Little Books – BIG KNOWLEDGE!

Little Books – BIG KNOWLEDGE!

Hi there

Thanks for popping in. It’s Tina Cox Celebration Weekend, so how about taking a little look behind the scenes. It was Tina who first came up with the idea of our Perforated Pattern Grids. She gave us some pretty inspirational guideline books to go with the first two Border pattern grids, too. In case you’re not familiar with them, let me elucidate.

The first thing to know is that there are 2 books for the Straight Grid No 1. Beginner and Advanced,

STRAIGHT BORDER PATTERN No. 1

and 2 books for the Diagonal Grid No. 1, Beginner and Advanced,

Psst! All 4 books and both of these pattern grids are in the sale this weekend! I would recommend you get the matching plain Border grids too. The straight and the diagonal BORDERS. It makes lining up a piece of cake.

Straight Border grid

Diagonal Border grid

But let me tell you just how much work went into those little books. You cannot even begin to imagine….See these pattern samplers below? They are what Tina presented us with, to give us a taste of the possible patterns you can create with the Straight and Diagonal Border plates. They are the key in the books…

You have to have them laid out in front of you on the table to really grasp the work, the hours and hours and hours of thinking and perfecting.

I remember, it took us a while to work out, that each sampler, like the one below, pertained to just one pattern on the border. In other words, one line, one row of holes, yielded these possibilities. And many more, according to Tina!

Then of course, she – being Tina – also gave us not one but THREE beautiful art samples, of EACH border pattern, to show them in action. Fantastic.

The samples in the first books, the beginner books, have no cutting; Tina introduces picot cutting into the second book, bearing in mind you are using the same patterns, or should I say the same grids!

These are the perfect way to ease yourself into gridwork and pattern work. Simple straight patterns, with loads of possibilities. And the books are the ideal companion to work through, and increase your skill level gradually.

Tina has actually designed another pair of these border plates. They are on the website and we already have the amazing samplers, as above. I know after the fourth book, she was ready for a break, because there was so much work involved. I will have a chat with her tomorrow. Perhaps, instead of full blown books again, which will tie her up for months, perhaps we should just print a deluxe concertina booklet of the samplers. I’ll talk to Tina …. Last thing I want to do is coax her out of the cave, and then slam her with a thousand hours of book sample work! She’ll retreat faster than a greyhound at Crayford!

Point of this blog? To shed some light on Tina’s books and what they relate to. Then show you how much thought, work and energy went into these little ii-books. Ideas and Inspiration. Fantastic.

Get them while they’re in the sale this weekend. Brilliant learning tools. I wonder if I could talk Tina into doing some Youtubes with these…I do recall her shaking her head and singing no no no no no last time I broached the subject… Perhaps if I laid out bowls of popcorn and sweets ?

Looking forward to spending the day with the lady herself tomorrow. It’s been a while.

Love & Hugs,

Barb xxx

CLICK HERE TO INVESTIGATE THE TINA COX SALE AND GET YOUR GRIDS & BOOKS!

14 thoughts on “Little Books – BIG KNOWLEDGE!

  1. I reckon a plate of jam sandwiches might help! I have the border plates and books so I’ve got an amazing amount of work I could do and have hardly put my toe in the water ! X

  2. I love these border plates and the books which are so helpful. Got them all !!! Wonder just how much chocolate Tina got through while creating these and still stay so slim. Stunning photo of her yesterday.
    Hope you can persuade her to do a YouTube, there must be many of us who would like this.
    Have a good evening 🍒🍒🍒

  3. Barbara, have a lovely day with Tina and the chocolate and sweets!
    The beautiful work in Tina’s books is so inspiring and encouraging. So grateful for all the work the lovely lady put in to produce such wonderful guides to producing perfect parchment art.
    When the time is right Tina come back and show us more of your truly inspiring designs – whether in a YouTube video or another book, I know it will be worth the wait!
    No matter what the question, the answer is usually chocolate!

  4. Cake may do it aswell especially with ice cream. I’ve been using the diagonal border grid today to border one of my samples for my workshop in May. Trying to get ahead of myself. Love these borders so much variety with them
    Give Tina a big hug from one her groovi girls. Thanks for helping her. X

  5. Oh, I tried so hard to be good but failed again! I put those books in my basket yesterday and told myself to behave but I added to the basket tonight and it’s gone! Now I can await the post! Always nice to get a parcel through the post! Have a lovely day tomorrow with Tina. Be kind to her, Kermit! Hx

  6. Hi Barbara
    You all work so so hard at Clarity
    Enjoy your Sunday with the lovely Tina and please give her my best wishes
    You know your saying about teamwork Barbara
    Well tell Tina her work has made a lot of crafters dreams of being able to produce a parchment piece that we are proud of, using the designs and inspiration she has given us.
    I know I tried parchment years ago and gave it up I just could not achieve the result I wanted
    So will you say a big thank you to Tina for me
    Hugs.

  7. Hi Barb,
    Yes, you mustn’t forget the chocolates! I remember when the first of these grids came out I couldn’t believe how many patterns could be made. Just before they came out ( I think) , Tina was explaining the patterns to us at Leyburn and she said that there were going to be grids. She is one very talented lady. I have the first grids and the 4 books but I’ll have to check if I’ve got the second grids – if not they will certainly be in my basket. Whilst I’m on the subject of baskets – the folk art plates fell into my basket yesterday and arrived on my doorstep this morning along with the frames from your shows. Now that is what I call service! Thank you so much. Have a lovely time with Tina tomorrow and tell her when she is ready to come out of the cave, that there will be a lot of happy people waiting to see her. Love and hugs,Alison xxx

  8. Tina is so talented such beautiful art work cannot imagine how many hours she spend doing all those lovel grid work patterns and chocolate eaten in process lots love Barbara and Tina from Joy xxx

  9. Hello Barb, well that is pure Tina magic and inspiration packed into books and samples. She is such a talented lady. Hope you had a great lunch. Take care all. Bx

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