Jo Avery – the Blog

New Embroidery Book and GIVEAWAY!!

Last week I was sent this beautiful new Embroidery book by the publisher’s Jaqui Small.
Sophie Long (who worked on Kate Middleton’s wedding dress!) has put together the most exquisite book on needlework that I have ever seen.
As well as instructions on every technique imaginable it also features a wealth of textile inspiration. Just about every page is sewing eye candy.

Here’s a page on crewelwork.
But what’s that you say? That little fellow holding a chicken? Yes he does look familiar…

 … it’s Boris the Bear! The first of my range of Woodland embroideries I designed last year. I had totally forgotten that I had been asked to submit some photos for a new book, as it was over a year ago.
But then I got an email from the publisher’s last week and then the book arrived!

 I am really honoured to be a featured contributor in such a gorgeous book as this. And in such incredible company! Look at that amazing pumpkin above!

 Here’s a page on quilting, including the wonderful Silly Boo Dilly’s Victoria Gertenbach on the left.

And further on in the quilting section I crop up again! That photo at the top is the back of Felix’s Colour Picker quilt.

I really could have opened the book at any page and showed you beautiful work. At £30 it’s an investment, but if you are going to buy one book on embroidery and hand sewing then make it Mastering the Art of Embroidery by Sophie Long.

And now for the Giveaway!
Jacqui Small has very kindly given me another copy of the book to giveaway to one of my lucky readers!

And I have added to this with a copy of the Boris embroidery pattern, Essex linen and all the Anchor embroidery cottons required to complete the picture! So the winner will have absolutely no excuse not to get started on some embroidery straight away!

So would you like to win that fantastic package above? Just follow one or all of these steps:

1. Leave me a comment. I’d like to hear your thoughts on embroidery, do you like it? Have you made something wonderful? Do you own some old embroidery made by a relative? Do you hate it? Are you just getting round to it? Just chat to me on this subject, as briefly as you like.
2. Are you one of my dear followers? Let me know in a separate comment and you get another shot.
3. Post or tweet about this giveaway and get yourself one more shot at winning!

This giveaway is open to international entries and will close at midnight next Wednesday 1st May.
Good luck everyone!!

myBearpaw 124 comments

124 comments

  1. I am a casual embroiderer – it pops up occasionally in my hands but not often. I do enjoy it while I'm doing it though! My Grandma and her sisters were lovely needle workers. I have a few pieces they made but my favourite is a well loved table runner with garden flowers embroidered on it and visible repair work!

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  3. I have only done a bit of embroidery in my almost 39 years but I want to do more. I was lucky to be in your swap group at FQR last year so I own one of your original handcrafts so this would be really special to win 🙂

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  5. I love embroidery. I guess it's because I find machine sewing so unforgiving. Like most people, I think of my grandparents when I see embroidered linens…. so much effort in an everyday item. I love to draw and see embroidery as a way of making the sketches come to life. Don't even get me started on the Great Tapestry Of Scotland…such an amazing project.

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  6. Love all sorts of sewing and embroidery. Just embroidered some of the Scottish Tapestry and loved it, great chance to try something different,and create a little bit of history too.

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  10. Jo, what a lovely book and I adore Boris! I hadnt embroidered fro years until i started swapping and now i am getting the bug again. This is all very inspiring. well done you again

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  14. Hiya Jo, awesome! Congratulations on being featured. Twice no less! I love embroidery and used to do tons of crosstich before moving on to something more challenging. As you know, all crafting is on the backburner at the moment but embroidery is one of the things on my list I want to get back into, so the book would be most welcome on my shelf!

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  17. I do like some embroidery and I made some little ones. There are so many cute projects you can make or just give something a little extra. It is perfect for working on the go as you do not need lots of things with you.
    I did some stitching on a tote bag for a swap, made a table runner with cute birdies and now I am on a cross stitch owl. So sometimes I like it!

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  18. I haven't done embroidery in a long time, but it would be fun to start again. 🙂 And maybe embellish a crazy quilt some day… some day… I used to do a lot of counted cross stitch, and remember stitching x's on a pair of blue pillowcases in my teens.

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  21. I love to embroider!! When I was a girl my Mom bought me those little kits that had a stamped pattern, all the floss and step-by-step instructions on the stiches. Seeing the finished design emerge as I worked was so much fun and started my love of "couch projects." Now I love to make my own designs and pick my colors and stitches but I wouldn't have learned without those little kits.

    I wanted to buy some for my niece years ago and I couldn't find them anymore (so sad …. ) so I ended up making up a little kit for her on my own.

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  28. I would love to have a good pour over this book. I have loved looking at the Scottish History embroidery project that is happening, and have been inspired to think about what I might like to create with a needle and thread. Also, I recently started keeping chickens so this would be a fun starter project for me!

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  30. I love embroidery and have recently finished my first piece of stump work – I found the process of covering the wire very, very addictive! Oh, and I love Boris! Congratulations on being featured!

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  34. I love embroidery. As a little girl, I learned how to cross stitch, and have done that a lot. As an adult, I have ventured into stitchery as part of my quilting. I have also bought myself an embroidery machine, that does it all my itself. I love the redwork it produses and the combination of applique and embroidery.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  38. It does look like an incredibly beautiful book, love your embroidery of Boris the Bear, he's so cool! Ialso did quite a lot of cross stitch as a child and into my late teens, and then stopped, I do the occasional embroidery and really enjoy it, i wish i had time to do more! :o)

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  39. I love love love doing hand embroidery. I learned from my grandmother when I was around 8 years old. I picked it up again about four years ago and haven't stopped since. I feel really lucky to have a few towels that she embroidered.

    Thank you for the chance to win!

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  41. Hi Jo, I am new to embroidery and for some mad reason chose a scandinavian design on 32 count linen as one of my 1st projects ! Having said that i love it, i like the neatness of working to a chart. I would like to have a go at more 'free' embroidery though. Maria

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  43. You know I love embroidery but I am prone to sarcastic phrases in thread rather than pretty pictures. I really need to expand my repertoire! Lovely giveaway, Jo. But better yet, how wonderful for you to be features in the book. A well deserved featuring it is.

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  47. I absolutely LOVE embroidery!! I first learned cross stitch but when I purchased an embroidery kit to make a tiger for my Husband I fell in love right away. I love the freedom embroidery gives a crafter. You can embroider on almost any surface, you just have to be creative sometimes. I love that I can take a picture of anything or draw up something myself and then embroider it. I can add beads, buttons, or twigs if I want and have a wonderful finished item.

    The embroidery book looks like it is a wonderful book to look through over and over again. I like all the bright colorful pictures.

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  48. I love embroidery, my mother used to do crewelwork (she made me a Raggedy Ann that hung in my bedroom my whole childhood). This looks like a beautiful book!

    emzucker at gmail

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  49. I so love embroidery. It was the first fiber art I learned as a child, when I was 5 years old, taught by my mother. That would have been 56 years ago, when aprons and pillowcases were our 5 and dime store choices. Embroidered linens were in most of my familys' homes. I still have a few today.

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  57. I can feel a bout of embroidery coming on! I made some felted balls at Christmas to hang on the tree, and decorated them with clusters of french knots. I'd love to give crewelwork a go. x

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  59. My first love is hand stitching- embroidery, cross stitch, hand quilting! I am happy when I have a needle in my hand! Congratulations to you and Boris for featuring in such a quality publication!

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  61. I Love embroidery. I have sewn quite a few nice things, but always want to learn more. Also I own a couple of things done by my great grandmother who was an expert sewer. My favourite is a hat sewn with embroidered roses done before there was a true green dye for thread. The greenery is olive green. It is beautiful.

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  65. Oh Jo…congrats on being in the book…that's awesome! What a great little guy that Boris!

    Yes…you know I like to embroider. I really don't do it enough now a days but just yesterday I was looking for something to put on the top of my cedar chest to protect it from the sun and I found some lovely old stuff from my relatives and I immediately thought of how you have been incorporating old and new stuff…such a great idea!:)

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  67. I love embroidery – especially vintage ones – I have found some awesome vintage pieces and my I have the ones my grandmother made – they are amazing = and in great condition and I do use them 🙂 I enjoy the zen that comes along with stitching!

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  70. I have done a little embroidery but am always drawo it. My five year old daughter is just starting with some small projects which makes me want to do more. I have a bunch of my grandmother's things – my favorite being a large tablecloth with beautiful embroidery all around. So colorful. She began many projects like that though I'm not sure how many she finished!

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  72. I love to embroider as it's such a portable craft. Very handy when you have a four year old who loves to go to the playground and climb for hours. I have, of course embroidered your lovely Hester and she's still one of my favourite things I made ever! I'm planning on making another one for my best friend who loves rabbits and the sampler tree. But I would put both on hold to start with Boris 🙂
    Thank you so much for the chance of winning this fabulous book and the Boris kit.

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  78. This is a wonderful book which I recently found in my library and have already used it to help me start some simple embroidery It is easy to follow and the pictures are wonderful. I would love my own copy.

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  80. Oh wow, that looks like a fab book. I got Hoopla last year and that just blew me away. I like to embroider but truth is, I just cant draw, so I get frustrated not being able to do my own designs. And I ALWAYS forget how to do any of the really nice stitch combinations. Crap memory!!

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  82. I love both doing and collecting embroidery work along with applique! My Mom and my Aunts (there were quite a few) taught me how when I was young. I cherish the pieces that have been passed down to me from them. This looks like a terrific book for experiencing different techniques and getting creative ideas. Thank You for the chance at a great giveaway!

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  83. Congratulations Jo! You are quite the accomplished lady!
    I was taught to embroider as a little girl by my Mum and Granny and I love it! I don't seem to have time more recently to do as much as I'd like though. Thanks for a lovely giveaway! x

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  85. just luuurve all the woodland friends….inspired by them….bought some old 1930's childrens books…going to translate some of the illustrations into naive folksy samples….still lust after yours' though!!!love your adventures….Jeannette aka bonzogirl

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  90. Love embroidery but don't have quite the skills that I've seen in this book. I've done tea towels and small things. Next I'd like to try a crazy quilt and add lots of embroidery to it.

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  91. I don't know how to embroidery, but Im thinking about learning it soon. I think it looks so cool. Plus it would look good on a quilt or a bag. Thanks for the chance to win. This book looks great!

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  97. I haven't embroidered since a was a child, but feel really inspired by the more contemporary projects and designs and would love to learn new techniques, if only there was more time to get all those ideas into practice. I love your work and am very pleased for you to have so much of your work published recently. The book looks amazing!

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  100. I did my first piece of embroidery on a sampler when I was about 5 or 6, and I hated every minute of it. I'm pretty sure I never finished it. When I moved into my first house (my first mine-mine-all-mine-and-no-one-else house, anyway), I found a piece of embroidery my mom did when she was four, one that my grandmother framed. It's up on my wall right now. I didn't try again till I was about 39 and my mom had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. I passed by a craft shop and just decided I had to give it another go. I've done a handful of small things since then – I can't do much at a time because of chronic tendonitis – but when I do it, I try to do pieces that amuse me or are relevant to the person I'm giving it to.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/bladerunnerpdx/4216802702/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/bladerunnerpdx/5337411605/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/bladerunnerpdx/6592267049/

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  101. I've been embroidering since I was 4 yrs. old (60 yrs. ago). My mom taught me and sooo glad she did. Over the years I've completed many projects, mostly given away as gifts to family and friends. As a quiltmaker, I incorporate hand embroidery on block style as well as whole cloth quilts. At the moment, I'm embroidering my grandchildren's favorite cartoon characters and video game characters as appliques to put onto pillowcases for them. I'm taking a break over the summer months to teach myself several new-to-me embroidery stitches. Quite an exciting adventure! Thanks for the chance to win. Your Cathedral Window cushion is stunning! Sandy

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  102. I don't do embroidery, but just this weekend I met a young lady who's getting ready for college in the fall. She mentioned to me that she'd be bringing her embroidery with her. If I won your giveaway, I'd find her at her college which is local to me and make sure she got this book. How fun that would be!

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  105. How exciting! I am a multi crafter- I knit, crochet (just finished an african flower garden) cross stitch and have been practicing embroidery. I am pretty new at that and feeling a bit like I am all thumbs! 🙂

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  106. I love embroidery and I do some every single day. I have a lot of other crafty interests but they take a back seat, always. 🙂

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  109. I think I love embroidery more as I get older. I've been making my labels with quilts using a loosely woven cotton and a pattern here and there that I've fallen in love with. Makes me happy to include a little hand stitching on a quilt. Sometimes figuring out what to stitch is the hardest part for me. 🙂

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  110. And I'm a follower. 🙂 I love all your posts, but have especially been intrigued by your posts on the tapestry of Scotland. Beautiful work, and such a community spirit behind it.

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  111. Although I used to do a lot, I haven't embroidered in several years. I've been drawn back to it lately and am hoping to start to incorporate it into one of my next quilts.

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  116. when i was a young mother, I embroidered every free moment! Sundays were spent sitting next to my husband while he watch football! I would stitch!
    And then one day i put it all away and didn't touch embroidery again for many, many years. I have recently returned and found the passion never really went away! Only this time around – there is the internet! and the connection to creative and skilled embroidery masters the world over. It is a treat to reawaken to this new world of embroidery!

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  117. Yes! I am a follower! If that means I have you tucked away in my reader and make it a point to visit every time you post. Your blog appears in my category "eye candy"! It is where I keep the truly beautiful blogs and those that inspire me.

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  118. I have the tablecloth my grandmother was working on when she was killed crossing the road after getting off a bus (I'm told it was her fault) and a tablecloth that my dad had started but I had never seen him work on! I should post about them both sometime!

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  119. This follower congratulates you on being published! Very exciting!

    And I forgot to say in my previous post, yes, I love embroidery!

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  120. I have recently gone back to a piece of hand embroidery i originally started more than 25years ago, A beautiful May Morris Arts and crafts design in chain and satin stitch. Determined to finish in the next year!!

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  122. I have done cross stitch for years and have attempted putting together some quilting panels but I am definitely a hand stitcher. So I recently went along to an introductory class at the Royal School of Needlework, paid for me as a gift.This was the day before that book was published and I fell in love with it instantly when we were shown a copy but didn't have the money to buy a copy direct from Sophie, who was taking a class in the next room at the time. I would love a copy as I really want to continue learning surface embroidery and this book would give me the confidence to try. Keeping my fingers crossed tight!

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  123. I love embroidery. I learned when I was 12 in primary school in Sr.Margaret's class. She was fussy and insisted on the back being as neat as the front but I have to thank her for it. I made the odd tablecloth, cover for the arms of the sofas but have been neglectful of late and would love to stitch Boris for a cushion. I follow your blog using netvibes RSS reader!

    Reply

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