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‘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.

Justien van Der Winkel.

Photo: Image courtesy the artist

Mrs Bertimus, Sausage Dog.

From Stitched Textiles: Animals. Photo: Mark Davison ©Search Press

Jenny Hart, Iggy Pop.

Photo: Image courtesy the artist

Suzy Wright, Iris.

Photo: Image courtesy the artist

Dionne Swift, 50@50: More Morocco.

Photo: Image courtesy the artist

Heidi Parkes, A Breath has Four Parts.

Photo: Heidi Parkes and Jeff Parkes

Olga Prinku

From 'Dried Flower Embroidery' by Olga Prinku published by Quadrille

Photo: India Hobson