Julie Jackson became so dismayed with her day job that disguising her contempt for her ‘idiot boss’ was becoming increasingly difficult. She decided that ‘art therapy’ was the answer. This need for a creative outlet and her general dissatisfaction with her life at the time manifested in SubversiveCrossStitch.com, a website dedicated to cross stitch with a difference. You won’t find anything remotely twee or cutesy here.
Julie began by altering store-bought patterns and giving them a truly subversive twist; hugging bears became humping bears, angels became siamese twins, and ornate alphabet patterns were used to emblazon slogans in language your grandmother may not approve of!
Julie’s second book, Subversive Cross Stitch : 50 Designs for Your Sassy Side, celebrates more than 10 years of ‘delightfully snarky, in-your-face cross stitch with 50 full-colour patterns and 17 brand-new designs’. But be warned, if you are a lover of tradition this may not be for you and if you don’t agree with Barbara Holland that “Bad language is a pure and harmless pleasure. The reckless smashing of a taboo without hurting a fly” you may want to get your cross stitch fix elsewhere.