I don’t even know that they were talking about apps on the radio. I don’t think [...]]]> One afternoon a couple of months ago, I was sitting in traffic in the car, listening to the radio. For some reason I suddenly had a flash of brilliance: why not make my stitch dictionaries into apps for smartphones?

I don’t even know that they were talking about apps on the radio. I don’t think they were, but for some reason whatever they were saying sparked something in my mind.

When I was at Maitland Embroiderers Group and at Beating Around the Bush, I did some market research, asking my classes whether those who had smartphones would be interested in such a thing. The answer was a resounding “YES!” I figured that when people go out, they have their phones with them. If they’re at stitching group, or in a class, they’ll have their phone with them. They may not want to carry a book with them, but they could certainly carry a phone with a stitch dictionary app on it, giving them ready access to all that lovely information.

And so, ever since, I’ve been doing little bits of research on this idea. Part of the reason for buying my own mobile (cell) phone was because I’d never even seen an app before, let alone knew what they could do. I figured that if I was going to have my own app, then I probably needed to try out some myself!

Yesterday I spent some time thinking through how it could work, and working on how it *might* look. You have to understand, this idea is only in its very infancy, so things could change a lot before it comes to fruition! And just because I can make it look like this in a mock up doesn’t mean I can make it look like this in the real thing! I have no idea how to create an app, and it will be a bit of a learning journey in consultation with my app developer!
(If you click on the picture it should take you to a larger version.)

So, what do you think? If you were to purchase such an app, what would you want it to do? If you could have a wish list for such an app, what would be on it? Thanks! I really look forward to hearing from as many of you as possible!

I really enjoyed spending time with the other tutors, socialising and talking shop. I was just a little overawed to meet some of the international [...]]]> I had a WONDERFUL time in Adelaide at Beating Around the Bush. Enjoyed the class, and market day, and loved hearing Jenny Adin-Christie last night at the gala dinner.

I really enjoyed spending time with the other tutors, socialising and talking shop. I was just a little overawed to meet some of the international tutors such as Betsy Morgan from USA, and Trish Burr and Hazel Blomkamp from South Africa – what gorgeous ladies they are! I shared a room with Tanja Berlin from Canada, and we had great fun together. And of course it was lovely to spend time with some of the other Australian tutors as well, such as Marg Light, Alison Snepp and Julie Graue. (None of them have websites, so I can’t give you links.)

The students in my Mountmellick embroidery class were a fantastic bunch – really great work was produced. We also shared hints and tips amongst us, including ones that the students had learnt from other teachers earlier in the week. They loved the thread the needle with a piece of paper one that I showed them.

The market day went really well: I launched my new book, Portuguese Whitework, and got back to my stand to find it absolutely crowded with ladies wanting to purchase the book. It was so nice to hear feedback from happy customers who already own some of my books, throughout the day. One lovely lady said “thank you for all you do for us, with your books” – what a nice thing to say to someone!

Thanks to Sally and Fiona and the rest of the team from Country Bumpkin for organising such a wonderful event!

If you’ve rung me or placed and order since Monday, these will be attended to next week. I apologise for the delay caused by my absence.

I have never met a group of more attentive hosts. They were so welcoming and so accommodating of my needs. Many took part in organising [...]]]> I’m back from Maitland and had a wonderful time! The two classes that I ran on Portuguese Whitework went really well, and I’m pretty sure the students enjoyed them greatly.

I have never met a group of more attentive hosts. They were so welcoming and so accommodating of my needs. Many took part in organising my visit, ferrying me around, providing me with food, providing me with a place to stay the night, and all of them were so helpful and lovely to be with.

Thank you to all the friendly members of the Maitland Embroiderers’ Group. You’re a lovely bunch of ladies!

I’ll be attending Beating Around the Bush as a teacher, and also as an exhibitor at their Village Fair. Sadly, two of my classes will not be running, but [...]]]> We’re getting a lot closer to Country Bumpkin’s needlework conference, Beating Around the Bush, which runs from Saturday 14th April to Friday 20th April, in Adelaide.

I’ll be attending Beating Around the Bush as a teacher, and also as an exhibitor at their Village Fair. Sadly, two of my classes will not be running, but my Mountmellick class will be, which is wonderful news.

At the Stitchers Village Fair, I will have stock of all my books, and probably a selection of kits and supplies. But the MAIN THING I want to be there to show off to everyone is my new book “Portuguese Whitework: Bullion Embroidery from Guimarães”. If all goes well, my stock should arrive from the printers in just the few days before the conference, and the plan is that I will bring copies of it with me to share with the world!

If my shipment gets held up on the docks – these things can happen! – then I will at least have my advance copies to show you all, and will take orders to be posted out as soon as the shipment arrives. This is a worst case scenario, and one that I am hoping will not come to pass!

I will also have a display of projects from the book that you’ll be able to see in real life, to inspire you.

If you attend Beating Around the Bush on any of the days I’ll be there (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday), please come and say hello to me! Don’t be shy – I won’t bite!

I learned that the [...]]]> Yesterday I met some a couple who work in prisons on a Pacific island, helping to rehabilitate the male and female prisoners (different prisons) so that they can go back to their communities on release, and start afresh. Their work is having great results, which is an encouraging thing to hear.

I learned that the wife runs craft classes in the women’s prison, so I asked her if they do any embroidery, or if they would *like* to do any embroidery. She said that mostly they make paper beads (of which she showed me some, and they were lovely), but some of the women do enjoy embroidery but aren’t very good at it.

And so I offered her some copies of my books “The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion” and “The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion”. She thought that would be fabulous! She said that the prison authorities would like the women to be better at embroidery, but she and her team haven’t really had the skills or tools to help them.

With the step-by-step nature of the books, and with all their diagrams, the instructors and the women should all be able to work together to improve their embroidery. Even the women with low literacy skills should be able to work with just the diagrams for the more simple stitches.

She did also say that they don’t have proper fabrics or threads to use. For example, when someone’s nightie can no longer be worn because it is too old, they cut it up and use that to stitch on.

So today I will be posting off a parcel of stitch dictionaries to the Pacific islands, to meet the couple when they get back there to continue their work. It would be really nice to think that my books might help in rehabilitating women prisoners.

Elizabethan Strawberry Roundel With Yvette Stanton Sunday 15th April 2012

This charming strawberry ornament features Elizabethan embroidery stitches such as buttonhole filling, reverse chain stitch and [...]]]> I thought I might spend a bit of time over the next few days giving you more information about the classes I’ll be teaching at Beating Around the Bush.

Elizabethan Strawberry Roundel
With Yvette Stanton
Sunday 15th April 2012

This charming strawberry ornament features Elizabethan embroidery stitches such as buttonhole filling, reverse chain stitch and plaited braid stitch. Working with silks, paillettes and good quality imitation gold threads, this project will introduce you to the delights of Elizabethan embroidery. In red, green and gold, it would make a lovely Christmas decoration.

Many people admire plaited braid stitch but are scared of attempting it themselves. In this class, you’ll learn how to stitch it, with personal instruction from both me and my written instructions.

Skill level: intermediate stitchers (not complete beginners). This is because we will have a lot to get through in the one day, so instructing complete beginners would suck up a lot of my time, meaning the other students would miss out on me. Because I want everyone to have equal access to my tuition, stitchers with some experience – even if they’ve never done THESE PARTICULAR stitches before – are welcome in this class.

Kit Contents: Linen fabric, cotton backing fabric, silk thread, imitation gold thread, pailettes, needles, padding, card, instructions

Please bring with you: 10cm embroidery hoop, magnification (recommended), wash out marking pencil or HB pencil, embroidery scissors

Kit Cost: $23.00 AUD

To book in, please go to the TryBooking website.