Three New and Interesting Projects

I'm sure that anyone who has embroidered for a long time has the same problem that I do.  No more space on the walls in your house.  Not a single square inch to hang another hand-stitched masterpiece.  

Does that sound familiar to you?

Many of you that have met me abroad will have seen my 'rag books', a rather ingenious way of storing your pieces in pages and made for me by Pat, who is no longer with us.  I suppose I could make more of those but I'll be honest, I won't make them like Pat did and anyway, that pile of rag books is building up.  Time for something different.

For the last six months or so, between trips away, video making and working up other designs for publications, I have completed the first three blocks that will go into a quilt.  That quilt could become a wall hanging but of course, the walls are full so I envisage that it could be a covering for a single bed.  Not one you could sleep under because it has lots of beads on it but rather, a daytime bedspread, if you will.

The first thing I did was to draw what I have called a Quilt Map.

Once I had an idea of where I was headed, I drew a few designs, starting with the butterfly that will be block 12.  Once I had that starting point, I went on to the Late Summer design that will be block 5.  I was halfway through the Late Summer design when there was a quilt festival in our city, so I went on down there with both the projects and managed to find a pretty floral fabric that would work with the colours I had decided to use throughout the quilt.

That was easier said than done because there was not a lot of the only fabric that suited what I had in mind.  But with a little digging around on that stand, we managed to find the end of the roll and few fat quarters which, between them, added up to what I was going to need - and a bit more for luck.  

So with the pretty, floral fabric in my hot little hand, I was able to come home, draw up an image and get a better idea of where I am heading.

And this is where I'm at.  Blocks 5, 11 and 12 done and finished with block no. 8 in progress.  Block 10 will be dragonflies, intended to pair with the butterfly that is block 12 on the right.  Blocks 7 and 9 will match but won't be identical designs.  They will have a needle lace background with fruit and flowers.  The remaining blocks, 1 to 4 and block 6 will be fruit, flora and fauna, fauna including some more butterflies, dragonflies and bees.

If you want to work along with me on this quilt, you can now make a start.  If you don't want to make a quilt but would like to do one or two of the projects that will be made up into something else, or framed, you can do that too.  All of the projects and printed on Ecru cotton twill.  I am working the embroidery through batting - you might think that's tough on the fingers but it isn't really.  If you're making a quilt, you would want to get a piece of batting big enough for the entire quilt and do that but if you are going to make the projects up in a different way, you probably won't want to.

So now, the projects.

Block no. 12, the big butterfly is called Fluttering Flowers.

The wings are filled with a variety of stitches and techniques.  Needle lace fillers, conventional surface stitchery, wonderful random freestyle flowers and of course, lots of 3-dimensional beadwork flowers and leaves.  And that's not to forget the subtle ecru butterflies in the background.

 

And here's the thing.  If you don't know how to do for example, the needle lace techniques or the beadwork flowers, you can also get the full stitch and techniques dictionary.  This provides high resolution video clips of every single stitch, needle lace technique and beadwork flower.  We provide the beadwork flower video clips for both right-handers and left-handers.  

 

You'll find the kit at HERE on our website.  You can order the full kit or just the pattern and print (which provides the print and full instructions in the booklet).  The materials pack has all the threads, beads and needles.  If you order the full kit, you get everything you need for the project and of course, if you feel you need video instruction, add the Online Stitch Dictionary to your cart.  We'll add the access document to that private domain so that you get into it on an ongoing basis.

Block no. 11, alongside the butterfly, is Almost Autumn.

Worked with mostly traditional surface embroidery stitches, some of which have tweaks to make them interesting, there is also some bead embroidery, two needle weaving variations and a brand new needle lace filler pattern.  

  

As with the Fluttering Flowers project above and the Late Summer project below, you can also get the full stitch and techniques dictionary.  

  

The stitch and techniques dictionary provides high resolution video clips of every single stitch, bead embroidery or needle weaving technique and of course, the aforementioned tweaks to some of the surface stitches. 

You'll find the kit at HERE on our website.  As with the other projects, you can order the full kit or just the pattern and print (which provides the print and full instructions in the booklet).  The materials pack has all the threads, beads and needles.  If you order the full kit, you get everything you need for the project and of course, if you feel you need video instruction, add the Online Stitch Dictionary to your cart.  We'll add the access document to that private domain so that you get into it on an ongoing basis.

Block no. 5, which will be in the middle of the quilt, is Late Summer.

Sometimes I work up a design that goes smoothly from start to finish.  No unpicking, no changing my mind on the colours I am using, it just flows.  Late Summer was one of those designs.  I so enjoyed working on it.  

  

Worked with DMC stranded and perle #12 cotton, there are many traditional surface embroidery stitches, but there is also some bead embroidery, along with needle weaving variations and needle lace fillers.  The most interesting thing to do is the random freestyle flowers.  It's so satisfying to see that come together.  

  

As with the two projects above, you can also get the full online stitch and techniques dictionary.  This dictionary provides high resolution video clips of every single stitch, bead embroidery, needle lace or needle weaving technique as well as an instructional video for the random freestyle flowers.

  

You'll find the kit at HERE on our website.  As with the other projects, you can order the full kit or just the pattern and print (which provides the print and full instructions in the booklet).  The materials pack has all the threads, beads and needles.  If you order the full kit, you get everything you need for the project and of course, if you feel you need video instruction, add the Online Stitch Dictionary to your cart.  We'll add the access document to that private domain so that you get into it on an ongoing basis.

As I complete each block of the quilt, it will be turned into a kit and will be made available on our website.  As mentioned, block 8 is in progress - or was in progress, it has been put on pause while I complete a project for Inspirations Magazine and I will get back to it in a week or so when that project is finished.

In the meantime, whether you want to make a quilt or not, these three projects are up there just waiting for you.  Have a close look at them, they are varied and interesting.  Should be fun to do and of course, you don't need to battle with the techniques because the online dictionaries are available.

To set the ball rolling, we will send free access to the online stitch dictionary to the first 10 orders for these kits.

We'll email the access document to the lucky first 10 orders when we send off your kits.

2025 -  Another Busy Year

The last five years have meant change for all of us, not least me and this business. 

With the addition of the online classes – and their accompanying videos – the number of folders on my hard drive has at least doubled, if not more than doubled and I am often to be found looking at all those folders with a confused look on my face, not knowing where I have saved something.  I’ve got good at using the ‘search’ function, I have to say.

Finally, though, things seem to be settling down.  In between general admin and trips overseas, with Andrea and Zandile taking care of kit packing and orders, I have now got myself into a good routine, dividing myself between the various aspects of what I call ‘product development’ – that is, designing and stitching new projects, writing up the instructions (or books) and then working up online classes and making the video clips.

I call it ‘product development’ but when I speak to my adult children, they refer to it as ‘content creation’.  Oh well, just semantics and maybe a little of the old generation gap.

Getting into the new routine involves communication and what you might call some marketing – although my children might have another name for that too.  Whatever it might be doesn’t matter.  

As soon as the kits are ready (within the next fortnight), I will be telling you about 3 new designs and in the not too distant future I will be able to tell you about the next book - a collaboration with Phillipa Turnbull and really quite exciting.  In the meantime, though, let’s tell you what workshops are lined up for 2025.  

In April/May, I will be travelling up to Harare, Zimbabwe to judge their annual Guild competition and to do workshops.  This is all under the auspices of the Needlecraft Guild of Zimbabwe and if my last trip up there is anything to go by, I know that I will be inspired by what those ladies create under, really, often difficult circumstances.  If you’re in that part of the world, and would like to know more, please email me (address at the bottom of this newsletter).  I will give you Julie’s contact details.

For the rest of the year, I am doing a whole lot of online workshops for Guilds in the US and, as part of seminars in the US and Canada.

Jacobean Design no. 18

Before I leave for Zimbabwe, the 1^st day of February has me starting the live sessions for a 4-session workshop for Jacobean design no. 18.  An oldie, but a goodie and chosen because all the stitches and techniques in that design are fairly straightforward.  I’m doing that for the Constellation Chapter in Maryland and at this stage, I can tell you that the class is full, so no places on that one.

Also, before I leave for Zim and on the 26^th April, I will be starting the live sessions for a 4-session workshop for the Corning Chapter in New York State.  At this stage they are still voting to choose what project they will be doing.  It’s a choice between Jacobean design no. 18 and Reflection.  The live sessions for that workshop will continue when I return from Zimbabwe.  I imagine that being in the early stages of planning, there will be places available in that workshop and if you would like to know who to contact, drop me an email and I’ll get back to you. 

Clive the Chameleon

On the 26^th May, we will start a 4-session live online workshop for the Neapolitan Guild in Florida, USA.  The project for this workshop is Clive the Chameleon, so lots to get into there because it involves learning the 3-dimensional beadwork flowers – amongst other things.  I’m not sure of the booking status for that workshop but if this appeals to you and you would like to know who to contact, drop me an email and I’ll get back to you. 

Summer Jewels

Every Saturday and Sunday in June will see me doing live online workshops for Stitching Under the Arch, the 2025 Canadian embroidery guilds seminar.   In these workshops I will be teaching Summer Jewels and Reflection.

Reflection

If you are interested in taking part, you should CLICK HERE.  Scroll down to the section outlined in green and this will give you the details of these workshops.  Click on the workshop title to get the details and then go HERE to register.  You will need to be a member of the Embroiderer’s Association of Canada to take part in these online workshops and you will be able to arrange that HERE.

During July, I will be continuing with workshops started earlier in the year – Clive the Chameleon and whatever project we are doing to the Corning Chapter – then in August, I’ll be doing the Daisy Pincushion for the EGA Dayton Chapter.  

Daisy Pincushion

That’s a great little project originally designed for the New York seminar, so this will be something of an encore and if you think you’d like to participate, would like to know who to contact, drop me an email and I’ll get back to you. 

Claude the Phoenix

From mid-September until the end of October, I will be busy with the EGA Needlework Faire 2025, being held in Dallas but of course, I will be teaching my workshops online.  

Crazy Patchwork Embellishment

If you want the details of those classes, you will find them HERE  and you can register HERE.  As with the Canadian Seminar, you will need to be a member of the EGA and you can join HERE.

Most of these online events happen on Saturdays and Sundays, all done in the time zone of those participating in the workshops – usually their morning and my late afternoon/evening.  So that’s me out of mischief for many of the weekends this year.  There is, however, still space to add more workshops, particularly if they are during the week and also, in other time zones.  An Australian afternoon, for example, is my morning and of course the UK and Europe at on a very similar time to me.  So, shout if you’d like to organize anything and we’ll talk.

If you want to see what’s available at the moment, bearing in mind that I add to it regularly, CLICK HERE.   Read through to the bottom and then click on the two links that take you to the 4- and 6-session workshops.  When you get to those pages, there is a link below each photo.  That gives you the full details of the workshop.

So, that's it for today.  I hope that the new designs will be ready in the next fortnight and you will hear from me as soon as they are uploaded on the website.

Till then,

Hazel

email:  blomkamp.hazel@gmail.com or info@hazelblomkamp.com 

 

Our Mid-Year Sale

For the last eight or nine months I have been working on stitch videos and also, video dictionaries for all of the designs in our current range.  

These dictionaries comprise videos of varying lengths that cover all of the stitches or techniques in any particular design.  Along with each video clip is a comprehensive downloadable step-by-step guide for that particular stitch or technique.  

So, this is what it all looks like, using the Barry the Tiger dictionary for these examples.

When you order any particular dictionary, our website will send you an access document to the private domain where that dictionary is located on our tuition website.  You block and then copy the password by pressing cntrl C on your keyboard.  This copies the password.  Then you click on the link that is provided on the access document.  When the page opens up in your browser, it will look like the image above.  You click in the password box and press cntrl V on your keyboard.  This copies the password into that box - it will show up as a line of dots - and then you click enter.  

The page should then open and will look like the the image below.  If it doesn't open you've done something wrong.  You can email us and we'll guide you through it.  But with time zones and what have you, you might not get an immediate reply so, quicker and easier will be to find a teenage boy to help you.  They can do this kind of thing in their sleep.

Once you're into the private domain, scroll down and you will find general information that describes what is on the page.  All of the stitch videos are worked on small samples and a little way down you will find the link to a templates document.  

When you click on that, a page will open in another window.

The red arrow in the image above shows you where you need to click to either download, or more likely to print the document so that you will be able to trace the templates onto your doodle cloth.

Scrolling further, you will find the video clips.  Below each clip there is a link.  If you click on that link, another page will open.  Once again, this page is downloadable and printable, as indicated by the red arrow in the image below.  

This is the PDF document that gives you step-by-step instructions, along with tips, variations and clear illustrations.

Each video clip has an additional downloadable PDF with instructions, in much the same format with some running to quite a few pages.

Each video clip is embedded on the page and to watch it, you click the red play button as shown by the green arrow in the image above.  

Each video has been filmed in high resolution, edited with additional zooming in and given a voice over which, along with the PDF instructions, should give you everything you need to know about each stitch.

If you are familiar with watching videos online, you will know that you can click on the icon in the bottom right corner if you want the clip to show in full screen.

You may choose to work the stitches directly onto your project or, if you are uncertain (especially where some of the more complicated stitches are concerned), you can experiment, work them onto a doodle cloth using the templates provided.  That's up to you.

As I said to you at the start of this newsletter, it is a huge project and is taking a long, long time but for now, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and I have got about 12 dictionaries up and available on THIS PAGE on our website.  

They are divided up into categories that seemed logical to me, i.e. which book each design belongs to and then the non-book, or studio designs.

You can order these dictionaries directly from that page or, if you need the kit as well, a link is provided on the dictionary page.  That will take you to the page from which you can order the kit and if you choose, you can order both kit and dictionary on that second page. 

When you purchase one of our stitch dictionaries, your name and email address will be added to our Q and A list.  Starting in August, you will be sent an invitation to join a monthly Q and A session.  These will typically last an hour or two and will give you the opportunity to clear up any confusion you might have with regard to any of the projects.  Or, to just join us anyway to show us how you are doing.

 

This dictionary project is by no means over.  I will be adding to it all the time.  

I'm not going to say every day because, depending on how many videos I have available or whether I have to make additional video clips, a single dictionary can take me anything up to a fortnight.  

Coming next is Norman the Tortoise, probably followed by Maureen the Owl, both from the Crewel Creatures book.  

As each one becomes available, I will announce it on our Facebook page.  I will also be adding dictionaries for designs that have featured in Inspirations Magazine and also, the Inspirations' Passion for Needlework books.  

Frank the Zebra won't be available yet because I am doing that as an exclusive online workshop for the EGA.  

Bookings for that one open on the 5th of July on THIS PAGE, so if you'd like to do that full workshop (it's not just the dictionary but a full workshop) and you are a member of the EGA, diarise that date and book for it.

Like Frank, Colin the Rooster and Creative Crewel are also not yet available because I will be doing those as exclusive online workshops attached to the Boston Stitch Party.  

Information about those virtual workshops are on THIS PAGE.  Like Frank the Zebra above, these will be full workshops, with live sessions, not just the dictionaries.

I have also been asked to do Gladness the Giraffe as a virtual workshop for the Canadian Guilds.  We're still working on the details of that one and I will post those when I have them.  Like the EGA workshops, that will only be available to members of the Canadian guilds.

And now.....

You might not need a whole dictionary to work up a particular project.  For example, you are no stranger to backstitch, fly stitch, chain stitch, etc. but you're flummoxed when it comes to a needle lace stitch, or a needle weaving pattern.   

To accommodate you, you can get hold of those stitches individually and you'll find those on THIS PAGE.  You will find the stitches are divided up into logical categories and you can surf through those categories to see what is there. 

And those simple stitches?  You'll find them HERE and HERE.  

Have a look at those two pages because, if you click on any of those stitches you will be taken to the page with the instructions and the video clip.  These give you a good idea of what you'll find in the dictionaries.  They are much same as the pages in the dictionaries and the mini-stitch workshops.

So, if you've got this far, if you're still reading this 'novel' that I'm writing, and if you've had a look at all the pages, I think you'll understand with all the work so far, with the fact that we're beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel (and it's not a train coming towards us), we needed to have a minor celebration by having a mid-year sale with a 25% discount on everything on our website.  It includes the only other new item that we've got out this year - the Bead Embroidery techniques book which is on THIS PAGE.

Obviously, our virtual products don't have to be shipped, our website sends you everything you need to get into the domains on our tuition website.  When it comes to physical items, the things we have to send to you, like with all of our international sales, shipping is expensive.  I wish we could do something about it but we can't.  We don't add anything onto the courier costs.  Sadly it costs what it costs and because of this, my advice is to get together with members of your groups and guilds, place a combined order and share the shipping cost.  It works on a sliding scale and a heavier parcel is very much cheaper per item than the contents of a small parcel.  I did a calculation for a group order at the beginning of the year and whilst I knew there was a difference, even I was surprised at how much cheaper it worked out for each individual, if they did a combined parcel.

There is however, one little shining light.  It seems that our politicians may have loaded arms on a ship and sent them to a place where they should not have gone.  When it became public knowledge, the value of our currency plummeted and if you are buying in another currency, that's very much to your advantage.  Not just in terms of the products, but also the shipping costs.  

So with that, I think I've said everything I need to say.  I hope you'll like the idea of the online stitch dictionaries and, in closing, if there is a dictionary that you'd particularly like to have, please let me know because I will probably be able to move it up on my list and get it up there sooner than I might otherwise have intended.

So now, go off to our website HERE and have some fun.