Back in 2011, a lovely needlework book called Home Sweet Home hit the market.

The book featured step-by-step instructions for stitching a charming, fun, and rather vast embroidery project – an embroidered workbox with all the accessories.

Understandably, it wasn’t long before the book was sold up and out of print.

And people have been pining for it ever since.

Well, there’s good news! Home Sweet Home is back in print, better than ever, and ready to assist you to create your own workbox masterpiece!

Today, I’m going to chat a little bit about resources, supplies, and availability, share some ideas with you about the book (especially if you’re dying to create your own Home Sweet Home workbox), and then – thanks to the kind folk at Wooly Thread – have a give-away!

If you’re not familiar with all the gorgeous details of Home Sweet Home, you can find my in-depth review of the book here. That’s where I go into sordid detail about all the exciting, irresistible aspects of the book!

So, Home Sweet Home went out of a print, and for a while, it couldn’t be had for love nor money.

Well…I take that back. If you wanted to pay Seriously Inflated Prices for it through used book sellers, it could be had for money.

Then, the folks at Inspirations, realizing the popularity of (and eager demand for) the book, heard the Voice of the People and did what any smart business would do – they reprinted it! And that means – glory hallelujah! – it is available now, all over the place.

You’ll find a current list of places you can now purchase the book at the end of my previous review.

You Can Make Stuff!

What I like best about home Sweet Home – besides the fact that the cottage and all the accessories therein are so very charming – is that it teaches you how to make stuff.

The construction of the box, the pincushions, the fobs, all the embroidery accessories – it’s all detailed in the book. So for stitchers who have yearned for different ways of finishing up stitched items, it’s a treasure trove of good ideas and good instruction!

Making It As Is

The supply list for Home Sweet Home and all the accessories is vast, to say the least. There are specialty threads from overseas, silk ribbon, and the like. There are some hard-to-find little embellishment bits scattered throughout the whole collection, too. In the photo above, for example, you can see at least six little charms added on the sides of the workbox – a beehive, some bees, a lady bug, and a gecko.

So there are a couple ways you can go about creating the workbox and all the accessories.

1. If you have a significant stash to pull from, and if you’re confident in making substitutions, you can always work from your stash and make your own substitutions. This will result in a workbox unique to you. If you don’t have the particular charms, buttons, or beads, you can seek out similar ones, or just embroider the elements.

2. If there’s a hunter-gatherer in you, you might enjoy tracking down all the supplies, as written in the book. Sometimes, that’s part of the fun! One of the problems I see with that approach is that you’ll end up compounding your expenses with multiple shipping charges, because most of the items, you won’t find locally. You’ll have to look for them online.

3. But if you’re not a hunter-gatherer, there’s some jolly good news. The enterprising people at Stitching Shop in Denver have done the hunting and gathering for you and put together this Home Sweet Home kit that includes all the threads, beads, charms, and sequins used in the project. They also have a fabric kit available here.

Adding Accessories

In the latest issue of Inspirations Magazine, to celebrate the reprinting of the book, you’ll find instructions for a new accessory for the workbox. It’s this lovely little bodkin holder:

If you’re thinking about launching into the workbox with the new edition of Home Sweet Home, you should add that accessory to your list, too!

A Give-Away!

Wooly Thread offered a copy of the book for a give-away (thanks, Wooly Thread!), so here’s your chance to win your own copy of Home Sweet Home. They carry the book here (and all the Inspirations books, as well as the A-Z series of embroidery books), if you’re looking for it.

If you’d like to join in today’s give-away, please follow these guidelines:

1. Leave a comment below this article on Needle ‘n Thread. You can follow this link to go directly to the comment form. Comments left on other articles on Needle ‘n Thread or sent in via email are not eligible.

2. In your comment, please answer the following question:

What’s your favorite needlework accessory or tool?

3. Please include a recognizable name in your comment, either on the name line of the form or in the body of the comment area. If your name happens to be something like Mary or Sue or another frequented name, please include a last initial, a nickname, or a place, to help avoid confusion when the winner is announced. Thanks!

4. Leave your comment by Saturday, November 12, 5:00 am central time (Kansas, USA), and the winner will be announced that day. The winner will need to contact me with mailing info, so don’t forget to check back.

And that’s it! Go forth and comment, and before you know it, your own copy of Home Sweet Home may be winging its way to you, to fill you with inspiration and to infatuate you with the dream of making your own cottage workbox!

PS. Janet Granger made her own workbox from Home Sweet Home. You can read all her Home-Sweet-Home-related articles on her blog, here.