As I write this, England is in the grip of the Mother of all heatwaves, for us at least. Although I complain about our chilly 17th century cottage in the winter, it is actually blissfully cool downstairs in this weather and so the three of us have decamped to the kitchen/dining room to work. (My home workroom, in the eaves, has been temporarily abandoned. It is like an actual sauna in there.)
We were staying at our little caravan, right on the North Norfolk coast, but it became just a little bit too hot for Lottie and her fur coat so we came home early yesterday morning. I am missing that cool coastal breeze and the ice cream hut just off the beach!
I love the English seaside and especially North Norfolk, it has a real nostalgia for me; our grandparents took my sister and me for a week’s holiday every summer when we were children. I have the most lovely memories of early morning walks with my granddad to collect the newspaper, the pale pink beach hut we rented every year, trampolines on the beach and sunset walks, searching rock pools with my Dad for crabs, starfish and other exciting sealife!
I’ve designed three kits now, with an English seaside theme. The latest is a tiny row of beach huts, shipping next week as part of my Postcard from England subscription.
A Postcard from England, embroidery subscription
It isn’t too late to subscribe - you can pay monthly and cancel whenever you like. Subscribers then have the chance to order any previous kits they fancy, to catch up. You can subscribe here, if you want to join in. We are making them into postcards and this month I will be sharing how to make a special book to slip them into - it is a gorgeous keepsake project and because the stitcheries are so small they are super achievable to finish in an afternoon or two.
A Postcard from England, embroidery subscription.
If you don’t want to subscribe now, I will be releasing them all as standalone kits next Summer.
One of my favourite stitcheries to date was this lighthouse embroidery. I love lighthouses - especially the red and white striped ones - I just adore the stories behind them (The Light Between Oceans is one of my favourite ever books, and I really enjoyed the film too).
I painted the sky and sea whilst the embroidery was still in its hoop, to give a sort of porthole feel and I am really pleased with how it turned out. The colours, the coolness of the sky and the water…. All just make me feel very summery and happy. You can buy this kit as a standalone kit here if you’d like to stitch it on the beach this summer. (or stitch it in your living room/garden and pretend to be at the beach!)
Beside the Sea is another piece I enjoyed stitching - the little girls with their fishing nets and buckets reminding me of so many children at the beach, not least my two nieces! I think we all remember tucking our skirts in our knickers and paddling in the shallows.
You can of course change up the colours of the outfits and hair to suit children more personal to you - stitching in the same way. I keep the pattern lines minimal so as not to spoil the finished piece and they are easy to adapt. The fishing kit is here if you’d like to stitch it too.
I have had a lot of messages from folk who are nervous to paint fabric and worry that it will spoil their whole embroidery. I promise there is nothing to be nervous of and at the very worst we can send you a new printed piece of linen! Be brave and keep the paint very very dilute. I have a tutorial here on youtube and a blog post here if you’d like to read up before you start.
Finally, if flowers are more your thing, I have you covered (of course) with this beautiful Summer wreath, full of roses and strawberries in pretty pale pinks and a juicy toning red. A most enjoyable stitch!
We do have new things a-coming at The Stitchery. Mindful of the fact that the schools are now starting to close for the Summer and World Embroidery Day is around the corner (31st July) I am stitching away working on patterns and classes to keep your hands and mind engaged beautifully and creatively. I am developing a Stitching Text class that I plan to launch mid-August and I am very much hoping that it will include a pattern or two that might get a few youngsters stitching, particularly as the holidays start to drag.
Mindful of the incredible friendships I’ve made across the world through stitching, I will be sharing a free pattern pdf next week that I hope you will enjoy. I found this quote in one of my favourite magazines recently and could really relate - I think it is through this commonality that ‘stills our breath and steadies our heart’ that we have made such a connection with each other.
Happy stitching, have a good week and thank you, as always, for being there.
Nicki xx