JMCreatives and the new small punchneedle!!!!!!!!!

I first heard about Jo Marley through Pamela Gurney- 2 years ago when I met her, she let it slip that she had a friend who was working on a small needle for the UltraPunch, and she swore me to secrecy (how did I do, Pam?) I have been anxiously waiting to find out more!

About 3 weeks ago, Linda Brohman let me know that she was in touch with Jo, and I got Jo's email from her, and here we go!!!

Jo- when did you first find out about punchneedle, and how long have you been punching?

I have been punching for 5 years. I met Pamela Gurney in 1995 when we both did the Art and Design-Embroidery Course run by the Embroiderer's Guild of Victoria (Australia). It was there that she introduced the class to Punchneedle embroidery. Before that I did not even know that it existed.

Being a sucker for gadgets and all things unusual, I was immediately intrigued and decided that I wanted to try it. At that stage Pamela was working with the Igolochkoy needles which cost something like AUD$70.00 per set. (that is about $42 american dollars) That was way too expensive for me at the time so I studied Pamela's needles with the thought that there might be a way to make my own.

How did you come up with the idea to make them?

I studied the structure of the Igolochkoy needles and the punching technique until I understood how it all works and what the essential aspects are.

How did you make the first one?

Very carefully ;-)

I used a syringe needle, drilled a tiny hole in it, smoothed off the edges as best I could and then attached it to an old biro casing with some polymer clay.

For the *spacers* I used pieces of plastic tubing off electrical wire (we have a ton of scraps lying around as we are still building our house) and small beads.

Initially I used the threader from my overlocker (serger) until Pamela gave me a *proper* one.

When Pamela saw what I had done and tried using it, she asked if I would make one for her. She particularly liked the fatter, longer handle as it is easier to hold and use for extended periods of time. I think it was not long after this that Pamela started getting the Ultrapunch needles.

When I saw them I immediately liked the ergonomic shape and the adjustability of it, but was disappointed that the smallest needle was larger than what I had been using. I decided to get one anyway and set about making myself a smaller needle-tip to fit it.

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