In this edition, I have been forcibly reminded of an issue that was raised at last year's annual general meeting of the Embroiderers' Guild: where have all the good embroidery books gone? The only ones that seem to be published these days are project books, and these are very much aimed at the beginner and have little to offer in ideas for building on the given starting points. It was listing Val Campbell-Harding's books for this issue's Gallery feature that made me realise how barren the bookshelves are. We see the occasional volume from her and from the Jan Beaney/Jean Littlejohn partnership, but they are very few and far between.

The publishers tell us that it's the project books that we want and that they sell well. Looking around the bargain bookstores, I take leave to doubt that assertion. Tell me what books you would like to see, and perhaps we can make the point on the Letters page.

It has been very encouraging to hear from so many people how they started in embroidery and to see some of their early pieces. My only regret is having to reduce some of their words due to lack of space. The starting points vary but the love of stitch continues.

Maggie Grey