An email from the ether..?

This afternoon I received an email from a Dr. Anna Kyritsi about a 7-day "EU Grundtvig Workshop in Cyprus" on needlework and traditional 'female' art. It mentioned the possibility of a grant that would cover even the cost of travel. Naturally, I'm intrigued, and yet I have no idea how this email came to be in my inbox. It doesn't appear to have been forwarded by anyone whom I know, nor do I ever recall signing up for any such email notification. And it made it past my spam filter.

Do any of you fellow textile people know anything about this? The website is this: www.biolearning.eu

A question for all you embroiderers

I've only recently started using silk for my projects. I began buying silk floss from Kreinik (their Silk Mori), in part because it was available (in very limited amounts) in some local craft stores, and later because it was simple to order online. Aside from relative ease of acquisition, their colors seem to be consistent*, meaning that if I ever ran out of a color, I could just order more and not worry about later skeins being slightly "off".

I'm not ready for the jump yet, but I've been thinking about the future of my embroidery. That is, not using your typical (and obviously modern) spun/plied silk. As an example, compare one of the close-up pictures from my previous post with this, or any close-up picture of that German Altar Frontal in the Cloisters (go to Textiles from the Cloisters for some great close-ups).

So, here's my question: Where can one get silks like this? I'm assuming that I'll probably need to dye it myself, but I'd just like to know what's out there. Any suggestions?

*OK, in all honesty, this DID happen to me once. And for a "medieval" project, why bother complaining about it? Nothing wrong with a little inconsistency there.. I'll point this out when that project is done and I have pictures of it.

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UPDATE [17 Dec]: Kathy Storm posted (Medieval Arts & Crafts) her opinions on several type of embroidery floss available. Helpful - and with a visual aid! Do check it out.

Have you seen me?

I found this image a few years ago somewhere online. I can't remember what site, or how I found myself there. Thus I have no data for this object. If you have any idea what museum/collection this purse is in, please please PLEASE let me know! Thanks!