Hello! I'm pretty much brand new to cross-stitch, but what little I've done so far, I've really enjoyed and I would like to expand into more diverse, complex and traditional patterns.
My family is descendant of the first-wave Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, and what I'd really be keen on finding is any kind of reliable source materials and/or pattern books (or websites!) about Ukrainian embroidery and cross-stitch. It'd be nice to get better in touch with my roots, and I'd love to do so through cross-stitch.
I've been digging around in my local library, university and college libraries (gotta love those "alumni card" programs), and I've have been talking with some of my family members, too. I'm planning on connecting with the Oseredok here in the city soon to see what they'd recommend.
I'm unsure if this is the right place to ask for resource recommendations, but I really love that Avlea Embroidery is built on such an approachable and thoughtful blend of historical accuracy and modern design, I figured this might be a prime place to reach out to anyone with a bit of a research bug.
If anyone has any resources or materials they've really enjoyed and found useful about traditional Ukrainian stitching, I would love to hear your recommendations. Maybe we could swap links or designs?
EDIT: Also please do let me know if this is not an appropriate topic for this thread (or even the message board), and I'll delete right away.
"Ukrainian Embrodery" by Ann Kmit is an excellent book. Unfortunatley it is out of print. You might be able to find it used.
We're delighted to help! I don't have tons of references for Ukrainian embroidery, but from what I know researching Greek folk embroidery, I'd suggest you start with museums online collections first. Many museums have online collections and you can search for "Ukrainian" to see if they have any embroidered textiles or folk costumes.
I have one Ukrainian design--it's the Ukrainian Crisscross Library Edition (find it in the Downloads section) and it's a classic design and would be a great place to begin. You can also check Etsy as you can sometimes find vintage embroidery booklets from various countries.
Hope that all helps! Happy stitching!