Making a freestyle needlepoint seat cover inspired by the Natural History Museum

Making a freestyle needlepoint  seat cover inspired by the Natural History Museum

…I thought about my little seat cover - it too tells a story. A story of a very grand victorian museum that houses thousands of tiny tales of voyages of exploration and discovery. It made me think that needlepoint can be an enduring way to tell your own story in this modern world. As my canvas has filled in, the weight and durability of the whole piece is highlighted. This seat cover will long outlive me - it has become, almost without consciousness, a heritage piece and a family heirloom and this fills my heart with joy.It’s been a long and relaxed project and in conclusion I can say it is up cycling at the very least and it is a legacy piece of the best kind….personal, interesting and brings a smile to your face in a flash. How lovely is that….

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Hello 2023

Hello 2023

Hello and Happy New Year to you all. I must admit to being a little tired after a hectic but really lovely family Christmas and my plan is to approach January at a slow pace. Taking time to recalibrate and think about what is in store for 2023, both in and out of the sewing room.

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Creative Autumn Endeavours

Creative Autumn Endeavours

Hello and welcome to Autumn. It is such a glorious season here in England and perhaps I appreciate it more because of all the years we lived away on overseas postings. When we first returned, I was immediately struck by how the seasons here are so clearly defined - in both Russia and Sweden, Spring and Autumn were barely a whisper - it just seemed to go from Summer to Winter in a matter of weeks. I remember how we would return to Moscow after the summer holidays, ready for the start of school and we would still be in cotton tops and then a sort of grey stillness would descend upon the city and the temperature would drop by the day over just a couple of weeks and soon and then it was Winter. The trees that lined our boulevard seemed to shed their leaves in a single shake and all was calm and in waiting for the first snow. Here in Yorkshire, Autumn has time to really show off it’s golden hues and wild heathers and the colours make me want to start on new projects. This year, I seem to have excelled myself in lining them up!!

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Making a freestyle garden needlepoint box cover

Making a freestyle garden needlepoint box cover

This is a lockdown project if ever there was one!!! I actually can’t believe it is finished and I can’t believe how pretty it is either. It has been a real journey over the past few months and it has kept me company in the kitchen beside the Aga on chilly autumn days and opened up a whole new world of possibilities to me. My whimsical…free style… garden needlepoint box …. I am just so proud of this and feel a new heirloom has been born.

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A return to Needlepoint (with a little help from Anna Maria Horner)

A return to Needlepoint (with  a little help from Anna Maria Horner)

It is so good to revisit something in needlework that you had all but forgotten and to find that there is a whole new and modern world going on with it. Needlepoint might be a centuries old pastime but it is really a glorious thing.

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Pinwheels have me doing Cartwheels!

Pinwheels have me doing Cartwheels!

Two days to go before packing and so, before our computer is whisked away and I have to sign off for a while, I just wanted to update you on my summer accessories project.  We have a couple of big occasions this summer, our youngest son's final Speech Day at school and our daughter's graduation from university, so I wanted to make some pretty things to use.  I am not much of a clothes person really, but accessories....I love.  So what do I have to report.  Well, first of all... Anna Maria Horner is a total genius.  The needlepoint clutch bag is quite simply the prettiest project I have ever worked on and its going to be really lovely. 

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