Gosh, there are loads of loose ends this week, so I’m going to tie them up here today! Mostly, this is just website news and some other tidbits.
First, if you ordered Jo Butcher’s new book, Where Meadows and Gardens Grow, you are not going to be disappointed! Wow! Such a beautiful book!
After many twists and turns, the books arrived yesterday late afternoon, and they’re all going out to you today. Yay! We’ll be spending the whole morning and probably a good bit of the afternoon packaging and getting them off to the post office.
I do have a very limited number of the books remaining in stock now. I left a cushion on the original amount, just in case. So they’re listed now in my shop, if you want to get in on this order. If they sell out, just drop me a line and I’ll put you on the advanced notice list for the next shipment.
If you’re not familiar with the book, we talked about it here.
For those of you who asked if Jo covers the topic of painting the ground fabric, yes, she does, for each project where paint is involved in her version of it. So you will definitely learn the secrets of her beautiful backgrounds!
But do you have to paint the backgrounds? Do you have to be a painterly person? No. You can stitch her projects – or elements of them – modified to suit your approach. You can also use colored ground fabrics, if you want.
I have to say, her techniques are fabulous, and you’ll learn a lot from this book. You’ll learn some different ways of approaching embroidery, that you may have never encountered before. It’s a book for inspiration, for learning, and for doing.
I had a lot of questions on the paint topic! So I hope that helps those of you who were wondering.
About Those Slate Frames…
Thank you for all the input on slate frames and your favorite suppliers and styles following this article the other day. I appreciate it!
I was able to track down a large slate frame that is available right now, through Ecclesiastical Sewing. Carrie Roberts, the business owner, has hers custom made, but she happened to have one large one available, so I swooped in and grabbed it.
There are many sources for slate frames out there, and I’ve written about a lot of them. But for the most part, I only write about tools and products that I’ve tried myself and that I would use, because if I’m going to recommend something, I need to know it works well, is well-made, etc.
Some day soon, I’ll do a round up on the frames I’ve tried, used, like, and so forth, for those of you who have written in and asked.
About Those Tensioners
Yes, I solved the problem of adjustability on the tensioners we were talking about, too. I’ve made a whole new set and it is working very well so far.
So yes, for those who have written in to ask for more information, we will talk about those again, too! Please give me time! (Isn’t that what we all want – just… more time?)
About Those Kits
Yes, I will have more Bee-Jeweled Pincushion Kits, and I will have them Very Soon. If you wrote in for advanced notice, you should have received a response from me in the last couple days, and if you did, that means you’re on the list. I can’t normally respond to everyone for advanced notice lists, but since there were some discrepancies last time, I decided I better try a response system.
Next week, we’ll be covering the beading on the sides of the pincushion. Then, it’s just a matter of putting The Thing together. Can’t wait!
About the Cutwork Projects
I’ve received lots of inquiries asking for ongoing coverage of the cutwork projects we’ve been discussing, asking for photo progress, videos of progress, information on how they will be finished, sewn up, etc.
I’ll do my best to get some information later on, but I’m so sorry to say that it isn’t really likely. I’m photographing as much as I’m doing on them, but they really are not my project, and as soon as they are out of the studio, I don’t know how much I will see of them down the road, if anything.
In Other News…
The Italian needlework magazine, Giuliana Ricama, has revised their website and home page, for those who were having trouble seeing what the magazine is all about and ordering back issues or subscribing to it. Makes it much easier to navigate, learn about the magazine, and see what they offer!
Just a reminder that, beginning in April and running through August 26, the Marian Library at University of Dayton (in Ohio) will be hosting an exhibit on the artwork of Ezio Anichini, the artist behind the Loretto Embroideries held by the Royal School of Needlework. You can read more about the exhibition here. Two of the embroideries from the RSN will be displayed during the exhibition, so if you’ve longed to see those in person but a trip to the UK is unlikely, maybe you could make it to Dayton!
My ‘Jo Book’ showed up a few days ago. It is stunningly beautiful. Everyone needs to buy this book! 😉
I live in the UK and was able to order Jo’s book direct from her, so I’m lucky enough to have a signed copy and my address was written in her beautiful handwriting – so lovely I almost want to keep it!
It truly is an amazing book and I’m really looking forward to using it both to copy a couple of designs and also for inspiration. I took some photos of a local wild flower meadow last summer as inspiration.