| |
|
|
|
Interview with Sharon, who designs and crafts stitcheries (needlework).
For people who have not heard of stitchery, what is it and what can you create with it? Stitchery is a great craft medium using needle and thread and is a way of creating any number of different designs on any type of fabric. You can create a variety of items from stitchery by placing completed pictures in frame, use them as a panel on pillows, table runners or wall hangings. You are only limited by your imagination. Where did your interest in designing stitchery patterns begin? I spent a few years designing my own cross stitch designs and doing those for myself and friends and then just over a year ago I started doing some work for Country Lane Designs and that was my first time actually making my pictures available to anyone wanting to purchase them. I was extremely lucky that Nicole from Country Lane Designs decided to take a chance on my work and liked it enough to include it in a new range that she was releasing so in a sense if it was not for Nicole's assistance it probably would have taken me much longer to get my work out there. And what attracted you to it? I love drawing patterns as the process is not too complicated and I get great satisfaction from seeing a picture come together and putting it into a pattern and seeing it come to life through the stitchery process. How would you describe the styles and themes of your designs? My designs are simple, I am aiming most of my work at children and therefore I try not to make them too complicated as busy mums trying to do them won't have time to sit down for weeks trying to finish a project. I will have a range of home designs coming out later in the year that are more complicated using vintage fabrics as inspiration  My Sailboat What are you working on right now? Right now I am doing a cute design called "Alice the Bunny" which will be stitchery incorporated with a bit of fabric applique and possibly some crayon work as well. I am also working on a lovely welcoming sign to go in the "home design" section of my website.
What are some of the fabric and thread types used mostly in stitcheries? You can use just about any fabric as long as it has a firm backing. I use mainly quilters muslin for the boys designs backed with thin pellon to give it a quilted effect. For the girls designs I use pink wool felt and pink homespun. Where do you find inspiration for your pattern designs? I definitely get inspired by things my four children say and do. They come out with the cutest stuff and generally anything they are interested in whether it is dolls, toys, trucks, planes things in the garden or just something they will come out with in general conversation can inspire a great design. Who or what has been the main influences in your work? Well as I said my children are a huge influence. They are the main inspiration for my work at Willberry-Lane. The name of the business was inspired by my youngest son whose name is Will and. I found it very difficult to find any kind of children's decore that suited me so I decided I would do some myself and then decided to branch out into a business in the hope that other interested crafters would enjoy these designs as well. On your website I can see that a large part of your work is in children’s designs. Is it harder to come up with ideas for girl’s patterns than boys?  Love is Always Home Table Runner Actually girls patterns are a bit easier there is a lot of pink inspiration out there. Boys are quite difficult but a good challenge. Having two boys of my own has given me a lot of inspiration to try and design practical yet cute pictures for boys rooms that can be combined into anything, a quilt, a pillow etc. Which do you think you get the most pleasure out of doing: a stitchery pattern design or creating the actual stitchery? I enjoy the design process but there is definitely nothing better than putting the finishing touches to a piece of work and standing back and looking at it and thinking - "Yes, I love that I was able to create that".
|
