Bound For Glory - Sad Loss of 2 Fishermen's Friends in Guildford

The Fishermen's Friends raised countless thousands of pounds for charity singing on summer beaches around Cornwall so we are really sad to hear of the death of the tour manager Paul McMullen and singer Trevor Grills after being bizarrely crushed by a falling metal door at G Live, in nearby Guildford, on Sunday. These are hearts of oak.

The Last Beatrix Potter Companion Printed Chart

We decided to have an early spring clean and while clearing down our files, I came across 4 Beatrix Potter Companion printed charts. Three have just been sold and there is only 1 remaining. The sampler is called the Beatrix Potter Companion because of its close resemblance to the one that belonged to Beatrix. I purchased this sampler a number of years ago and gifted it to Ackworth School. Out of print now for a number of years (it is still available as a pdf download), these printed copies are the very last left to my knowledge and you can buy a copy now for $25 to include airmail postage to wherever you live in the world. The chart comes with background information on the Quaker School at Milverton and A Swan's Tale - about the differing versions of that iconic swan medallion. I am sorry these are all sold now.

Alderney Islanders Create Finale of The Bayeaux Tapestry

Alderney is a tiny island situated in the Channel between England and France and has 2,400 residents. More than 400 of them have worked on the stitching of this finale to the Bayeaux Tapestry.

It was thought for some time that final panels were missing from the original 70 metre long tapestry which recounts in stitches the last days of King Harold and the fateful battle of Hastings. The most obvious is surely the culmination of the piece - the victorious coronation of the Conqueror on Christmas Day 1066.

Members of the Alderney Tapestry Project started the project a year ago and have just finished. Up to 6 stitchers were working on the tapestry every hour. Kate Russell, Alderney librarian, along with 416 Alderney residents worked on the project. As did some notable guests - see the image of Charles and Camilla below.

The finished ending to the Bayeux Tapestry will be unveiled in Alderney on 1 April. To visit the Tapestry Website click here.

Feller Collection Jacobean Sweet Bag Workshop @ Ashmolean Museum Museum, Oxford * Limited Places * 2/3 August 2013

To celebrate the publication of the two-volume Micheál and Elizabeth Feller: the Needlework Collection (2011-12), students will create a needlepoint silk embroidered stitch sweet bag with matching braid, inspired by a Jacobean floral bag in the Feller collection. During the 17th century small, richly embroidered purses, often referred to today as sweet bags, were filled with fragrant flowers and herbs or were used to carry precious objects or alms for the poor. Worked in silk and metal threads on a linen ground, designs included botanical motifs encircled with branching scrolls and geometric diaper patterns. Jacqui Carey, author of Sweet Bags and Elizabethan Stitches: A Guide to Historic English Needlework, will teach historic braid making on the 2nd day of the workshop. The workshop with a maximum of 20 places will be on 2 & 3 August 2013 at The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and the fee for the two-day course is £175 (concessions £165). Booking through the Ashmolean Museum opens in July 2013. In the meantime if you are interested in attending this event, please email info@ornamentalembroidery.com