Karen Turner Stitching Life textile artist stitching by hand

Back to work

Seven days into a new year, and already I’ve broken my No Working after 7pm and No Working at Weekends rules. Must try harder!

I rearranged the practical corner of my workroom with a wire rack thing that has lots of hooks and clips. I’m looking forward to filling it as the year goes by.

The shop is now open again for threads and fabrics. Threads are disappearing quite quickly (thank you for the recent orders) but I hope to dye some more in the spring.

I am currently unable to post anything to Northern Ireland or Europe. I am truly sorry about this but it’s a consequence of the recent update to GPSR regulations, and as a one-woman cottage industry I just haven’t the means to comply with all the rules.

In happier news, there is a new stitch journal in progress.

It’s the same vintage French cotton/linen sheet I’ve been using for the last three years, but this is the last of it so next year I will have to think again. I had meant to tea-dye the fabric before starting but I never got round to it, so white it is.

Although winter is probably a good time for quilting, I like to knit at this time of year. I’m no expert knitter, but I do enjoy it. I find it’s a very relaxing evening activity.

I recently discovered the brilliant Åsa Tricosa and her ziggurat knits. I was lucky enough to find a reasonably-priced secondhand copy of her book, which I think might be out of print.

Her patterns are for top-down seamless knits with integrated fitted sleeves. Most top-down seamless knits have raglan sleeves or circular yokes, which I find aren’t as flattering and don’t fit as well. Having converted to circular knitting some time ago I no longer knit flat pieces that need sewing up. I love the way a garment comes off circular needles practically ready to wear.

The instructions are very clear but the process is quite complex until you figure out where you’re going: there are lots of short rows and picking up stitches to begin with, but the way it all works out is pure genius. You can also find Åsa’s patterns on Ravelry.

I guess knitting is a kind of stitching too, isn’t it?

December 2024

The last day of December and the 2024 stitch journal is complete. A map of my year.

2024 stitch journal, 31″ x 30″, hand-dyed threads on vintage linen

366 days, 366 blocks, a few simple stitches marking the passing of each day.

Days of different shapes and sizes, different colours and textures. Minutes, hours, and days that fill a life.

This is what I mean by Stitching Life. It’s verb, noun, not adjective, noun. Stitching my life, to be more precise.

Every month seems to pass in a blur, however much you try to slow it down. December has been no different.

I like the way this cloth displays its memories in a non-linear sequence. Because of the way I laid out the monthly blocks, the month directly above December is May, and I like the way memories of the summer sit next to the winter days. November sits underneath June, early winter sharing an improbable border with midsummer. But the flowers of summer became seeds that sleep in the winter earth, ready to wake up and grow again in the spring.

I guess stitches are seeds too.

The stitched area measures about 31″ square. The fabric is the French cotton/linen bed sheet that I used last year and the year before. Next year (tomorrow!) will be the last of it.

Its function is to be a visual depiction of time passing. It’s also a mini-reference library, showing the effects you can create with a small range of very simple stitches.

It will rest in the cover that I made for it earlier in the year.

It feels right to put the year away like this, on New Year’s Eve.

Ready to continue tomorrow.

Not starting again, just continuing. That’s what we do every day, all our lives.

Next year will be long and thin, only because that’s the shape and size of the last strip of bed sheet. If you want to try something similar, there’s a stitch journal FAQ page here on my blog. There’s also my Intuitive Daily Stitching course with instructions on how to work and combine a range of simple but effective stitches. I also show you how to choose suitable fabrics, threads and needles for your daily stitching. The course is prerecorded so you can learn at your own pace, and comes with lifetime access so you can watch as many times as you like. You can find my daily stitching templates here, or of course you can design your own.

Tomorrow, we go on. Wishing you a happy and peaceful 2025.

Quietly productive

It was supposed to be down time, and it very nearly/probably was. The trouble is, I don’t like piles of half-finished things all over the place and I can’t sit down and relax if things need doing. And things always need doing, right?

I finished the simple quilt for the reading chair (you can see the making of the seaside-Mondrian cushion/pillow here):

reading chair looking a bit more inviting

I made a planner for 2025, using up some 150 gsm cheap drawing paper that I had on the shelf. Usually I buy a diary for planning the year, and usually I’m too busy to use it effectively. I figured if I invest time in making the thing myself then surely I will make the effort to actually plan things in it.

I made a start:

I made a start on forming some resolutions for 2025:

Yes, 2025 will be the Year of Less. I work too many hours. No real time off this year, no holiday – too busy doing essential improvement works on the house. My choice, and not complaining. But next year has to be different. I probably say this every year. Let’s see what happens.

Of course I made a cover for the new planner:

I made a cover for my 2025 order book too:

order book cover, map fabric by Tim Holtz

It has pockets on the inner covers because who doesn’t like pockets?

inside front cover, space for notes. Needs ironing!

I used a bit of an old window envelope as a pocket too:

I hemmed my 2025 stitch journal fabric:

the last of the vintage linen, hemmed and ready for 2025

I didn’t quite get round to finishing the little landscapes:

I am not Superwoman.

This is my last post before Christmas week, and I really will be having some proper time off over the next week and a bit. I’ll be back here on New Year’s Eve with (I hope) my finished 2024 daily stitching.

For now I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported my work this year, especially to everyone who has bought courses, thread, fabric, and PDFs – you make it possible for me to do what I love, and I’m always grateful for that – and to everyone who takes the time to leave kind comments here and elsewhere. I wish you all the joy and peace of the season.

Down time

Out of curiosity I recently joined Threads, the chatty side of Instagram. I don’t need more social media, and I have no idea what I’m doing there really, but so far it’s a bit like what Twitter used to be in the good old days. I think I’m only there to explore, read, and reflect rather than to post anything much myself. It’s been reassuring to see so many UK small business owners talking about how hard it is to juggle all the jobs and to find any decent stretch of time out for self-care and rest when you’re a sole trader.

I’m feeling the need to step back a little in the run-up to Christmas, because I want to be able to enjoy a week off later without being exhausted before it starts. In my experience you can be too tired to enjoy a holiday. I’m sorry that I’ve closed the shop so early for fabric and thread orders, but I’m unable to get to the post office this week, and next week is too close to Christmas to be of much use. The fact is that I appear to have overtaxed myself and need a few days down time.

Today’s daily stitching turned out to be crossing paths in a slightly untidy backstitch. Two steps forward, one step back. Slow progress, but progress overall I guess.

Even my downtime is full. I have a few things to tidy up and finish, or at least try and catch up on.

This year’s stitch journal needs hemming on the raw edges. There are some little landscapes that I started, with unreasonable optimism, some weeks ago and that have been sitting around on my work table ever since.

There’s a quilt that needs sustained attention, at some point.

And next year’s stitch journal fabric needs a join where the strips of vintage sheet weren’t long enough. It also needs hemming. I’m looking forward to starting the 2025 template in January.

preparing next year’s stitch journal fabric

Hoping for a quiet week, but accepting that life often has other plans.

Daily Stitching Templates for 2025

It took some doing, but my templates for next year’s daily stitching will fit together widthways and lengthways, so there’s a fair bit of choice about the format.

You can see I made a sample to see how it might look. Artist’s impression, I guess you might call it. I made some slight tweaks to the template after stitching the sample so this is not exactly the same as what’s in the PDF. The divisions between the daily sections are mostly whipped running stitch but backstitch or couched yarns would be effective too.

The monthly template has wavy edges that tessellate in all directions, so you can do separate monthly blocks, or join the monthly templates lengthways or widthways to make a long strip, or you could go for a large whole-cloth approach (as I’ve done with the 2024 template) by fitting the monthly templates together as a 3 by 4 block. If you want to make each month as a standalone block and turn it into a cloth book, there are brief directions for that here.

I’m looking forward to starting it. I like the fact that it’s a grid and all the days touch each other, but there are no straight lines. If you want to join me and stitch along, you can find the templates here. I’m going back to the long thin format next year, I think, mainly because I only have a long narrow strip of my vintage linen left. It’s lasted well; I’ve managed to get four years of stitching out of a single sheet. I like the way a long cloth suggests a long period of time, although the speed at which years are passing, a year doesn’t seem that long to me any more.

Incidentally, a few people have got in touch to say they’re using the 2024 template for next year but they’re not sure what to do with February. 2024 was a leap year, so the February page has 29 sections. The easiest way round it is to choose any two daily sections and merge them to make 28. Or you could stitch two sections one day, or redraw some of the dividing lines and adjust it that way. Plenty of scope to get creative with problem-solving.

But first, of course, we have the rest of December to enjoy. I’m looking forward to taking some time off once the shop closes for fabric and thread orders tomorrow (the shop will remain open for PDFs, which will continue to be available throughout the holiday period).

GPSR

Currently I’m trying (and, if I’m totally honest, mostly failing) to make sense of the new EU regulations for General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) that take effect from 13th December.

The new regulations are designed to ensure enhanced safety of goods supplied by businesses, and naturally that is a Good Thing because we all want everything to be safe. (Though I can’t help veering off on a little tangent here to point out that, existentially and philosophically, it’s impossible to say anything is safe because it very much depends on what you do with it…)

The regulations require various compliance statements and appropriate labelling for all products, which in itself isn’t an enormous problem. The main issue seems to be that any business supplying physical goods to the EU or Northern Ireland must have a named representative resident in one of those areas, and that representative must be responsible for ensuring compliance with EU regulations. There is some lack of clarity on whether the rules only apply to products listed for sale after 13th December, in which case my existing courses and digital downloads are probably OK – but what that means in terms of any new material or products I might create in the future is unclear right now.

The pressing fact right now is that, as a one-woman cottage industry, I can’t afford to employ an authorised representative in Europe, nor can I afford the £20,000 fine for non-compliance.

There also seems at present to be some uncertainty about what is and isn’t covered by these new rules, and the regulations themselves are in dense legalese that is largely unintelligible to the lay person. The regulations definitely apply to most tangible products (in my case that’s thread, fabric, and original art), and possibly to some digital products (in my case that’s PDF pattern downloads and online classes), although it turns out these may be classed as services rather than products and therefore may not be affected. Until there is concrete clarification and I can be sure that I totally understand what is and isn’t permissible, I think I have to assume that everything is covered and therefore (for now) no items, tangible or digital, can be available to customers in the EU or Northern Ireland after 13th December.

I had already decided to close the shop for Christmas on 6th December in any case, which is well before the deadline of 13th, so we’re all fine there. I’m going to assume (until someone corrects me) that digital products – or rather services – that were already available before 13th December are unaffected. My Black Friday discount of 25% off all courses (not PDFs) ends tomorrow (remember to enter the coupon code BF2024 at the checkout). This is my one and only ever sale – I don’t intend to do this again – so take advantage while you can.

If you’re anywhere other than the EU or Northern Ireland, then everything will carry on as before (as far as I know…)

In light of possible restrictions, I’ve decided to launch my 2025 daily stitching template early, so that it’s listed well before the cut-off date. You can now find it here and here.

More on templates later in the week. I am truly sorry for the unhappy news in this post, and I would like to express heartfelt thanks and gratitude to my lovely customers and friends in Europe and Northern Ireland. I have been so grateful for your kind support.

November 2024

Another month.

Days crammed and jostling cheek by jowl, gone almost before they started.

In the chaos of our kitchen refurbishment, a little quiet stitching turned out to be a happy oasis of calm each day.

As always, I’ve used mostly my own hand-dyed threads. If you want something similar, threads are available here until 6th December. The shop will re-open in January. I really like the random colour changes and subtle variations you get with hand-dyes. It makes any kind of stitching look more impressive than it really is.

The orange/red/green scroll stitch section below is in a Stef Francis variegated silk thread and is one of my favourite threads.

The other side is almost as chaotic as our kitchen.

I can see all the Embroiderers Guild members throwing up their hands in horror. There are knots! There are thread floats! It’s such a mess! Well, some of us are a mess underneath our calm exterior, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I have no qualms at all about the back of the work, and I don’t try to make the back tidy. I let it be what it is, and I love its honesty. There is nothing hidden, nothing covered up, and nothing to be afraid of. You can see it for what it is.

The kitchen still isn’t finished, but there’s just the painting and the flooring to do, and hooray for that.

There’s a December-shaped gap on the stitch journal, ready for a few more tomorrows.

If you’ve been thinking about starting something similar next year and want some tips on getting started, there is currently 25% off my online courses here. Use code BF2024 at the checkout; offer ends 5th December, so be quick. Courses are all prerecorded so you can start whenever you like and access the material as long as you want.

And here’s a little preview of next year’s templates, available from early December:

Looking forward to next year already.

Shop news

A very happy thanksgiving to my friends and customers in the USA – I hope you’re all having a lovely time today.

I have a few updates to share:

Firstly: I’ve created a coupon giving 25% off all my Teachable courses (that’s courses only, not PDF downloads) for one week only, which you can get by entering the code BF2024 at the checkout. Be quick – it expires at midnight on 5th December (and I think that’s midnight US time but don’t leave it till the last minute just in case it turns out to be GMT).

I confess to some ambivalence about Black Friday deals and coupon codes. It all feels a bit gimmicky, and it feels as if people do it because everyone else does it. It’s frankly annoying when you’ve paid full price for something only to find it reduced a few days later, but that seems to be the nature of retail. I like to think my prices are already accessible for most budgets and that they already offer good value, but if a coupon code entices the undecided, then I’m happy. I can only keep the prices this low for a few days, so if you’ve been thinking of signing up for one of my courses, now is a good time.

You can sign up now and access it later; you get lifetime access to all lessons with no time limits. You can download the videos whenever you’re ready, and you can learn at your own pace as everything is pre-recorded.

My Teachable school is here and current courses are:

Intuitive Daily Stitching – two identical versions, one with (English) subtitles: a beginner’s guide to starting a simple daily stitching practice, including how to choose fabric, needles, and threads, and how to work a variety of basic stitches in a number of different ways.

Stitch a Little Landscape – no subtitles: includes a brief guide to painting your own fabric and thread, and instructions on how to layer and stitch scraps of fabric, adding details with hand embroidery to create a miniature textile landscape.

Creative English Paper-Pieced Patchwork – no subtitles: lots of content in this one – make a little patchwork box, practise piecing awkward shapes by making a patchwork sampler, and tips on starting a sketchbook practice and designing your own patchwork.

Secondly: My online shop will close for all physical orders (that’s anything that needs posting, so all fabrics and threads) on Friday 6th December. If you want thread or fabric in time for Christmas, now is the time. If you’re outside the UK and you leave it much later than 2nd December there are still no guarantees that your purchase will arrive before Christmas. I have five lovely sets of hand-dyed fine silk thread on sale at present; there are also the usual fabric scrap packs and various embroidery threads. I appreciate that I’m closing uncharitably early, but to me that’s better than having items go missing in the annual parcel scrum at the post office.

The shop will remain open throughout December for PDF downloads, which largely manage themselves. Contact me if you have any problems downloading or accessing anything.

Thirdly, and most happily, my new 2025 daily stitching template will be available from early December, for anyone who wants to stitch along next year.

I worked a little sample just to see how it would look. Next year I’m returning to the long thin format, but the monthly template cunningly tessellates on all sides, so you can join the monthly blocks together in whatever formation you like.

Apologies for a long and self-promotional sort of post. Blame the time of year. The post of (unpaid) Marketing Manager is still up for grabs, by the way, if anyone wants to work for nothing 🙂

Today’s daily stitching is a triangle, and it really is a triangular tricksy sort of day. A case of art imitating life if ever I saw one.

A quick quilt

This has been the week of New Kitchen, which I anticipated (correctly, as it happens) would be Quite Stressful.

I needed a little quilting/stitching task that wouldn’t take too much space, effort, or concentration, because of all the noise and disruption. Something that would keep me busy enough to be distracted but available enough to make regular cups of tea for the workers and be prevailed upon to make decisions etc.

This little chair has been in the conservatory over the summer. It’s pretty basic and uninspiring but has the advantage of folding out into an emergency bed should we ever need one. The conservatory is currently 2°C so we brought it into the house to prevent it getting too cold or damp. Due to lack of space it’s ended up in my work room, where it makes a very acceptable little reading chair. I may well keep it here.

This seemed like the week to make a more colourful covering for it. You can see I’ve started on the arms, just by wrapping some padded patchwork strips around them. They need the ends gathering and stitching to secure them better.

I was never going to completely reupholster the chair; it just needed something a bit more colourful as a throw.

I’d bought a few cotton fat quarters a while ago. I very rarely buy new fabric, but this was my consolation purchase for the disappointment of not being able to go to the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate this year because it was Kitchen Week. Somewhat incredibly, all nine fat quarters ended up sitting together quite happily. The fabrics are mostly Moda and Marcia Derse quilting cottons. The map fabric is Tim Holtz.

I didn’t paper-piece this one, of course, and you can see some little mis-matches here and there where my quarter-inch seams went a bit awry. Slightly imperfect, but it was just what I needed to see me through a fairly turbulent week.

Here’s how our kitchen looked on Monday, by the way:

It will be really lovely when it’s done. The upside is that there were a few meals out, so no cooking and no washing up. The kitchen should be finished next week, if all goes well, then it will need redecorating and new flooring. In the meantime it’s a case of keep calm and quilt.

Quilting time

You might remember this that began in June. It’s taken five months to put it together, in between other things, but it’s now one complete square, about 37″ or so.

removing the basting stitches – always the best job

I hadn’t originally envisaged ‘proper quilting’ it – as in backing, batting, and top, but somehow that just happened. Normally I would just have used a top and a backing. My batting of choice is Hobbs Heirloom wool, which is lightweight and very easy to quilt; I’ve never got on well with the cotton or polyester battings. The backing is cream cotton calico.

It’s very pale, and very neutral, and I’m currently undecided about whether that’s a good thing or a dull thing. It’s definitely quiet, and I like quiet. And it’s winter, which is a good time for quilts and quiet.

The circular outline (couched, black and cream silk bourette yarn) is a little thin, and the quilting so far is probably a little small.

But it’s a start. For now, it will rest on the chair while I look at it a bit more.

My problem generally, and this applies to painting as well as textile art, is that I usually like backgrounds as they are. I often have trouble adding the requisite focal point because I don’t want to obscure the background.

This little quilt has some really interesting patches, some of them made from layering sheer fabric over another, like this tea-dyed silk with a layer of dress net over the top:

And this vintage cotton with textured nylon chiffon over the top:

layered patch, cotton and spotted chiffon

I don’t want the quilting to trample all over the piecing and the more interesting patches, but I do need to quilt all the layers together securely. I may try tying the layers here and there. I think it just needs to sit on the chair for a bit while it thinks about what it needs (don’t we all!)

The sketchbook I’m plotting this (and others) in is an A4 landscape-format book, one of my favourite layouts.

Everything in this sketchbook is about remembering, recollecting, and forgetting. There are spots of time, there are ghosts (from time past), there are attempts to turn something intangible and unfathomable into something visual and tactile. There are shadows from time past, and there is the light of time present.

The thinking and the testing is all part of the finished thing.

Today I will be mostly looking at a small quilt as it rests on a chair. And yes, I call that work now. It’s ridiculous really.

Karen Turner Stitching Life

Back to work

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December 2024

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Quietly productive

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Down time

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Daily Stitching Templates for 2025

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GPSR

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November 2024

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Shop news

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A quick quilt

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Quilting time

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