The Olympic games are almost upon us, I'll miss the opening, on TV but I'll be glued to the screen in the studio when I get back home.

There is more to the physical competitive  side of the Olympics in London. I discovered a different Olympic Program.

The Cultural Olympiad Program, stories of the world.

I love fabric in any form, its the base for everything we do as textile artists. Doing a little research on threads and fabric, I came upon a this event.

"The Textile Manufacturers of India  is an 18 volume set of fabric sample books put together in 1866 by John Forbes Watson and published by the India Office of the British Government.

This wonderful resource has been given new life online as part  of the Global Threads Project and the London Cultural Olympiad program Stories of the World. Young people from Lancashire have cataloged, photographed and designed a website that makes it easy to draw on the collection for inspiration."    (Selvedge Magazine)

Its a fascinating resource for fabric lovers. On the left hand side of the web page under 'search for books' you will find a wealth of information on the fabric. Each sample has been photographed and labeled and you can enlarge it to get a  better look.

Propped up in bed with  a good Ipad last night, I discovered a wealth of information.