Behind The Scenes

Good morning everyone, I hope you keeping well?

As promised I am going to share a bit of background information on the new book – Kew Book Of Embroidered Flowers

In May 2017 I was offered a commission by Search Press in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew to create a book on their botanical art in embroidery. I was in heaven! Not only was the subject matter dear to my heart but I felt very honoured to be associated with this time, honoured institution.

Initially I was given access to over 200,000 botanical paintings, by famous explorers and artists such as Sir Joseph Banks, and Sir William Hooker, some of which are over 160 years old. It was a mammoth task to sift through these paintings and compile a selection to use for reproduction in embroidery. I created Pinterest boards to save my favourites, and by a process of elimination, whittled it down, so I could compile a collection for use in the book.

Some of the paintings were very old and faded, so had to be cleaned up and traced in Photoshop. I decided to try and reproduce them as they would have looked originally and not with time and wear.

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The stitching, instructions, diagrams and manuscript took over 2 years to create – it was a labour of love and I gave it my all. My daughter Stacey was engaged by Search Press to do the photography – she flew over from the Uk for a visit and it was all done in my garden. It was a family affair even the cat got involved! It was so meaningful to have Stacey involved and I have her to thank for all the gorgeous photographs of my work.

In 2019 I was able to visit with Search Press and Kew Gardens where I got to meet the lovely people behind the scene, and see the extensive Kew library in the flesh. The whole experience seemed quite surreal to me and I had to keep pinching myself!

To all of you lovely people who have taken the time to email and tell me about the book, I am not able to reply to each and every one of you right now, but thank you, it is lovely to hear your thoughts and much appreciated. The book is now available worldwide. You can find more information on the book and where to buy it here.

SHOP

Your orders are all packed and shipped. Please note we have limited stock of some items in particular the Premium white Libeco Linen. The Manufacturers are trying to catch up on production due to the Covid lockdown period, so it could be some months before we receive new stock.

Monaco Linen

Some of you have emailed asking how the quality of this linen compares to the Premium linen. It is a beautiful linen, slightly heavier weight than the Premium but can be used successfully for both Needlepainting and Whitework. We have some stock and it would make a good replacement for the Premium at present.

Supreme cotton muslin

The manufacturers have discontinued production of the Supreme cotton muslin so it will no longer be available. I have done some research to try and find alternatives stockists for you – the closest I can find is the Southern Belle 200 count muslin – you can find a list here.

Iron on transfers

Some of the transfer packs are out of stock and it will take some time to get new stock. Deliveries are slow at present due to Covid, so thank you for your patience.

Till next time, wherever you are in the world, hope you are enjoying sunny skies, keep smiling and happy stitching.

Trish