I spent a very happy few hours at the British Museum at the weekend visiting the 'Shakespeare: Staging the world Exhibition'. It's on until the 25th of November so you still have time to see, amongst other things, Guy Fawke's lantern, a coin cast by Brutus on the death of Caesar and a 1600's bed valance looking as good as the day it was woven!

I also had the chance to look through a few of the rooms and came across these wonderful Egyptian painting objects:

Paint: Ancient samples of red ochre, Egyptian blue and green grit

Paint brushes made from palm fibre, stained with ancient paint and bitumen

Painter's pallette inscribed with the names of two royal scribes Amenotep and Minnakht.

 When you see these things and then look at Egyptian paintings, they are even more inspiring! These items are on permanent display in the Egyptian galleries at the museum. 

There is a new video to view on my 'How to...' page! See how I created my latest silk shading piece, 'The Blue Columbine' for a 3 day class in the beautiful Denver Botanic Gardens this autumn. You can view it right here

The Blue Columbine

If you live on, or are visiting the West coast of the USA, don't miss the amazing new exhibition, 'Rudolf Nureyev: A Life in Dance' on at the De Young Fine Arts Museums, San Francisco. This is a must see for anyone interested in embroidery/costume/ballet with over 80 costumes on display, displayed magnificently as usual by the De Young.

Read more about the exhibition by clicking here or on the image above. To read more about Rudolf Nureyev, visit the official website: Nureyev

The long awaited Tiger blackwork kit is now available in the shop! Based on an original apprenticeship piece designed and stitched by myself, this Tiger is worked on 28 count Bantry (Quaker) linen and the kit comes with everything you need to work this piece including linen, needles, threads and very comprehensive instructions; consider it a lesson in a kit! Due to the complexity of the design, this kit is more suited to those with some experience of counted embroidery.

If you need something a little simpler to get you going, cross stitch is a great place to start. You could try my new 'Red Rose' cross stitch kit or look out for some smaller cross stitch designs on their way soon!

Now available in the shop, a new cross stitch kit on 18 count aida, based on an original watercolour painting by myself:

This kit contains everything you need including aida, stranded cottons pre sorted onto an organiser, and an easy to follow stitching chart.

Click here to buy your kit