G’Day ♫♬♪♫ It’s a beautiful day in Cape Town but I see that it is freezing cold in many parts of the world. So I am sending you lots of African Sunshine and…. to make your day, I have some spectacular Roses to show you by the super-talented Valentina Razenkova from Saint Petersburg in Russia.   [...]

  Hi everyone, hope you are all having a good week. I see that it is so cold in Europe so I am sending you a beautiful, sunny cushion made by the exceptionally gifted ribbon embroiderer and author: Helen Eriksson from Walkerville, Adelaide, South Australia.   Click on the image to enlarge…     Thank you [...]

  Good morning stitching world – hope you had a good weekend :))   I am delighted to show you a magnificent piece by Hülya Göndür Sönmez of Art Design Studio, Belsu Shop in Istanbul,Turkey. Her creation is featured in our South African needlecraft magazine: Stitches - the February/March 2012 issue number 26.  Hülya Göndür Sönmez has [...]

  It’s Friday ♫♬♪ and I thought you would enjoy seeing this beauty by Emma Kriegler of Stilbaai in the Cape.   Oh là là but I love the feathers!   Click on the image to enlarge     Happy weekend ♥ Love Di PS. I have some beautiful masterpieces to share with you in [...]

  Turkey stitch       Stitch diagrams are © 2012 Metz Press www.metzpress.co.za and Di van Niekerk www.dicraft.co.za     Turkey stitch is a wonderful versatile stitch when you want to add a fluffy texture in your design. A long looped thread is anchored to the fabric with tiny stay stitches. See diagram above.   Make [...]

  Long and short stitch   This is a good filling stitch. Work with one strand of thread for the best results. When working large areas with two strands, separate the threads before inserting them in the needle. This way, the threads are smooth and untwisted.   Click on the images to enlarge     [...]

  Single-knotted stitch   is a lovely stitch to use when you need a frilly texture – whether it be in the centre of a flower, for a lacy dress or jersey or a little dog. It is also useful for making other furry creatures and teddy bears.   Click on image to enlarge   [...]

  Don’t you wish you could be lying under the African sun like this beauty?   Sending you some African sunshine to brighten up your week ♥   Click on the image to enlarge        

  The sweetest little birds in ribbon embroidery…   Good morning everybody… are you ready for the week? To brighten up your day, I thought you would like to see the cutest birds by Svetlana Gerasimova (Светлана Герасимова) who lives in Pskov, Russia — a city south-southwest of St. Petersburg, on the Velikaya River.   Click on the images [...]

  It’s Friday ♫♬♪♫♬   Today I thought I would show you a lovely piece by Siti Salmiah Othman from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Many of you saw her beautiful cushions on my Facebook page (scroll down till you see her cushions) and the response was overwhelming! So here is more of her lovely work.   [...]

  Oh la la la Mais c’est magnifique!   Good morning and Good news… my Roses book is now available in French ♥           Do visit the website of my esteemed French publisher: Tutti Frutti Editions for more details about the French book :)     The original artwork in the [...]

  ◕‿◕ Good morning to you…   I hope you had a good weekend…it is very hot here – 34 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) is HOT and humid at the coast, so I am sending everyone who has snow around them some African Sunshine to warm you up :))   I have more beautiful roses to brighten [...]