Hello everyone, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New year and are slowly surfacing from holiday mode into work mode as am I? I know that in most parts of the world you are in the midst of winter, bundled up inside with your heating or a nice fire, whereas we are well into summer here and experiencing very hot weather!
Ideas for 2024
I have so many ideas for this year, but since we focused mainly on Whitework with Colour designs last year I feel we should lean more towards Needlepainting designs this year, in particular miniature Needlepainting, as we have not had any new projects in this category for some time. You can see details on my book on Miniature Needlepainting Embroidery here.
So this year I would like to pay tribute to someone who I greatly admire as a woman and an artist and whom you are probably familiar with, and that is Beatrix Potter. Beatrix Potter was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children’s books featuring animals, such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which was her first commercially published work in 1902.
Her endearing illustrations remain firm favorites and over the years I have received many emails asking to reproduce them in embroidery. In 2020, during the Covid lockdown I stitched Benjamin bunny, just for fun, and when it was posted on Instagram there were many requests for the pattern. Unfortunately, I hadn’t recorded instructions at the time, so this year it is my intention to re-stitch it along with a few other designs and make them available as PDF patterns.
There is a wonderful movie starring Renee Zellweger, that will give you some insight into her life and works – Miss Potter. I believe it is available on Netflix and Amazon prime, so if you can find it I highly recommend you watch it.
Kits
Last year I introduced the first full kits into my portfolio of designs, and for those of you who prefer to purchase a full kit with all the materials included, the good news is that there will be a few more added this year. The kits are for all levels from entry level to intermediate.
Books
I have been working on a new title that is due to be released in 2025. It is the first in a series of affordable, paperback books and I am very excited about this title, but other than that I can’t tell you much more at this stage, except that we have just completed the photography and it is on it’s way to the publishers as we speak!
My latest book THE KEW BOOK OF NATURE SAMPLERS is my best selling book to date, and now available through Search Press, Amazon and all good online booksellers. You can find more details on it here.
Materials
Iron on transfers, linen fabric for embroidery and thread packs are all available as before in the shop.
I hope I have managed to inspire you and given you some ideas for your next project? If you are looking to start embroidery you can find some free tutorials here and there are loads of PDF patterns to be found here. Till next time, wherever you are in the world, keep smiling and happy stitching!
Trish