‘Colourful stitches’ is the phrase that best reflects the textile art showcased in the September edition of Embroidery magazine.

From the jewel tones of the hand embroidered birds created by our cover artist Justien van der Winkel, to the bold machine embroidered portraits stitched by Suzy Wright, in which the brightly stitched hues literally leap off the page.

There’s also machine embroidered animals from Mrs Bertimus, who also talks about her new book, as well as machine embroidered landscapes by artist and tutor, Dionne Swift. As we reveal, each uses the sewing machine in a completely unique way.

We interview American artists Jenny Hart, who was one of the first to examine celebrity through the lens of hand embroidery, and quilter Heidi Parkes who is pushing the expressive boundaries of quilting – with colourful results. And we reveal how Olga Prinku came to embroider with dried flowers.

We step inside the studio of Julia Griffiths Jones, whose creative space is a living archive, as well as a space to plan for the future. Then we step back in time,  turning the pages of Whitelands College’s Specimens of Needlework. As ever, the range of work produced by our featured artists reflects the never-ending flow of ideas and trends in embroidery that make it so exciting – and so limitless as a medium.

16 A BIRD IN THE HAND

Birds have always fascinated Justien van der Winkel; now they are inspiring her creativity

22 THE WORLD OF MRS BERTIMUS

Meet Letita Thompson, aka Mrs Bertimus, whose animal portraits are stealing hearts

28 STAR STRUCK

Jenny Hart's celebrity portraits have been the talk of the town for more than two decades

34 STITCHED SYMPHONIES

Dionne Swift uses her unique stitch vocabulary to capture the drama and emotion of landscape

40 THE SEWING ROOM

Julia Griffiths Jones' studio is the perfect place to plan for the future - and reflect on the past

42 COLOURING OUTSIDE THE LINES

Suzy Wright is as exuberant as her colourful embroidery, which celebrates all living things

48 MAKING TIME MARKING TIME

Trained in the arts, Heidi Parkes shares why she fell head over heels for quilting as her medium

54 MATERIAL MATTERS

How Whitelands College Specimens of Needlework came to encapsulate social history in stitch