Left-Handed Stitchery

Sally Cowan

Schiffer Publishing

For most of us, we take for granted the copious amount of embroidery guides, all focused at what could be seen as the ‘normal’ stitcher - right handed is a given, not a question we ever ask. But what about those who do not fit? Should the 15% of the population who are yes, left handed (okay not all into stitching but you get the point) Be just overlooked as too little a number to be bothered by? Cowan and Schiffer publishing certainly don’t hold this opinion.

Drawn from the Wild

A practical guide to making your own foraged art materials

Caroline Ross

Search Press

Introduction

Glancing at this book’s title, I noted the word foraged. Immediately my mind conjured up a mid-forest scene, maybe a truffle hunter or a wood cutter from a long forgotten tale. In other words, I had a definite description and a vision of what foraging was - is. Turing to the inner page, I am wrong. Let me tell you more.

Natural Yarn Dyes

25 vibrant and sustainable recipes

Anna Bauer and Eva Zethraeus

Search Press

What is the idea of the book?

We are often concerned about the environment and what we put into it as well as our own health. Thus the need to look to plants rather than strong chemicals. This is especially of interest when we are working with our hands using such mediums as dye. So that is where this book comes in - providing us with the knowledge to make our own natural plant based dyes.

Trish Burr’s Nature Embroidery Transfers

75 Iron-on designs

Trish Burr

Search Press

This book is ideal for those of us who struggle with conceptualising ideas ourself and need a back up plan - a way of creating beautiful embroidery with a little inspiration and a pathway to follow.

First thoughts? I felt out of my depth, the front cover shows a sample of perfectly placed, shaded stitches, forming a few nature posed motifs. I am an embroiderer, however I enjoy creating my ‘version’ of events. This seemed in binary opposition to my own practice….how could I aspire to this neat world? Yet I looked within, and now deem this to be more than a traditional fixed title, let me explain.

Crewelwork Then & Now

Exploring traditional designs and contemporary stitching

Hazel Blomkamp & Phillipa Turnbull

Search Press

For those of us who shudder at perfectionism - maybe we are scared by it - this book may at first yes, frighten you. But hold on - it gets interesting.

How To Live An Artful Life: 366 inspirations from artists on how to bring creativity into your everyday

Katy Hessel

Hutchinson Heinemann

Art is a gift, just as life is a gift. We can choose to notice it, or keep our head down - survive. We are not all going to be famous artists - we do not need to be, but we do however need to see. See what? Let Hessel guide you.

Layer, Paint and Stitch

Create textile art with machine and hand stitching

Wendy Dolan

Search Press

May I begin this review my making sure you are aware that this is a reprint of a book, initially published back in 2015. You might ask a few questions, given a decade has gone by. Namely, is it still relevant for us today? Was it a moment in art time, something past not present? I will explore my own highlights of this book within my review and show why this book is not a time related title.

crochet girls

10 SWEET & SIMPLE FRIENDS TO CROCHET & APPLIQUÉ

Colleen Lynch

Flat-Lay Crochet in a Day

Better Day Books

What’s your Crochet memory? Most of us will have had one. As a child, my grandmother's closest friend was a keen house decorator - of the crochet kind. Filled with cushions, waistcoats, tea cosy, those old fashioned armchair protectors…oh and the ahem toilet seat cover (warm eh). Then there was my own mother. I am still awaiting my blanket…..one day…..

Cozy Stitches: 12 Calm & Creative Embroidery Projects for Absolute Beginners & Beyond

Celeste Johnston

Schiffer Publishing Ltd

As I am writing my review isn the autumn, this book sits will all around me in a marriage of the pumpkin spice, red golden fallen leaves vibe. It is 168 pages long and has a consistent colour palette, of pastel and apricot and all things in this wheel. Think of all the beauty of the season from September - that is this book.

Field Guide to the Soul

An Inspired Activity Book to Help You Find Peace, Purpose & Connection through the Magical Teachings of Nature

Mandy Ford

Better Day Books

My introductory thoughts

Life matters, yet it is so easy to let the rush in and the rest out. Through this title, Ford endeavours to suggest ways we can let the natural surroundings - our environment which has been there all along, into our lives.

Kawaii Appliqué Quilts from Japan: How One Country’s Love of All Things Tiny Powers Today's Most Intricate Quilts (With 5 Projects from Top Designers)

Naomi Inchikawa and Teresa Duryea Wong

Schiffer Craft

Quilting can be seen as so many things, it is the chameleon of the textile world.

Fabulous Flowers with Acrylics, Paint 22 Blooms from Delphiniums to Dandelions

Ruth Alice Kosnick

Schiffer Craft

Only twenty two when there are so many flowers out there….I said to myself quietly. Wouldn’t it have been nicer to have a bigger more page ridden bible of a book, filled with all the flowers one can imagine?

Textile Fine Art: Conversations with Artists Creating by Hand

Helen Adams

Laurence King Publishing

My own thoughts and notes

A fellow artist, Helen Adams has long since been sitting well and truly on the edge of the arts. Her website, her name Textile Curator, so simple and obvious, and so memorable

Making Matters: In search of creative wonders

Clare Hunter

Sceptre

In a society where we obsess over recycling, get fined if we get it wrong - paper, plastic….goodness depending on your catchment area, you will be led down a different law path. Let me ask - do you get great joy from separating the lids from the bottles, the papers from the non recyclable plastic ready meal dishes….do you meditate while doing it thinking, wow, I am saving the earth, what beautiful materials?

Design Then Quilt: A Dynamic Guide to Creating Stunning Modern Quilts

Irene Roderick

Schiffer Craft

Dynamic. That is the word that stood out to me in this most recent tile, by Irene Roderick. It suggests fresh, new, enthusiastic, full of life. How does this relate to making quilts? It is a traditional craft, one which could have been done by Prairie women and modern artist alike. However it depends on the style. It is, as I seem an exciting genre.

The Cumulative Cloth: A Guide to Fabric Color, Pattern, Construction, and Embellishment (Wet Techniques)

Susan Brandeis

Schiffer Publishing

Basic idea behind this book

This is a real get into it book - it is in my opinion, not a “read and leave it on the page” - the whole point is to use its education to provide you with the ability to surface design yourself. It is a book with a direct intent, a purpose. If you are not wanting to use it, do not bother to buy it.