Hello! Is it snowing where you are? We're having sunshine today. Andy and Amelia are working in the front yard, lifting muck off of the borders and uncovering tender daffodil shoots and tulip leaves. It seems like the perfect day to let you know that our Secret Garden Collection is finally available for pre-order! (To read about my inspiration for these items, please see this blog post.)
Pictured above is BLACKBERRIES AND HEATHER-BELLS — a sweet little design that fits inside a 6" (15cm) hoop (included in the kit) that acts as a frame. With a robin, blackberries and blossoms, heather flowers, ivy leaves, and a hidden key, this design is done in just one ply of DMC embroidery floss and you will be so amazed at the kind of detail you can get with just one ply! I honestly think you will love blending the colors a little bit to get a very naturalistic effect. It's so much fun, is easier than it looks, and actually goes really quickly. The kit costs $22 and will ship toward the end of April, 2019.
Finished size of design area: About 4" (10cm) in diameter
This kit contains:
- One 9" x 9" (23cm x 23cm) piece of Kona Cotton (100% cotton) fabric by Robert Kaufman in color Pickle
- One 6" (15cm) plastic faux-wood Flexi-hoop for (very easy!) framing
- One 6" (15cm) piece of wool-rayon felt for backing
- (34) 24" (61cm) lengths of various colors of DMC 6-ply cotton embroidery floss
- Stitching instructions and color chart
- Illustrated stitch tutorial for special stitches
- Black and white line drawing for tracing design onto fabric
- One piece of chipboard for creating a floss organizer
You will need:
- #5 sharp needle(s) for embroidery
- Embroidery scissors
- 4" (10cm) embroidery hoop (for stitching)
- Water-erase fabric marker
To purchase the Blackberries and Heather-bells Embroidery Kit, please CLICK HERE.
The second project from the Secret Garden Collection are the MISSELTHWAITE MITTS.
The same sweet motifs embroidered on this little pair of fingerless mitts are done in duplicate stitch. Knit flat, then embroidered, then stitched up the side with openings left for the thumbs, these handwarmers are perfect to wear at winter’s end, when the soils are just starting to warm and the smell of new growth is in the air. Knit with hand-dyed single-ply fingering-weight 100% Merino yarn, they are easy to make and so soft.
Please note that because I am dyeing all of the yarn to order, I will do my very best to match the colors you see here, but because of the nature of hand-dyeing, there may be some variation. The kit costs $42 and will ship toward the end of April, 2019.
Finished size of mitts: 3.25"w by 8.35"h (8cm x 20cm); to fit average adult woman's hand
This kit contains:
- One 115g (434yd) skein of single-ply fingering-weight Merino yarn, hand-dyed by me in Misselthwaite Green
- One pack of cut lengths of the same yarn, hand-dyed in a rainbow of colors for making duplicate stitches
- Knitting instructions
- Illustrated stitch tutorial for making duplicate stitches
- Color charts indicating placement of duplicate stitches
You will need:
- Size US 1.5 (2.5mm) needles, or size needed to match gauge
- Yarn needle
- Row counter
To purchase the Misselthwaite Mitts Knitting Kit please CLICK HERE.
Now, let's talk about the SECRET GARDEN APOTHECARY BOX! I'm pretty excited about this! This little box is filled with lovely, handmade, beautifully scented bath and beauty products that we've made for you. The box contains five items, including one 9-oz. jar of salt-and-milk bath soak:
It contains Epsom salt, pink Himalayan salts, Dead Sea salt, milk powder, colloidal oatmeal, coconut milk powder, phthalate-free fragrance oil, rose Kaolin clay, chamomile flowers, rose petals, cornflowers, jasmine flowers, and calendula petals. You add a few tablespoons to a tea bag and dissolve the contents under warm running water, and soak in that tub for as long as they will possibly let you. . . . At least that's how I try to do it. This smells lightly of cucumber and spring garden scents.
Also included is one 5-oz. bar of hand-made cold-process soap.
It is a gentle, lovely soap that contains olive oil; coconut oil; distilled water; sodium hydroxide; castor oil; phthalate-free fragrance oil; blackberry seeds; rose Kaolin clay; purple Brazilian clay; mica; decorated with pink Himalayan salt, jasmine flowers, rose petals, and heather blossoms.
Not every bar looks exactly the same, but they are all pretty similar to these. I am basically obsessed with this soap. It smells amazing — like rhubarb custard!
Also included is one 1.85-oz. lotion bar (almost as big as our full-size lotion bars, but the mold was a bit shallow). It's got a light, pretty floral scent, and contains beeswax; shea butter; coconut oil; lanolin; essential oils of elemi, chamomile, and ylang ylang; and jasmine absolute. It's so perfect for the season. I've been using mine like crazy.
Also included is one scented wax sachet made of soy wax, beeswax, hyacinth fragrance oil, wax pigments, and dried botanical matter and flowers. It is about 2.5" in diameter, and you can hang it in your closet or in a window to look at every day. I discovered these on Pinterest this past fall. I don't know why I like them so much but I just do. Each one is unique and just so pretty.
And lastly, included is one 2-oz. jar candle made of soy wax and beeswax, scented with honeysuckle fragrance oil and decorated with gem and mineral chips and dried flowers. These are just tiny, special little candles that burn for about fifteen hours and will make your bath or your evening a little more beautiful.
Everything comes labeled and packaged together in a little kraft paper gift box, cushioned with paper shred and closed with seam binding and a pretty wax seal. The Apothecary Box is ready for giving, either to yourself or someone you love. The box costs $68 and will ship toward the end of April, 2019.
To purchase the Secret Garden Apothecary Box please CLICK HERE.
We will ship all of these items all over the world this time. But please be aware that the Apothecary Box weighs almost four pounds, and it is expensive to ship overseas. It will ship Priority Mail in the U.S. You will be asked to read our shipping policies before checking out, so please make sure you familiarize yourself with them when you place your order. We will be ordering our labels and the packaging and some of the materials based on how many orders we get for these, so we are planning to ship everything together at the end of April.
Thank you ever so much for your patience and your interest! This is a really big project for me and I am so excited about it. Please let me know if you have any questions and I will respond here! Xoxo, a
(Nest painting licensed from WitsEnd.)
Oh my goodness! Everything is just beautiful. Love the embroidery and the mitts are gorgeous! The bath box is over the moon. You are so creative and talented. I LOVE everything you create. Your blog is a source of peace and I so enjoy your photos, especially of Amelia. You are such a lovely family. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful ideas and creations.
Truly beautiful and creative! Your work is always perfection. Andrea
Sadly none of this is able to be enjoyed by me as overseas mailing is just prohibitive these days. Just a few short years ago I used to ship things over, but no more as postage has rocketed. In any case I would only need a pattern for the embroidery as I am well supplied. I don't like to use merino, so would choose a different yarn for the mittens. If either was to be sold as a pdf pattern, then I could be interested. I find the floral design on the mittens particularly pretty.
You have done a great job of tapping into the Secret Garden vibe I think.
The designs on the mittens are amazing, makes me really wish I knitted (I crochet). I love the embroidery. Also, the wax seal on the box is So elegantly appropriate.
It is always so much fun to see what you come up with next, your creativity knows no bounds!
This is all such a lovely feast for the eyes! Do you have plans to make the spring/Secret Garden lotion bar available on its own? You've gotten me hooked on these little bars, so would love to have a spring scented lotion bar.
Your creativity is simply beautiful! The mittens are striking . . . if only I knew how to knit (I'm a crocheter) . . . .
Wow wow wow!!!! That's all I got. Wow!
It is just so lovely - the whole collection - it is a bit like I feel when I go into Target - so many things I didn't even know I wanted - except your collection is so very special and charming - I think it is the loveliest interpretation of the book imaginable and I just wanted to say what an incredibly gifted, creative person you are.
All delightful. Good to know that there will be PDFs for the two projects, as overseas mail is indeed becoming very costly!
Lovely! I, too, am completely smitten with the mitts! Everything is beautiful!
Is there any chance of shipping out sooner than the end if April? I have a DIL's birthday on the 12th and my best friend of 40 years on the 18th. I will order immediately if you think early April is a possibility. Thanks, Patricia
Oops....I am referring to the lovely Apothecary box set.
Just ordered mine! I'm so thrilled. I'm going to gift it to my husband's cousin, who has had an extraordinarily difficult past year. I think she'll love it!
Those mitts are beautiful. Any knitters for hire out there? I'm that tempted.
Looking forward to opening a box of English garden.
(Now I have Box of Rain in my head:
Look out of any window
Any morning, any evening, any day
Maybe the sun is shining
Birds are winging or
Rain is falling from a heavy sky,
What do you want me to do,
To do for you to see you through?
For this is all a dream we dreamed
One afternoon long ago...)
Oh i love the secret garden and themes. Those little candles look divine and i might have to have a go at the mitts too.
Everything looks gorgeous ... Just looking at the pictures itself is soo comforting.
Alicia, you have outdone yourself. Each item so meticulously created and packaged with love and care. Stunning!
It's all so extremely lovely, and a price point for everyone, perfect!
I'll be anxiously waiting the patterns for both the embroidery and the mitts. Over the years I have accumulated everything I'll need, so I'm ready when you are.
Sending virtual hugs from a longtime follower & admirer!
I have loved The Secret Garden forever. Your Apothecary box looks incredible and romantic - I’m so looking forward to receiving it. Thank you!
I just placed my orders and I am happy and excited about it! I missed your boxes previously and can't wait to receive them! The picture and your items in the box are gorgeous to say the least! I feel greedy to not share, but I think I'll treat myself. You are sooo very creative with all you do and I truly love reading your posts. You have a way with words that I'm sure we all relate to in our own way. Snow - yay! I grew up in Michigan and remember well the cold and snow. Yes, we skated at times in front of the house if it was frozen (not every year) and we played all over without parents around, but it was a time that was more simple in many ways. Not sure I'd love living in snow now, but I have fond memories too! Thank you!
Are there instructions on how to do this design? I have done embroidery for years, but using set stitches. This looks a bit different. I am sure it will be fine, but just wondering if you will provide a tutorial of some sort?
this is soooo beautiful <3
Absolutely beautiful! Just the special touch our world needs now.
Shellmcb339 on IG
Oh my gosh, I absolutely love that you're drinking Yorkshire tea. It's the best black tea going, although I may be biased as I'm from Yorkshire :D