Recently, I got to go to the Schiaparelli exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum in London. I love the V&A’s fashion and textile exhibitions and this blockbuster exhibition didn’t disappoint. I was especially taken with the amazing selection of Schiaparelli’s embroidered jackets. Read on for plenty of photos of this delightful pieces! Suits Schiaparelli […]
Do you sometimes need help telling what colour something is? That might sound a little strange… Who needs help seeing colour better? After all, red is red, blue is blue, right? Well, ish! How we perceive colour is very much affected by it’s context. As I found out the hard way while stitching my Royal
Before getting too caught up in what I’d like to focus on in 2026, I find it can be useful to look back on the previous year. So I’ve been thinking about my 2025 stitching and embroidery highlights. What did I particularly enjoy? What do I want more of? What do I want to avoid!?
Would you jump at the chance to get involved in a project combining two of your childhood passions? Back in 2019 I had the opportunity to do just that when I heard the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) were looking for volunteers to help stitch a quilt to celebrate their upcoming bicentenary… The RAS quilt plan
Do you ever feel stuck for ideas on what to do with your finished embroidery? How about turning it into a beautiful embroidered ornament to hang somewhere special? I’ve turned some of my embroideries into hand made ornaments for the Christmas tree. Although I must admit that I like most of them so much, that
What’s one of the most overwhelming things about stitching a detailed silk shading embroidery? If you’re anything like me, it’s how do you keep a track of all those different threads?! Let me share with you the challenge I faced. Lessons learned. And most importantly, what I’ve learned not to do! For my Royal School
I recently paid a visit to the Sargent and Fashion exhibition at the Tate Britain in London. The exhibition focuses on how artist John Singer Sargent maximised the impact of clothes and fashion in his portraits. And it even has some of the outfits on display alongside their portraits. Singer Sargent was painting portraits in
There was so much preparation for my Royal School of Needlework (RSN) Certificate botanical silk shading project, that I wrote two blog posts about it! You can catch up on the preparation work here and here. Now with all that preparation done, I was finally ready to start the stitching of my botanical silk shading
Lately I’ve been taking some time for reflection, so I thought it would be fun to look back and ask “how did I start embroidery”? I’ve been stitching so long that sometimes it feels like something I’ve always done. However there obviously must have been a starting point… Since I enjoy hearing about other people’s
Satin stitch is often one of the first stitches that you’ll come across when getting into embroidery. Which lulled me into thinking it’s an “easy” stitch. Actually, I found it one of the trickiest stitches to work to the standard expected by the Royal School of Needlework for my certificate piece. Maybe that’s just me
