traditional needle arts

As I have mentioned before, I am not an embroiderer. This does not stop me in any way from acquiring books about embroidery (ditto for quilting, needlepoint, dressmaking etc). I really recommend this Traditional Needle Arts series - they also publish volumes on embroidery, patchwork, quilting and cross stitch. The projects are lovely, the photos inspiring, the instructions clear - fantastic books.

I already have the Patchwork volume (should be sailing its way from Australia to the US in the next few weeks along with many other books and possessions, I can't wait to look at it again) and now the Embroidery volume (ah, and Quilting and Cross Stitch are on their way too, courtesy of abebooks).

And trapunto is long something that I have been interested in trying (one day). I have had this book from the library before.

I bought these two volumes from Magus Books (1408 NE 42nd St, Seattle, 98105; 206 633 1800) in Seattle's University District on Friday. I had never been in before and it's quite an unassuming storefront. But oh what a treasure chest of second-hand books! It's actually huge inside and when I asked where to find the needlework books, no one sneered at me (it has happened before elsewhere).

Not being an embroiderer also does not stop me from actually doing embroidery as and where required. My approach to making things is mostly that I have an idea and imagine what it will look like, then work out what techniques to use, then try my hand at it. Thankfully I have so many books on various needlework topics from which I have absorbed basic techniques and details in the past, and I can always look something up.

Do you remember the felted jumper bag, the poor long neglected felted jumper bag? I'm still working on it, little by little. Wow, I just checked - it is almost exactly two years to the day that I posted a photo of the materials and threads that I was collecting to make the bag!) So these are the little birds that I have been embroidering to go in the tree that decorates the bag. One is complete and five are at finished outline stage - I think I'll just do some feather stitch (how appropriate) and see if I can master french knots. Ooooh, I'm excited.