Greetings, dear reader, and welcome to our April '23 newsletter!
In this month's newsletter we're featuring kits by Bothy Threads and by Heritage Crafts, and patterns by Bella Filipina and Mirabilia.
Kits
Bothy Threads has engaged a new artist - Lucy Pittaway - and she's designed some
few of our own favourites in stock.
Bothy's
the Heritage 2023 catalogue.
They've also taken on a new designer -
David Merry - who has produced a set of British birds in whole cross stitch and backstitch in outline only. We haven't had time to get any of these yet but let us know if there's any you like and we'll stock up specially.
Heritage Crafts has also released a new kit to commemorate the forthcoming coronation and we'll be stocking it (we like it better than the Bothy one!).
Patterns
Camille in Bloom. She's a little smaller than the usual ladies but, with the background and frame stitched, she's still a large project!
Patterns from the recent Nashville Fair are still coming in and there are some even for Halloween and Christmas to give us all plenty of time.
Stitching Retreat
Julie will be attending a stitching retreat in Cumbernauld near Glasgow in the middle of April and she's looking forward to meeting up with you if you're going to be there.
Europe
We've had a lot of trouble with deliveries to the EU following problems with Royal Mail and new EU Customs regulations. We hope we've now got through the worst of it and we've started sending orders to EU countries again. So far there have been few reports of delays but we're still cautious.
And Finally
Our title comes from Chaucer's 600 year old epic The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.
"Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;" - Geoffrey Chaucer, English Poet, 1344-1400
April showers are now part of our common vocabulary and tradition and we all look forward to the rebirth that Spring brings (sorry, Australia and New Zealand!) and the blossoms '
engendered by the sweet liquor'!
We hope your enthusiasm for your craft remains strong and that you have a blossoming April.