Interviews with other artists who have taken on their own 1 Year of Stitches projects. All words are their own and have only been edited for clarity.

Artist: Katherine Lucy
Instagram: @katherinelucycreates

1. Q - Introduce yourself!

A - Hello, I'm Katherine. A 31 year old digital manager from Bournemouth, England. I absolutely love living by the sea and this has always been a huge source of inspiration for me. When I was younger I wanted to be a fashion designer, studied fashion and design tech at university but then fell into the world of marketing and the rest is history. My current full time job is a digital engagement manager for a well known paint brand in the UK. Embroidery and design however is my side hustle, I create patterns for the UKs biggest craft retailer, Hobbycraft, as well as creating my own patterns to sell on Etsy.


2. Q - How did you learn about 1 Year of Stitches?

A - I first discovered the concept by browsing Instagram in 2018, I waited until January 2019 to start though. The first hoop gained a lot of popularity on my personal Instagram and my colleagues at Hobbycraft loved the concept too. I began another hoop in 2020, not knowing where the year would lead!

During this year I was commissioned by Hobbycraft to create a downloadable pattern for them to go-live for 2021, the project is still used on their socials now. In 2021 as the download was popular, I developed a kit with Hobbycraft that customers could purchase as a beginner as it included fabric, threads, needles, patterns and a stitch guide. It sold out pretty quickly but unfortunately Hobbycraft didn't renew the product.

2022, instead of stitches for every single day I decided to just do highlights. Taking a break in 2023 for personal reasons, I started again in 2024 - again, just focusing on highlights. I've decided to take a different approach for 2025 - stay tuned!


3. Q - What year(s) did you work on 1 Year of Stitches? (Please select all that apply.)

A - 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024


4. Q - Did you do it for more than one year? Why or why not?

A - I did, I had more time during the pandemic to complete. As soon as I was back at work normally I found less time to complete.


5. Q - Did you follow the rules or make up your own?

A - Follow my own! The first ones I saw [had] no dividers or clear months and that's not how my brain works. I designed my own patterns, each year mixing up the size, font and colours. I liked that I could look back over a month and remember the special moments.


6. Q - What did you learn from your 1 Year of Stitches project?

A - That not everything has to be perfect, some of my icons were questionable. I have a strong eye for detail however and found my niche.


7. Q - How does your 1 Year of Stitches project influence your current practice / work / life?

A - It's had a huge influence on my online following as I get quite a few questions on patterns or the fabric to use. I keep it separate from my professional career, however it has highlighted to my friends and family how creative I am, which is nice.

Artist: Aimee Ray
Instagram: @aimee_littledear

1. Q - Introduce yourself!

A - I am Aimee Ray (she/her), I am the author of the Doodle Stitching embroidery book series and I sell my patterns and kits online at little-dear.com and littledear.etsy.com I've always loved everything art and craft related and have dabbled in all kinds of media, I always wanted to be a painter when I grew up (still do, maybe one day!) Hand embroidery is one of my all time favorites though, it is always so relaxing for me and can vary so much from formal and elegant, to freestyle and whimsical! When I was in 4th grade I answered the 'favorite color' question with 'red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple' and I don't think that's changed. I do love exploring new color palettes and I drift a lot between earthy, cozy woodland fairy tale and candy land rainbow circus. I live in NW Arkansas with my family, on IG I am @aimee_littledear


2. Q - How did you learn about 1 Year of Stitches?

A- Instagram


3. Q - What year(s) did you work on 1 Year of Stitches?

A - 2017


4. Q - Did you do it for more than one year? Why or why not?

A - I did it consistently every day for one year and then stopped the project, but I still have various, on going slow stitching/freestyle projects.


5. Q - Did you follow the rules or make up your own?

A - I don't remember if I was aware of any rules but I just did my own thing. I basically just started with random thread and stitches each day, no plan in mind, and filled up my hoop. Then I moved the hoop and filled it up again each time.


6. Q - What did you learn from your 1 Year of Stitches project?

A - It sounds almost contrary but I learned that I can be very disciplined with a project like this and also at the same time find lots of freedom with not caring so much what some things end up like! I started 1 Year of Stitches on a total whim that January 1 when I saw others starting it on Instagram. I had zero plans or expectations, it was really totally a just for fun project. I ended up really enjoying it, almost like a daily meditation or free sketching to warm up for more formal projects. I actually posted every day that year, and kept all of my Stitch a Day photos in one row on my IG page! (I was really proud of that too for some reason. :)

It turned out to be really cool in the end, and not something I ever would have planned for. Also it made it to the cover of one of my books! (Doodle Stitching, Embroidery Art)

7. Q - How does your 1 Year of Stitches project influence your current practice / work / life?

A - I love the idea of embroidery as a meditation and something I still enjoy outside of my craft business where I have to have a plan for everything! I have gotten into Slow Stitching which is just stitching for relaxation and enjoyment, not with any specific end result in mind. (https://little-dear.com/blogs/tutorials/slow-stitching) It has been an important way for me to explore techniques with no expectations and also just calm my mind, and it has proven to be a valuable alternative to doom scrolling! Put down the phone, and pick up a needle and floss, you will thank yourself. :)

Artist: Alli Tillcock
Instagram: @theemptyoxobox

1. Q - Introduce yourself!

A - My name is Alli Tillcock (she/her) and I lie in Bristol in the U.K. I share my creative work on Instagram @theemptyoxobox and also run the Instagram account for @bristol_stitchers. I also run @stitchswap account with my stitchy partner and friend Laura from @colourful_minds_kids. I’m all about teals, bright colours and my fave thing to do is learn new stitches and try to use them in interesting and subversive ways. I was an English teacher but always making and creating something - making keeps me steady and excited!


2. Q - How did you learn about 1 Year of Stitches?

A - From facebook


3. Q - What year(s) did you work on 1 Year of Stitches?

A - 2017, 2018


4. Q - Did you do it for more than one year? Why or why not?

A - Yes - I became addicted to stitch all over again.


5. Q - Did you follow the rules or make up your own?

A - I was stitching so fast and enjoying myself so much that I needed up filling a 12” hoop once a month. Oops


6. Q - What did you learn from your 1 Year of Stitches project?

A - Well I fell in love with hand stitching again. It also gave a rhythm to my day and a chance to sit and contemplate daily and free my mind from the day and family life. I loved looking around me and incorporating inspiration form visits to museums, patterns on clothing and flowers in a window box, into my work. Having a joint condition meant It was also a physical therapy for my hands. When I was diagnosed with another autoimmune condition in 2017, it was another way to rest and relax and calm myself through challenging times with my health and well-being.


7. Q - How does your 1 Year of Stitches project influence your current practice / work / life?

A - More widely it has helped me develop my practice in stitch and textiles and opened my world up to other creatives : Bristol Stitchers, teaching a beginners embroidery course, running a stitch club and creating Stitch Swap with a friend.

I have participated in many courses and am fascinated by stitch, it's global practice and the variety of stitch around the world.

Artist: Darci Lenker
Instagram: @darcilenkerart


1. Q - Introduce yourself!

A - I'm Darci Lenker and I live in Norman, Oklahoma. I am a grown-up and am doing what I love! I'm a full-time artist, and also teach art classes to a wide range of people. I think my youngest person was around 5 or 6 and oldest was 96. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut but that was not the career path for me, so I do a lot of space art instead. I love some shade of pretty much every color.



2. Q - How did you learn about 1 Year of Stitches?

A - Instagram



3. Q - What year(s) did you work on 1 Year of Stitches?

A - 2016, 2017



4. Q - Did you do it for more than one year? Why or why not?

A - I did one full year, then started but didn't go very long into the second year. When I did the first 1 year of stitches, I was doing a second year-long daily project at the same time, and that was the second year of doing the other daily project. It just got to be too much to keep up with along with my other work. It's been long enough now that I think it would be fun to do again, assuming I didn't make it more work than it needed to be. I have a tendency to overdo things. :)


5. Q - Did you follow the rules or make up your own?

A - I think I followed the rules but I don't remember now. Were there rules?


6. Q - What did you learn from your 1 Year of Stitches project?

A - I really enjoyed the daily practice of it. I learned how important your selection of materials can be. Sometimes the material I chose was difficult to work on for the stitching I was doing.

The theme I chose for mine was A Year of Food, so everyday I stitched a tiny food. I wanted some way to document my other daily project for myself. My other daily project was to stitch a miniature food and send it to someone who signed up and promised to donate in some way to helping hungry people. I ended up sending foods to all 50 US states, 18 countries, and 6 continents! There were more people than days of the year, so I ended up with 368 foods. People were very generous and found ways to help their own communities. Occasionally I'll hear from someone that they're STILL doing things that they started then.

My 1 Year of Stitches piece was shown at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center in the Glenna and Richard Tanenbaum Learning Gallery alongside The Art of Food exhibit in 2023.

7. Q - How does your 1 Year of Stitches project influence your current practice / work / life?

A - I think my project had some influence in my current work because I made a ton of connections through that project, which led to me doing commissions for people, which makes up the a good deal of my current income from creating art. The daily practice was very important for improving my skills and learning better ways to do things.