Bespoke Art

I have been wanting for a long time to work on some 'fine art' embroidery pieces. Something larger scale and working with different styles and fabrics. I have decided to offer a High End bespoke design service to create beautiful individual works of embroidered art. I would work with the customer to create something personal to them, maybe to celebrate a wedding or a birth or just to be a piece of featured artwork to compliment their decor. Prices would depend on the types of embroidery involved and would be calculated to cover the amount of hours involved in sewing it and the costs of materials/frames etc. If you would be interested in this then please email me to discuss it.

It's been a while since I posted - oops!

I keep forgetting to post things on here - sorry!! Here's my latest design, just released today. I have called it Ariel. It's a sampler of several different styles of hand embroidery in a quilting inspired pattern. It was a fun one to stitch and a good introduction to other styles if you have only tried cross stitch before.

Coming soon - PDF Chart option

My website is now back up and running thank goodness. Hopefully that's the last time it'll be down. Over the next few days/weeks I shall be adding PDF sales options to the site. I have always resisted doing these as copyright fraud is such a big problem in this industry but postage has got so expensive now that I have to go with new ways of doing things. Each PDF will be clearly identifiable as to who it was sold to so hopefully that will reduce the problem.
The PDF copies will be 10% off the regular price (and of course minus the postage) The speciality stitch ones will be ready quite quickly as they are already formatted for PDFs so all I need to do is edit the website to show the option. The Cross Stitch ones are not done yet so if there is one that anyone is particularly interested in, please let me know and I'll put it to the top of the list. It'll take me a couple of days to edit the website to put the PDF options on for the speciality stitch charts so please bear with me (or ask me to prioritise a particular one)

Tale of a design

Whilst I’m waiting for my website to get back up and running properly I thought that I’d talk a little about the design process from idea to charts.

A design usually starts with a vague thought. I’ll have a shape in mind or a colour scheme that I want to play with. This stage can take hours or, in some cases, years. I always play around with the idea in my head until I have a pretty good idea of how I want it to look before I even attempt to put it down ‘on paper’. Once I start physically designing it, I will have the shape and structure of the design sorted but the details evolve in the ‘drawing’ phase. The designs don’t always come out in one go. Some flow easily but others fight back. ‘Crystal’ for example was an idea that I had had I mind for ages. I knew how I wanted it to look in the centre and out as far as the hardanger part but it took well over a year to finally put together the whole design.

The design process isn’t finished once I have it all mapped out on computer. Sometimes things just don’t look how you expect them to when you start to sew them and then it’s back to the drawing board. This is the main reason that I don’t usually work with a model stitcher. I have to take my hat off to Ylva Saleem here who has stitched a couple for me and has put up with sending daily progress scans and being regularly asked to unpick and try something different. This obviously means that releasing a new design is never a speedy process. On average one of my speciality stitch designs takes 3 months to sew, obviously some more and some less. I try to sew for a minimum 3hrs per day. I admit to not being the world’s fastest stitcher, mainly due to dodgy wrists and the ability to get sidetracked rather easily. I find it best to set targets for how much to achieve per night, I’m rather competitive so don’t like to lose, even if it is just a self set challenge.

I love it when I complete the sewing stage of a piece. I think that’s the best part of it for me. It is however closely followed by the worst part – writing the instructions. I want my designs to be accessible to all, no matter how much experience you have so I write detailed instructions for all parts of the design. The only exceptions are cross stitch and backstitch as I do assume that anyone who is thinking of tackling one of my designs has usually tried cross stitch first. (If however you are completely new to embroidery and would like detailed instructions in those stitches then contact me as I have written some in the past.) Every stitch has hand created diagrams. These are not a quick process. I have never found a graphics programme that meets all my needs so I usually have to work between 3 different ones to get the results that I want. I am pleased with the diagrams that I create and I hope that they are clear for people, they drive me mad as I do them though J I did run a ‘test’ session a few years back where approx 50 people tried out a design and the instructions and then gave me feedback. I found that really helpful for refining my existing instructions and creating future ones. It taught me a valuable lesson that you never know what someone is going to find tricky so try to cover all bases.

I am steadily building up a ‘stitch glossary’ and one of these days I am going to create a pattern that only uses these stitches. My problem is that I always want to do something different, to experiment and play about. I am punished for that at instruction writing stage. I am currently trying to work up the nerve to tackle the instructions for the lacy edge decorations which is probably why I am writing this. Procrastination is something that I excel at. This is the first chart that I have done that uses the lacy edge and that’s going to need a lot of diagrams! Over the years I have rewritten and updated the instructions, which has meant going back over old designs and bringing them all up to the same standard. Hopefully if you tackle one of my designs now it should all be clear and easy to understand. If it isn’t then please email me and I will try to make it so.

All in all I’d say it takes an average of 6 months for a design to go from a spark of an idea to a completed chart. It’s a great day for me when I can finally put it on my website for sale and I love getting feedback from people about them. One advantage of this type of design is that you can (in most cases) choose your own colours to sew them in. Some people have sent me photos of works that they have done and when I get enough I shall add a gallery page to the site. Much as I love creating them, their purpose is to be designs for others to sew so this is, hopefully, just the start of their journey.

A new set of pieces and a magazine feature

This is Liza, the 4th in my series of 7 pieces designed around the Gentle Arts Sampler Threads. She is available now in the Australian Magazine, Creative Embroidery and Cross Stitch. 

These designs didn't quite make it out before Christmas, but then they'll take a little while to sew so it's probably the right time. 4 Lacy edge hardanger decorations. It's going to take me a while to write the instructions as I think there'll need to be a few new diagrams created. 

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.