JEROME THOMAS
When I first started stitching, it was out of necessity. I saw a wool appliqué pillow at a shop and loved the medium and craftsmanship. This pillow had a $200 price tag. I had just retired from teaching primary school, and money was tight. So, I went to YouTube and taught myself to stitch. I practiced on smaller projects. Once I knew some basic stitches, I sketched my first design, “A Garden Intruder.” It was a bit ambitious then, but I stuck with it. Embellishment stitches were SCARY, so I put them off for the end of the project. I learned a LOT through the process and throughout the years.
Since then, I discovered making a clear template takes the guesswork out of the proper placements of pieces. I learned that the Blanket Stitch frames each piece and keeps the wool tidy and from fraying. I discovered that placing pieces down
