We’re delighted to feature Aurifil Artisan Alison Carpenter-Hughes for a bit of Spring Stitching inspiration. Ali is an award winning mixed-media artist, writer, and workshop facilitator, focusing on free motion embroidery as an art form.
While working on more large scale commissions, she enjoys having the opportunity to take a pause, slow things down, and focus on a small hand stitched project. Today, Ali is here to share her latest with us!
** Stock up on your favorite Aurifloss for all of your Spring stitching needs by clicking the button below. **
“Love is the flower of life…” – D. H. Lawrence
Inspired by the theme of the Aurifil Artisan March challenge ‘Spring and Flowers,’ I wanted to portray the wonderful courtship in nature that happens every year. I’ve been very busy working on a large installation textile piece, and to spend time each evening doing hand embroidery has really helped keep me sane and has been a way to nurture a calmer pace.
Spring certainly always perks me up with the warmer, brighter days and listening to the birdsong when I’m on my morning run, so I would like to share a little of the joy of this beautiful season with a free template for your use.
This sampler is simple to create using Aurifil cotton floss, using back stitch for the birds, satin stitch for the flowers and fishbone stitch for the leaves. You can mix and match colours for the flowers to suit your taste or decor, but if you would like to recreate the colours from my piece, I used:
Birds: 2692 (Black) using 2 strands
Flower centres: 2120 (Yellow) using 3 strands
Petals: 2524 (Mauve), 2420 (Peach), and 1133 (Orange) using 3 strands each
Leaves: 2835 (Pale Green) using 3 strands
I’ve fixed my piece in an embroidery hoop to hang in my house, but perhaps you have an item of clothing or a tote bag you could update with the design – just enlarge to an appropriate size.
It might also be fun to try different background colours. I’m planning to try the design on black fabric, using white thread instead for the birds and brights for the flowers. The colours will really pop on the darker background.
I hope you enjoy creating my design in stitch and I would love to see your finished pieces. Please tag @aurifilthread, @pootlesmoon, and #AurifilThread on Instagram so that we can celebrate your work!
HUGE thanks to Alison for her stitch inspiration! You can find her online by clicking HERE.
If you’re itching to get started on your own Spring stitching journey, our hot tip is to treat yourself to a Best Selection Floss Collection. Forty-five luscious cotton colors nestled into a custom designed fabric box… it’s every stitcher’s dream!
