me + my boys: Want to learn the Lazy Daisy? 🌼

EMBROIDERY

PUNCH NEEDLE

WEAVING

Hey, it's Julie here,

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

In today's email:

On the Blog: A simple guide to Lazy Daisy
Member's personalised Daisy Blooms
What I'm reading at the moment...
The latest shop news
Shop Highlight: Blooming Butterfly
In my world: Morning plunge

On the Blog... A simple guide to Lazy Daisy

If you are anything like me and love stitching floral designs, then the Lazy Daisy technique is one to have under your belt.

This technique is great for using on a variety of petals, leaves and flowers, and is super fun and quick.

If you'd like a simple guide for learning this stitch, then head on over to our blog article here. Happy stitching!

GO TO BLOG

What have our Makers been up to?

If you are looking for inspo on how to personalise your favourite embroidery pieces, check out this beautiful version of our 'Daisy Blooms' pattern, made by our lovely member Michele.

She said: "I was able to finish this just in time for a birthday gift 🎉 I enjoy making French knots, so this beauty was a joy to stitch."

What's inspiring me on the creative front...

I just had to share with you this beautiful Blue Banded Bee, stitched by embroidery artist Megan Zaniewski of @megembroiders. Megan's style of embroidery is inspired by nature, with most of her pieces being 3D (which are insanely realistic to look at, they almost pop out of the fabric at you!). She experiments with lots of different textures, fibres and stitch techniques to create these incredible pieces. You can check out her reel here, which walks you through the process of how she makes this beautiful 3D Blue Banded Bee.

Something for the readers...

Ok so this one's a bit out of left field, but I thought I'd share what I've been reading. For literally an entire year…and I'm still only onto book 8 out of 14. So, I have dedicated an entire year of my life (so far) to reading the Wheel of Time series. And I'm happy to share that I'm obsessed!

As a bit of background, I absolutely loved the Game Of Thrones books. I've never been into the fantasy genre, but I was totally gripped by the Game of Throne books (if you loved the tv series, believe me, the books are even better). So when I finished reading that, I spent a bit of time researching what would be good to follow up with, and The Wheel of Time seemed popular. It's taken me a while to get into it (LOL only months) but I'm totally into it now, and can't put it down! I've even figured out how to read my kindle while I'm stitching (more on that another time). I still think GoT was a better book series, but both are pretty epic. So yes, if this sparks any of your interest, either series are definitely worth a go!

Shop News...

Winter Wonderland Pattern Kit - This popular pattern is now back in stock with our beautiful Kona cotton. Yay!
The Night Before Christmas Pattern Kit - These have been restocked and can now be purchased from our shop. Woohoo!
The Florist Pattern Kit - A great pattern for leveling up your skills and practicing the 'thread bundle' technique, as well as practicing your stitching on linen.
100% Linen Embroidery Fabric - We have a beautiful range of linen fabric for your embroidery projects, perfect for adding a pop of colour to your home!

100% Linen Embroidery Fabric

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The Florist Pattern Kit

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The Night Before Christmas Pattern Kit

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Winter Wonderland Pattern Kit

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Shop Highlight... Blooming Butterfly

I have seen many beautiful versions of this pattern shared in our group, I just love seeing the beautiful floral aspects come to life!

Blooming Butterfly is a great stitch up, whether you are an Excited Newbie, looking for your next challenge - or if you are a Confident Maker wanting something a little easier to stitch in between more complex patterns.

It would look stunning in a child's bedroom, or would make a lovely gift to someone special.

We have a pattern kit, which includes the printed pattern guide, a piece of baby blue Kona cotton, all of the threads you need to make this pattern and a beech wooden display hoop to display your finished piece in.

Blooming Butterfly Pattern Kit

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In my world...

I'm getting back into the swing of things here at Clever Poppy HQ, and loving being back in my studio! But I've got to be honest, it's taking a bit of time for my brain to switch into gear, after focusing for so many weeks on the creative side of things.

One of the things I'm missing most from boating (and which I think would certainly help right now), is my morning plunge into the ocean! Come rain or shine, we jumped in the water first thing each day. And although it was quite cold at times (what we called 'refreshing'), it was such a wonderful way to energise and start the day. I know there's a lot of research around the benefits of cold water therapy – I can tell you that it sure puts you in a good mood! So yes, I guess my option going forward is to have a cold shower each morning before work…not quite so appealing haha.

And as a side note, one of my new year's resolutions was to NOT hesitate when it came to getting into cold water. I know that seems a small thing! But gone are my days of agonising on the side of the boat or slowly inching my way in from the beach. Now I'm the kinda gal who dives right on in. And it's so much more fun!

As mentioned, I'm incredibly excited to reveal our guest pattern with Yulia next week. Stay tuned and have a great week everyone!

P.S. I thought I'd sneak in a peek at a pattern I'm currently working on. It's one of my favourite spots that I'm making just for me (and it's VERY detailed). But I'm planning to make a more simplified landscape pattern in this style, which will go live in the next few months. Stay tuned…