Bargain Books

Well who would have thought a trip to a nature reserve would have netted me 7 new books? No really it did; we saw a grass snake and beatles and orchids and everything but my new reading material still has to be the most exciting thing that happened right? 'Toys you can make yourself' is for my Uncle Ben who is very handy at making wooden toys. The others are MINE. There are three books on doll making and dressing. I haven't tried making dolls yet but with a little girl with a birthday coming up I fancy giving it a go. One is a book on beaded bags which actually is a lot on beading techniques and the instructions are really clear. The most lovely is, I feel the book of crewel embroidery designs where someone has been studying original crewel pieces and transferring them onto grids with stitch direction indicated for re-production......hmmm the mind whirrs. The last book, which was the first one I picked up is a bit of a funny one, depending on whether or not you are a believer in kismet. Before I had the children I started my City and Guilds Embroidery with Opus. This slid for many reasons; cost, needing human contact and encouragement, not being able to get to see original textiles and lack of belief in my own ability. The module I have currently got stowed away is on Elizabethan embroidery. I found it really difficult to find any source material to work from, had a paddy shoved it in a box file and regretted my quitting ever since. That little book on the top of the pile is a fabulous book on....Elizabethan needlework......so.... is some one trying to tell me something?