me + my boys: FREE Christmas Stocking template! 🎉

EMBROIDERY

PUNCH NEEDLE

WEAVING

Hey, it's Julie here,

I hope you are enjoying your week so far! Here's what's happening this week at Clever Poppy.

In today's email:

On the Blog: A simple guide to Fishbone Stitch
Maker's version of 'Zooming Home for Christmas'
A handy iPhone function you may not know about
FREE Christmas stocking template
Shop Highlight: Festive Alphabet
In my world: Creepy Carnival

On the Blog... Fishbone Stitch Technique

The Fishbone stitch is a lovely technique to use for filling in areas of fabric, especially leaves and petals. It features in a lot of our patterns, as many of them are botanical, leafy or floral (my favourite things to stitch!).

If you would like to try your hand at this technique, I have an article on my blog here you can check out. The way I teach this stitch isn't quite the traditional way, but I've found it works well for modern embroidery!

This technique also features in our Festive Alphabet pattern which you can find below - what a great way to put your newfound skill to practice!

GO TO BLOG

What have our makers been up to?

I am just loving all of the Christmas themed projects being shared in our group lately!

Here is one from our member Sue-ann, who stitched our new pattern 'Zooming Home for Christmas'. What a beautiful job she has done!

She said: "Just finished stitching. Perfect relaxation for a Sunday evening. I must say, that lady Clever Poppy, my appreciation for your talent has skyrocketed. She was tricky. It took me two takes, which isn't too bad considering".

Something Helpful...

For the iPhone users out there - have you ever used the Portrait function? Because I recently discovered this function when taking photos of the kids and it blew my mind! This function takes amazing photos if your subject is close, because it keeps objects in the foreground focused (e.g. people) while blurring the background. Kind of like a fancy proper camera would.

Check out the difference in the two photos below - the one on the left is taken with the regular 'Photo' function, and the one on the right is taken with the 'Portrait' function. Give it a try if you haven't already, and let me know what you think!

FREE Christmas Stocking template

We are so excited to share some news with you, about a free Christmas Stocking Template our lovely member Shannen has made for you all!

As a bit of background - when I first shared the Festive Motifs pattern, I knew I wanted to showcase them on some cute stockings. But I struggled to find any that were affordable, and ended up getting my mum to sew us a set (thanks mum!). Then I got sooooo many questions asking how people could get their hands on similar stockings of their own. So of course Shannen jumped to mind, because she has a beautiful Instagram account @what.she.made, where she shares her amazing sewing skills, amongst being a busy mum of 3 (including Marlie who is only 4 months old) and other lovely crafts.

And I'm thrilled to let you know that Shannen has somehow found the time to design a template for the gorgeous stocking pictured here! Plus she has shared a few tutorials on her Instagram page, about how to prep and sew up the pattern.

You can grab the free Christmas Stocking pattern by scrolling to the bottom of our shop listing for the Festive Motifs pattern kit, and there you'll see a link to download Shannen's template. And all of her tutorials are now ready to watch on her 'gram here.

Woo hoo have fun, we can't wait to see what you make!

Shop Highlight... Festive Alphabet

I have been seeing so many of our members lately sharing their examples of our Festive Alphabet letters stitched up as gifts! Letters created from this pattern really are such a great Christmas gift, either in individual hoops or grouped to spell out words.

I recommend this pattern for Confident Makers +.

We have included a template of every letter of the alphabet in our pattern guide, for you to personalise to suit you or your giftee.

We have a pattern kit for this in our shop, available in two different colourways - cool or warm. It includes the printed pattern guides, three pieces of cotton fabric, three mini display hoops and a thread bundle with threads in the colourway you have chosen.

The Festive Alphabet Pattern Kit

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In my world...

We had a really fun weekend hanging out with mates and going to a 'Creepy Carnival'. I think the kids have definitely had their fill of Halloween treats and toys until it rolls around again next year!

By the time you read this newsletter, I'll be getting my first ever tattoo. OMG! You might remember earlier in the year I mentioned that I was keen, and now it's happening! I'm actually quite nervous, but I have chosen an artist who is super talented and does the most incredible designs. So my excitement is definitely outweighing any nerves! I can't wait to share it with you soon.

In other news, I'm working hard on getting our Dec and Jan patterns ready, in advance of the holiday break. Because we all know how fast Dec disappears, followed by the School Hols when work productivity levels become quite the challenge. I have also been working out some amazing collaborative patterns for the new year, with some of my favourite artists in the whole wide world. Ah, I can't wait to share more on that when we're ready!

Ok have a fantastic week everyone.