Nativity Shepherd Dolls Knitting Pattern by Edith Grace Designs
edithgracedesigns.etsy.com/listing/4327517453

The doll is 15cm, knitted in double knitting wool & worked flat. 
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This pattern can be bought as a PDF Digital Download from Etsy, Love Crafts & Ravelry.

Katherine of Aragon Doll Knitting Pattern by Edith Grace Designs
edithgracedesigns.etsy.com/listing/4325317160

The doll is 16cm, knitted in double knitting wool & worked flat. 

This pattern can be bought as a PDF Digital Download from Etsy, Love Crafts & Ravelry.

​In the studio early this morning, before it gets too warm. I am looking forward to seeing the finished project...

​©Joanna Cox Marshall 

A Bucket Hat made from remnants of fabric. It will go very well with a Rugby tour shirt... ​

A beautiful hand covered button... ​

​©Joanna Cox Marshall 

​In the studio, hand embroidery & then hand dyeing...
The hand embroidery is my sample for tutoring purposes.

​Earlier in the week, a new sewing pattern arrived in the studio. Retro 70s is very much in at the moment...

​©Joanna Cox Marshall 

Covering & making your own buttons for your dressmaking projects is really easy. It not only makes your garment completely original, but also uses up those scrap pieces of fabric. ​

A couple of photos from the beginning of the week, samples on scrap fabric from a lesson on basic sewing machine skills. An excellent starting point for those wanting to start dressmaking. ​

Do you enjoy knitting and want to expand your stitch library? Click on the link to visit my website to view my free knitting stitch patterns.
www.edithgracedesigns.com/free-knitting-stitches.html​

The studio is busy again all day today. One project includes knitting using intarsia, small balls of wool at the ready... ​

​©Joanna Cox Marshall

​The great thing about having private lessons is you can work on your project at home and reduce the amount of lessons you need, saving money to buy more fabric... Private lessons should fit around your needs and time schedule which can be done through a lesson plan for each new project. Here is a partially finished rugby tour shirt. Just the hem and button holes to go. Well done Mrs T.

​©Joanna Cox Marshall

Oooh, a new pattern and project has just arrived in the studio...

​©Joanna Cox Marshall

​Time to get sewing for a rugby tour... I love this, very exciting

My homage to Van Gogh featuring Brackley Town Hall, using very simple embroidery stitches; back stitch & French knots. ​

I love it when vintage patterns are brought into the studio... ​

©Joanna Cox Marshall ​

Here are some finished projects from hand embroidery stitched earlier this week. We've been working with a variety of fabrics and crewel wool. I love the finished projects. ​

I read The Mindfulness in Knitting by Rachael Matthews in 2017. It's a lovely little book, and even if you have just started knitting, you can still relax and practise mindfulness. One tutoring project today is knitting. ​

©Joanna Cox Marshall ​

I have recently found through tutoring that felting has helped students design creative stitch pieces before stitching has begun. Using different shades of one colour can help with the shading and composition in a student's creative stitch piece. There are lots of colours all ready to be used today.

​Hand dyeing with rosemary from the herb garden. This fabric will be used alongside hand embroidery/ creative stitch, where students will learn:
Basic Hand Dyeing Techniques
Embroidery Stitches - Flat & Raised
Fabric Manipulation
Presentation of Work

​This is my homage to ' Voyage to Labrador' by Alfred Wallis. I have hand-dyed the fabric and used hand embroidery. This is a great introduction to creative stitch and is recommended for beginners.
In the last week, I have started a new Instagram account to keep my knitting designs separate from my textiles. My new account is: www.instagram.com/joanna_cox_marshall/

I have had so many people coming to me recently who have been taught how to knit, but not how to construct correctly. Blocking the knitted pieces before sewing together is paramount to the finish of a garment; this is a basic knitting technique.
All photographs used in my posts and on my website are either mine or the work of my students from the tutoring project.

©Joanna Cox Marshall ​

​It's been a hectic few months with the studio in daily use. There have been a lot of tutoring projects, some completely finished, and new projects being started each week.
I have started on a new piece of creative artwork, which explores lacemaking in Brackley during the 1800s. I combine my love for social history into my artwork, and the research I have done in this subject has been somewhat glamourised in modern times.
I am also working on a community project to start in September 2025, which will hopefully bring all artists and crafters together. It is free to participate, and more information will follow...
I have a few spaces left for one-on-one tutoring, and there is plenty for children & young people to do during the half term.
All photographs used in my posts and on my website are either mine or the work of my students from the tutoring project.

It is lovely to see a finished project; here is the finish on the sleeves using a 1990s pattern. Onto the next project... ​

©Joanna Cox Marshall ​

​©Joanna Cox Marshall