The theme for most of the patterns I design comes from the world around me. My aim with the monthly free pattern release is to keep these as seasonal as possible.
But, because I need to design, stitch a sample, photograph and prepare a pattern for release quite often I’m noting down what I see around me this year to make it onto the list for next year. For example, last year at the end of February I went for a birthday walk and was greeted by carpets of primroses. So when I started planning out the patterns for this year, primroses went straight into the February slot.
When I lived in London I was much less attuned to the different flowers that popped up each month. Since moving to the North East I notice this much more, even along the verges of the A1(M) there have been patches of colour in succession since early spring; daffodils followed by primroses then large oxeye daisies.
I’ve also embraced the garden more. In London whatever I did the foxes would dig it up and it just put me off wanting to make any effort at all. We now have a larger space, all the tools and a car to transport get the stuff we need to cultivate the space. I count myself as a novice gardener but I’ve delighted in seeing seeds that I planted in the cold and damp days of a North East spring now opening their blooms and the plants we cautiously bought from various supermarkets and garden centres not only surviving but thriving. Expect to see some of these featured in patterns next year.
Whilst spring and summer are plentiful for inspiration, the autumn and winter months become harder to pick inspiration for patterns. The patterns for September, November and December 2022 are still inspired by the plants around me but won’t feature any floral blooms. I hope you enjoy stitching something a bit different as I certainly enjoyed creating these. You can find all my free patterns on my freebies page.
Enjoyed this blog post? I share embroidery tips and a free embroidery pattern in my monthly newsletter. Sign up here to receive the newsletter on the 1st of each the month.