Just pure elegance in stitches

Leah Van Horn shares photos of her work to inspire our senses today. Look at the cheerful spring-like colors and variety of interesting stitches. Leah uses Kreinik threads in her purse designs, and you can see more here: justpureelegancepurses.com or on Instagram @justpureelegance.

"One of my grandmothers was an extraordinary crocheter and did table linens, but she was not an embroiderer or a quilter," Leah shares. "I have always loved stitching, fabric, threads and antique buttons etc."  Leah combines vintage frames and embroidery to create one-of-a-kind purses. Kreinik metallic threads are a lovely contrast in texture and light to her mainstay fiber, silk ribbon. The blend creates visual interest—a beautiful mix that we find in life itself.

We asked Leah a few questions about her embroidery work:

Q: When did you start stitching?

A: I have had a sewing needle in my hands since I was about eight years old!  (I’m a young 65 now) starting out with regular embroidery, then counted cross stitch, then beginning in 1980 I began a quilting journey that lasted until the early 2000’s.  At that point I had a burning desire to go back to embroidery but wanted to focus on silk ribbon because of the beautiful dimensional aspect of it. I discovered Kreinik threads about 8 years ago and have been incorporating it into my needle work whenever I can now. 

Q: Do you have any tips on stitching with Kreinik threads?

A: I used the black glittery thread on my fish and it was very curly coming off the spool, making it not want to lay flat when I stitched. I finally ran it through my hair straightener tool (which heated it up a bit) and that took the curl out without damaging the thread.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?

A: For me as an artist, inspiration comes from many places, nature, my gardens, Pinterest, bird watching, my photography etc. since I mostly stitch with silk ribbon I am constantly playing with new stitches or threads to see what will happen with them. I play around all the time. I have a small library of stitch books and if I am in a jam I go onto YouTube and watch tutorials regarding stitching. That helps a lot too!