A new obsession and a pair of green shorts

I can’t stop thinking about a man I saw out running today. (To be clear, the man was running. I was a car passenger en route to hell Ikea, probably munching Quality Street.)

It’s not the man per se but his bottom. (That sounds worse.)

He was wearing a pair of unusually green lycra shorts and I cannot decide on the right name for the colour. They weren’t pea green; much lighter than that. But not lime green, celery green or Spring green. The word chartreuse keeps springing to mind. I must check. (Juliet where are you? We could discuss this for hours!)

ANYWAY.

I hope you’re having a restful and peaceful Christmas break. I am working a little and resting a lot. Staying up way past my bedtime reading books by the fire. Pottering away on a personal Christmas sketchbook project. Crocheting a mistletoe garland from Loop. In between all of that I’m writing copious notes for next year. To do lists, goals, places to visit… both work stuff and personal. I thought I’d write a blog post about my plans for next year, if that’s interesting?

Books are always on my Christmas Wish List and this year I’ve been gifted some beauties. I am fast becoming obsessed with an American professor and cartoonist called Lynda Barry. Drew bought me a couple of her books for Christmas and they are blowing my mind! Not only with the inspiration for things to write and draw (and NOTICE!) but also some philosophical observations that I can’t stop thinking about.

At first glance the books are not my style at all. They are reproduced pages of Professor Lynda’s graphic sketchbooks, syllabus notes and student work. Nothing beautiful on the face of it. But when you read the background, and consider the narrative, the drawings become interesting and alive.

It is nice to read something out of the ordinary and feel fired up. Nice to have something different to ponder. These books are going to be life-changing for me, I can feel it. And that is so exciting and energising!

I could go on and on. But there is a hot mince pie with cream calling my name so I will leave it there for today. I will definitely tell you more about Professor Lynda and her theories another day but in the meantime, if it has caught your interest then do catch one of her talks or online interviews.

Enjoy the rest of the Christmas break and the slow run up to a new year.

I am so grateful you are here and looking forward to spending another year chatting, stitching and sharing inspiration with each other.

Stay well. Love,

Nicki xx

PS I sent the pattern for the above little stitchery in a newsletter on Christmas Eve. If you dig through your junk mail you should find it!

PPS Sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already! We chat about nice things and I send some free stuff and discounts to thank you for letting me in to your inbox.


A Postcard from England: The 2022 Subscription

As the year draws to a [slightly frantic] close at the studio, I thought I ought to let you know about the plans for next year’s subscription. We are already close to filling all subscription spots with the full year orders that were placed back in September but we do have some spaces available for those of you who have yet to sign up.

2022 will be my 5th year (!) of running a monthly embroidered journal subscription and I’ve learned a lot along the way about what works best as a monthly stitch, and what I most enjoy doing. Over the last two years the kits have become more complex with lots of thread colours (averaging at maybe 18 colours in most kits) and with physically more surface area to stitch.

I love all things tiny and so I am going to apply myself to a series of 12 small embroideries next year, each the size of a standard postcard (4x6”). The design will be printed centrally on the linen so that you can frame it, with some glorious white space around it but you could also make them into actual fabric postcards and slip them into a fabric album - I will show you how!

My theme for the 2022 project is ‘A Postcard from England’ - I felt inspired by some of the gorgeous Victorian postcards in my collection; the abundance of flower baskets and bucolic countryside scenes. There will be no Union Jack flags here, just beautiful little embroideries featuring the things I love about England. Think orchards, farmland, cityscapes and rustic seascapes. But also butterflies, afternoon tea, baskets of flowers and easter bonnets. The postcards will be loosely seasonal but not slavishly so.

The Stitchery Lane project continues into the New Year - we have a concertina book to make and fill with embroideries of course, but the December kit is in production and I am sure you will have it sweetly stitched (clue!) and ready for a new project by the time the January 2022 kit drops on your doormat (we will be shipping around the 20th of each month).

A Postcard from England is a subscription only project - we will not be making stand alone kits of these postcards until at least the summer of 2023. I know it is a commitment to sign up for a surprise project and I want my subscribers to enjoy a bit of exclusivity on the kits for a while. If you sign up to monthly payments you can cancel at any time; there is no obligation to complete the year. (I am certain you will love the projects, I am very excited about these designs!)

Finally, we have made the decision to offer an ONLINE ONLY option where each month you receive a professional kit ebook, pattern and thread colour numbers so that you can buy the materials (or use existing stash) and save money on import taxes and/or postage. We have made the decision to offer that only as a one-off full year payment of £180.

If you’d like to join in you can buy a full year subscription here or sign up for the monthly option here. Be sure to add online classes to your kit subscription if you’d like a little help with them.

Looking forward to stitching with you in the new year!

Nicki xx

How to make a fabric bow

One of the gifts in the 2021 advent calendar needs a little bow, so I’ve done a short video showing how I make the bows that I attach to my embroideries.

You can make them in this same way, however big or small you like - I do like them tiny. Add to presents or make lots and tie to a Christmas tree too.

I originally made this for a reel on instagram but it was too big. Grr. So my apologies for the portrait view!

Hope you’re having a good week,

love

Nicki xx