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| We've found some absolutely amazing books for you this week. There are some great beginner books to help both children and adults pick up a needle, some fabric and threads to create something unique and wonderful... |
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| Country Bumpkin recently participated in Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea to help raise much needed funds for cancer research, education and support services. I'm pleased to let you know that the latest results show that this year's morning tea raised over $430,000... |
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| The last weekend in October 2007 I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a three day, sixty mile walk in Dallas Texas, to raise money for breast cancer research. Three day events were held in ten United States cities between July and November of 2007, to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation... |
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| Hello everyone and thank you for inviting us to share with you the
gardens from which we draw our our inspiration. I live in Ontario,
Canada in a small village called Baltimore... |
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| For the past fifteen or more years I have met with a group of keen stitchers. We meet every Thursday morning from 9 -12 o’clock. This group has been through many stages, starting as a polytechnic class, tutored by Jean Clark, to where it is now in a purpose build craft studio, at Jean’s home and still tutored by Jean Clark... |
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| There is an alteration to a measurement in Spring Fever... |
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| Correction to measurements... |
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| The latest issue of Australian Smocking & Embroidery has just arrived in our warehouse and is on its way to our lucky subscribers worldwide. It is such a gorgeous edition, featuring three beautiful sundresses, each in very different designs to suit all tastes. With the much needed rain we've had here in Adelaide, I suspect that in Australia we have some preparation time before putting our little girls in sundresses again, but in the US you will need to get busy! |
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| You may remember that late last year we announced a special competition, exclusive to our subscriber family, called 'Spot the Smocker'. The challenge, that many lovely subscribers chose to accept, was to send in a photo of yourself holding an Inspirations Collection umbrella in a crowded place... |
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| Last year we introduced our gorgeous umbrellas to the Inspirations Collection product range. Today, thousands of AS&E readers are parading their beautiful pink parasols to show the world that they love smocking. Our wonderful subscribers were invited to enter a special competition we called 'Spot the Smocker'. The challenge was to send in a photo of yourself holding an Inspirations Collection umbrella in a crowded place |
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| In the latest instalment of 'Cutting Edge', featured in Inspirations issue 58, Susan O'Connor shared with us some fantastic new books. Her reviews were so enticing that I was compelled to look through them myself and found some absolutely breathtaking projects, inspiration and information... |
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| If you're an avid collector of antique needlework items, have an interest in the history of needlework or are just infatuated with all things French, you will fall in love with Sajou.... |
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| With Mother's Day just over a week away, I think now is the perfect opportunity to share some wonderful news that I've just been bursting to tell you. My eldest daughter, Tory, has announced that she's pregnant with her first child, due in December... I'm going to be a Grandma... |
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| This stitch is similar to glove
stitch in appearance, but is worked from right to left.
We used contrasting thread for photographic purposes. |
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| This week, our close friends here in South Australia joined us in the Country Bumpkin Courtyard to celebrate the launch of Inspirations issue 58 and Quilting for Embroiderers.
Fortunately, Susan O'Connor, who is currently visiting us to put the finishing touches on one of our forthcoming titles, Beautiful Embroidered Jackets for Children, was also available to share her fabulous tips on some of the techniques featured in the current issue with our guests on the day. Susan also enthusiastically spoke about the fantastic books and products that are showcased in Cutting Edge. A product of particular interest to our audience was Sajou.
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| Having assumed that they had
gone out of business, I was
surprised and delighted to find
that Maison Sajou was one of the
companies exhibiting at Le Salon Marie
Claire Idées that Fiona Fagan and I
attended in Paris in October last year.
Frédérique Crestin-Billet has lovingly
brought this company into the 21st
century and SAJOU now manufacture
more than 600 needlework related
items. I asked her to tell me a little of
the history of the company and how she
became involved... |
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| Late last year we introduced 2 gorgeous umbrellas to the Inspirations Collection product range. Today, thousands of Inspirations and Australian Smocking & Embroidery readers are parading their beautiful parasols to show the world how proud they are to be a needlewoman... |
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| The embroidery chart for Victorian Lace was accidentally omitted from the liftout pattern... |
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| With Mother's Day approaching, we have filled Inspirations issue 58 with lovely gift ideas to create for your mum, yourself and your child. The stylish makeup bag featured on the cover, designed by Julie Graue, is so simple it can be made in a weekend and will quickly become a piece to proudly display on the bathroom vanity... |
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| You may remember in Inspirations issue 51 that we featured an article called 'Roses from the Heart', where Christina Henri invited needleworkers to stitch a bonnet to honour the convict women who helped colonise Australia.
Over eighteen months and several thousand bonnets later, Christina has been very busy organising 'Blessing of the Bonnets' ceremonies around Australia and yesterday I was lucky enough to attend one at St. John’s Cathedral in Sydney... |
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