I’d like to ask each of you to descend upon my little town in Kansas and help me stitch today. I’m doing the appliqué work on the Medallion, and admittedly, I’m quaking a bit in my boots. This always happens to me when it comes time to do the Final Finish on a project. I end up hesitating, putting off, thinking through the process about a gazillion times before I actually leap.

Funny thing is, once I leap, I find out it wasn’t that big of a deal!

Admittedly, Kansas isn’t the Vacation Capital of the World, and the enticements are a bit slim! Still, if you came, I’d give you a nice cup of tea, we could have a good chat, lose track of time, and avoid doing the appliqué altogether. Wouldn’t that be terrific?!

The image above is a woodcut from the Handbook of Wood Engraving by William Emerson, published in the 1880′s. I think it’s a precious little picture. Little Woodcut Girl always makes me happy when I see her!

You can find the Handbook of Wood Engraving at Godfrey’s Bookshelf, which is an interesting list of downloadable books from the 15th through 19th centuries. Needlework-wise, there’s only one book in the list, (The Needles Excellency) but if you’re an Old-Book Junkie, you may find many of the others fun to look at.

Enjoy the resource!