The Stitchscape Swap!

Welcome to the Stitchscape Swap gallery! The Stitchscape Swap is a monthly challenge whereby members sign up and create two 'Artist Trading Cards', or ATCs, a month on a different theme. One of these will be for you to keep, and the other will be sent by post to Dotty Textiles to be swapped with someone else's beautiful creation for you to receive back as happy mail. We are now in our third year of swapping so have a look through the gallery pages for an insight into the wonderful work created last year.

For more details on how to sign up to the monthly swap, please email sales@dottytextiles.com so that we can return an email with further information.

Origins of the ATC

The concept of Artist Trading Cards was first developed in the late 1990s by Swiss artist, M. Vänci Stirnemann, who created a catalogue of small artworks for an exhibition and invited other artists to create similar pieces in their own style to ‘trade’ at the end of the exhibition.

They are always a set size; 2.5 x 3.5 Inches and are often more usually made as a paper item, either painted or collaged for example, but, for the purposes of this swap, they must include fabric and embroidery.

Monthly Galleries

Click on the images to see the full month's collection

featuring the beautiful work that has already been swapped

2024 Themes

April: Cherry Blossom

Close up of blossom, branches, full trees, symbols of cherry blossom

May: Flight of the Bumblebee

Flight trails, flowers with bees and pollen, hives (inside or out), close-up of bees, queen bee, realistic or stylised/cartoon

June: Lakeside

Boating, jetties, mountain and lake views, vistas across lakes (places you’ve been or imagined), banks of the lake – the flora and fauna, log cabins

July: Beach Huts

Rows of huts, views looking at them or out to sea, inside the beach hut, life of the beach hut, stripes, weathered details

August: Castle Ruins

Empty window/door frames, local castles, history of castles, detail of carvings or new growth, vantage point views, silhouettes, architecture, sandcastles

September: Ship Wrecked

Under the sea wreck, Titanic, The Mary Rose, marine life within a wreck, wreck goods/excavation, divers exploring, sinking boats on water, views from the land, pirates & treasure

October: Moss & Lichen

Branches or walls covered, close ups, scientific/botanical representations, textures of moss

November: Poppy Fields

Lest we forget, fields of poppies, individual poppy details, flanders field, representations of colour, opium fields

December: Misty Shadows

Trees in mist, greyscale colours, layered treescapes, mountain tops in fog, bright lamps with darkened backgrounds, shadowy depths