White Threads

Associazione Culturale Is Sinnus, Teulada

Before I visited Teulada to research for my book “Sardinian Knotted Embroidery: Whitework from Teulada”, I arranged to meet up with members of their town’s cultural association, Associazione Culturale Is Sinnus, Teulada, while I was there. Prior to our visit, I had email contact with two men in the group, who organised my meetings with them all.

The first meeting was arranged by the very helpful Umberto, who took me to see Maria, who was one of the ladies in the group. We visited Maria in her home. Neither Umberto nor Maria spoke English, so Umberto organised for Violetta (whose family’s establishment we were staying at – Residenza Locci – highly recommended!) to accompany us and act as interpreter. They were all very kind to spend this time with me.

Maria showed me her beautiful Punt ‘e Nù embroidery, and with Violetta’s help, answered many of my questions. We spent much time identifying the different motifs on the embroidery, such as almonds, crosses, teeth (I don’t think I’ll ever forget Maria tapping on her teeth and saying “dentini”!) etc. Violetta had quite a challenge with translating some words for me, knowing the French word for almond, “amande”, (“mandorla” in Italian, “menduledda” in Sardinian) but not the English. However, once she said “amande” I knew what she was talking about!

I also had another meeting organised by Ruben, with a larger group from Associazione Culturale Is Sinnus, Teulada. It turned out that the meeting place for this was just around the corner from where we were staying.

They were a very welcoming, generous group of people, who were gracious enough to share their beautiful embroidery and cultural heritage with me. They had made a large display on several tables of their Punt ‘e Nù and Puntu a Brodu (the other main style of embroidery that is done in the town). I was able to ask many questions, as again they had organised an interpreter for me, from the local tourist office. (They were so kind!) I spent a lovely hour or two with them all.

From both meetings I went back to where I was staying and immediately wrote copious notes, so that I didn’t forget everything!

I also visited the local library one afternoon to try to see a copy of a booklet I knew about, but hadn’t yet seen. It was a small booklet about the two embroidery styles of the town. Because I didn’t speak any Italian (apart from rudimentary basics) before I went I used Google Translate to write out what I wanted to say, to hand to the librarian. I handed him my note, and he indicated that he would go to find it. He rummaged around in a cupboard beneath the stairs and produced two copies for me. “Gratuito!” he said, presenting me with them. Even I knew enough about romantic languages to know that it meant he was giving them to me! I was shocked and so very grateful. “Grazie!”

It was indicative of the sort of kindness I met, during my time in Teulada. They were so pleased to have someone come all the way from Australia to learn more about their embroidery. They want the world to see it, as they are so very proud of it! (And rightly so!)

And they would probably be pleased to know that I have started learning Italian since I have returned home. However, as they speak Sardinian in Sardinia (its own language, not a dialect of Italian), I’m not sure that it would get me through all situations! But at least it is a start. 🙂

If you are interested in visiting Teulada, I encourage you to do it. There is lots to see in the region, very lovely beaches on the nearby coast if you want to do a bit of nothing, and a rich cultural heritage to explore. If you can time your visit right, you may be able to see a religious festival procession, and see the people dressed in their traditional costumes featuring lots of beautiful embroidery, which would be a real treat!

We really enjoyed our five day stay in Teulada, and found it very relaxing. Because it is in the south of the island, we used it as a base from which to explore southern Sardinia. Maybe that’s a post for another day!

Sardinian Knotted Embroidery now available for pre-order

It’s what you’ve all been waiting for: “Sardinian Knotted Embroidery: Whitework from Teulada” is now available for pre-publication ordering. This means that if you order now, when our shipment arrives in July, we’ll send your copy to you as soon as it arrives! If the shipment arrives earlier, we’ll send your copy earlier!

What will I be getting in “Sardinian Knotted Embroidery”?
Sardinian Knotted Embroidery: Whitework from Teulada by Yvette Stanton introduces you to Punt ‘e Nù, a style of whitework from Teulada in Sardinia, Italy. Punt ‘e Nù is a counted embroidery that uses a simple knotted stitch to create geometric designs.

The book is 104 pages, with 11 beautiful projects. The projects include small projects such as a pendant with an embroidered insert, a biscornu, and a petite doily which is an excellent introduction to all the techniques used in Punt ‘e Nù. For those who prefer larger projects, there is a cushion, a tablecloth, a table runner, and even a dress with an embroidered border at the hem (the dress pattern is included). There are 2 pattern sheets with full size patterns for the embroideries, and a multi-size pattern for the dress.

The stitch and technique instructions are of the same high standard you’ve come to expect from my books, with written step-by-step instructions accompanied by clear diagrams to illustrate what you should be doing.

But don’t just take my word for it, sit back and enjoy our book trailer!

For those who are unable to view the video preview (because you receive this as an email), you can view the book trailer here.

Please share the video with all your friends. If you click on the little “<" shaped icon in the top right hand corner of the video border, you can share the video on your favourite social media platform. Or if you are viewing it on the actual YouTube page, you can email it to your friends, and share it on Facebook and any other social media platform that you may care to.

You can also read more about Punt’e Nù in general on the Vetty Creations website, and there’s a picture of me learning about the embroidery when I visited Teulada.

Now that you’ve read and seen all about the book, do you have further questions? Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about the book.

Sardinian Knotted Embroidery: Whitework from Teulada by Yvette Stanton will be available around the world from your favourite needlework store, in mid to late 2014. Ask them to get it in for you. Give them the ISBN: 978-0-9757677-6-4, as that will help them to source it. Vetty Creations has an excellent distribution network, with distributors in Australia, UK/Europe, North America, and New Zealand.

I hope you love the book, and that it gives you many happy hours of enjoyable stitching!

Sardinian Knotted Embroidery cover proof

The other day the proofs arrived from the printer for me to check. There were two sets. One set is known as dyelines, and they’re for general checking, and to make sure all the pages are in the correct order. The second set is the colour proofs. The colour is checked on these proofs, and the printers use them as a guide for matching their colour to, on the press.

Most people have never seen a proof before, because it just isn’t really part of every day life! This is what the proof of the cover for Sardinian Knotted Embroidery looks like.

In the top left-hand corner there’s some writing. That identifies the job, and probably says a whole lot of other things, but I wouldn’t know what, because much of it is in Chinese. At the middle of each side (including top and bottom) are the registration marks, which look like a circle with a cross through them.

When printing with plates, they use one plate for each ink, of which there are usually four: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK – written in shorthand as CMYK. The registration marks are on each plate, and by matching these up, they can check that all the plates properly align. If they didn’t, one colour might print slightly out of registration, and the whole thing wouldn’t look quite right.
Near the corners are the crop marks, which tell the printers where the cover should be trimmed to. You can see that the images extend well past the crop marks. This is called “bleed” and it is there so that if the trimming is a little off, you don’t end up with a white unprinted bit down the sides. Graphic designers usually use about 4-5mm of bleed, though why, I don’t know, because these days the trimming is so precise it really isn’t necessary to use so much. I would think that these days 2-3mm would suffice. I guess it is a throwback to past times when the whole process wasn’t such a precision thing!

Lastly, there is the colour bar at the bottom. I’m talking from assumption here, because I don’t actually *know* how they use these. My assumption is that the printers also print this when they’re printing the book – it wasn’t on every page of the proofs, just some – and will use it to check that the printing press has the right mix of inks and therefore the colours match. If, for example, they found that when it was on the press it was printing with a bit too much magenta (looking too pink), they could reduce the amount of magenta ink being used, and therefore get the colours to match.

I’ve now checked all the proofs and signed off on them, and sent them back to the printers. This stage is my very last chance to make any changes. I made 9 small text changes – mostly finicky little things that only a graphic designer (like me) would pick up, and care about, but overall make the whole thing look better. If I don’t make them now, then the next chance to make changes is when all the books in the first print run have been sold, and I order a reprint.

In past times, it would have been very expensive to make changes at this stage, because new plates would have to be made for each of the changes. Depending on whether the changes were in colour or not, it could be just one plate (black) or all four of them (CMYK). However, now that the proofing process is digital, the plates are made AFTER proofing, so it isn’t the huge, expensive, big deal that it used to be.

The printer now passes the book “up the line” from the offices to the factory for actual printing. Another step closer.

The next time I see anything of this book will be when the advance copies arrive on my doorstep by courier. And that will be another exciting day.

old Hardanger runner

Last night my fingers needed something to do. I think I’ve been missing stitching, since finishing off the book. I went and found the old Hardanger runner I’ve had floating around my office since I discovered it, unfinished in a drawer last year. Until I’ve figured out what book I’m going to do next, this can keep my hands happy.

When I found the runner last year, I didn’t remember it at all. This isn’t terribly surprising, because when I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome about 5 years ago, it wiped bits of my memory. So I wasn’t sure how old it was, just that it was definitely pre-CFS. It was obviously my work, and my design, because I practically never stitch anything that isn’t my design. I have too many ideas of my own to spend time working other people’s designs!

The runner didn’t have a pattern with it, and there were some areas which I wasn’t really sure what I had planned for it. So this morning I started up my very, very old desktop computer to see if I could find the pattern on it. No such luck. It did seem though, that I had cleared out most of the files from the computer in preparation for decommissioning it. That meant that if the pattern still existed, it would be on my external hard drive.

Bingo! With some searching, there it was, from way back in 2005! And with it were some other designs that would certainly be good to stitch. I now have confirmation that it was definitely my design, and I can now continue on, either with the pattern as planned or make some changes to it, as I see fit.

It is lovely to be stitching again. 🙂

Hand embroidery classes for 2014

I’ve just spent the morning updating the classes page on my website. These are all the classes that are currently finalised for 2014 and 2015.

There’s a great mix of new projects and old favourites. Take a look and see which ones you’d like to join me for. By clicking on the images below, you’ll be taken to the specific page about that class.

You’ll notice that there are fewer classes than there have been in previous years. This is a conscious decision for a number of reasons. I nominated this year as a book writing year, and teaching interrupts that, so I cut down on my teaching. However, due to the increase in The Gymnast’s gymnastic commitments, I will be keeping my teaching load down for the forseeable future. It just makes it easier for my family, and as they’re my highest priority, they get first dibs on me!

If you have any questions about any of these classes, please don’t hesitate to ask. And if there are any that you think your friends will enjoy, please share the links with them!

Crazy Hair Day 2014

This being the last school day Thursday before Easter, today was Crazy Hair Day at The Gymnast’s school.

As with every year, our aim was to win. We figure that this is the one “assignment” for school that it is allowed and even *expected* that the parents will do the work (what child can do their own fantastical creation on their own head?), and therefore, we go to town!

This year was my husband’s idea: a rocket, along the lines of the Wallace and Gromit rocket.

I’m not entirely sure that it ended up looking very rocket-like, but it was still an amazing enough creation that The Gymnast was again one of the winners! (I never take this for granted – I always doubt that it’s good enough to win.) Thankfully this time, she didn’t receive yet another chocolate rabbit that she can’t eat. The teacher who was handing them out asked if anyone couldn’t have chocolate, so she was instead given an fluffy pen in the shape of a flamingo. She was extremely pleased with that!

The Husband and I spent several hours the other night creating the wire armature to support the hair. This morning it took me a couple of hours to put it all together. We were rushing a bit, but she did get to school on time. In all, I’d say it was about 4 hours of work (though not all this morning).

We had to go to the local library this afternoon, so it was amusing walking through the shopping centre seeing people’s heads turn, taking a second look, pointing and smiling. My shy, retiring (yeah, right!) daughter lapped it up…

So again, the Stanton family win at another Crazy Hair Day. That’s now six years out of seven. We’re pretty proud of our record!

If you’re new to this whole thing, and you weren’t aware that this is a big deal for our family, you can see our previous entries by clicking on the “Crazy Hair” category in the right hand column. All the previous crazy hair posts will come up in a list, and you can click on them to see the creations themselves.

related to “embroidery royalty”

Now that the book has gone off to the printers, my life has changed significantly. I took two days off at the end of last week – Thursday and Friday. It was really hard! I just kept wanting to get on with the next things for the book, and my mind kept thinking through the options for the next book, trying to set goals etc.

To keep myself otherwise occupied I did some shopping, wasted time on Facebook, continued with learning Italian with Duolingo, and went to The Gymnast’s school assembly where she received a big award for excellence in behaviour and attitude which she’s been working towards since she started school. It wouldn’t have been so hard to relax if I’d had some books to read, but the library didn’t have the two that I’ve been particularly wanting.

On Saturday night we had an extended-family dinner here for a birthday. My sister has been working on our family history for several years now, and she’s discovered all sorts of things. Apart from being related to Baz Luhrmann of The Great Gatbsy movie fame, we’re also related to “embroidery royalty”. I asked her about this on Saturday night, because I knew there was a connection, and I wanted to know what it was.

Here’s a little game. I want to you to think of the most world reknown French embroidery related company that you can. Thought of one?

Hopefully you came up with DMC?! DMC was founded in Mulhouse in France, from where many of my ancestors came. And it turns out that some of them are related to our family. The company name DMC stands for Dollfus, Mieg and Company. We’re related to both the Dollfus and Mieg families.

My sister details the connections on her blog, Becoming Prue.

It feels somewhat apt to think that I’m related to the people who founded the world’s most well known embroidery thread company.

tomorrow is the day

Well, tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow I will hand over my next book, “Sardinian Knotted Embroidery”, to my printers’ Australian rep. I’ve never actually done a face to face hand over before. Usually I parcel it all up and send it via courier. It’s a bit new for me, but it will be nice to spend some time talking about book printing with the printing fellow.

This time, writing the book has felt like a very different process for me. The most important difference is that I am not stressed. I’ve been working solidly, with very long hours, but I’ve been much more pleasant to be around. I think my family has appreciated this!

I’ve done a lot of pondering about why my stress levels are so low this time. I’ve come up with a few possibilities.

My husband thinks the cruise writing retreat was a huge contributor, because I knocked over so much of it and got a lot of thinking, writing, planning and problem solving done, without the pressures of everyday life. (And I’m all for him thinking that, because maybe then it will happen again?!)

I think that a main contributor will have been the fact that this time I brought my laptop out to the living area of the house and worked out there, instead of being stuck away in my office. It meant that I was able to continue to feel a part of family life.

But I think the biggest contributor has been that this time, I’ve got my diet sorted out. Ever since we came back from Ethiopia about four years ago, I haven’t been quite right. However, about a year or so ago, my daughter (with the same issues) and I started on the low FODMAPs diet, on the advice of our doctor. It has made a huge difference, and a very positive one. An unexpected consequence is that now I feel that I am now much more even tempered, and more expectedly, I am just generally in much better health.

So now that the book is so close to being complete, I have very mixed emotions. I feel extreme happiness (I walked around the shops while doing the grocery shopping today with a huge smile on my face), and yet also some sadness. I’ve enjoyed this book so much and now I have to say goodbye to it. All good things must come to an end…

However, even though the book files will have gone off to the printer, there will be a lot of promotional stuff to do.

I’ll need to make sure that all my distributors have everything they need to promote the book. I’m planning to make another promotional video, like I did for Portuguese Whitework. I’ll organise some book reviews, and other things so that people will hear about my book. I’ll also need to get my website up to date, with all the details of the book, so that you can start ordering it. So as you can see, there’s still lots to keep me off the streets!

But after all the hard work that I’ve just completed, I’m planning to take a day or two off. I’m going to watch some Grand Designs, read some books, and maybe do some window shopping (or lèche-vitrine as The Reader likes to call it, because that amusingly translates as “window licking”). And I might do some cooking – apart from every day meals!

And then I’m going to have to think about what comes next… The next book… Plans for classes…

I love my work. 🙂

Sardinian Knotted Embroidery – coming soon!

Here is your very first glimpse of my new book, to be released in mid to late 2014. It is called “Sardinian Knotted Embroidery: Whitework from Teulada” and features the beautiful knotted embroidery of Teulada, Sardinia.

Sardinian Knotted Embroidery by Yvette Stanton

Sardinian Knotted Embroidery: Whitework from Teulada by Yvette Stanton

More details will be released as they become available. Please share this exciting news far and wide with all your embroidering friends!

I’m still here and working hard!

I just wanted to let you know that I’m still here and working very hard! I’ve been stitching, photographing, writing, designing and illustrating.

I’m getting quite close to having a book cover ready to show you, which is very exciting. So, soon you will know something of what it is that I have been beavering away on for the last few months plus.

I’m having a lovely time, working long days doing stuff I love. I have way, way, way too much to do in the time available to me, but at least I love what I do!

I have also been thinking through all my classes, and how I will structure my teaching over the next years while my daughter is busy with her gymnastics training and competing. I have some great ideas, and in time, I will tell you all about them.

So all is well here – I’m just extremely busy working on finishing the book for you all!