Newsletter: August 2026
Monthly newsletter · August 2026
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Hi Everyone,
Happy August! I hope everyone is having a nice summer. The weather in Ireland has been tropical lately, which is a nice change, although I finally felt a bit of rain today so maybe our luck has run out!
A few freebies for you this month, and they all go together. Two embroidery stitch brushes: Cross Stitch, which lays down a row of little x stitches as you pull the pencil along, and Fly Stitch, the soft v shaped stitch that curves beautifully for leaves and sprigs. Then Thread & Thimble, a 30 colour palette I put together to go with them, in calicos, thread reds, denims and ribbon greens.
And there's more about the course below.
As always, thanks so much for everyone's support with the launch of the course. I'm actively looking for feedback, so please get in touch if you're in the process of working through it and let me know what you think!
See you again in September.
Talk soon,
Ruth
Free downloads
Three freebies for you this month
Two embroidery stitch brushes and a 30 colour palette made to match, so your stitching looks like thread on real cloth.
🧵 Cross Stitch Brush
Draws a neat row of little x stitches as you pull the pencil along, so you get the look of counted cross stitch without counting a single square. Perfect for borders, sampler lettering and filling shapes.
Download Cross Stitch Brush🪡 Fly Stitch Brush
The soft v shaped stitch, repeating along your stroke with the little anchor tail. It curves beautifully, so it is my go to for leaves, sprigs, feathers and hand stitched looking foliage.
Download Fly Stitch Brush🎨 Thread & Thimble Colour Palette
30 colours across five families: calico and linen, thimble and pin, embroidery thread, denim and chambray, ribbon green. Built to sit alongside the two stitch brushes above. Made for Procreate.
Download Thread & Thimble PaletteTo add these to Procreate: download the file, tap on it in your Files app, and it should open directly in Procreate. If it doesn't, open Procreate, go to Brushes (or Palettes), and tap the + icon to import manually.
It's here
Procreate Made Simple
This is the one I've been hinting at for months. My full beginner course: 20 self-paced lessons across three modules, and by the end you'll have drawn the lemon piece that reached over 2 million people.
It's built around one idea: you don't need to be a great artist to get great results, you need to understand the tools. It's mostly text with short silent videos for the trickier steps, so there's no narration to keep up with. Around three hours, spread over as many sittings as you like.
It comes with 5 custom brushes made for the project, the lemon palette, a tracing guide and a troubleshooting guide. €29.99, one fair price all year round.
See the course →In partnership with Kittl · Sponsored
Ever wondered what your drawing would look like on a mug?
You can spend hours on a piece and it lives its whole life inside Procreate, which seems like such a waste!
So here's what I've been doing instead. I take a finished drawing, bring it into Kittl, and it sits it onto real things; a tote, a mug, a sticker sheet, a framed print, so I can actually see it out in the world. One drawing, a whole little collection.
It's great for sharing your work so it looks properly finished. Brilliant if you fancy making something just for yourself.
The drawing was the hard part. This is just the fun of watching it come to life.
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Use code THEIRISHCRAFTERNL for 25% off any subscription.
Community
Come and show me what you make
If you use the stitch brushes for anything, I'd really like to see it. The Facebook group is the easiest place to share, and it's where people ask questions and actually get a proper answer. If you haven't joined yet, come on in.
Find us on Facebook: the page for updates, and the group for conversation.
Facebook Page Facebook GroupEnjoy the freebies, and I'll see you on September 1st. 🧵