Plans for a More Prominent Exhibition of the Micheál and Elizabeth Collection Exhibition at The Ashmolean Means 2014 Schedule.

The good news is that greater prominence will now being given to the Micheál and Elizabeth Feller Collection at the Ashmolean Museum, however, so a larger space can be allocated, the exhibition dates will now be 2014 and not 2013 as previously advertised.

Free Jigsaw Download * Little Moreton Hall by Mrs Holdsworth

Little Moreton Hall in Congleton, Cheshire, is one of those iconic and quintessentially black and white timbered Tudor manor houses that is always a delight to explore - not least for its long gallery under the eaves, its knot garden and ghosts! Click here for more details of how to visit. And I so delight in having this stitched picture of it worked by my husband's Mum, Hilda. I have not been able to find a pattern for it - I don't even know where this pattern came from and if it still exists - perhaps someone can help?

To download the jigsaw - Click here next Click Open, then click the .EXE file name and click Run, when you see the jigsaw puzzle, click Play Too many pieces? Try clicking on Trays on the top tool bar to create any number of resizeable trays to sort your pieces ........ you can also click the Cheat button and watch the puzzle solve itself! The software is by David Gray designer of Jigsaws Galore - the powerful jigsaw player and creator for Windows.

Elena's Stunning Peacock Eye Mirror

There were a number of entries from France. Personally, I was knocked sideways when I was shown Elena's work. This fabulous, bold and well-conceived design is magnificent in its simplicity and effect. The design with its five peacock tail eyes is custom made for the mirror's roundel and the symbolism of pride made me smile hugely, too.

This palette of colours with its acid chartreuse lifting up those sumptious turquoises and blues, threaded with purple, has such power. Texturally, it is rich with its immaculately laid flat stitches and couched work with the careful placing of beads at the centre.

How do you get something to sit round a circular form? The solution Elena provides is again simple and effective, the cloth is neatly gathered and the vocabulary of the front is again referenced with the application of beads, this time with the addition of gold and chartreuse to echo the palette of the front. For me this was perfection. A great designer and embroiderer.

Samplers & Darners From Amsterdam's Orphanage - New Book By Berthi Smith-Sanders

Many congratulations to Berthi Smith-Sanders on the completion of her beautiful and important new book which will be available in February 2013. Berthi writes: Needlework was still a part of the curriculum while I was attending elementary school. Many years later, I also learned to knit and in the 1970s, I embroidered my first sampler. In 1995, I began to study old Dutch samplers. Best of all, I enjoy discovering the history and the ‘story’ that lies behind old samplers. In 1996, in just one purchase I was able to buy ten samplers. Remarkably, except for one sampler, they were all made by young girls stemming from one family. The earliest dated samplers (1799, 1835, 1836) originated from the Amsterdam Civic Orphanage and the remainder were home embroidered. What made these samplers even more remarkable, was that they contained personal anecdotes transferred from mother to daughter. In addition to the historical information derived from the Amsterdam City Archives, these samplers contain wonderful stories which in turn I wish to share with my readers.

Entitled Merk- en stoplappen uit het Burgerweeshuis Amsterdam. (Samplers and darning samplers from the Amsterdam Civic Orphanage) It has a total of 164 pages and is richly illustrated with many full colour photos and charts. All the samplers are depicted page size. Also included is a separate sheet with a chart of one of the samplers and a three page English summary (the main text is in Dutch). It is soft cover and measures 20 x 25 cm. ISBN: 978-90-807994-0-0.

The introduction price until 18 February 2013 is € 24.95 (excluding P&P), after 18 February 2013 the price will be € 27.50 (excluding P&P). The packing and postage to the UK or to elsewhere in Europe is € 9.50. Outside Europe the P&P is € 13. To order your book simply email Berthi at berthismith@textile-collection.nl where she can take your order in English. Click here to go to Berthi's blog.