Inspirations magazine is published quarterly by Country Bumpkin in Australia. The production values are consistently high. I have to admit that I have not made many of the projects - Cottage Garden will be the first one (although I do have more kits in my stash). But there is so much to learn in these magazines, from the history of embroidery, to various unusual embroidery stitches, through colour and design, that it is always worth the long wait between issues!
I particularly love the photo styling that Stylist Fiona Fagan has done for this issue. Since I started this blog I have become much more attuned to how photos are styled! Nikki Delport-Wepener's stumpwork cover project Bauhinia was beautiful to start with, and the mix of real flowers, beads and skeins of silk threads that Fiona has added to the photo raise it to a whole new level. Don't the skeins of thread in the artist's palette look great?
And what more can you say about this one?:
The actual project in this photo is the cauliflower pincushion in the upper left hand corner. I love the small scale corn cobs and tomatoes that Fiona has found to go with it.
I don't usually like to choose a favourite, but this time I do have to say that I am quite enamoured of Jenny McWhinney's "Early Bird" redwork peg bag:
I always love the combination of red and white, or red and natural. These birds are so cute, and I like Jenny's new approach to redwork. Instead of a solid line, she uses a sketchy, broken line that makes the work feel more like an etching. My only quarrel with the design is that she uses three shades of red, which I think is unnecessary and distracting, given all the careful line shading in the design. But that is easily corrected. Washing lines are against the by-laws in my neighbourhood (I know, it's not green), but this would also make a great framed piece for the laundry room.
Right inside the front cover is an ad for an upcoming Country Bumpkin book of embroidered blankets and quilts. The large embroidered heart immediately caught my eye, so I was pleased to see several more in the "Hearts and Roses" drawstring bag by Lesley McConnell.
The hearts in the drawstring bag are quite small, but the patterns could easily be enlarged. I would like to use them on quilt squares, maybe nine all together. The combination of polychrome embroidery and patchwork is something I see in the Australian quilting magazines a lot, and I'd like to make one myself. After my redwork quilt!
So once again, there was plenty of inspiration here. Highly recommended!
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