Jenny Hart and the Secret Tea Towel Tour

I can remember exactly how I felt the first time I saw Jenny Hart's work- amazed, touched, moved, and inspired. I've never, ever seen anyone do what she does with embroidery, and I've also never encountered anyone with such a cool, funny, smart, and amazing presence online. I created the Flickr Embroidery group 3 years ago hoping it could be another cool venue for the amazing stuff I'd been seeing on the Craftster Needlework and Sublime Stitching boards. I never thought I'd meet Jenny, online or anywhere else. So, imagine how floored I am to announce that Jenny Hart, who so many of you love and admire too, is an admin in our group now.

If you don't know about Jenny, let me tell you a tiny bit about her... what makes Jenny's work truly unique is its power to inspire - she's not only an artist, she's the brains behind Sublime Stitching, and she's happy to share her knowledge and passion for what she does with everyone. Her crafty business tips are a weekly column on Venus Zine: Crafting a Business and she's involved in many online forums like Craftster and Supernaturale.

As luck would have it, a few days ago Jenny received the Secret Tea Towel begun 6 months ago by (the awesome) Kittykill on Craftster. This tour replaced the towel that went lost under mysterious circumstances, sincerely bumming everyone out...

The towel traveled to 14 different places in the US (as illustrated beautifully by Rachel, above), braving forest fires, the Christmas crafting crunch, and family losses. Every stitcher on this towel is an accomplished crafter and I'd like to introduce you to all of them:

1. Kittykill - Portland, OR
   
   from Kittykill: A big "Thank You!" to everyone who participated. It took some time but Jenny finally got it. There is something to be said about people from all over the country, all different backgrounds, coming together to do a project. It makes me so happy to be a part of that community.


2. Brill (GatsbyGirl) - North Hollywood, CA
   
   


3. Laura (Southern5footer) - San Diego CA
   
   
   


4. Gina (Ginamonster) - Reno, NV
   
   
   


5. Susie (IamSusie) - Grayslake, IL
   
   
   


6. Tab (Ezri_B) - Brandon, WI
   
   
   


7. Sarah (Sarahland) - Brighton, MA
   
   
   


8. Carol (Ilovepaper) - New Haven, CT
   
   
   


9. Floresita (me!)- New York, NY
   
   
   


10. Jennifer (Fenifer) - Decatur, GA
    


11. Joolz – Tampa, FL
    


12. Amy (sewwabisabi) - Oklahoma City, OK
    
    


13. Liz (RubyPurl) - Fort Worth, TX
    


14. Rachel - radwriter - Austin, Tx
    
    
    
    from Rachel: Working on this tea towel has been such a privilege, and such a BLAST! I feel incredibly lucky and grateful to have been included, and to have had the chance to stitch with fellow embroidery enthusiasts! It was especially great fun to see - in person - the work of so many people whom I've followed online. Seeing everyone's work in the Flickr Embroidery Group is a blast, but getting to hold one piece with so many of their great works on it ... well that was just fan-freaking-tastic.
    
    Jenny inspires us every day, not only with her great designs, but with her fun, creative spirit, her independent business savvy and her dedication to keeping Sublime Stitching feeling like your best pal instead of some sterile chain store crap. It's what makes Sublime Stitching so special - the personality, the connections, the fun - and that she's been able to so beautifully maintain all that and keep everything so strongly steeped in her spirit speaks volumes to Jenny that our simple stitches can only meagerly attempt to reflect.
    
    And I *really* *really* mean it when I say that I wish everyone could have been there to hand off the towel. I felt a little guilty that I got that opportunity! (actually, a lot guilty.) I send a sincere thanks to all who participated and made it so much fun and so special. :) more from Rachel's blog

Thanks again to everyone who was a part of the Secret Tea Towel Tour (including the crafters who graciously passed on the towel when their schedules got too tricky). And thank you Jenny, for inspiring all of us!



Giveaway! To share a little bit of Jenny love with all of you, I'm giving away one each of Jenny's "greatest hits": a brand new Stitch-It Kit, Sublime Stitching book, and a Craft Pad. (So you have 3 chances to win!) Just leave a comment on this post to enter!

Edit 4/1/08: I just closed the comments on this post and will announce a winner very soon!