A Change is as Good as a Rest!

That is certainly true when it comes to my stitching, as thanks in part to a Bank Holiday weekend, four of the seven new starts I had kitted in my last post are now finished and I even bought some new threads which I haven't done in months and months!

Firstly I started and finished a small that I just loved the moment I clapped eyes on it - it's a freebie from Hands Across the Sea Samplers which you can find on their blog.  So looking forward to future releases from Nicola and Sandra, but in the meantime I stitched this little design on some 40ct using AVAS silks from stash:

As is usual for me - pictured with its proposed finishing materials -
though has yet to be actually finished lol!

 

Next up was a design I've had in my stash for four years or so, as it was a spring design it seemed appropriate to finally get on and stitch it!  Initially I'd picked out Glorianas for this one, but I changed them out for Dinky Dyes silks and Caron cottons as I wanted a softer look to it.  The design is Spring Basket by Abi Gurden, you can see I changed the original design a bit as I swapped the jessicas for spider web roses to balance out the texture of the basket.  Here it is stitched on 28ct soft yellow (would you believe!) linen:

 

 

Then I moved on to a band sampler by Alchemy Stitchcraft (AKA Christine) - again another design that has sat in my stash for years - why?!  It certainly feels good to get stitching on these!  Natasha's Violets was a pure joy to work on, I had forgotten how much I love whitework and pulled threadwork, so I've put projects containing them in the queue for a later date!  Again as I am stitching from stash I subbed out the silk serica with a #5 DMC perle and I didn't have the right shade of PTB, so used a strand of DMC with a strand of blending filament to create my own :) :

 

 

This chart ticked so many of my favourite boxes: band sampler, purple, pulled work, white work, bargello - needless to say, more of Christine's charts will be making it in my TBS pile.

 

Finally another finish that it feels good to tick off my list!  The Mojo Sampler by Abi Gurden was a SAL on The Stitch Specialists Yahoo Group back in 2014.  I can't link to it directly as it has yet to be put on general sale and only 60 people have this chart - but you can see Abi's version here.  This design has been buzzing around my brain since its release as I could never settle on my colour choices.  Purple was a no brainer of course, but what would I use for the contrasting colour, green, blue, pink?  None of them were pushing my buttons until it came to me that I could use purple as the contrasting colour :).  So I chose light, medium and dark purple solid Dinky Dyes silk and 2 light and dark HDF purple variegated silks stitched on 28ct lugana and here is my version:

 

Now if only I was any good at cartonnage, that would make a very good box lid!

So that has been my stitching over the past two weeks - no idea what this month holds stitching wise but at least I seem to be back on track!  Hopefully as long as I can get the mix of projects right, size and content (even if it does mean abandoning Cinders for a few months) then business will resume as normal.

 

Happy Stitching!

Round Three and Stash Musings

I think my colour choices for this month's Round in Circles definitely shows a longing for blue skies and fluffy clouds - something seriously lacking in our weather at the moment!

 

I don't very often use hand dyed fabric for Hardanger, something about having to cut parts of it away just seems to go against the grain with me!  I've used 28ct Lugana in In the Clouds by the now long gone Sugar Maple Fabrics, #8 and #12 white DMC perles, three colours of PTB and two different sizes and colour of MH beads.  It was lovely to stitch something other than crosses and now I'm back working on Cinderella - once the stitching is mainly completed on her I might treat myself to a new start!

 

Speaking of new starts, was anyone else like me and told themselves that they would under no circumstances peek at any of the new releases from the Nashville TNNA Market - but then their curiosity got the better of them and they couldn't help themselves!?  So many gorgeous new releases from Gigi R, Plum Street Samplers, Cottage House Samplings, Nikyscreations, and The Scarlett House to name a few!  French Woolens has made it right to the top of my list so I expect as soon as Karla at The Patchwork Rabbit gets that one in it will find its way into my shopping basket!

 

After stitching from stash for just about the whole of last year, I now find it surprisingly difficult to add to my stash at all, not a surprise where charts are concerned as I was never one for collecting those - but the prospect of new threads just doesn't have the same effect anymore!  This last week though I did purchase my first new pattern in over a year, because when you have the rest of a set you have to buy new additions :).  I'm really hoping that Ambra releases a pattern for my favourite artist Henri Matisse one day!  I have great plans for this little set that will require a bit of planning, playing and experimenting, maybe they will make good summer projects for this year.

 

I also signed up for Abi Gurden's latest SAL, Seasons Sampler (despite it being a semi mystery design) over on the Yahoo Stitch Specialist Group.  Me being me, I won't start it until I have all the parts towards the end of the year even thought the first part has already been released.

 

The other reason why I probably won't go mad on new charts is that as well as having the full set of GOSM, I now have the full set of SANQ after ordering the 1991 - 2000 DVD:

 

 

There have been lists a plenty made of designs that I want to stitch from them, which has the knock on effect of me wanting to get on and finish my current WIPs so that I can start on something new. 

 

Last but by no means least, I had an email a few weeks ago from a stitcher that had been looking through my Pinterest Stitching Wishlist.  She had contacted me as she had seen a chart on my list that she had in her stash and knew she would never stitch and wanted to know if I would like it - so of course I said yes please!  I was very happy when this dropped through my letterbox, especially as it had become hard to find in the UK:

 

 

Huge thank you to that stitcher for her kindness and generosity!  I'm currently in the process of choosing threads for it, with only three colours required you would think it would be easy, but with so many gorgeous shades of hand dyed red thread available you'd be surprised lol!

 

That will probably be it from me until the end of the month, when hopefully I will have something worth showing in the way of progress on Cinderella!

 

Happy Stitching!

Autumn Tree of Stitches

After a lot of cross stitch I was finally ready for some more speciality stitching!  Part of the reason why I like to have several pieces on the go is so that it keeps my interest as I find if I have too much plain cross stitch it drives me crazy, as does too much fiddly stitching, so I like to switch between the two!

Anyway, I've finally finished Summer (Autumn) Tree of Stitches by Abi Gurden and I am so pleased with the way it turned out!  I've wanted to stitch this for the longest time, it's been sat in my stash since its SAL days.  I'm so glad I took this year to actually stitch all those designs that I kept saying I was desperate to stitch but could never find the time in my stitching schedule for some reason.

I won't bore you with endless pictures of each part (there are 12 parts), but if you want to know more details of threads and stitches used for each part, you can see close-ups of all that stuff in my Flickr album.  Here is the finished piece:

Stitched on Jodyri Designs 28ct Brittney Opal Fall Trees (LE) with Gloriana, AVAS, HDF and Dinky Dyes silks, Caron Wildflowers, PTB and delica beads

I've got a small cross stitch piece on the go from GOSM for easy TV stitching and hopefully this weekend will finally make a start on Catherine Agnes - ugh I hate starting pieces lol!

 

Happy Stitching!

Milady's Blossom Garden Finished!

After not so patiently waiting for some size 9/0 beads to come from Sew and So, I finally got to finish off Milady's Blossom Garden as the final (ish) part was released over the weekend:

 

 

It's hard to photograph the details, but as with so many pieces the beads really were the icing on the cake with this piece.  I love the effect of the suspended beads with the somersault stitch, so the 9/0 beads were worth the wait and I will use them again in future drawn thread pieces I am sure.

 

There is an optional seventh part that comes out next month which are the instructions for hem stitching the border of this piece.  I may very well finish it that way, but for the moment the stitching is done and I am counting it as my 33rd finish for the year!

 

Happy Stitching!

Autumn!

Autumn has always been my favourite time of year.  I love the colours, I love the food, I love the weather!  Although we are two thirds through the year, September always feels a month to start again or turn over a new leaf - something left over from my school days when September saw the start of the new academic year with fresh exercise books and newly sharpened pencils!  I was always one of those children who couldn't wait for the Summer holidays to be over so I could get back to school - less so as an adult working in an educational establishment as September is the most stressful month lol!

I knew this year I wanted to have a project with a real autumnal feel and with a bit of a colour change I found one!  Yet again it is a design by Abi Gurden of Bee's Needleworks, my third this year.  A few years ago Abi released a design called Tree of Stitches, which many of you have seen and no doubt stitched!  It will always remain one of my all time favourite finishes as it was the first time I chose my own colours for a design and my first time stitching speciality stitches.  From that moment on I was hooked and I discovered the two things that now bring me the most joy in my stitching!

Proof that sometimes I do frame and display my finishes!

A few years later Abi released another design, Summer Tree of Stitches and I knew that it would be another must stitch piece for me.  This year, with my need to crack open those skeins of hand dyed floss, proved the perfect time to start it!

 

I had the perfect fabric that I'd been saving for it in my stash - it's Jodyri Designs Sept 2014 Ltd Ed Fall Trees in Brittney Opal, reminiscent of the Indian summer skies we get at sunset here on the coast.  Initially I was going to stitch the whole thing in silks, but I like to use perles for some speciality stitches to mix up the textures (and preserve my sanity!) so I picked out some Wildflowers too:

 

 

 

 

This floss toss is by no means all the threads to be used, but just a taster.  I basically went through my stash and picked out all my autumnal coloured silks and wildflowers and will choose the colour for each section as I go.

 

Here are parts 1-3, there are 12 parts in all:

 

 

Threads used so far: Bark Wildflowers, AVAS 1423, Gloriana Autumn Arbor, Gloriana PPP Cinnamon and PTB48

 

Needless to say I am very much looking forward to stitching this one up!

 

Just a note for my UK readers - Lidl currently have an offer on for a daylight craft lamp for £12.99.  I picked one up on Monday and have been using it all week and I love it!  Particularly useful for my new start on 40ct linen!

 

Happy Stitching!

 

August Operation Threadporn Report

Another month and more threads have been seeing the light of day!

First up was a freebie by Jeannette Douglas that I found on the Caron website, I stitched this one on a Crafty Kitten Ltd Ed Opal from November 2012 and used AVAS and Waterlilies silks.  I loved the way the colours turned out and *one day* I will turn it into a needlework wrap/roll with thread rings to store threads for my small WIPs:

Next up is my SOTW square for the month, I changed the threads slightly by working in another wildflower to add to the thread totals!

This saw the combination of possibly the two most hated stitches - French knots and lazy daisies to make the French daisy!

My thread totals didn't advance too much this monthly, mainly due to the addition of a few Jodyri threads that landed in my letterbox :).  A few months ago Michelle at Jodyri Designs sent me a photo of an upcoming thread she had in mind for a future limited addition thread and I knew when it was released I would HAVE to have it.  So here is Regal Peacock (August's Ltd Ed) in 32ct Belfast, stranded cotton, stranded silk and three sizes of perle lol:



Michelle had also updated three of her hand dyed regular cotton colours, so I had to have those in the interest of keeping my collection up to date.........

All in all that meant that for this month thread totals were as follows:

Percentage of hand dyed thread stash used to date: 16.18%

Number of different stitches used to date:     49

Number of finishes to date:                          29  (9 of which are FFOs)

Part 5 of Milady's Blossom Garden was released on Saturday so I stitched that one up over the weekend - not entirely without incident I have to say but here it is:

As it's a bank holiday here in the UK today I'm hoping to squeeze a little bit more stitching in on the final day of August as I haven't touched Butterfly Garden all month.  Then there are projects to finalise for Autumn/Winter stitching as I'm dying to get my teeth into some projects that have been sitting in my stash for too long!

Happy Stitching!

July Operation Threadporn Report

The results are in, the threads have been counted - here are the designs for this month!

First up July's SOTW Hardanger design by Mabel Figworthy.  I chose another unusual colour combination, until you actually stitch with a thread it's hard to know how the colour variation will stitch out.  I'm quite pleased with the results and who knew how easy it is to add beads to hardanger:

Introducing ermine stitches!

 

A slightly more summery feel to my chosen freebie for this month, a design by The Snowflower Diaries, who incidentally posted a new freebie design to her blog this past week.  For this one I chose a OOAK hand painted sea effect jobelan that Sam from Chromatic Alchemy very kindly gifted to me last year along with cottons and silks from Nina's Threads that Chiara gifted to me via her Enigma (it has just occurred to me that I really should have used this finish for a Gifted Gorgeousness post..........muppet!):

 

 

 

Yes I know, epic fail on the finishing front but I'm just not in the mood for it at the moment.  If I force it, everything will just get finished for the sake of it into pillows or something easy that I can do - I have better ideas, just lacking the inclination at the moment :).

 

I am ecstatic to report that I have this month hit the magic number as far as thread usage percentage is concerned - probably helped out by the lack of thread buying going on here at the moment!  Here are the monthly totals to date:

 

Percentage of hand dyed thread stash used to date: 15.51%

Number of different stitches used to date:     48

Number of finishes to date:                          24  (9 of which are FFOs)

 

So seven months in and my target of 15% has been reached!  Maybe I could reach 20% by the end of the year - but a thread binge could strike at anytime.......vigilance must be maintained!

 

In other stitching activities this past week, I've put in few stitches on Sleeping Beauty by The Primitive Hare - she is no longer levitating:



 

 

I also completed Part 4 of Milady's Blossom Garden by Abi Gurden which came out on Sunday:

 

 

 

Loved stitching the drawn thread bands with all those coral knots!

 

Hoping I can stitch a word or two on my L*K before the month is out and then 1st August sees the release of the final block for Box of Delights!

 

Happy Stitching!

My Wimbledon Fortnight!

It was a fantastic tournament as always, the best man won on Sunday, I just wish that man had been Roger Federer :).

Anyway I managed a fair bit of stitching in between all the excitement - four new starts and two parts on my SALs, here are the pics!

Firstly I completed Block 5 on Box of Delights - the colours:

Top L-R: Hearts and Flowers Ltd Ed PB24, Argentine Tango PB59, Clockwork Orange PB49
Bottom L-R: Rainforest, Blue Morpho Butterfly PB18, Over the Rainbow

  

The "sweets":





 

One more block to go!

 

 

Up next was Part 3 of Milady's Blossom Garden:

 

Hello coral knots!

 

Then on to the new starts, firstly Living with Charm by Lizzie*Kate:

 

Slightly wishing I'd chosen my own colours on 40ct but still enjoying stitching it this way!

A levitating Sleeping Beauty by The Primitive Hare:

 

I changed the colour in her dress from GAST Banker's Grey to an unknown GAST Ltd Ed

 

Just Nan's Emma and Eliza in the Garden:
 

 

Absolutely adore this one!
I changed my choice of purple Mo cotton with a Dragonfloss one

And finally The Butterfly Garden by The Drawn Thread:
 

I just have to remember to add in the French knots to the Tansy.
I'm stitching this one in hoop and didn't want to squash them!

 

It was great to get back to regular stitching after quite a few months where it's been a bit hit and miss.  Unplugging from social media was definitely a bonus and is something I will be carrying forward.

 

In exciting international post news, I had a wonderful parcel of joy from Chiara over at The Grey Tail when she sent me the prize for winning her Stitching Enigma.  To say I was thrilled with the contents is a complete understatement and I cannot thank Chiara enough for her generosity (as well as the time and dedication organising the Enigma took!) and also Nina who chose and included the beautiful silks.  Despite knowing about Nina's Threads since 2011, I'm ashamed to say that these are the first in my collection - but after a bit of shuffling they now have their own dedicated drawer as I plan on adding to their number next year when I'm back on the thread wagon :).

 

Behold the Beauty!  Purples!

 

That's me all caught up!  I haven't pulled my Threadporn threads for this month's projects yet.  I'm feeling uninspired for Summer themed projects courtesy of the dull, grey, damp and misty weather we're currently experiencing - I can't believe it hit 30 degrees a few weeks ago!  I'm sticking with my Just Nan for the minute, maybe I'll be OAATer for a while, well at least a few days ................

 

Happy Stitching!

 

Finish Number 18!

After a week or so of what seems like endless wrapping and weaving - A Confetti of Hardanger is finally finished!

 

I think it is quite possibly my proudest finish to date, not least because I can remember being totally petrified of stitching it three years ago when I purchased it!  That is the joy of stitching though, because with an extra three years stitching experience under my belt when it came to it, this design wasn't so terrifying after all!  I may even stitch it again, but this time the uncut version, as alternative stitches are offered in the chart for stitchers that might not be ready to take out their squissors just yet!

 

There was a time, a few years ago, when I avoided doves' eyes like the plague, never mind stitching a filling stitch inside anything other than kloster blocks!  It is a good reminder that any new skill takes time, patience and above all practice - you can't become an expert over night.  You learn so much in stitching by your own experience and often making mistakes is the best way to learn (which is why I always remember to go under the last "leg" of a dove's eye ;)).  My CoH isn't perfect by any means, case in point - my buttonhole bars bear more than a passing resemblance to Cornish pasties........dare I share a picture....

 

 

Excuse untucked cut ends :)!

 

The point is, despite its imperfections, I'm thrilled with the overall finish and it reminds me of the progress I've made as a stitcher over the past few years and that is a good thing.

 

This means I now only have one WIP left, my goldwork, which I am just not in the mood for right now.  I also have fabric for my Butterfly Quote and freebie project, they both need finishing.  As Mr Milkybar Kid reminded me this week, stitching is supposed to be fun not a chore and I can do what I like - so I will be starting one of my Summer stitching pieces this weekend!  It will be so lovely for a change, to just stitch little crosses!

 

I've only really stitched on about 12 days of this month, so feel I would really like to get stuck in to a new start (or starts).  With Wimbledon starting on Monday I'm thinking this will be a good opportunity for an IHS FORTNIGHT not just Weekend :) and an excellent time to unplug from social media and focus on enjoying my stitching (not to mention apparently we are to expect a heatwave in the UK next week.......I won't hold my breath though!).

 

Hopefully I'll have some progress to show in my next post - it depends on how exciting the tennis gets!

 

Happy Stitching!

 

 

 

 

 

WIP Update!

I've spent the last few days switching back and forth between projects that require no thought whilst stitching (TV stitching :)) and projects that need my concentration!

I'm still stitching away on Jodyri Butterfly quote (TV stitching) and should be able to get a bit more done by the end of the month, so I'll show that one then.  However I have reached my monthly goal on Confetti of Hardanger and completed parts 10 -14!  Although not every filling stitch is perfect, stitching white on white does hide a multitude of imperfections :).  Here it is, along with a little glimpse of some of the filling stitches:

 

 Most of the filling stitches I had worked before in other projects, but picots, curled V in a fan and edelweiss were new to me.  I need more practice with edelweiss, but as this was the first time I'd stitched one I'm not going to beat myself up about it!  It's all about tension..........which I hate! I wasn't the biggest fan of picots either (they tend to divide most stitchers and indeed knitters and crocheters!).  I appreciate that they make a nice silhouette, but they are a pain to get evenly sized and spaced!

 

 

The offending picots!

 

I've really enjoyed stitching this project!  I remember thinking when I first signed up for the original SAL on it back in 2012 that I wasn't up to the skill level then - it's nice to see that my stitching has progressed!  I will admit though that I have some terrible hardanger habits, I tend to eyeball the number of wraps and weaves rather than count them........something to work on..........

 

Part 2 of Milady's Blossom Garden was also released, it was only a small part again and required just an hour or two of stitching, so I figured I might as well put it back on the frame.........

 

 

 

This part included the first drawn thread band using hemstitch and diamond hemstitch.  Oddly in the photo it looks as though I used a cream perle, but it is definitely white the same colour as the fabric!  I love drawn threadwork and am on the look out for more involved drawn threadwork band samplers.  For someone who was once afraid of cutting into her stitching I seem to have overcome the fear pretty well!

 

As far as monthly goals go, I just need to give my goldwork a bit of attention and we're done!

 

Happy Stitching!

A Sneaky New Start

How has your stitching week been?  I've been stitching up my Threadporn projects, which I'll reveal at the end of the month, but for now here were my thread choices for them. 

For my Hardanger SOTW square, May seemed like a pink month to me for some reason so these were my choices - no hand dyeds again, so they don't count towards my thread totals, but I really love using DMC variations perles for some reason!

 



 

My freebie project for this month is from Les Chalets des Perelles and I decided to stitch it all in silks as I haven't raided my AVAS stash so far this year, so I chose mainly AVAS, a few HDFs and a Waterlillies silk:

 



 

So the stitching is all done, just the finishing to do.........

 

I also decided to have a sneaky new start on the new SAL taking place over on the Yahoo Stitch Specialists Group, which is exclusive to its members.  It is called Milady's Blossom Garden by Abi Gurden and is a drawn thread band sampler with a new part released each month. 

 

I decided to crack open my Gloriana stash for this one as I haven't used any yet so far this year.  I still get in the mind set of saving them for a special occasion as they are one of the more expensive brands of silk - but as Operation Threadporn has taught me, there is more joy in using threads than there is in just collecting them :).

 

So here is my floss toss on good old 32ct white Belfast linen:

 

Glorianas in Carmine Rose, Birch Brown, Leaf Green and Blythe Green
Dinky Dyes Madi's Rose and a Cascade House yellow silk

 

And here is Part 1 stitched up:
 

 

I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into the drawn thread work when it appears!

 

Next week I hope to be in the mood for Hardanger and pick up Confetti so that I can get the last of the squares filled, in preparation for the final mammoth part next month.  I'm thinking next month might be a month of finishes, which means that maybe July could be a month of new starts............

 

Somewhere along the line this week I passed 10,000 page views, so a big thank you to all of you that stop by and read my ramblings!

 

Happy Stitching!

Progress on Confetti of Hardanger

I've been plugging away on the buttonhole stitch border of Confetti of Hardanger this past week and it is finally complete along with parts 5 and 6.  As I said on Instagram, I will never win awards for my buttonhole stitch but it's done!  Stitching white on white and having one hole shared by five stitches in #5 perle isn't always easy and all those corners ugh!

 

 

Each of the inner cut squares are a part in themselves, but I think the part that will take the longest will be the final part where I have to cut the whole of the kloster block border and add in doves eyes and buttonhole bars.....think that's a month's work right there!

 

Here are some close ups of Part 6, wrapped bars:



 

 

 

And Part 7, woven bars:

 



 

Finally, earlier in the week I had my penultimate delivery of my Jodyri monthly threads and FOTM which is one of my favourite Limited Editions ever - Amethyst (in Brittney Opal):
 

 

 

My only stash of this month - the sister induced stash diet is obviously working :)!

 

Next month sees me get thread number 250 - the last in the regular cottons range at Jodyri.  From June the ten thread a month club will be starting at number one again so an ideal time to join :)!

 

According to my stitching plan for the month, I have part 8 of CoH and some goldwork to do before month end - as well as "finish finish" my freebie thread challenges pieces for the month, so that should keep me out of trouble!

 

Happy Stitching!

Hardanger - Don't Fear the Squissors!

It might come as a surprise to you, but I actually hate starting new stitching projects.  Don't get me wrong, I like picking a pattern, kitting it up, cutting fabric and the eventual stitching of it - but I hate staring at that blank piece of fabric all ready to stitch on in the frame.  I start to doubt myself: is the fabric the right way around, is my starting point really 3 inches in from the edge/in the exact centre of the fabric, are my thread choices the right ones?  I hate those initial first stitches and it's why I dither over new starts.  I've had two projects buzzing around my brain so I just decided to start them on the same day and get the worst over with!  One was Box of Delights and the other was A Confetti of Hardanger by Bee's Needleworks.

I've had Confetti of Hardanger in my stash since 2012, when it was offered as a group SAL as part of the Stitch Specialists Yahoo Group, a group run by the designer of this chart, Abi Gurden.  I've wanted to stitch this chart since then, but actually waiting this long proved fortuitous as the perles I've chosen to use for it didn't exist then, but they do now!  The perles I'm using are hand dyed by Jodyri Designs and Michelle is one of the few dyers I know to hand dye matching perles in #5, #8 and #12.  I'll be using Jodyri's beautiful Alaskan Beauty perles for this one, along with possibly some complimentary DMC solid perles and white, the mainstay of Hardanger stitched on 25ct white lugana:

 

The pdf chart comes with very detailed instructions for each of the 14 parts, so even if Hardanger is new to you, everything you need to know is included.  There are a few filling stitches in this one that are new to me, so I'm looking forward to adding them to my list!

 

Here is Part 1, Klosters and Extended Klosters stitched in #5 perle in Alaskan Beauty:

 

 

 

Here is Part 2, Cable Stitch and Doubled Back Stitch stitched in #8 white perle:

 

 

 

White on white is a bit hard to see so here are a few close-ups, Cable Stitch:
 

 

 

And Doubled Back Stitch, which was the first time I'd ever worked a stitch from the reverse of the fabric!

 



 

The hardcore Hardanger (aka cutting) doesn't begin until Part 6, so I still have a few parts to go before squissor fear sets in!

 

I've also had my stash for the month arrive, my monthly thread and fabric from Jodyri Designs as well as a fantastic book, The A-Z of Whitework:

 

 

I've never been a fan of generic stitch dictionaries, I much prefer books on specific techniques and the stitches and facts relevant to them individually.  I was so pleased when I discovered that the A-Z series was being reprinted again as Search Press had bought the rights to them.  I didn't want to pay up to four times the price for an OOP copy!  They are a brilliant series of books and I think, along with the RSN guides, tell you everything you need to know about individual embroidery techniques.  Mary Corbet has fantastic reviews of these titles on her blog, so no need for me to go into detail.  I've got the A-Z of Goldwork on order too, which hopefully should be arriving in May.

 

Last but not least, it's about time I got on with my Operation Threadporn projects after two new starts, so here are my proposed thread choices for my projects, the finishes to be revealed at the end of the month, (yet more Wildflowers, Mo's Silks and Silk Mill silk):

 

 

 

Happy Stitching!