Mace and Nairn, Full range via Mail Order and EXCLUSIVELY at selected Retail Shows.
Wye Needlecraft, Full range.
Golden Hands, Wimborne Dorset
More UK Listings will be found further down on this page.

Nordic Needle
The Historic Needlework Guild
Mimi's Attic Needlework Shoppe

Mosman Needlecraft, Mosman, NSW

Gitta's Charted Petit Point, Ontario
The Needle Gnome, Ontario
The Sampler, Ontario
The Stitchery Studio, Ontario

Groothandel, Eeklo, Belgium
Het Atelier, Menen, Belgium
Au Dé d'Argent, Saint Lô, France
Les Jardins de Nana, Romorantin/Montargis/Orleans, France
Tentakulum, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

Mace and Nairn, Full range via Mail Order and EXCLUSIVELY at selected Retail Shows.
Wye Needlecraft, Full range.
Golden Hands, Wimborne Dorset

Designs in the UK are available through the following outlets. If a local needlework or craft store near you is not listed, please let me know.

Ann's Cross Stitch & Crafts, Thirsk, N Yorks
Banbury Sewing Centre, Banbury, Oxon
Battle Wool Shop, Battle, East Sussex
Bears and Stitches, Woodbridge, Suffolk
Blackwork Basics, Bexleyheath
Boskins Needlework Centre, Tarleton, Preston
The Campden Needlecraft Centre
Colourcraft, Saffron Walden, Essex
Classic Stitches Magazine
Creative Inspirations, Haverfordwest, Pembs
Cross Stitch Corner, Pontefract, W. Yorks
Crossover Craft, Hemel Hempsted, Herts
Elegance, London W2
Embsay Crafts, Leeds
Gardenlands Craft and Hobby, Shipley, Nr Wolverhampton
Golden Hands, Wimborne
Granary Crafts, Great Bookham, Surrey
The Happy Hobbit (Mail Order)
Hemsleys, Lincoln
Highthorne Embroidery, Beadlam, Nawton, York
House of Needlework, Shrewsbury
Mace and Nairn (Mail Order and Exclusively at major Retail Shows
The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Needlewoman on the Green, Finchingfield, Essex
The Needlecraft Centre, Longleat
Petit Point, Harrogate, N Yorks
The Really Cute Company
Sew Exciting (Mail Order)
Sew & So, Stroud, Glos
The Sewing Centre, Bridgwater, Somerset
Stitch One Two, Musselburgh
Stitchcraft of Steyning, Steyning, West Sussex
Windmill Crafts, Gravesend, Kent
Winifred Cottage
Wye Needlecraft, Wye

Nordic Needle
The Historic Needlework Guild
Mimi's Attic Needlework Shoppe

Attic Needlework & Collectibles, Mesa, AZ
Skinner Sisters, CA
Needle in a Haystack, Alameda, CA
"The Needle Art Shop", Tehachapi, CA
Wyndham Needleworks, Eastford, CT
Abecedarius, Marietta, GA
Tomorrow's Heirlooms, Glen Ellyn, IL
The Needle Cranny, Elkhart, IN
The Sampler, Plymouth, MA
The World in Stitches, Littleton, MA
Barb's Stitchin' Stuff, Middletown, MD
The Stitching Post, Baltimore, MD
Creative Hand Shoppe, Eagan, MN
Just Needlin, Lees Summit, MO
Apple Cores, Concord, NC
The Edwardian Needle, Bloomfield, NJ
Just Stitching, Strongsville, OH
Mimi's Attic Needlework Shoppe, PA - Distributor and Trunk Show Coordinator
Double Cross, Knoxville, TN
The Stitch Niche, Arlington, TX
Stitchcraft, Bellaire, TX
Three Stitches, Spring, TX
The Yarn Barn of San Antonio, TX
Books and More, Chesterfild, VA
In Stitches, Chester, VA
Stitch'n Stuff, Renton, WA

I use materials from the following suppliers in my designs. If you have difficulty in obtaining supplies in your area, please contact the suppliers direct for a list of stockists who can help you. Should all else fail, feel free to contact me for suggestions as to appropriate alternatives.

Rainbow Gallery – A bottomless treasure chest of yarns of all kinds. US based company with stockists world-wide
DMC – One of the foremost manufacturers of embroidery threads with a long history of chart design and publishing. Outlets world-wide
Coats Crafts UK –Manufacturer and Distributer of embroidery threads and needlework supplies of all kinds. Outlets world-wide
Mill Hill Beads – Specialist bead manufacturers in a wide range of colours and finishes
Framecraft – UK-based manufacturer of a wide range of fittings and housings for embroidery and cross stitch
Madeira – Wide range of hand and machine embroidery threads
Benton & Johnson – 19-21 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5BE. Tel +44 (0)20 7242 0471. Fax +44 (0)20 7831 8692. Specialist manufacturers of metal and metallic threads based in the UK. Wire-drawers by appointment to HM The Queen
YLI – Rock Hill, SC 29730. US-based manufacturer of fine silk threads with stockists world-wide
Kreinik – Wonderful metallic and silk embroidery threads. Head office: Kreinik Mfg. Co., Inc. 3106 Timanus Lane, Suite 101, Baltimore, MD 21244 USA; A Consumer Eduction Line can be reached Toll Free in the USA on 1-800-537-2166 and is manned from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday EST. The majority of Kreinik threads are distributed by Coats Crafts in the UK (see above).
Zweigart - Manufacturers of a variety of fabrics for needleworkers.

When using a fine thread, try knotting one end in the eye of your needle. This will keep the thread from slipping and eliminate rough patches caused by friction.
For precision blackwork, mount your fabric on a backing cloth (e.g. thin cotton batiste, shirting, lawn or fine calico), and stitch through both thicknesses. You will then be able to bring your thread up and down exactly where you want it and know that it will stay there.
Aim to achieve a stitched line which looks as much as possible like a pen-drawn line. To do so, use a small, sharp needle and be prepared to split the thread you are working with if necessary. To avoid a bulge, split the thread away from the centre. Usually, catching up to a third of the width of the thread with your needle works well.
For more information on precision blackwork techniques, click here to go to a full page of hints and tips with stitch diagrams.

Slate frames will keep your work at an even tension and ensure it is not pulled out of square
Try to avoid slate frames with roller bars and screw adjusters. I find frames with slats as stretcher bars and pegs are best
To mount your work on a slate frame, attach it to a backing fabric (e.g., cotton batiste, or polycotton shirting fabric) along the edges of the main fabric using herringbone or long and short stitches. Fabrics provided in my kits have a generous margin to allow you the choice of using Fusible Bonding (e.g. Bondaweb) to secure the fabrics in place. After completion of the work, cut this portion of the fabrics away to avoid long-term deterioration.
Stretch your work taut and then, if you wish, carefully cut away the backing fabric to leave the back of your work exposed.
Alternatively, this tip comes from blackwork expert Marion Scoular: if working a fine blackwork design, for example, Queene Besse's Chesse Boarde, leaving the backing fabric in place and stitching through the two layers makes it easier to work with fine threads - they don't move around so much, and 'shadowing' caused by threads which travel across open spaces in the design at the back of the work when using back stitch around corners for instance ceases to be a problem. Work the design, then remove from the slate frame. Should you still need to re-align it, wet it slightly, then pin it in shape to a hard board lined with blotting paper. Leave to dry then mount on conservation grade mount board ready to be professionally framed Slate frames are available here.

Stuck on how to work a stitch? A visit to either of the following websites should help:

Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches
Classic Stitches Stitch Glossary

A brief reminder that you are entitled to make one copy of any published chart for your own use - enlarging on a photocopier or via a graphics programme is fine. However, copying files or charts you have bought for your friends is not legal. I'm sure you'll do the right thing with the designs you purchase.

The following are reciprocal links to other craft and needlework related websites which you may enjoy visiting:
About.com Needlepoint - reputed to be the largest needlepoint site on the internet with 2 new features added weekly, over 600 links and lots of reference info.
The Nostalgic Needle Website - visit this website to view the full range of Sharon Cohen's exquisite designs - a treat for serious needleworkers interested in something extra special.
JMD Designs - Visit Janet Davies' website, expert on rare forms of embroidery such as Casalguidi, Mountmellick and Schwalm - check out her website tutorials, books on these subjects and a new Stumpwork book which has had rave rewiews worldwide!
Blackwork Resource Page
Sew Exciting - Excellent source for high quality needlework and needlepoint designs. Frequently updated.
Aion - Chris Martin's comprehensive internet listing of UK-based stitching sites
Crafters List - Stitching and Craft Listings
Dnai - Kathleen Dyer's Internet Stitching Resource Page
Tammy's Treasures - A great stitching resource for Dutch stitching. You'll see a companion piece to 'Stars of Glory' on this site, both of which were hung on the Queen's Christmas Tree at Buckingham Palace in 1988.
The Historic Needlework Guild - A unique US-based group which actively promotes and supports the emulation and preservation of historic needlework.
The Roslin Glen Collection - Interesting Counted Thead designs with a Scottish / Celtic theme.
Country Spice Crafts - Cross Stitch and Counted Thread Embroidery designs for all occasions. Will also custom design.
Net Stitch - A New Internet Needlework Site

Click on the following graphics or headings to go to the page(s) of your choice