January 2025 Creator Spotlight
Meet Laura Pumphrey. Laura began her finger stitching journey simply because she wanted to
try something new—and quickly fell in love with the process. What she enjoys most is the
ability to create truly personalized pieces, thoughtfully made for the individual receiving them.
To Laura, gifts like these carry far more meaning than anything mass-produced, making each
stitch all the more special.
Laura has worked diligently to master the intarsia color-changing technique, beginning with
beginner-level graphs using up to five leads and progressing to complex designs that incorporate
more than twenty leads in any given row. Her dedication and growth are evident in the
beautiful pieces she creates for the special people in her life. Please join me in celebrating her
incredible accomplishments and creative journey.
Make 1:
Laura began her intarsia endeavor with this customized beginner level Heart With Stripes
graphic pattern using up to 5 leads coming into the work.
Here is how her graph turned out:
Even on her first attempt, her intarsia work is perfection. Just look at how nice and tidy the back
side is!
Make 2:
Next, Laura set her sights on a soccer ball design, which moved her into the intermediate
intarsia level with up to ten leads in a single row. If you’ve ever worked a graph pattern featuring
a round object, you already know just how crucial gauge is when bringing a graphic design to
life.
Make 3:
Laura’s next challenge took her into advanced-level intarsia with a detailed medallion design
featuring numbers that represented a specific firehouse seal. Numbers always add complexity,
significantly increasing the number of leads entering the work—and in Laura’s case, there were
as many as 19! She rose beautifully to the challenge, as you’ll see in her stunning intarsia piece
below.
By this time, I’m in complete awe of Laura’s intarsia skills! Intarsia is a complex technique that
takes both time and tenacity to learn. However, once mastered, you’ll be working up graphic
design patterns in no time! Complex graphs will always take a bit longer, but nothing compared
to the time involved in burning to join at EVERY color change.
Make 4:
Laura’s latest intarsia challenge was graphing her beloved dog, Peanut. With the completion of
this project, Laura reaches master-level intarsia, equipped with all the skills needed to tackle
virtually any graphic image. She now has a full mastery of the best color-changing technique for
the jumbo yarn we’ve all come to love.
She hasn’t started working on Peanut just yet, but I couldn’t be more excited for when she
does—I just know it’s going to look absolutely amazing!
I’ll admit—this was an exceptionally challenging pattern to design and refine for accuracy. While
I’m incredibly proud of the result, it’s not one I anticipate recreating at this level of detail again
for the intarsia color-changing technique.
Make 5:
Between her intarsia projects, Laura requested a custom color-blocking pattern designed
specifically to her gauge for the Broken Herringbone stitch. As you’ll see, she thoughtfully
refined her original color choices and incorporated her own intarsia details at the top before
bringing the piece to life. This beautiful creation now resides in her grandson’s U.S. Marine
dormitory, wrapping him in her love through every stitch she worked.
Laura came to me as a beginner and, in just four projects, transformed into a true intarsia pro!
Her success with this technique gives me every confidence that she can tackle any project she
sets her mind to.
Thank you, Laura! It has been both an honor and a privilege to work with you. I’m also deeply
grateful that you allowed me to share your beautiful creations. I wish you all the very best in
your future creative endeavors and would be thrilled to remain a part of them, should you
choose.