Monika

‘I like to work with natural and coloured jute, because counting is easy and the progress of the work is fast. ‘

‘The rose lady and the sampler pictured above are older projects from when I first started stitching so perfection was not the goal. I was also inspired to stitch the logo MonaLisa; since my full name is Monika Elisabeth, I chose MonaLisa as my artiste’s name.’

‘I would love to share my hobby with a stitching group, but in my town Interlaken, Switzerland, there is no other stitching fan, as far as I know.’

In lieu of a local stitching group, let us provide some praise and encouragement for your work, Monika. Your designs are vibrant, fun and engaging, and seeing your progression from the sampler and rose lady to your more recent projects is wonderful. Keep up the incredible work, and please be assured you have a whole community of stitchers sharing your joy and cheering you on.

Sharon Evans

‘Please see below photos of my Elizabethan Casket designed by Australian tutor Maree Talbott. Maree came to New Zealand to teach a group of us way down south here in Dunedin. It is an ongoing project with many more components to come.’

Sharon, what a wonderful piece, and how lucky you are to have experienced Maree’s tutoring firsthand. The detail and intricacy is beautiful, and it is clear you have poured a lot of time, dedication and skill into this project. We hope you continue to enjoy completing each component and we can’t wait to see more of your finished work.

Ursula Osmond

‘My friends tease me, as I often refer to your magazine and books as my ‘embroidery porn’ but the reality is that the work pictured in Inspirations magazine is awe-inspiring; the talent of contributors is just stunning!’

‘There was one project which I realised that I would be able to tackle, and from my (possibly over excessive) stash. So, I embarked upon the project Little Angels by Naomi Small and yes, I could do it from my stash!!

Possibly, if I set my mind to it, I could do some of the other wonderful projects you publish, but I started small.

I do have one small problem; if I stitch a picture, I have rather run out of wall on which to display it. However, it might use up some of the aforementioned stash, which now meets SABLE proportions (SABLE = Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectation).’

Your words are incredibly kind Ursula, and we absolutely agree that our wonderful contributors are endlessly talented. Your Little Angel is gorgeous, and we are sure you could complete other projects you’ve admired; with a stash so large, there’s nothing stopping you!

Has your stitching come a long way since you first started? Do you enjoy tackling larger projects with multiple components? Or have you recreated a project all from your very own stash?

Whatever you are stitching, we’d love to see it! Email photos of what you’ve created with needle and thread along with a few details about your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com