Karen Turner Stitching Life textile artist stitching by hand

Re-visioning

I did try very hard to like the circles that I had planned for next year’s daily stitching.

And actually, I do like them – but just not for daily stitching.

So I had to go back to the drawing board and do a bit of cutting-and-pasting.

2027 daily stitching template in progress

It’s turned out – unintentionally – to be very similar to this year’s. It’s another grid, but with a variety of different shapes – short rectangles, long rectangles, and squares (or circles). I’ve enjoyed the framework of the grid this year, and, as I primarily design these things in line with my own preferences, I’m using a grid design again. I also like the way a grid lets me find a use for my textured yarns.

I’m working up a little sample to make a protective cover for the 2027 stitching, and so far I think it will be fun.

I hope to have the new template available by the end of next month, if anyone wants to use it.

As always, it’s not a stitch-along, there are no prompts, and there’s nothing to sign up for. It’s just me doing a bit of hand stitching every day. If you can find a little peace and contentment in doing something similar, then that’s a good and beautiful thing.

If you’re new to the idea of daily stitching, there’s a stitch journal FAQ page here.

Until then, I’m having a little rummage in some lovely autumn colours…

…and keeping calm and carrying on.

Printed fabrics update

This is just to let you know that I will be closing my Spoonflower shop at the end of this month, 31st October. If you want to purchase fabric pre-printed with my daily stitching templates, please order it before the last week in October.

You can find my Spoonflower shop here.

I will also be closing my shop at Woven Monkey on the same date.

Please do remember that you’ll be buying from Spoonflower (or Woven Monkey, a UK-based print-on-demand shop), not from me; I don’t receive any information about who buys what so I can’t help you with your orders if anything goes wrong.

For transparency, the only payment I receive is 10% of whatever you spend, though Spoonflower withholds a further 30% of that because I’m not a US taxpayer. 90% of what you pay goes to the print-on-demand site.

If you’re buying from Spoonflower, I recommend their cotton/linen canvas, and you will need a yard of it if you want to stitch the whole year.

Thank you all for your previous support; I am sorry if this decision causes any disappointment for anyone.

September 2026 daily stitching

The end of another month, and it’s been another busy one.

As usual, just threading a needle every day to see what happens next.

You can see some of these blocks in action, happening (more or less) in real time on my YouTube channel.

There were my mother’s favourite flowers for her birthday earlier this month, and a heart for her pacemaker check up.

There were some long days

I really like the long/thin format and may well design a whole year like that some time.

A few people asked about this one:

It’s just herringbone stitch, worked quite closely in fine silk thread. You can get a lot of variety from simple stitches by changing the thread type, stitch size, and stitch proximity. Widely-spaced herringbone stitch looks very different from this closely-worked example.

And – I can hardly believe it myself – October tomorrow.

In other news, the shop is open again for thread. I don’t know, at this point, when I will be able to dye more thread so what’s there is what there is.

Also in other news, I’m road-testing the template for next year – just to see. The jury is still out but I think we may get a favourable verdict. There are some challenges and limitations with circles, which could make things a bit more interesting.

Preview of the 2027 template, under construction

If you’re doing your own daily stitching, I hope you’re enjoying it and finding a little peace in a few quiet moments with needle and thread.

Taking a break

Just to let you know I’ll be taking a short break next week for a week or two, depending on how much down time there is. It’s all been very full-on this summer, as you know, and I think there’s space for me to slow down a bit now.

I’ll be closing the shop for tangible items (thread and fabric) from lunchtime on Friday 11th September, and I’ll re-open later this month. My Teachable school doesn’t have a holiday mode so that will remain open as usual. If you need to contact me about any problems with access etc, please be patient as I won’t be checking emails every day.

See you on the other side 🙂

Shipping update

Good news for some, and you saw it here first:

I have now re-opened international shipping for Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

I’m very sorry that I still can’t ship to Europe or Northern Ireland; that’s due to changes caused by Brexit and there’s unfortunately nothing I can do about it. I hope to resume shipping to USA at some point but I will need to dig around for current information on the tariffs. I will look at that as soon as I have the time.

Please be aware (wherever you are) that I may not be able to post items as quickly as I usually do. I am still a bit all over the place, here and there attending to other things.

Thank you as always for your valued support of my little hand-dyed thread boutique.

August 2026 daily stitching

You will see from my lack of blog posts this month that August has been exceptionally busy. Time has disappeared in a blur of house-clearing and charity shop runs. My mother’s dementia has reached the stage where she is now unable to live alone, even with daily care, and I have to sell her house to pay her care home fees. All of it is hard. I look mostly ok from the front, but the back is a mess; much messier than the back of the cloth.

The cloth, and daily stitching, has helped with maintaining a sense of equilibrium and normality.

I find that each daily block isn’t intended to mean anything, or depict that particular day. It’s just a few stitches, in any colour. Part distraction, part escape, part immersion. Mostly restorative.

The exception this month was the solar eclipse on the 12th, which is loosely pictorial. A once-in-a-generation astronomical event kind of deserves its own spotlight, I thought.

You can see some of this month’s daily stitching in the August playlist on my YouTube channel

And the year so far:

Two-thirds of the year down, one to go. I had better start thinking about next year’s template.

July 2026 daily stitching

The last day of July today, and time seems to be flying even faster than usual. As always, I’ve been catching a few moments of each day and stitching them down. Time is life, and the most precious thing we have.

You can see some of the daily blocks for this month in the July playlist on my You Tube channel.

Summer is probably my least favourite season overall, but I’ve enjoyed using a brighter colour palette. I have a new collection of hand-dyed threads in summer/early autumn colours in my shop (sorry, UK-only shipping for now).

July has been very challenging, personally, but I am focusing on one day at a time and placing stitches like footsteps. Eventually the path will lead to a quieter calmer place.

And tomorrow, August begins. It’s intriguing to think that all those blank spaces will be full in just thirty-one days’ time.

I hope you’re enjoying your own daily stitching adventure, if you’ve embarked on such a thing. If nothing else, it provides a little quiet breathing space in a busy day.

Have a lovely weekend, and happy stitching.

(Another) threads update

I am truly sorry to be the bearer of disappointing news today, but I have decided to suspend overseas shipping (that’s anywhere outside the UK) until further notice.

If you’re anywhere other than the UK, please accept my sincere apologies. I hope that I can resume overseas shipping before too much longer; stay tuned and I’ll let you know.

If you have family or friends in the UK who can order on your behalf, then that would present a workable alternative.

If you are in the UK (and I still can’t ship to Northern Ireland, I’m afraid) then – lucky you – it’s all yours.

You can find my online shop here.

Threads of life

You may have noticed my hand-dyed threads have been temporarily unavailable in the shop this week.

Recently there have been a few hard weeks, and I’m currently having another very full week arranging a residential care home placement for my mother, who is unfortunately no longer able to continue living alone. I’ve been unable to manage the shop on top of all that.

There has been a different kind of sewing. When I was at school (and that’s a very long time ago) my mother patiently sewed name labels into all my school clothes. And now I am doing the same for her.

It is a strange feeling. The wheel turns, time carries us along, and at some point we come full circle.

I need a few more days to gather together everything she will need, and also to get myself to a point where I can think straight, but threads will be available again soon – probably next week some time. Please keep checking the shop if you’re waiting.

Also, threads may be intermittently available if I have to be somewhere else for a while. If you visit the shop and don’t see thread, please just check back later or the next day. Apologies for the current unpredictability, and thank you for your patience.

Comments are off on this one; I will be back soon (ish).

June 2026 daily stitching

And here we are, halfway through the year already.

The month soon fills up.

Today was a simple leaf outline, and you can see it in action on my YouTube channel.

This month has presented difficulties and challenges, most of which are now ongoing. The best policy so far has been to keep calm and stitch.

July ahead:

And the year so far:

Amazing what a few minutes a day can do.

Karen Turner Stitching Life

Re-visioning

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Printed fabrics update

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September 2026 daily stitching

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Taking a break

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Shipping update

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August 2026 daily stitching

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July 2026 daily stitching

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(Another) threads update

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Threads of life

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June 2026 daily stitching

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