Autumn Frolic - customer service at its best!... some thoughts

I had a great day today - my small little group of Japanese Embroidery students had all finished one of their projects and we had a 'Finishing Class' in addition to our regular class.  I was quite impressed by all of their efforts and triumphs - they each had a lot to be proud of and I am truly humbled by their willingness to allow me to teach them this beautiful art form.
When I got home, my husband had placed a package near my area.  It was an envelope from Barbara Jackson - the owner/designer of TristanBrooks.  Those of you following my progress of Autumn Frolic may have noted that I was afraid of running out of certain threads and that I had contacted her about this.  Well, she had not only responded immediately to my query but had put the threads in the mail right away.  I was expecting a few threads of the colors that I was worried about but was quite surprised to find that she had included more than enough threads - full skeins in fact!  I had not expected this at all!

I did want to address some of the comments on the Facebook groups and emails I have received while switching gears to this Crewel piece.
It is something my students have heard before.  I appreciate all the positive input but still cannot figure out if the 'likes' on Facebook means that you prefer the thicker stem vs. the thinner stem on my last post since Facebook is a very 'new' thing for me. 
However, I was also a bit surprised and actually saddened to see how many people commented that they were 'afraid' of Crewel - it is one of the oldest forms of embroidery, has many stitches and variations and has a charm all its own.  Plus, most of us embroider as a 'hobby' - so there is no financial downside to taking time to learn and try things AND, most of the time, all embroidery is reversible - one can practice stitches over and over and in time, master them. I personally love to challenge myself, learn about all types of embroidery in this world... there is such an amazing variety available to us.
We are also very fortunate to live in these modern times where so many threads and fabrics are available to us, so many teachers have dedicated their energy in producing top quality classes, kits, online classes, books and youtube/blogs.  It is not at all necessary to start with expensive materials or feel bad if our budget does not allow for silk threads for all projects etc. etc... there are so many embroidery techniques that use basic materials e.g. Hardanger, Mountmellick.
The kit for Autumn Frolic for example not only used authentic, high quality materials but came with clear directions.  All the designers I have featured on this blog so far strive to provide us with as much information and good materials as they can.  There are many other great designers and teachers that I will also feature as I work through my UFOs that I have found to be most supportive.  There are many books one can get through libraries - many of the older books on Crewel for example are absolutely excellent and more thorough than some of the newer publications.  All I can say is, don't be afraid to try something different - it is just needle and thread after all!

Another set of comments that truly puzzled me a bit were related to people feeling 'intimidated' by my stitching.  That is the last thing I want people to feel... it is irrelevant how well one stitches, how fast one completes a project... what is important to me with all my needlework is to learn something and most of all ENJOY my time... it is a 'reward' all my own at the end of a day to be able to take a few moments for myself and "play" with needle and thread.  There are so many very talented embroiderers and the professionals are absolutely amazing in their precise and fast execution.
I am not at all a fast stitcher, just a focused and deliberate one and 'blogging' about things was never meant to make anyone feel bad about their own work... we are all learning and practicing an artform and my intention is just to share a bit of my nutty endeavours.

So, please try your hand at various techniques - give yourself time - and enjoy the process!

Putting things more succintly:

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare,
it is because we do not dare, that they are difficult." 
                                                       Seneca