Rosella Rests

Can we call three birds a flock? I think we’re well on the way to creating a flock to dance across your wall… ‘Rosella Rests’ is the third in my series of reproductions of Victorian-era bird needlepoints. I just love these pieces – and this one in particular. I adore the movement in the leaves…

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Two from Tasmania

This brings back happy memories for me of visiting Hobart for the first time, and my first retreat as guest designer – the Dark Mojo Retreat hosted by the fabulous Kerrilyn from A Stitch in Time last year. Kerrilyn asked me to create a Tasmanian design, and ‘Tasmania, After the Fires’ came together so beautifully…

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On Kindness & Pennsylvania Prims

Whenever I am lucky enough to glimpse an antique piece of stitching, I can’t help but wonder about their stitchers, their lives and their personalities, while admiring their skills and artistry. I wonder about Jane Whiston, from 1818, who created the original piece that inspired ‘On Kindness’. Jane’s little sampler touched my heart, and echoes…

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The Humble Sampler: Harriett Turner 1868

An antique adaptation with heart. Sometimes a little piece of history comes your way and just captures your heart. From the moment I saw Harriett’s needlepoint sampler, I knew she was a kindred soul. While the beautiful, almost abstract flowers first caught my eye, it was the sentiment that really drew me to the piece.…

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All my red threads…

A new stashbuster design. When I was working on ‘LT 1909’, it struck me how many red threads I keep returning to, as well as how many I had waiting for me to pick up. An idea sparked with me, and the result is this pin pillow: a homage to one of my favourite colours…

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LT 1909

An antique reproduction and a mini design. When I’m especially busy (or, let’s be honest, a bit frazzled), I find I reach for monochrome stitching. Working with a single colour is particularly restful, as you can just focus on the calming repetition of thread flowing through linen. And, more often than not, it’s a redwork…

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In the library

My happy place is a bookstore, a library or a comfy couch for reading. This design is my recreation of these happy places, and I hope stitching it brings you some comfort too… It is also one of the first designs to feature the new Bookshelf range – my collaboration with Cottage Garden Threads and…

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Among the roses

An antique reproduction I must confess – I have a real love for Victorian needlepoints and have been collecting them for some time. When I reproduced “Mary Barton’s Work” last year, I wasn’t sure anyone else would want to stitch it – and I’m thrilled that Mary’s weird little bird found so many homes with…

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Afternoon in the Garden

An antique reproduction The mysterious origins of this sampler Some samplers are a mystery. This piece, reproduced from an original in my collection, tantalises with its enigmatic initials and charms with its details – that little dog hiding under the table laid out for refreshments in the garden, that rooster standing proudly, and that figure…

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Twitching noses

An antique reproduction Sometimes you can be lucky enough to stumble across an antique piece of needlework that just makes you smile. The original of this design was done completely in petit-point – the tiny stitches creating such a lifelike image, I could almost see those ears turning and those noses twitching. I tried several…

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