Dear friends,

Thank you for your interest in Lmntl. This is the first edition of our bimonthly newsletter, meant to keep you up to date on our latest products and projects, and to discuss other related topics. The content is pretty open-ended, so please send me your comments, contributions, and questions so I can keep it interesting!

The concept of Lmntl took shape while I was working in Hungary as an EFL teacher as part of the Central European Teaching Program. (I worked in Tiszaujvaros from 1995-1996, and Mohacs from 1996-1998.) My interest in textiles had led me to try my hand at the local embroidery, and I became intrigued by the many different regional styles, many of which I saw only in books or museums. It was hard enough to find information on the subject in Hungarian, let alone English. (I've since managed to build up a good collection of out-of-print books by scouring Hungary's used book stores.) This gave me the idea of creating Hungarian embroidery kits-I had seen lots of patterns and kits based on traditonal American, British and Scandinavian designs, but not many from Central and Eastern Europe, where needlework was such an important part of the folk culture.

One of our goals at Lmntl is to showcase some of the lesser known regional styles of folk art, both in our kits and finished products. So, we are pleased to introduce the work of Judit Boldizsar, an accomplished needlewoman from Budapest. Judit works in many different styles, traditional and modern, Hungarian and foreign. She does a lot of cross stitch, especially Beregi (from north-eastern Hungary), and needle-painting based on her own designs. The first piece she's made for Lmntl is the pillowcase done in the Sarkozi style that is featured on our Gifts page. The Sarkoz region is in the southern part of Hungary, just west of the Danube. I haven't learned a lot about the region yet, but I find the colors and motifs of Sarkozi embroidery very appealing.

One advantage of having a "shop" on the Internet is that you aren't tied to one location - in fact, I'm sending you this newsletter from Orenburg, Russia, right on the border between Europe and Asia. While my parents are taking care of your orders and questions back in the US, I'm spending a semester teaching EFL at Orenburg State University. Perhaps I'll be able to learn something about Russian folk art, but first I have to learn some Russian...In the meantime, we'll be adding black pottery from Mohacs to our website soon; more about that in May's newsletter!

Udvozlettel,

Donna Fenton