Travel through Europe with embroidery
Book excerpt + updates
Hi there!
Hope you’ve had a great start to the week!
The book “Travel the world through the eye of a needle”, approaches its first full draft… and I’m both excited and absolutely nerve wracked!
The closer I get to finishing the draft, the closer it is to settle on a printer and eventually send it out into the world (to you!). I suppose I just want the book to be SO SO good for everyone that it makes me nervous (maybe that’s a good thing!).
The final order of projects have been set and the temporary map (I plan to make a drawing that will be put at the beginning of the book), looks something like this;
A map of Europe…
While sorting through thousands of images, I realized that the vast majority of embroideries are of designs from Europe.
As a result, I feel an urge to change the title from “Travel the world through the eye of a needle” to something along the lines of “Travel through Europe, one embroidery at the time”, and save the non-European designs for a sequel with other parts of the world…
Here’s the list with countries represented in the book (with at least one image):
France (the journey starts in Paris, of course!)
Spain
Portugal
Italy
Greece
Montenegro
Slovenia
Austria
Czech Republic
Estonia
Sweden
Norway
Denmark
Germany
Netherlands
England
Belgium (where we now live with our two daughters)
That’s quite a journey!
Though the red thread of the story draws on geographical location, the narrative builds on the exploration of various techniques and styles.
From strict line work…
… to incorporating more greenery…
… to detailed thread-painting…
… and eventually thread-sketching too!
Some pieces are mostly aesthetic, whereas others hold deeper stories and reflections about the respective places they depict.
For example, here is a short excerpt from the book:
I don’t know about you, but I think the best way to get to know a place is to wander the forgotten backstreets of the city.
Feel the pulse. Shy away from the crowds of the tourist attractions and get to know the locals.
Impasse Paul Courrier was a first exploration into the secrets of the “backstreets”. Also located in the 7th arrondissement, which otherwise is characterised by majestic buildings to which a lot of nobility moved in the 17th century, this backstreet felt especially secretive.
Did the nobility use it at all, or was it only walked by servants and maids who entered the buildings through the backdoors?
A fun anecdote;
My first studio in Paris, where I lived when I met my now husband, was located in one such bourgeois building in the 7th. My studio, however, was on the top floor only accessible through a separate door across the courtyard. The door led to a slim winding staircase where there were doors at each floor to access the kitchens of the respective apartments. Maybe some maids never left the building at all? They only had to go up and down the stairs to the door of their boss.
The “chambres de bonne” or in English “the rooms for the maids” are all located right under the rooftops. While living there, there were moments when the stories of the past definitely overwhelmed me. I imagined everything that went on in those rooms through the years. Who knows! Only the walls do, I suppose. And God. God always knows.
The beginnings of Impasse Paul Courrier
Haven’t secured your copy yet?
You can support the project by becoming an early-bird Book-Funder, which means you’ll also have access to book-exclusive Bonuses, international shipping and your name under the acknowledgement section of the book.
❤️ Bonuses ❤️
I also want to give a quick update on the bonuses that come along the Book-Funder tier (everyone who wishes to support the funding of the book at the highest level will not only receive a physical copy, but also get access to an exclusive workshop + a collection of 15 patterns from work found in the book).
Before releasing the pattern collection, I wanted to create a new fresh and better General Stitch Guide to come along the designs.
I’ve finalized new guide on my end and it’s now in the hands of my husband who helps me to layout and format it so that it looks as good as possible. You will be the first to know when it’s ready!
For the accompanying class;
To best teach the accompanying class “How to capture the essence of a place in an artwork”, I’ve decided to work on a comprehensive presentation including a lot of images for better visual explanation through concrete examples.
I’m a learning by doing type of person, but for this class, it felt essential to have a broad range of subjects and objects to empower you for your next project (whatever it may be!), rather than develop a one off stitch-along.
The last contemplation now is whether the class should be taught as a livestream with available replay, or be pre-recorded to fit everyone’s schedules?
Please feel free to tip in with your preference in the comments 🙏🏼💖
Last reflections…
It may sound naive, but I didn’t realize the scope of this book project when I first announced it a couple of months ago. It’s a lot, from curating imagery to writing a cohesive storyline to connect vastly different places and stitchery that has been made through the span of several years.
Though, I like to tell myself that it’s this naivety that makes life exciting and has the potential to bring us all to new places.
Thank you for reading!
Elin, xx
Oh, I want to start stitching some of these lovely patterns!
As for the class , I prefer recording please as it gives us flexibility to watch and do in our own time (different timezones). Good luck and looking forward to hearing more progress!
I am really excited to see your book! I look forward to the beautiful imagery and like you; I like to travel the areas where tourists don't go.