Pam Hawes

‘My very worn but loved Australian Ugg boots… I finally used some strong thread to repair the spot where my toe-nail kept peeking through. My friend suggested I embroider something. I have been embroidering for many years, professionally and also got into digital embroidery, but have gone back to basics.’

‘It was so much fun, creating this spider on its Web, walking on my boot. It really was just acting on inspiration and didn't take long. This is another little repair to my favourite black cardigan, after the dogs found their chews in my pockets.’

What a clever and easy way to incorporate embroidery into your repair work, Pam. Your designs are creative and cute but best of all are a great way to extend the life of much-loved articles of clothing. Thank you for sharing these with us!

Sara Zander

‘I am thrilled to report that I’ve been granted a blue ribbon at this year’s county fair. My Embroiderers’ Guild of America chapter, Marin Golden Threads, treated us to a presentation this spring on the fashion history and application methods of beetle wing embroideries. It was fascinating and each member was given a packet of five wings! These ‘wings’ are really the protective covers of the actual, very delicate true ‘wings’ harvested after the insects die.’

‘My core embroidery focus is Crazy Quilting so I wanted to use my packet in a CQ block. I gently pierced each wing four times with a pearl awl and used gold beads and nylon thread to mount them on the fabric.

The iridescent wings were so glamorous that I wanted to surround them with elegant embellishments. I chose gold highlighted batik fabrics, lace, baroque and oval freshwater pearls, silk ribbon, metallic and over-dyed threads and the gold beads. This year’s fair theme was ‘Bugtastic’, so I also added an enamel spider in a web, a bead bee and a butterfly.’

‘To protect the delicate materials, I mounted the 8”x 8” block into a glass-fronted, wood shadow-box frame. It was such a lovely surprise to see the blue ribbon on my piece when I arrived at the fair to demonstrate embroidery at our EGA table! I’m so looking forward to again play with more ‘wings’.’

What a fun project with a great backstory, Sara. Your vision and execution in creating a piece that both fit the theme of the fair and highlights the glamour of the wings is both creative and impressive. Your embellishments make the final piece incredibly eye-catching, congratulations on your well-deserved ribbon.

Pat Mitchell

‘This is my Tree of Life wall hanging from Margaret Light’s A Fine Tradition. I fell in love with this design the moment I saw it, and it has been a joy to reinterpret it in appliqué and embroidery thread.’

‘These Little Angels from Inspirations Magazine issue 124 have turned Hawaiian. In my hula halau in The Villages, Florida, I made the gifts for our co-directors and teacher. Each was a joy to create! I presented these stitchery dancers at our December event. Thank you for the pattern and inspiration.’

Pat, what gorgeous pieces! Your Tree of Life has been expertly recreated and is so vibrant, and your Aloha Angels are such a fun and creative spin on the gorgeous original - in fact we even included them in a recent news article we were so impressed. Also, we have it on good authority that the original designer, Naomi Small, was thrilled to see these Hawaiian cousins of her angels.

Do you use your embroidery skills to mend well-loved items in your wardrobe or around your house? Has one of your pieces won a ribbon, award or recognition? Or have you put your own creative spin on an Inspirations project?

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