Creativity
My Studio Dariolina mural
The hardest thing about leaving my studio by far was having to paint over my Studio Dariolina mural that was the main feature of the workshop room. Designed by my wonderful friend and partner-in-craft, Daria, it is something that means so much to us. We were absolutely heartbroken to be honest!
Read More
When dreams don’t work out
It took me AGES to think of a title for this post, and it has been sitting in my drafts for even longer! It was a hard post to write, but the process has actually been therapeutic. We don’t always talk about what happens when dreams don’t work out. And my dream didn’t work out…but…
Read More
Ice cream hoops for Love Embroidery
It was a pleasure to stitch these fun, textural ice cream hoops for Love Embroidery Magazine! It’s the perfect summer project.
Read More
Launching my Kickstarter campaign
I was really scared about launching my Kickstarter campaign, but it has been incredible. Thank you to everyone who has supported my dream so far – my haberdashery will definitely be opening!
Read More
Top 50 Stitches with Love Embroidery
So today I’m really excited to tell you more about the recent big commission I was working on. It was this Top 50 Stitches booklet with Love Embroidery magazine, and it’s free with Issue 16 in July!
Read More
Crafty Colour Palette #6
Crafty Colour Palette #6 is inspired by David Seaman’s amazing technicolour jerseys from Euro ’96. If you haven’t seen them, they are a sight to behold and they definitely don’t make them as cool as this anymore!
Read More
Making it up as I go
If there’s one phrase that sums up how I currently feel about a lot of stuff it’s this one. Because I’m basically ‘making it up as I go’! It seemed like the perfect quote for this week in The Happy Stitch Project. It has resonated a lot with my Instagram followers too!
Read More
Brick and cross stitch hoop
This week in The Happy Stitch Project, we’re stitching a really fun pattern on this brick and cross stitch hoop. Yay! It’s simple to stitch and is actually really therapeutic once you get into it.
Read More
Long and short stitch lettering
This week in The Happy Stitch Project, we’re learning long and short stitch. It’s a beautiful stitch for shading, so you can achieve an ombre effect with different shades of the same colour, or blend different colours together. Our project this week is long and short stitch lettering, and I’ll show you how to stitch…
Read More
Mastering the bullion knot
This week in The Happy Stitch Project, we’ll be mastering the bullion knot! 💪 I tried these a couple of weeks ago and failed. It was so frustrating, and I thought that I might not ever be able to stitch them! But I’ve actually worked out why that is now (after a big discussion with…
Read More
Adding Danish knots to the knot sampler
This week, we’re adding Danish knots to the knot sampler that we started last week in The Happy Stitch Project. They take a little practice, but once you’ve got the knack then you’ll be stitching them in no time!
Read More
How to stitch a cable stitch
This week in The Happy Stitch Project, I’m showing you how to stitch a cable stitch. It’s a bit like stem stitch from week 8, but you alternate the sides of the loops when making the stitches and this gives a slightly thicker effect.
Read More
Spring mandala with picot and tulip stitch
This week’s hoop design for The Happy Stitch Project is a spring mandala with picot and tulip stitch, stitched in a gorgeous spring-inspired colour palette.
Read More
Woven rose bouquet hoop
What a week it has been. Everything feels really heavy at the moment doesn’t it? I said this last week in my newsletter too, but it still applies: it’s okay to take time out and switch off if you need to.
Read More
Chain stitch spiral hoop
We’re embracing a bit of freestyle design and stitching with this chain stitch spiral hoop! It’s a perfect project for using some of your loose ends (the useable bits of thread left over from other projects) and it’s so relaxing to stitch.
Read More
How to stitch a star stitch
After three weeks of stitching this hoop together, this week I’ll show you how to stitch a star stitch in The Happy Stitch Project so we can finish this lovely, motivational hoop!
Read More
How to stitch a stem stitch
This week in The Happy Stitch Project, we’re learning how to stitch a stem stitch. I’m wondering why I haven’t learnt this one before to be honest, as it’s such a lovely stitch! Here it is in red on the sampler designed by Helen from @unicornfactoryuk – you can download it here.
Read More
Do your thing embroidered hoop
It’s week 7 of The Happy Stitch Project, and this week we’re starting to stitch something that we’ll work on next week and the week after as well. The Do Your Thing embroidered hoop uses arrowhead stitch to fill in the letters, so we’ll be stitching that this week in some beautiful pastel shades.
Read More
You don’t have to be an expert to be creative
In the world of the perfectly curated social media feed (we’re looking at you, Instagram!), I wanted to talk about something that I really feel strongly about in today’s post: you don’t have to be an expert to be creative.
Read More
Herringbone stitch ombre heart hoop
Love is in the air in week 6 of The Happy Stitch Project, as we’re stitching this super cute herringbone stitch ombre heart hoop! I love the effect of ombre colours, and it’s something that I come back to time and again because it’s just so effective.
Read More
The magic of the to-done list
I discovered the magic of the to-done list a while back, but throughout life in lockdown it has helped me even more. I’d like to share it with you today, as it will hopefully be something that helps you too.
Read More
Customised denim jacket
This customised denim jacket is a project from my book, Colourful Fun Embroidery, and it is the perfect project for week 2 of The Happy Stitch Project!
Read More
Happy Stitch hoop templates
The Happy Stitch Project is in full swing, and in today’s post I’m sharing these Happy Stitch hoop templates with permission from Helen from @unicornfactoryuk!
Read More
Sprinkles hoop for The Happy Stitch Project
This Sprinkles Hoop is the first design for The Happy Stitch Project and I really hope that you enjoy making it to practice the first two stitches, straight stitch and back stitch.
Read More