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Together We Stitch – Hilton Hotel in Bradford

We had a lovely time at the Hilton in Bradford- thirty guests for the weekend and numerous day ladies for the Saturday. Our room was lovely and spacious and had plenty of daylight. Lots of stitching completed and shopping done! I am working on some more venues for 2011 – keep an eye on Events and Classes

Whistle Stop Trip to Norway

Bill and I have just spent a couple of days in Norway and we managed to fit everything in to the two days including a visit to the Ullensvang Hotel in Loftus. The trip was partly to research my new CD Book Hardanger for the Horrified and also to talk to the hotel about another trip to Norway in 2012. We may have some good news…….

]]> http://janesjournal.thecrossstitchguild.com/index.php/our-weekend-at-bradford-and-more/feed/ 1 http://janesjournal.thecrossstitchguild.com/index.php/csg-design-and-pattern-book-ready-soon/ http://janesjournal.thecrossstitchguild.com/index.php/csg-design-and-pattern-book-ready-soon/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:11:29 +0000 fowlerjane http://janesjournal.thecrossstitchguild.com/?p=208

It is on the way!It all started with the amazing response to our Stitch That Bundles mentioned in a Cross Stitch Guild magazine. (If not already a Member go to Join us) We thought we would produce one of these really clever books including lots of our archive material because it  is no longer possible to keep back issues for eternity, but  we still have requests for some of our older projects.

Vivienne Wells, our Editorial Director and one of the Directors of Rainbow Disks is beavering away working on this CD Rom Book and we intend to post this to you before Christmas!  The idea is that the “book” goes in your computer and you can either stitch from the screen or print out the project you need with all the instructions and diagrams. You can, of course, print out the whole book if you want but why not just print the bits you need?

I am just learning about this technology and I am simply amazed by the flexibility of the medium. You can click to information pages, click to suppliers web sites and all without turning a page. It is marvellous for the CSG and for yours truly because we can now  produce wonderful specialised books without the problems of large print runs and very high overheads. I feel a Hardanger book coming on and one that will include film of the dreaded cutting procedure! If you would like a copy of  the new CD Rom, just click here and it will take you to our online shop. They will be posted 1st class the day we receive the stock and by Airmail the same day.

The Sampler Book

Samples of the Pages

Detail from the Hardanger Page

This  exquisite project was designed and stitched by Sue Hawkins, our first Technical Director and has been worked over the past year, usually at Together We Stitch Events.  Sue has decided that now that the book is complete, it should be available as a CSG Project available to all and not just those able to join us at our events.  As a result, you can now buy the complete kit and reproduce the book or adapt it to make it your own.  Go to Special Counted Projects to order on line.

The original idea came from a visit to the Museum of Art & Industry in Copenhagan, where we were shown a 18th Century book sampler (rather like a child’s rag book) and Sue was simply inspired. The book is made up of a linen cover with a folded hem,which is fairly plain so you can decorate it at will. There are a further six pages using different techniques including pulled and drawn thread, Hardanger, hemstitch, counted thread stitches and pure cross stitch. Simply a treasure – we are very grateful to Sue Hawkins for all her hard work over the past twelve years and particularly for this lovely project.

The Ullensvang Hotel at Lofthus, on the Hardanger Fjord

Stitching in the Garden Room

I am going to find it difficult to talk about our recent wonderful trip to the Hardanger area of Norway and our superb hotel without sounding as if I am showing off. Our original hotel had cancelled our booking so we were upgraded to the Ullensvang Hotel at Lofthus. Owned by the Utne family, this hotel simply hit all the targets. Beautiful bedrooms and superb views across the water. We had a free day near the end of the holiday and sat in the Garden room and stitched and stitched and stitched – simply Heaven!

I must thank all the people we met on our trip, who combined to make it an unforgettable experience. Our visits to Husfliden in Bergen, our day at the Folk Museum in Utne learning Hardanger embroidery and the scenery exceeded even my expectations. With the snow still melting, the waterfalls seen from our bus were breathtaking and when Malcolm (our long suffering coach driver) put Edvard Grieg on the bus CD player, I do not think there was a dry eye to be seen! Perfect…….

On Saturday 26th April, Sue Hawkins and I are off to Norway with our coach load of stitching ladies and a few long suffering husbands – The phone will be manned at HQ but it may a bit patchy this week. Apologies for that.Whilst away, Sue and I will be putting plans together for next year’s stitching holiday so keep on eye on these pages as you will see it here first.I thought you would like to see proof that we have a lovely time when we have a stitching day at Pink’s Barn- The sun shone and we worked a Hardanger project – I was getting in to practice for Saturday! A lovely day was had by all – I know some of the group stayed locally and continued to enjoy their weekend treat!