Now that my ‘Shlama’ bag is finished, I want to start embroidering something new, but related to the bag in some way. I want this new project to still have an Aramaic word stitched on it, linking it to the contents, as I did with the bag (‘shlama’ in Aramaic means ‘peace’, which is the result I get from listening to my music and meditation tracks). So this folder will have the word for ‘wisdom’ in Aramaic embroidered on it, as the notes it will hold are to do with the Aramaic-themed audiobooks and guided meditations of Neil Douglas-Klotz which I listen to a lot.
I had originally intended the bag to be large enough to be able to keep A6 sized notes in, as well as my MP3 player, but as that wasn’t to be, now I want to make some kind of an envelope folder to keep the notes in, separately. I’m still very much at the planning stage, but I’m getting ideas for the colour scheme – that’s usually the bit that sparks ideas the easiest, with me.
I found some gorgeous royal blue Dupion silk on a goldwork website, so that is going to be the background colour. I want the front flap of the folder to have heavy embroidery covering most of it, with more on the front pocket when the flap is lifted up.
So far, this is what I’ve collected together to use, either from my stash, or from ‘preliminary’ online shopping. I want the shades to be deep, on the whole, and most areas of embroidery to be outlined with gold thread and braid. I’ve bought some milliary wire to try, for some of the outlining – never used that before – and I’ve also got some shisha mirrors, and red and blue cabochons which I might incorporate somehow.
Most of the time, I use Anchor stranded cotton to embroider with, as that is the range that I use in the miniature embroidery kits that I sell on my website – I keep a full set of the skeins, in shallow trays so it’s easy to choose the shades I want.
I like the look of Rayon, but it drives me mad, the way it twists up all the time! Similarly, I get attracted by variegated thread – I’ve bought loads of the stuff, but it’s never *quite right* for any one project, so it just sits in a drawer…..
I’ve just bought some lovely pearl purl from Rajmahal, which is very tempting stuff, and I fell for a tiny piece of red kid leather, although I’ve no idea how to incorporate that, yet. And then there’s the gold beads – both size 11’s, and teeny tiny size 15’s.
I think this folder is going to take a while 🙂
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Janet Granger's Blog 
I very much like your tray arrangement for your floss. As my floss collection grows, I have been wondering how best to store it for easy selection. I have no desire to wind all the skeins on floss bobbins, and I have devised a quick and easy way to slip any remaining floss back into the skein, so this might work for me. Where did you find the trays? Where and how do you store them between projects (to prevent jumbling)?
I bought a little chest of drawers in an antique shop, first, as the drawers looked so ideal for storing threads. Then I made the trays for the drawers out of mount board, cut to fit exactly. I didn’t want to have to wind the skeins onto bobbins, either, as I find that that always makes the thread ‘kink’, which is hard to remove, and I also like choosing colours by looking at a large area of colour. I store the skeins in the number order that they appear on the Anchor shade card (not, therefore, in strict numerical order, but in ‘colour families’, which helps when selecting colours). I’ll have to do a blog entry about the chest of drawers, I think, as it’s a lovely piece of furniture!
Excellent! I shall look forward to the post. I have an oak tool chest with shallow drawers that currently houses the tools and supplies from previous craft lives (beadwork, wirework, crochet, tatting). It should be ideal for this. Thank you.
Hello Janet.
I saw you on my Facebook page and looked for you. There were actually 6 Janet Grangers so I closed my eyes and picked you.
I am delighted with your blog. I used to do a great lot of embroidery, crewel, cross stitch, counted cross stitch, Brazilian (a particular favorite) and whatever came my way. I do not have the eyes or hands now to do miniature embroidery. Your work here is so beautifully accomplished, you must be very talented indeed.
I also love doll houses. I have one that was made for me by my grandfather in the mid forties. He made one for my sister as well. It is not in pristine condition but it has delighted my children and grandchildren and countless neighborhood children. It has a certain charm and it is dearly loved.
I’m going to your web site next expecting to be delighted.
If you are a facebook person, might we be friends? There are over about 25 or 30 Janets gathered so far. We seem to be of an age, since our name came and went and never was taken up again, except in certain isolated instances.
You look very young so you may be one of them.
Blessings and peace to you,
Janet Dunfee
Oregon, USA
You’re lucky to have had a doll’s house made for you – I never had one when I was a child, which prompted me to get one when I was in my twenties….and it just took off from there.
The name Janet does seem to have gone out of favour, now. I hardly ever meet another Janet. I’m 47 – does that make me young, old, or just ‘Janet-age’!