LOOK quickly at this picture and you probably won't realise it's embroidered. At first glance it's easy to mistake Sylvie McCracken's intricately stitched miniatures for paintings - so much so that she describes her craft as 'drawing with threads'.

With a collage of felts for background, Sylvie builds up images using a wide variety of stitches and colours, finished off with a shimmering of tiny beads, satin ribbons or metallic threads - whatever she feels is needed to get the perfect eye-catching result - often in no more than a 48mm square.

Her subjects range from flowers, plants and animals to seaside and underwater scenes, as well as abstract and Celtic designs, including of course Colby and the Tudor Merchant's House; and Colby gallery is where you will find an exhibition of her work from September 15 to 27.

Gasps of delight are audible around the gallery when Sylvie's work is on show, so be prepared for a noisy exhibition. Also be prepared to do some early Christmas shopping. This is the place where you'll find that unique gift for a special friend or relative, knowing that they will cherish it forever.

The Art Gallery is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, and a special two-for-one admission to the Woodland Gardens is offered on presentation of this article.