Good morning, and welcome to A Stitcher’s Christmas, 2019, installment 5 – which means we are half-way through this year’s series of needlework gift drawings!

This morning, I’ll announce the winner of last Friday’s installment – Pink Delight, a ribbon embroidery kit by Di van Niekerk – at the end of this article.

But first, we’ll take a good look at today’s gift, which is for three of you!

Courtesy of Inspirations Studios, each winner will receive one year’s subscription to Inspirations Magazine, the world’s most beautiful embroidery magazine. If you already have a subscription, the gift subscription will be added to your current subscription.

Let me tell you all about Inspirations!

If you are new to the world of embroidery and you’ve never heard of Inspirations Magazine, prepare to be sorely tempted!

There’s a reason Inspirations Magazine is called the world’s most beautiful embroidery magazine. It’s because it is. Ever since its inception in the early 1990’s, every issue of the magazine has upheld its reputation as a gorgeous magazine full of beautiful needlework projects.

Inspirations is a quarterly magazine, and each issue is packed with projects that will delight the lover of fine needlework. Covering a multitude of techniques, each issue is both an inspirational and instructional project book.

Along with the projects – which are the focus of each issue – you will find columns that feature reviews of books and products; articles that explore designers, textile artists, and other personalities in the needlework world; and features that relate human interest stories having to do with needlework.

You’ll find extensive step-by-step instructions for all the projects and all the stitches used in all the projects and all the finishing techniques, and more! And you will find a convenient tear-out pattern section in the back of each issue, with full-sized patterns.

Inspirations Magazine is truly the gift that keeps on giving. If you don’t have a subscription, perhaps it’s time to gift one to yourself? (Or drop hearty hints all over the house?) They offer both a print and digital version, too, so if you don’t have the space for the printed magazine (which makes a stunning coffee table magazine!), you could go with digital.

I like the print version best, because I relish the day it arrives! It’s my lunch break companion and my evening reading – I love going through the magazine from cover to cover! I also tote it with me when I go to appointments and such. I’ve struck up many a conversation on embroidery and needlework in waiting rooms, thanks to Inspirations!

Besides the magazine, Inspirations Studios offers kits for the projects featured in the individual issues of the magazine and in their beautiful project books. They also offer downloadable digital patterns from previous issues of their magazines.

Did you know they publish insanely beautiful project books? For example, check out their two-book series, A Passion for Needlework – both books are fantastic.

Finally, they also host, every other year, a needlework convention in Australia called Beating Around the Bush. It draws instructors and stitchers from all over the world! You can read about next year’s Beating Around the Bush here – where you can also download the digital catalog for the event.

They’re a busy little business! Every year, they get better and better!

Give-Away Guidelines

To enter today’s give-away, for three randomly-drawn winners to each receive a year’s subscription to Inspirations Magazine, please follow these guidelines:

1. Leave a comment on the comment form below. If you’re not sure how to get to the comment form, click on this link – it will take you straight there. Your comment must be left on the website on today’s article, not on any other article. Comments submitted via email are not eligible and I am not able to reply to them due to time constraints. Please do not comment as a reply to another comment. Replies are not counted.

2. Be sure that your comment has a name on it that is recognizable as yours. For example, if your name’s Belle, there could be more Belles out there, so you might put your last name or your last initial. Or you might put a recognizable-to-you nick name (i.e. Silver Belle). Or you might add a reference to where you live – for example, “Belle in Bethlehem, PA” or something like that.

The reason I particularly mention this one is that it reduces confusion when the winner is announced. It’s always hard to disappoint people if they mistake the name for their own!

3. Make certain your email address on the comment form is entered correctly, so that I can email you if you win. Leave the “website” line of the comment form empty. Please Do Not Put your personal contact information in the comment box itself. In other words, don’t sign your comment with your email address or your mailing address! That’s just an invitation for spam.

4. In your comment, answer the following question:

Under the back issues section on the Inspirations Studio website, you’ll find a nice, colorful listing of the back issues by cover. What cover catches your attention the most and why? Maybe it takes your breath away, maybe the colors make you happy, maybe there’s a project on it that you’d like to do? Think of this one as a bit of a treasure hunt! Browse, and then leave your answer in the comments below!

5. Leave your comment before 5:00 AM central time (Kansas, USA) Monday, December 16th. The winners will be randomly drawn that morning and will be announced at the end of that day’s give-away.

So go forth and comment, and in 2020, you may be enjoying a wonderful magazine delivered right to your door every quarter.

The give-aways for A Stitcher’s Christmas are open to everyone, but please be aware that, if you are subject to customs or duty fees, they are your responsibility.

Silk Ribbon Kit Winner!

And now it’s time to announce the winner of last Friday’s give-away, a gorgeous, complete silk ribbon embroidery kit kindly offered by Di van Niekerk.

The randomly drawn winner is Susan Ritter! Congratulations, Susan – I will drop you an email!

More to Come

Don’t forget that you can still sign up for Monday’s give-away, which is a marvelous collection of needlework goodies from Needle in a Haystack. If you’ve been wanting to try out some Really Good Embroidery Linen, you’ll find two swaths of fabric in each collection – they’re both lovely to stitch on!

There are five more give-aways ahead! Books! Tools! Supplies! Threads! Oh my! Keep an eye out!

And why not share A Stitcher’s Christmas with your stitching friends? The more, the merrier!