amount of freedom which helps people to overcome their fears of the technique.

The first set of tutorials on Needle Painting Embroidery are now live and can be viewed on my website here. and I hope you will find them helpful.

BEGINNERS

For those of you who have never tried Needle Painting before – these tutorials are an ideal way to get familiar with the technique.  If you didn’t know there are several free projects to try out on my website here.

JANE AUSTEN KIT

The new Jane Austen kit launched last week proved very popular and was sold out within a few days but is now back in stock and available in the Etsy Store here.  If you have a moment I would love to know what it is about this design that appeals – is it the colours, the design or something else?

Jane Austen

Meantime, wherever you are in the world, remember “Embroidery forever, housework whenever!”  Keep smiling and happy stitching!  Trish

Hello everyone

Hope you have had a wonderful week and are looking forward to the weekend and some precious stitching time?  Spring has arrived here in Cape Town, the wild flowers are out in profusion and I would like to celebrate the season with colour.  The booklet Traditional Embroidery Colour Schemes is now available for the first time as a digital download.  You can purchase the printed version of the booklet here and the digital version here.  in the Etsy store.

The booklet includes 24 colour schemes based on traditional images/artwork plus the embroidery thread palettes to go with each.  There are some stitched examples and the tracing outlines are provided for each example.  The colour schemes can be used for embroidery, quilting, artwork, sewing, knitting etc.

Traditional Embroidery Colour Schemes Cover

To celebrate the season and to thank you my readers,  I have made one of the colour schemes in the book available as a free download.  You can access it here COLOUR SCHEME DOWNLOAD or by clicking on the picture below.   I have personally used a version of this scheme in one of my whitework projects for the new book and it is stunning, so have fun with it!

Free Download

Meantime wherever you are in the world remember “Embroidery forever, housework whenever!”  Keep smiling and happy stitching!  Trish

Hello Everyone

Hope you have had a good week and enjoying the weekend?  This week I am pleased to announce that the new Complete Lesson In Whitework is available in the Etsy store for sale here.

Traditionally whitework was done with white thread on a white ground fabric but as you know I have added touches of colour and called it Shades Of Whitework to distinguish from pure whitework embroidery.  It is simple to do and VERY addictive.

Complete Lesson in whitework: Flower Basket

Flower basket kit

Thread Diagram

This project will teach you all you need to know and I have revamped the tutorials for each stitch to include text explanation, a diagram and a “Looks Like This” picture, to guide you easily through the process.

Example of stitch tutorial

This is one of the Complete Lesson series – Needlepainting, Miniature Needlepainting and Whitework.  The kits enable you to learn the technique from the comfort of your own home in your own time without attending a workshop.  Once you have grasped the basics you will be able to progress onto any of the beginner or intermediate kits available in the store.

Complete lesson in miniature needlepainting

Complete Lesson in needlepainting

Next week I am heading off to Johannesburg in South Africa to run a two day workshop so the shop will be closed for a few days from 12th – 15th October.  Meantime, wherever you are keep smiling, happy stitching and remember “Embroidery Forever, Housework Whenever”!

Trish

Hello everyone

It has been some time since I last spoke to you, hope you are all doing well and enjoying the weekend.

Last week I taught a workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa.  It was a great success, what lovely ladies – will share some photos with you next week.

If you are like me you love to peek inside others’ spaces so this week I am going to share with you my studio where it all happens.  A few weeks ago work began on some overdue renovations to my office/studio space which is located up the stairs (you all know of these stairs, there are 23 of them and I ascend them each time I need to scan a step by step photo for embroidery instructions:)

My business was starting to outgrow this space and I was encroaching into the spare room next door, which meant I generally discouraged guests coming to stay as it meant clearing a space for them to sleep!  The next step was either to find new and larger premises or make some much needed changes so that we could once again welcome guests into our home.  My ever patient husband agreed that I could make the changes as long as I did not knock out too many internal walls!

My aim was to make the space as clean, uncluttered and organized as possible – is this not something that we all aspire to but generally can’t manage to achieve?  Let me put your mind at rest that my home in general is very “lived in” – (“embroidery forever, housework whenever”), but it was essential that this space be orderly so that I can in turn be efficient when it comes to dispatching orders, keeping stock of materials,  and of course designing, designing designing – which is just my very favorite thing to do.  I chose to keep the colour scheme very neutral and opted for a pale grey for the walls with accents of black and white.

The last 3 weeks have been a flurry of activity upstairs with painters, carpenters, and workmen which has made it very difficult to get any work done, in fact I had to close the shop for a few days as it was nigh impossible to ship orders.  But finally it is all completed and I am so thrilled,  it is my little haven away from the rest of the world where I can revel in everything embroidery related.

The acrylic drawer units that you see here house all my embroidery threads – they are not new I had them made some years back by a kitchen company.  Each drawer holds a colour and because I can see through them it is easy to find what I am looking for.

I had a huge cleaning spree and got rid of so much “stuff”, I can recommend it – it really is very freeing.  One of the things that I had a huge stash of was books – as with all of us embroiderers we collect them over the years.  They have been a wonderful source of inspiration, research and knowledge to me, but the interesting thing is that with the advent of the internet (and of course Pinterest) I find I don’t refer to these books as often as I used to, so I was quiet brutal with getting rid of those that no longer had a use.  I plan to donate them to the guild library where members can make use of them.  Now I have a nice little bookshelf unit on the wall.

I have a huge stash of Inspirations Magazines spanning over a period of about 14 years, many of which I have contributed to over the years and would, could not part with – so they have been given their own special shelves.  They are a wonderful source of reference and inspiration and keep me up to date with whats going on in the embroidery world.  If you are thinking of what you would like for Christmas treat yourself and get a subscription!

Some of the Inspirations magazine collection.

The other thing of course which we don’t really need anymore is files?  All my files are now stored in folders on my computer so I was able to free up a ton of space by parting with those and of course that means no more punching and filing which was my worst job anyway!  Things have come a long way since I first moved into my office 11 years ago – I now have little helpers for everything – a label printer for printing postage labels, a scanner, printer, computer, ipad, projector, photo tent, daylight magnifying lamps, online banking and so much more – it really does make life much easier, what would we do without technology?

All the stock for the Etsy shop is now housed in neat plastic drawers with labels on so I can see at a glance what I am looking for when packing orders ready to ship.

One of my main problems was storing large bolts of fabric, boxes of packaging, envelopes, thread etc.  This was overcome by converting an area of passageway outside the office into a walk in storeroom.

I have some of my favorite pieces framed in the house but I wanted a way to display finished pieces of embroidery without having to frame every single one!  I covered my old memo board,  courtesy of lovely Pinterest ideas,  but am still looking for an efficient way to display these.  If any of you have ideas on this would be grateful if you could let me know.

Christmas is fast approaching, and I have re-stocked the Etsy shop in preparation as last shipping will be end of next month.  I have not forgotten your second Provencal embroidery landscape that so many of you have emailed me about – working on the whitework book at present but hope to get going on it really soon.

Meantime, wherever you are in the world, remember “Embroidery forever, housework whenever!”  Keep smiling and happy stitching!  Trish

Hello everyone

Hope you are having a great weekend.  As per your request the Complete Lesson In Whitework is now available as a digital download in the Etsy store here.

Complete Lesson in whitework: Flower Basket

Till next time.  Trish

Hello everyone

How are you this bright and sunny Monday morning?  It is beautiful weather here in Cape Town, although I know it is probably a little more chilly in your part of the world.

I know I say this every year but cant believe that Christmas is upon us once again!  There are a few things I want to discuss with you before the year end – firstly I have been meaning to do a blog post on our classes in Johannesburg but life has been hectic and just have not had the time.  Please forgive me my lovely  Joburg ladies I will get round to it early in the new year.

Christmas Shut Down

The Etsy shop will close on the 30th November 2015 and re-open first week of January 2016.  There will be some new kits in the store in January along with some exciting new additions to the store in the New Year.

Digital Downloads

The digital download store will remain open throughout the festive season so if you have a yen to do some stitching over Christmas or New Year (or need to take some time out from the hoards of relatives:)) you can download a PDF file of any pattern available in the store.  The digital section in the Etsy store provides access to any of my patterns in digital form.  This means you can instantly download a pattern to your computer/tablet and either print it out or store it.

Also just to let you know that the Provencal Landscape design is now available as a digital download in the Etsy store.

Provencal

Iron On Transfer Pens

One of the challenges some of you face with a digital pattern is tracing the outline onto your fabric – it can appear wobbly or inaccurate but I have come across a wonderful iron on transfer pen at Sublime Stitching which does the job beautifully, no more wobbly, uneven lines a beautiful crisp print on your fabric.

I bought a few for myself and they work perfectly on both linen and cotton fabrics.  It performs better then any pen I have tried in the past because it has a fine line tip so the lines are not too thick.   I recommend the black as it comes out a dark blue on the fabric.  There are clear instructions on how to use it – All you need to do is:

1.  print out a copy of your outline as provided in the instructions, you will need to reverse the image so that it comes out the right way on the fabric.  It may be helpful to take it to a photocopy store who will do this for you, or if you have an illustration programe you can do it yourself.  Alternatively you can turn the printed page over and trace on the wrong side.
2. Trace over the all the image lines with the pen.
3. Place the image face down on the center of your fabric and place a hot iron on top of this.  Don’t move the iron around or it will distort the image, just hold it in place and count to ten slowly.  If you have a heat press this works even better.
4.   The image will be transferred onto your fabric.

The pens can be purchased from Sublime Stitching online here.

One of the main reasons I am closing slightly earlier this year is that the postal service slows down considerably at this time of year and I know there is no point in posting anything after end November as it will not reach you till the New Year.  I am also taking a bit of time out to complete my new book on Whitework deadline February 2016.

I will be back in the next week or two to give you your Christmas gift, meantime, wherever you are in the world, remember “Embroidery forever, housework whenever!”  Keep smiling and happy stitching!  Trish

Hello everyone

This week I am thrilled to announce that on 1st January 2016 the new South African online shop will be opening.  No more emailing me for prices, and banking details you will now be able to buy direct and make payment by PAYFAST or EFT.  It is a simple streamlined process which I think you will find a lot more convenient.

All products are listed in local South African Rand currency and there will also be some additional products available in the shop that are not readily obtainable in South Africa such as speciality threads, whitework supplies and fabric etc.

Here is a preview of the shop home page – you can click on it to go direct to the shop.

International Customers can still order as before through the ETSY STORE, and the good news is that in early January when the store re-opens there will be some exciting new products in stock for you.  I will reveal all in my first post of 2016!  Please remember that the store closes on 30th November 2015 and will not re-open till first week of January 2016.

Meantime, wherever you are in the world, remember “Embroidery forever, housework whenever!”  Keep smiling and happy stitching!  Trish

Hello Everyone

This will be the last blog post this year.  The Etsy shop closes on Monday 30th November and I will be back bright and early first week of January 2016 with lots of exciting new products and ideas for the New Year.  The Download store on Etsy will remain open for your convenience throughout the Festive season.

As a thank you to my loyal customers and readers, for your support this year I have a little gift for you.  A set of Christmas gift tags that you can print out and use for your friends and relatives.  You can punch a hole in the corner and thread a little ribbon through as shown or just use them as they are.  You can access the PDF download here.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and once again a big THANK YOU!  See you in 2016, till then wherever you are in the world, remember “Embroidery forever, housework whenever!”  Keep smiling and happy stitching!  Trish

Hello Everyone

Happy New Year!  I hope that you have had a wonderful Festive season and are ready to dive into 2016 with a spring in your step?  A new year is all about new resolutions and the prospect of exciting new adventures – my resolutions this year besides the normal ones which I tend not to keep, such as lose some weight, go to the gym, be kinder to others, do more housework (?) etc…  are:

ITS ALL ABOUT YOU – new products,  more designs, more tutorials and a simpler easier online shopping experience for you all.

ONLINE SHOPPING  – I have worked hard over the Christmas period to revamp the ETSY shop, create clearer descriptions  and added several new products and supplies related to needlepainting and whitework for your convenience.   New designs will be arriving shortly.

SOUTH AFRICA ONLINE SHOP – I am excited to announce that for the first time,  there is an online shop exclusively for South African customers.   The shop is now live and you can visit it here:  SHOP SOUTH AFRICA.

STARTER KITS –  You will be pleased to know that you can now purchase starter kits with/without thread.

Flower basket starter kit

THREADS –  I would love to be able to offer threads with all my designs but due to the numerous threads needed for the needlepainting designs I believe it is more cost effective for you to purchase these in your country of origin or using your existing stash.   There is a list of threads included in each design.

BLOG – we will be addressing issues relating to Needlepainting & Whitework and we will be talking about colour.   If you would like to receive email notifications of a new blog post or product updates please sign up on my blog here.

As always I plan to find more shortcuts for housework and more time for embroidery – EMBROIDERY FOREVER, HOUSEWORK WHENEVER!  This is a resolution that I think I can keep!

I hope that by expressing myself through my embroidery I give you the courage to express yourself to?  May it be a wonderful year for you all.

Trish

Hello everyone how are you?

Apologies for the silence in the last two weeks, we have been experiencing heat waves here in the Western Cape and I am trying to work on the looming deadline for my new book, Whitework with colour which is due for delivery next month.   I have already had this deadline extended so the Publishers are anxiously awaiting the manuscript, and I have such a lot to do……

I know most of you overseas are in the midst of a very cold winter and cannot imagine what extreme heat feels like at present, well it is hot very hot and therefore challenging to try and get any stitching done or spend any amount of time at the computer concentrating on a book manuscript!

I have not forgotten that I promised you some new designs in the Etsy Shop and also the sister kit to Provencal below, but this will of necessity be delayed slightly.  I appreciate your patience and look forward to sharing lots of new ideas with you when I get the book completed.

Till then wherever you are in the world, remember “Embroidery forever, housework whenever!”  Keep smiling, cool (or warm) and happy stitching!  Trish

Provencal

Hello everyone

I have been busy as a bee on the new book and feel as though I have neglected you, but please understand there is a lot to do!  How would you like to follow along with one of the projects I am stitching for the book – next week I will begin to post pictures of the process so you can tag along?

I am excited to announce that at long last the new Shades Of Whitework projects are finally complete.  The first GATSBY is now available in the ETSY STORE here and the second will be available in a week or two, here is a sneak peak of Gatsby.

Gatsby

I got the idea for Gatsby from a New Year’s invitation to a Great Gatsby themed party, then re-drew the design, adapting it to make it suitable for embroidery.    She is stitched mainly in whites and creams with touches of peach and smokey teal.  There are sweet little details that add interest to the design such as the pearl clasp on her headband and a lacy edge over her forehead, as shown below.

The design uses DMC stranded cotton with some floche which is available for sale in the ETSY store, but the whole design can be stitched using DMC stranded alone – there are instructions in your kit for how to do this.   It is not a difficult project to stitch but some previous experience of the technique is recommended.  GATSBY is available in the Etsy store as a kit with pre-printed linen, needles and instruction booklet.

A NOTE ON THREADS IN KITS

Some of my customers receive their kit and are disappointed that there are no threads included.  I do not include thread in most of the kits for the simple reason that due to the cost of importing thread into South Africa it is more cost effective for you to purchase DMC Stranded cotton in your country of origin.

The speciality threads such as DMC floche are available for sale in the store and can be purchased along with your kit but the PATTERN KITS do not include thread.  If a kit does have an option to purchase threads it will be listed as FULL KIT in the drop down list, and you can choose this option at checkout.   The starter lessons and some of the whitework kits do have an option to include threads.

Shopstar Interview.  Last week Shopstar kindly featured the new Shop South Africa on their blog,  if you would like to see the interview it can be viewed here.

Hope that you enjoy the new design – I will be in touch soon meantime wherever you are remember EMBROIDERY FOREVER, HOUSEWORK WHENEVER!  Keep smiling and happy stitching.

Trish

Hello Everyone

How are you?  I am delighted to let you know that last night I put the last stitches into the final project for the new book and it is finished!  The manuscript and projects will be shipped to the Publishers in Australia next week in time for my deadline at end of March and hopefully the book will be released before the end of this year.  I have been working on this book for the last 18 months and although I am relieved it is finished, each project has been a joy to stitch.  The book title is Whitework With Colour, and I hope to be able to give you a sneak peak of some of the projects very soon.

You know when you watch a DVD and at the end it shows you the deleted scenes?  Well it is the same with a book, not all the projects that are stitched actually go into the book.  I will stitch a whole lot of projects and then at the end choose the most suitable ones to go into the book.  So I have decided to give you one of these “deleted” projects as a gift for Easter.  The name of the project is Miss Dior, she is a lacy, pretty,  stylized flower in monochrome shades of grey, black and white.

You can access the PDF file here:  MISS DIOR.    You will need Adobe Reader to download the file, if you do not have it you can get a free download here:  Adobe Reader download.   Happy Easter to you all and I hope you enjoy it!

Miss Dior

On Friday I am going away for a few days to a holiday home near the beach with my family for a well deserved break and the shop will be closed till the 23rd March.   Meanwhile, wherever you are in the world, keep smiling, happy stitching and remember:  “Embroidery Forever, Housework whenever”.

Trish

Hello everyone

How are you all?  I have finally finished the book and as we speak it makes its way across the sea to the publishers in Australia.  This is the 8th book I have published and although it is a lot of hard work, there is always something very satisfying about seeing one’s work in print.  I hope the book will be released before the end of this year and of course will keep you posted.  It did occur to me that many of you probably don’t know what is involved in putting a book together so I plan to do a blog post on this very soon.

Kits or sourcing your own supplies.

This week I wanted to follow up on Mary Corbet’s blog Post about whether to buy an embroidery kit or to source one’s own supplies.  She has covered the topic quite comprehensively so rather than repeat it you can read all about it here:  Mary Corbet’s Blog Post.

I have been thinking a lot about this lately and trying to decide whether or not I should provide full kits with threads or continue to provide kits without threads.  In fact I have spent the last few days updating my shop and changed the word KITS to PATTERN PACKS, to avoid any confusion.    You will see that the sections in the shop state either Needlepainting Patterns, Whitework Patterns or Full kits, click on the picture to go to the shop.

A Pattern Pack includes:  Fabric with pre-printed outline, 2 needles, instruction book.

A Full kit includes:  Fabric with pre-printed outline, 2 needles, instruction book, threads.

The difference in price is approx US$20 so you can decide if it is worth it or not?

I have received emails from many of you stating that you would prefer the kit to include thread, but on the other hand many of you have a stash of thread and prefer to provide your own.  It seems that there is a need for both?  Let me explain some of the reasons I don’t include thread in my kits:

• Number of threads.  Needlepainting kits in particular include numerous colours – sometime as many as 45 – 50 shades.
• Cost Prohibitive.   The cost of including so many threads is prohibitive to you the consumer,  and also myself as it means I have to keep stock of large quantities of thread.
• Time consuming.  I run this business alone and there are not enough hours in a day, so I would have to employ part time staff to pack the threads.  It is very time consuming cutting and sorting such a large number of threads onto cards, so the answer would be to supply full skeins which would be very costly.
• Import & export duties.  The threads are imported into South Africa, so incur  customs duties and taxes.   I am basically re-exporting them overseas again in kit form so it does not really make sense when you can order/purchase them in your own country?
• Availability.  One of the main reasons I am hesitant to provide thread with the kits is that the thread colours needed are not always in stock with the supplier.  This has proved to be a huge problem in the past when I am preparing for workshops.  I will put in my order for 50 of each colour needed, only to find they are short 10 colours.  I will then order these 10 colours online, only to find they are short 2 colours………… and so it goes on.  At the end of the process I have had to pay additional costs on shipping and purchasing retail.  So my worry is that if I did decide to provide thread and could not source all the colours at one time the kit would have to be out of stock for several weeks until delivery.

Pattern Packs & Digital Downloads.  I believe, the answer is to provide all designs as either pattern packs or digital downloads, but I will also provide a limited amount of full kits for those who can’t source their own threads or would prefer to purchase the complete package.  The starter lesson kits will of course include thread.  I would love to hear your views on this, as it helps me to provide “what the people want” in my shop.

New Designs.  As always at this time of year I do a bit of spring cleaning – some of the older designs will be discontinued to make way for new designs.  The discontinued designs are always available as digital downloads so you will never lose out, but I like to keep you on your toes with new designs every year.  It would help me to know what designs you would like to see more of , either:

• Needlepainting birds, flowers, landscapes or other.
• Whitework with colour designs.

Please know that I always have your best interests at heart and my intention is for you to study the technique and then provide designs to keep you growing and stitching!  Till next time remember, embroidery forever, housework whenever.  Trish

Hello everyone, how are you?

Whilst I love the designing and stitching aspect of each project there are always the instructions to be done.   It occurred to me that you may be interested to learn more of the process involved in preparing the completed embroidery project and printing the instruction booklets that go inside your kit or pattern pack?

Recently I have spent time on re-designing the instruction book layouts, and all the new projects will be presented like this in the future.  I have given a lot of thought to this over the years and I certainly don’t profess to have got it totally right or to be critical of the way that other designers present their instructions, but this is way works best for me.   Basically I sat down and thought:  “If I was stitching this project how would I like to see the instructions presented – what would make them easiest to follow?”  The examples below are taken from different projects but will give you an idea of the layout.

Simple & Clean

I like the idea of a  simple, clean and uncluttered visual presentation that lets the embroidery speak for itself.  This style of illustration is becoming more and more popular – as can be seen in the decorating of our homes and in much of the graphic design that is available today.  Here is the front cover – it shows a picture of the design, the name of the project, designer and technique.

Introduction

The introduction tells a little about the project, what level it is for and any specific details that may be necessary for you to know.  Not too much text just a brief note to introduce the project, don’t want you getting bored!

Thread & Material list

A clear and precise listing of the materials and threads needed for the design, with some options for substituting threads in-case you have a problem sourcing them.  I know that many of my customers live in areas where it is not always easy to obtain certain brands of thread so I will always give substitutes.  The design won’t look exactly the same if you use substitutes, but allows you to still stitch the project and make it your own.

Thread Diagram

This is based on “painting by numbers”.  Each area is numbered in order of the stitching and each number corresponds to the thread colours needed for that section.  Below the listed colours are the instructions for which stitches to use for that area.  The instructions are placed on the page facing the stitch diagram so that the booklet can be left open at the page and referred to whilst stitching.  Simple but effective?

Visual Props

With the advent of technology everything these days is visual, “A Picture says a thousand words”.  I remember how frustrating it was to follow the instructions of some of my earlier embroidery books that were full of text but not enough pictures – or the pictures were too small and I could not see enough detail,  so I decided that each area of the project should be accompanied by an enlarged photo which the reader could zoom into.  There is also an enlarged photo of the full project.

Stitch Glossary & Preparation

For many months I have been working on a Handbook which is finally at the printers and hopefully will be available for sale next week.  The book is titled Needlepainting & Whitework Handbook, and it includes every single detail on materials, preparation and comprehensive details, examples and hints for each stitch.  I will tell you more about it once I have the printed copies to hand.  The idea is that rather than try to squash these details into each instruction booklet, you will purchase one copy of the Handbook and use it to refer to for each kit/pattern that you purchase.  This enables me to eliminate a couple of pages from each instruction booklet and make it more simple and cost effective.

Pattern Details

All the pattern details are clearly listed on the back page – what is included in a kit, the size etc.

Editing

It is virtually impossible to compile instructions without making some mistakes – one of the common typos is in thread colours for example 253 which should be 235.  A simple typing error can cause the whole pattern to go out of sync and many emails from confused customers!  I am fortunate to have a good friend who edits each instruction booklet before it goes to print.  She has a colour chart for each brand of thread and goes through it with a fine tooth comb, which is such a wonderful help.

Printing

A certain amount of graphic design knowledge is necessary to assemble these booklets before they go to the printer and I have been teaching myself this with the help of a program called CorelDraw over many, many years and now am able to draw all my own diagrams.   I am fortunate to have a wonderful printing service in Cape Town and we have worked together to obtain the best colour rendition and print format.  The size and weight of the booklet also has to be taken into consideration as it needs to be practical for posting overseas.  It is very difficult to get a good likeness of the original embroidery in both colour and texture, but we do our best to capture the original likeness.  Once I have compiled the booklet and it has been edited it is sent to the Printer.  The Printer prints, cuts and assembles the booklets on good quality, coated paper, before they are returned to me ready for assembling into kits/packs.

Cost  Involved

You may find it interesting to know that the printed booklet and fabric with printed outline comprise most of the cost of your kit.  A customer recently remarked that she thought the pack was overpriced considering it did not include threads – the cost of including thread will certainly almost double or more the price of a kit.

So there you have it – from Embroidery To Print.   Till next time, wherever you are in the world happy stitching and remember “Embroidery forever, housework whenever”.  Trish

Hello everyone

Hope this finds you on top of the world?  I am delighted to announce that the new handbook and the long awaited two new kits are now available for sale in the ETSY store.

HANDBOOK

The handbook is something I have been working on for over a year now when time allows and is finally in print.   The book is based on the knowledge that I have acquired to date on the techniques of Needlepainting & Whitework embroidery.  It is a 78 page coil bound notebook, printed on top quality coated paper,  in a convenient size – it is not a project book but outlines everything you need to know about the materials, preparation, and stitches required for these styles of embroidery and includes a “Solutions” section at the back with answers to FAQs from customers and students.

It provides practical solutions to many of the challenges that confront us with our embroidery and will prove an essential partner to any of my
projects, kits or patterns. All future kit instructions will include a stitch glossary only, as you can refer to the “Handbook” for detailed methods.  This will do away with the need to duplicate the methods in each instruction booklet and so save on printing costs.

Divided into two sections:
SECTION ONE: NEEDLEPAINTING
SECTION TWO: WHITEWORK

This book is a supplement and not intended to replace any of my published project books which include greater detail on specific subjects.  Here are a few extracts below – you can find the handbook here.

FLOWERS IN A TEACUP

This is the latest in the Whitework With Colour patterns.  It is available as a pattern pack with instructions, fabric and needles or alternatively you can purchase it as a full kit with threads.  At present there are limited full kits available but more in stock in a few weeks.  You can find the full kit here and the pattern pack here.

CAMPAGNE LANDSCAPE

I have received numerous emails awaiting the release of this design, and apologize for the delay but here it is!  This is the sister design to Provencal, and can be paired with it or stitched alone.  I particularly enjoyed stitching this little design as had the feeling of being drawn into the scene as I stitched.  It is a vibrant miniature needlepainting which was reproduced from a painting by Louise Marion in Canada.  It is available as a pattern pack with pre-printed linen fabric, instruction booklet and needles.    You can find the pattern pack here.

I have a few more surprises to report in the next few weeks,  till we chat again,  wherever you are in the world happy stitching and keep smiling!

Trish

Hello everyone

Hope this finds you well?  In the next two blog posts we are going to explore the Top Ten Reasons For Doing Embroidery, why we do it and what it does for us and others.

Basically we are going to justify what we love to do most!   I believe our embroidery has more far-reaching consequences then we or others realize.    If our embroidery makes us happier, relaxed and more fulfilled this will certainly benefit those around us, our work, our home and life in general?   I know that when my husband goes on a fishing trip or to a live rugby game he comes back with a smile on his face and in a great mood so we all reap the benefits, why shouldn’t it be the same for us and our embroidery?

Lets take a look at the first five reasons – not in order of any importance:

1. It is satisfying & rewarding.   Anyone who says “I am not creative” is wrong, we all have a creative sense, it is just a matter of honing it to a specific style of embroidery.  Giving life to something original that you have created yourself is so rewarding.  Fulfilling this is one of the most satisfying feelings you can have in life.

I have seen this proved again and again in my classes.  There was a time when I used to think that only certain people “had it”, but now I know that with a bit of guidance anyone can do it.  On a side note if frustration is setting in with the piece your are working on – put it away or even better dump it and move onto something else.  Sometimes it just does not work for us, but there are plenty of other designs out there that will give you that satisfaction.

2. It is motivating.  The deeper you progress with your embroidery the more it challenges you because it provides a sense that there is always more to be discovered.  This motivates you not only in your embroidery but other areas of your life.

This has certainly been true for me.  It has motivated me to explore aspects related to my embroidery such as , graphic design, packaging, camera and video, computer software, websites, blogs and social media.  I am constantly on the look out for new designs and find them in the most interesting places. 

3. It gives you confidence.   There is only one way to get confidence in yourself.  No one can give it to you – it happens when you get good at something.  You will learn things about yourself, namely that you are capable of creating something beautiful.  This will give you a great sense of achievement and the confidence to try other skills.

I have witnessed this many times with students who have no confidence in their ability, until much to their surprise, they turn out a beautiful piece of embroidery.  I watch while they look at the beautiful work they have created, and even the most hardened cynic manages a twitch in the corner of their mouth as they try to conceal their delight!

4. It provides freedom from stress and anxiety.   Keeping your hands busy and engaged in your embroidery keeps your thoughts focused on the enjoyment, beauty and satisfaction of the task at hand.  All problems are left behind in this realm of peace and calm – it get us through the tough times in life.

Some people clean the house or polish the silver when they are anxious, I do my embroidery.  It has got me through some pretty tough times in the past, and I know that it is recommended by some of the Hospice places as a therapy for grief.  It replaces something sad with something glad.

5. It is inspirational.   We all need inspiration in our lives whether it be in our homes, our careers, or our person.  Creating a beautiful piece of embroidery tends to make us more aware of our surroundings –  we find we are stimulated by colours and forms that we may not have noticed before.  A beautiful flower, bird, landscape or artwork may inspire our next piece of embroidery.  It enriches our lives.

The more I work with colour in my embroidery the more aware I become of colour in everything, from cooking to interior design, clothing and even the movies I watch.  The colours of the costumes in Downton Abbey are just to die for, I just have to use them!   A landscape or sunset looks more beautiful when viewed through the eyes of a potential embroidery design and I tend to see thread numbers in everything.

Till next time wherever you are in the world, be inspired, keep stitching and be happy.

Trish

Hello everyone

Just wanted to let you know that there is a new item in the ETSY shop here. 

It is a 100% cotton drawstring project bag in white, which keeps your embroidery project clean whilst stitching or when it needs to be stored for any length of time. The Cotton fabric provides an acid free environment and protects from light damage, dust and spills.  We all know how important it is to keep your work clean, especially to prevent the formation of stubborn hoop marks which are difficult to remove with washing.  When you have finished your stitching, simply slip the whole hoop with mounted fabric, and threads into the bag and pull ribbon to close. Can be hung on a chair/door/hook to keep out the way, stored in a drawer, or placed inside a tote bag to carry with you on the go.

Having used pillow slips and cotton shopping bags in the past I decided to design a bag specifically for this task.  With the help of a CMT specialist we set out to design a bag that was exactly the right size and shape for embroidery projects and that could hold any size hoop up to the largest size 10″ – simple but effective.  It is full washable, can be tumble dried and ironed and has an attractive Gatsby outline with logo on the front. The outline is meant for decoration but there is no reason why you could not stitch it with a simple outline stitch if you wanted and give it as a gift to a friend?  The bag could also be used for storing quilting/craft projects, or for packing shoes, lingerie or cosmetics, etc in luggage.

Since I got the stock, I have commandeered at least 10 of them for myself and cannot tell you how useful they are!

Have a wonderful weekend and happy stitching!

Trish

Hello everyone, hope your week is going well.

Following on from the post Top Ten Reasons For Doing Embroidery – here are the next five reasons:

1. It is liberating. There is no wrong way to do it.   Embroidery is individual, like art one person’s piece may look like fine watercolours and another more like rough oil painting but it is nonetheless beautiful.  As long as it is pleasing to you it will be successful and this fact gives you the freedom to enjoy your embroidery – you don’t even have to share it with the world, you can do it just for the sake of creating.

Never, ever compare your work to anyone else s because it just wont look the same.  Be gentle with yourself,  we are our own worst critics, but no one ever looks at your work close up.  I always ask my students to step away from their work for a minute and view it from afar.  Staring at your embroidery for any length of time you are bound to see every little mistake or areas that you are not happy with,  but when viewed from afar all those little errors will vanish and what you will see is a beautiful piece of work.  This especially applies to long & short shading – which will suddenly take on a lovely glow which you may have not noticed before. 

2. It broadens our horizons. Embroidery connects us with like-minded people through the internet, guilds, or workshops on a global scale.  This interaction expands our lives to learn more of the world about us, meet interesting people, form new friendships and make contacts.  It also gives us something of interest to talk about at the dinner table!

You are no longer a “shrinking marigold” taking a backseat in conversations, now you have something of value and interest to discuss with others.  You may think that others don’t really want to know about embroidery but isn’t it is far more interesting than talking politics or hearing a blow by blow account of a golf game?  I find that when I tell someone that I am an embroidery designer the answer is:  ” Oh my granny used to do crochet” (???)  I generally smile sweetly and let it go.  But other times when I am determined that they should know it is not just another set of doilies for the dresser,  I show them some photos of my work and then there is a totally different reaction – they want to know how its done, do you work over a painted picture, how do you know what to put in the outline and the most frequently asked question is “How long does one piece take you?”

Attending conventions and attending overseas workshops is a  wonderful way to meet and mingle with like minded people from different cultures and countries, while doing the thing you love most, but if you cant get there form a local group of your own.

3. It keeps us current with technology. We can share our embroidery digitally, make purchases or keep updated with new supplies and materials through blogs, chat groups, email or online stores.  Not only does this expand our resources but motivates us to keep up to date with current technology.

Isn’t the internet just awesome!  We can buy things online with the click of a mouse (and a visa card:)).  My cousin told me that she fills her basket with everything she wants and then when she’s finished deletes it all saying “Well that was fun”!  We can see whats available without having to get in the car and do battle with traffic and crowds, we can chat to others and keep in touch with like minded people.  It has made the world seem so much smaller.   No matter where we live or how remote we are we can stay in touch, even though I work alone in my studio I never feel lonely.  Its a good reason to get savvy with your computer/tablet – amazing what we can do if we have a good reason to do it.

4. You will never be bored. As long as you have a piece of embroidery to work on you will never be bored.  It gives you something to do when watching TV, listening to music, sitting in a queue, passing the time or whilst traveling.  It gets you out of bed in the morning, it gives you a reason to live a fuller life.

The world statistics on depression are staggering – but we are not one of those statistics!  We have a reason to get up in the morning, we always have something to look forward to and something good and beautiful to ponder.  We have a reason to smile.

5. It keeps the craft alive.  Cultivating your creativity, and sharing it with others ensures that hand embroidery is kept alive and continues into future generations. Whether it be for personal reasons such as fulfilling a niche, challenging yourself, motivation or for making a career of it by teaching, publications, sales, or restoration, doing embroidery will not only bless yourself but others.

Embroidery guild memberships are declining throughout the world.  There is a need to encourage a younger membership but with everything being “instant” these days the up and coming generation are not much interested in learning how to make their embroidery look as neat on the back as it does on the front!   I believe that it is important to uphold the formal, traditional methods of embroidery that have been passed down through generations, but it is equally important to meed the needs of the present day embroiderer by introducing more contemporary designs that are not so labour intensive or that have too many “rules” attached.

It is encouraging to see on places like Etsy, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook that there are numerous young people using hand embroidery in a different way to create items from phone cases, to hoop art.  These artists are introducing a fresh, modern approach to hand embroidery and bringing it into the 21st century which tells me that hand embroidery is still very much alive!

Till next time wherever you are in the world keep smiling and happy stitching.

Trish

Hello Everyone

Hope you are all on top of the world and enjoying your weekend?  Here is the printout for the TOP TEN REASONS FOR DOING EMBROIDERY as promised.  I have designed a layout for them so you can frame it or just keep it on file – read it, ponder it and enjoy!  You can access a PDF of this printout here.

Till next time wherever you are in the world keep smiling and happy stitching.

Trish

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