On a jet plane

In Flight luggage tag, the Stitch and Thimble : 02

Today's the day. Suitcases packed, passports at the ready.

We leave this evening - just ahead of the next ash cloud! - and will be back under the African sun again tomorrow.

Farewell Britain. Hello South Africa.

Back to the future

Big news. We’re moving back to South Africa. Next week.

We’ve had an interesting three or so years in England but are now heading home, mainly to be closer to family and friends again, but also to give me a chance to have a go at this embroidery lark full time.

I haven’t been happy working in an office for a while now. And it feels like the right time to take a leap of faith and pursue my passion. I’ve been testing the waters for about 18 months, as those of you who have bought patterns and issues of the Stitch and Thimble through my website will know (a heartfelt thank you to all of you). I’ve learnt so much in this time about everything from designing embroidered pieces to drawing up patterns to setting up a website to putting together a publication on my own to blogging… some areas still need polishing, but now I'll have the time to work on them.

Right now though, I’m just really excited to apply everything I’ve learnt in a more structured way. By this I mean spend more time on and make better use of my design ideas, and extend my product range and offerings. The nerves do surface from time to time – what if I’m not good enough, will I be able to make a living out of this, will I be able to run a business successfully?

But mainly I’m just excited. Striking out on my own has always been my plan, all I needed was some direction. I feel I have that now and hopefully it all works out. I’ll keep you posted.

PS I may be AWOL for a week or three while we move. Please don’t be alarmed or send out search parties, I’ll be back.

Bookish

I splurged a little on books not so long ago.

Cheap Chic by Emily Chalmers and Ali Hanan:


I’ve owned Flea Market Style by the same authors for a few years now and never tire of browsing its pages. And I can see Cheap Chic is going to be the same.

Creative Walls by Geraldine James:


Each photograph in this book is jam-packed with interesting details. And I’m always on the look-out for ideas on how to display embroidery, so hopefully this’ll come in handy.

The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin:


I’m about halfway through this gem of a book, and am going to have to read it again and again to allow all the golden nuggets to sink in.

Made in France: Blackwork by Sonia Lucano:


Technically, I bought this for my mom. But I haven’t given it to her yet and I keep finding myself flipping through it. I’ve never done blackwork, but Sonia tempts me with her contemporary designs.

Flutter By : 4

I try. I really do. I had all the colours picked out for this range of free designs and put them in a separate “project box” and everything so that I’d stick to the selected range. But not even halfway through I was already dipping into the “other” floss boxes for alternatives.

And I confess I gave up completely with this one and just picked a bunch of new colours that caught my eye. I love them, though, and this butterfly goes just fine with the first three so why not. C'est la vie. Such is the creative life.


Download the pattern for Flutter By 4 from the free patterns section on my website. And go to the useful links page for stitch books and online stitch libraries.