Festive fun

I was watching India creating a wordsearch for her school fair today and thought it would be fun to create a competition one based on my works. The tricky bit is that you don't know which words you have to find. There are 30 in all and they

 are all names of my designs. They are both speciality stitch and cross stitch designs. Some may be more than one word long and, in the case of the cross stitch designs, I may not use the entire title (eg If I had used Fancy Dress Teddies Mobile it might just be shortened to Fancy Dress Teddies). All of the names can be found on my website www.indiagrace.co.uk Closing date is 1st January and the 1st 3 correct answers out of a hat will win a PDF of a card design. Good luck!!

Milly

This is Milly, the 3rd to be published in the Gentle Arts Sampler Thread series. She is in issue 20-5 of Creative Embroidery and Cross Stitch, an Australian Magazine (available from lots of places online if it isn't sold in your local newsagents) It will be out on 7th December so please keep a look out.

It's back

I have managed to get the website back online. I had to do it 1 file at a time though so there may be some bugs. If you spot any please let me know.

Website disaster update

My website still continues to experience problems. I have realised though that there is an old copy lurking here http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/indiagracedesigns/ I shall try and update it with the more recent site whilst I fight to get the one that I am paying good money for working again (opinions on hosting company unprintable) In the meantime the link at the top of this blog will take you to the old site.

Website disaster

In an attempt to update my website I have somehow managed to delete the whole thing. Please bear with me whilst I find someone who knows what they are talking about to help me sort it out.

Exciting News

I have a series of 7 designs that were created to showcase Gentle Art Sampler Threads. The entire series has been picked up by an Australian magazine 'Creative Embroidery and Cross Stitch' and the 1st one 'Ruth' is out now in issue 20/1. I have only just found out about it so it's only in the shops for a few more days before

'Dorcas' is released in issue 20/2. I've been told that Dorcas is the cover image too so that is a double thrill. The others will be released in subsequant issues. I'm not sure if they have changed the names at all, that's just what I call them!

I am thrilled with this finish. It was an experiment to see if I could make Hardanger and Crewelwork work together and I think it has worked. It doesn't have a name yet and it will be a couple of weeks before it is released but I am so excited that I had to show it to you now. As I now have to send away to get charts printed I think it would be a good idea to offer it as a pre-order, the problem is that until I write the instructions, I won't know how long it is and what to charge. The new pricing structure is £7, £8.50 and £10 depending on the size of the pattern plus P&P at cost. I think that this will be a £7 or £8.50 one. If anyone would like to pre-order I'll offer 50p off for anyone who requests it before it goes onto the website. I'll do the same for the Wedding sampler and 'Joy' too. Please email info@indiagrace.co.uk to order.

My latest design

I made this piece as a wedding present for a friend and I am thrilled with the way it turned out (especially considering I made a lot of it up as I went along instead of designing first) There are real pearls in the ribbon embroidery swoops as well as some delicate pink crystals.

New Ring Pillow design

Just finished my latest sample Ring Pillow. I've gone for a simple, sophisticated look with this one. A lacy edged Hardanger band with a feature centre. There's a lot of sparkle from crystals and beads and the names and date make it truly personal. This would be lovely if created using an offcut of fabric from the wedding dress or bridesmaids dresses if you are getting those handmade. This pillow costs £204 (£34 for the basic pillow and £170 for the Hardanger band) additional features such as the goldwork shown in pillow 1 could be added if you wanted(see the website www.indiagrace.co.uk for details and prices) Loads more ideas coming soon!

New bespoke range launched, Ring Pillows for that ultimate, personal wedding souvenir.

I am very pleased to be able to introduce my new line - bespoke, hand embroidered wedding ring pillows. A perfect souvenir of the big day for the couple who have a larger budget. Designed individually and made to order, especially for you. All the information about them is on my website http://www.indiagrace.co.uk/India%20Grace%20Designs%20-%20Ring%20Pillows.htm I offer a personalised design service, these three designs are just the first few ideas and you can mix and match to get the perfect design for you. If you have any friends that you think may be interested please share this.

Exciting New Range

I am really excited to be able to announce my new range of greetings cards. These cards feature four of my most popular designs


They are printed using high definition Giclée printing on high quality card.
Cards are 136mm x 136mm and come individually cello-wrapped with envelope.
Cards are blank for your own message.

I am selling them individually through the website but primarily this range is aimed at the wholesale market for independant card shops. If anyone knows of any suitable shops for me to approach please could you message me the details.

Website down

There has been a server failure at my webhosts so my website and email are currently down. Please try back later if you have had problems. They are hoping to have it all sorted within 24 hours.

A sneaky peek at my latest design

My latest piece (to be released as soon as I have written the instructions) I have called her Joy as she was such fun to stitch. She was created as a retirement present for my daughter's Headteacher. The Maltese Cross is part of their school logo so I took that as my starting point and it just grew from there. I really am pleased with this one, love the colours and the mix of styles.



New classes to explore your creativity coming in Kenilworth

India Grace Designs is going to be part of a new concept shop opening in Kenilworth next month. 'Sew Arty' of Station Road is hosting a variety of different classes in all sorts of mediums and I will be teaching some of them. My Hardanger and Speciality Stitch charts will be available to purchase at the shop as will a new range that I will be unveiling later this week.
I am planning a series of classes some aimed at children and some for adults teaching a variety of different hand embroidery styles with a beautiful finished product to treasure.

Future Classes sign up 'sheet'

As the classes are well underway now I decided it would be a good idea to create a sign up sheet just in case anyone is interested for the future. If you are local and would be interested in a 6 week course in Hardanger please leave a comment below stating what days and times would work best for you. If I can get 4 people (minimum) to agree on a timeslot then I will run the class again. When signing up, please say if you are male or female as it makes a difference to which venue I use. Please only sign up if you are genuinely interested.

Email malfunction

My apologies if anyone has been trying to contact me via the info @ indiagrace.co.uk email address. It only just occurred to me that it would have been messed up by the change of hosts. I think that I have got it working now. If it still plays up then please try vickim @ tiscali.co.uk

Website disruption 2

OK, the domain name isn't working right now (wish I knew more about this side of things) but the host of the original site is still fine so can be accessesd at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/indiagracedesigns . Hopefully I will figure out what is wrong soon.

Full info on the classes

As the website may be down I am putting the information here

A six week course running on

Saturday Mornings, 10.30-12.30

£8 per 2hr session

starting 21st January

at Curves Gym,

Talisman Square, Kenilworth.

This is a comprehensive couse designed for complete beginners or experienced embroiderers who want to learn a new art.

It is set over 6 weeks so that each element is taught thoroughly and can be revised in subsequent sessions. Once completed, this course should give you the confidence and skill to tackle any Hardanger based pattern that you come across.

The course is friendly and informal. You will need to be able to complete certain areas in between classes. This is so that the sampler is ready for you to move onto the next section the following week and also shows if you are happy with the stitches once on your own. We will go over any difficulties at the start of the next class.

You will need
28 count evenweave fabric 11.5" x 15" (30cm x 38cm)

1 ball size 8 perlé thread

1 ball size 12 or 16 perlé thread

size 26 or 28 round ended tapestry needles

these are available as a kit for £5.50

If you prefer a larger count of fabric the dimensions for 25 count would be 12"x16"

The kit is only for 28 count. If using your own fabric it is advisable to machine a zig zag stitch around the edge for stability.

You will also need
Sharp pointed Hardanger scissors

A frame or hoop large enough to hold it (unless you prefer to work without)

design size is 5.5" x 9" at 28 count

a highlighter pen and a pencil

A folder suitable for A4 handouts

Please email info 'at' indiagrace.co.uk to book a place.

As Curves is a women only gym, places are limited to women only.If any men are interested, please email me and I will arrange another class.

Website disruption

I am changing hosts for my website. This could cause disruption for up to 72 hours so please bear with me if you experience problems. If anyone needs an order urgently please message me and we can sort it out offsite.