CHRISTMAS 2015 BAUBLES TO DOWNLOAD!

Here are my 2015 Christmas Baubles! Go to the website for instant download! They will also be in the Country Living feature I believe ... They are very addictive to make and the variations are endless. In the download there is a pattern and, stitch library, and stitchmap to show you where to place the stitches, I am quite proud of it. I just love doing the downloads, it is hugely satisfying and appeals to my sense of order, though I am in truth constantly struggling with organisation!

Anyway I hope you will enjoy them!

Embroidered Butterflies and France!

it's amazing how many blogs I read start posts with an apology for not writing for a while ... I am joining that throng here but I have an excuse, as do the others but it has been very busy here and writing the blog though very necessary has been a luxury of time I simply have not had ... and there is so much to post too. 

Firstly, the latest fluster is getting ready for Pour l'Amour du fil" which is "An International Show of the Arts of the Thread" Embroidery, Quilting, Knitting and Sewing in Nantes, yes that's France ... so off we go on 20th April with all our good and chattles ... driving in my dirty old Clio all the way to conquer France with the kits! It's all quite exciting. 

See here a short video of last year's event 

IF you are in Nantes to come to this wonderful happening please do find me and come and say HELLO! I speak maybe five words in French and I won't tell you what they are, and I am running two workshops so that will be interesting. There will be a lot of smiling and gesticulating. 

Then below are the latest downloadable designs of which there are going to be 10 this year ... The three below are Set 1 click here and the one at the bottom is one of two for Set 2 which will be ready in a couple of weeks.

Use these butterflies on a garment or as a sampler or singly as a small framed gift

Here is one I made for friend's birthday ...

Here I have stitched them on a coloured background

Sunday working in the garden

It has been beautiful, hot but a lovely breeze, all very well if it does blow all your newly packed label all over the garden ... but just to prove that all the kits are assembled if not by my own fair hand then by my much appreciated helpers ...

Here you can see what I have been doing today, making the needle cases and pulling thread for the new cushions. Some of these colours are for the yet to be assembled Stitch Cards (sorry they are taking so long but I am working on getting them die cut).

But the effort is worth it with an order going off to America tomorrow ... to The French Needle so if you are in US and want to buy a kit do go along to visit this lovely site. They will soon have the new cushion kits in stock.

Also some other news ... have a look at Creative Bloq for a little piece about some of the entrepreneurs on the School for Creative Start Ups course, including me.

So have a look at the the process ... it's not a bad place to work!

Gorgeous colours ... thread just arrived on the cones, ready to be pulled.

 

Vanessa could not wait to start!

Threads and first one off the roll ...

Making Needle Holders and Labels for Cushion Kits

Thread packs ready to go into the bags

The Cottage garden this late spring. A bit of a tangle ...

New Cushion kits

The new Cushion kits, made up and photographed!

Detail of above

Lovebirds Panel (existing design) made into a cushion

Long Tail Bird Cushion which I have made here into a cushion (60 cm x 40 cm), though the design will fit smaller 50 cm x 30 cm cushion also

Detail of Long Tail Bird

Pigeon cushion

Here are some first proper photographs of the new kits made up and photographed by William Lingwood from The Pixel Kitchen. The response so far has been really great! So glad they are well liked. A large order from Royal School of Needlework was so encouraging too. Now I am cooking up some more designs for later in the year.