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!
Tomorrow and Wednesday I will have the pleasure of being with the Maitland Embroiderers, teaching a couple of workshops. I spent a couple of days with them last year doing Mountmellick embroidery, and it was a wonderful time. From memory I had one of my Portuguese whitework projects with me, as my current project, and it whet their appetite. So this year, that will be the topic of our workshops. I’m also looking forward to showing them the advance copies of “Portuguese Whitework: Bullion Embroidery from Guimarães”.
I’m working towards being organised for Beating Around the Bush, and I’ve been feeling a little bit panicky about how much I had to get done before I go. Last night though, I realised I had a whole extra week before then, that my brain had just been skipping over.
What a relief!
If any of you are in Sydney, you may be interested to know that the Remnant Warehouse in Alexandria are having a sale (25% off all fabrics) from Thursday 29th to Saturday 31st March. Might be time for me to get the next lot of leotard fabric for the young gymnast. With the cold weather coming on, she’s going to need new 3/4 sleeve leotards. Not sure that last year’s ones still fit!
I probably won’t get the chance to post tomorrow (very early start) or Wednesday, so I apologise in advance for that.
Yesterday I received a whole pile of brochures for the needlework cruise that I’ll be teaching on in February next year. As I’ve never been on a cruise before, it was a bit of an eye opener to realise the strange and unusual activities that will be available to me when I am not teaching.
I’ll be able to go iceskating… Who would have suspected?!
Just to make sure all those arm muscles get a great workout before stitching, I’ll be able to go rock-climbing!
There will be glittering ice shows. What is a glittering ice show? My husband has said that I *must* attend this, because he wants to see photos!
Of course, for people who come on the needlework cruise, there’ll also be 4 days of needlework tuition. (And for me there’ll be 4 days of teaching people the delights of embroidery!)
More information on the cruise can be found at http://www.needleworktours.com.au/index.htm
Last night, on a forum that I belong to, I read that someone had done a write-up of their experiences with making my Hardanger panel for the Treasure Chest project that’s in the current issue of Inspirations magazine.
You can find Jillian’s write-up on her blog, AlwaysStitching.
Congratulations to Jillian, on such a magnificent result. I’m thrilled that you did so well, having never done any Hardanger before. (In fact I find it amazing that you’ve never done any before… an experienced stitcher nonetheless, I am sure!)
Has anyone else made this project yet?
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!
This is my favourite project (and favourite image!) from Portuguese Whitework: Bullion Embroidery from Guimarães. I wanted one really big, really impressive project for the book, and this is it!
I started this cloth when I was in Ethiopia back in 2010, so it has special memories attached to it, of our time in Ethiopia.
If you would like to make one of these tablecloths for yourself, the full instructions can be found in Portuguese Whitework: Bullion Embroidery from Guimarães. Order your copy today!
The advance copies of Portuguese Whitework: Bullion Embroidery from Guimarães by Yvette Stanton have arrived!
The book really and truly exists now! We just have to be patient for the rest of them to arrive at their destinations so that you can have your very own copy!
Don’t forget that you can pre-order your copy from Vetty Creations today, so that it is posted as soon as our shipment arrives here at the end of April.
For orders from your local needlework shop, give them the ISBN (978-0-9757677-5-7) and ask them to order it in for you. Our European distributor is Search Press. Our US distributor is Dinky Dyes. Our Australian distributors are Craftbook Wholesalers and Ristal Threads. Our New Zealand distributor is David Bateman.
For all those of you who think something is missing from the photo, yes, I forgot to put my glasses on! I’m not being vain, I just forgot, as I often don’t wear my glasses at home.  Oh, and as of yesterday I have quite a lot less hair – new haircut – so that’s missing also!
When you have a book printed, there is the option of having what are called “Advance copies” sent. This means pretty much what you might think it would mean – some copies are sent in advance of the main shipment. Two copies are the usual quantity.
I got an email from my printers last night to let me know that my advance copies are on their way from Hong Kong. While there was one occasion that I received a parcel from Hong Kong the day after it was sent (and was QUITE amazed!) I am not actually expecting that they will arrive today, as I think tomorrow is more likely.
Whenever they arrive, this is terribly exciting! It will be the very first time I have held this book in my hands! I had forgotten about the advance copies, and was only anticipating the actual shipment itself, so this is a lovely surprise.
 Do you have any questions about Portuguese Whitework in general or about my upcoming book, Portuguese Whitework: Bullion Embroidery from Guimarães? Well, this is your chance to ask those questions, and if I know the answer, then I’ll definitely answer it for you. Ask away!
A few weeks ago I tantalisingly dropped it into one of my posts that I had been invited to teach on a needlework cruise early next year. I am now allowed to spill the beans on that one!
From February 10th next year, I will be teaching Portuguese Whitework and Mountmellick Embroidery on a cruise leaving from Sydney to go to New Caledonia and Fiji. There will be a great range of tutors, teaching a wide range of needlework techniques, including Prudence Mapstone with her amazing free-form knitting, Alison Cole with her beautiful goldwork, Margaret Lee with Japanese embroidery, and many others.
I’ll be teaching 2 one day classes and one 2 day class, as follows:
Portuguese Whitework panel with Yvette Stanton (1 day class)
Portuguese Whitework bookmark with Yvette Stanton (1 day class)
Mountmellick Pomegranate Oval doily with Yvette Stanton (2 day class) 
I’m really looking forward to the cruise. I’ve never been on a cruise before (though I have been on boat trips, and managed ok without seasickness!) and I think the idea of some needlework, some relaxing and some touristing is a fabulous one! I actually thought some years back that teaching needlework on a cruise would be an excellent thing to do. I’ve just had to wait for the market to catch up with me!
If you’re interested in learning more about this cruise and booking your place, please head on over to the cruise website. I look forward to meeting you on the cruise!
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White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations quality needlework books and embroidery products. You can see turn-the-page previews of my books at
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