A Patchwork of Thoughts

This weekend I finished a slow stitched needle book; the pattern belongs to Ann Wood whose work I so admire. Her blog is one of my favourites.

I have had a lot of thinking and planning to do, which I always find easier when doing something creative. Given that most of the sewing I do is for The Stitchery, it is nice to have a piece of stitching that I can lose myself in without worrying if people will like it. I am used to documenting everything I do too, so it is nice to just sew for fun once in a while.

I’ve put some photographs below. Quite a lot, which I realise is self-indulgent, but I am working on the basis that I like poring over these sorts of photos so perhaps you will too…

I am fortunate to have met some lovely people in the antique textiles business who keep me well stocked with beautiful fabric and linen. Red and white (and all shades of red/pink in between) are my favourite colours alongside neutrals and my fabric collection has a heavy bias!

There are one or two pieces of new fabric in the needle book; namely the vintage ticking stripe from Ian Mankin; it is my absolute favourite stripe. I regularly use the red and charcoal colourways as I think they both work beautifully alongside my typical fabric choices. (I stock up whenever I am at Cowslip.) The pink wool felt is new too, from a little bundle bought at Cowslip.

Only a smidge of embroidery features in this needle book; I really wanted to showcase the fabric. The little flowers were embroidered in semi-darkness, watching The Stranger (with a glass of wine) which is why they aren’t in my usual teeny-stitch-style! I am definitely a less-is-more kind of girl though and my favourite pieces of needlework usually have a lot of negative space and a light touch.

I finished assembling the needle book on a sewing day with my mum and sister. I sat in the conservatory listening to the rain on the roof and watching Lottie chase leaves in the wind. We ate tiny salted caramel brownies and drank pots of tea. I made a black bean and lentil chilli with sweet potato fries for our dinner. I came home with a sweet little box full of fabric scraps that mum had saved for me. It was a lovely day.

A couple of close friends have each had a horrible time recently, finding themselves in really sad and stressful situations. I haven’t been able to find the right words, but found myself continuing to patch and embroider small pieces of fabric as I thought of them, which I made into little needle books. I hope these little trinkets will say everything that my words cannot.

I am pleased to have finished my little book ready for the weekend. I am going to use it for my slow stitching projects and I am attending a Slow Stitch 101 on Friday with Lisa Mattock. Lisa is an ambassador of the slow stitch movement, lover of vintage fabrics and here all the way from Australia. I am so looking forward to it, stitching workshops are my favourite way to spend the day!

I will take plenty of photos I promise.

Nicki

Making Winter, my way

Well goodness. January is done and I am getting through the Winter!

Every year I learn a little more on how best to look after myself at this time of year and whilst I’ve done well with keeping my chipper up, I have learnt NOT to save any work until January thinking ‘oh it will be quiet then and I can get lots done’ because a) it isn’t quiet and b) I have zero energy and everything takes ten times* as long as normal.

Some things that have kept my chipper up this Winter and might help you:

• Knitting in the evenings - Stitching is my thing. I love it. I am constantly sketching embroidery designs, stitching little motifs or working on a piece of embroidery. I would stitch all day and all night if I could but when it’s your job you kind of have to force yourself to have a break sometimes. I’ve picked up my knitting again and make sure that 8pm finds me by the fire with my husband, dog and knitting for a couple of hours before bed. (I can also recommend a visit to Loop London if you’re feeling in need of knitting inspiration. It is absolutely my favourite shop to visit in London - aside from Choosing Keeping. I spend aaaaages there and always come home with something lovely.)

• Making Biscotti - Niki at the Cottage on Instagram shared a biscotti recipe that is super easy, uses store cupboard ingredients and is a home-baked item that lasts so long I don’t feel it urge necessary wolf down three pieces in one go (as I would with cupcakes). Revolutionary. You can find Niki here.

• My Hello Fresh subscription - I love cooking but I can never think what to make for dinner. My mind goes blank. A long text conversation with a good friend over Christmas has fired me up for cooking this year. She has a big family and her Christmas menu planning is super impressive and super inspirational. (I am going to ask her to help me plan my Christmas menus this year!) She gave me a code for a free Hello Fresh box and I’ve been hooked ever since. Three planned dinners every week and I make sure that two of them are vegetarian to reduce our meat intake. Everything we’ve had so far has been lovely and our food waste has reduced dramatically. Definitely worth it you’ve been thinking about it (I know I am late to the party).

• Stitch Club - Last weekend was the first Stitch Club of 2020. Previously called The Stitchery Social, we have reached a number of regulars who come each month with their knitting or stitching and we have the happiest day together. Spending time with such lovely women has been a real tonic and a highlight of my month. We are all different ages with different backgrounds but the common thread of stitching has brought us all together. The kind of stitching club that people write books about.

  A lot of people have said to me how much they would like to come to one of my Stitch Clubs but the distance is too great - my advice is to be brave and set one up! If you don’t want to invite people into your home you can set a cafe as the venue and invite two or three people to join you for a coffee and bring their current WIP. You’ll soon find that there is no such thing as awkward silence where stitchers and knitters are concerned; you already have such a lot to talk about!

• Books - I read like an addict and always have more than one book on the go. I usually read a hardback or paperback book at home with a separate kindle book that I can easily access on my phone if I find I am left waiting somewhere, unexpectedly. I read when stirring risottos and I read waiting in line at the supermarket. Stories I’ve enjoyed this year so far include The Gown, A Half Baked Idea, Letters to the Lost and The Penmaker’s Wife. I started The Lost Ones this weekend and I can’t put it down!

From a work perspective, we are getting through the workload. The final Seasons kit for 2019 shipped last week; I think it is my favourite of all four. I love the colours and the simplicity. Kate’s folder and artwork are beautiful - one of my friends uses the labels as bookmarks. Such a gorgeous idea and a good way to keep them to hand and admire throughout the season.

Journals are being handmade from antique linen; they take quite a long time and we have been getting through the linen stash at an alarming rate but orders are being fulfilled and we are receiving emails from delighted customers.

The Haven subscription has kicked off with a wintery Cabin in the Woods design for month one. The cover art has been revealed and kits for those will ship this week. I am really pleased with the cover art and I don’t think you have to be a Haven subscriber to stitch it. I can quite easily see it stitched and hanging in sewing rooms, living rooms and holiday homes the world over!

I am currently working on the kit for Haven month two alongside a lengthy but fun project for the alphabet sampler subscribers of 2019. Subscribers qualified for a free booklet with lower case alphabet, numbers and motifs. It is almost like writing a mini book and is taking much longer than anticipated but I am confident it will be worth the wait. I am so enjoying putting it all together.

Thanks for reading. I hope you are having a lovely winter too; savouring the moments rather than wishing the days away waiting for Spring.

Love

Nicki xx

*Not exaggerating