Crewelwork Then & Now
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.
What is this book about?
Crewelwork yes, but this title has a twist - it really looks at a forwards back view - in other words, we are gifted the past and the present all at once. It is so easy to look at Crewelwork as ‘traditional’. This in itself is not a bad thing, history has a strong place in our ongoing narrative. But what I love about this book is that it compares both the now and the past. How?
The authors and their parts in this book
Hazel Blomkamp takes a contemporary edge to her embroidery, so her writing within this book focuses on the contemporary. You will notice her subtle twists - not shocking, just small additions or alteration, or additions to support the Crewel Work.
Phillipa Turnbull looks at the depth of beauty behind the history of this method. Her part is a celebration, a recognition of what is not to be underrated - what we can learn from the past to inform our present work - or in fact simply appreciate for its worth without thinking of future possibilities.
What you will find in this book
Three main sections - the history, the contemporary and a comparison of the two.
There are eight main projects.
Tools, such as the charts are all housed in a separate envelope at the back of the book.
There is also an illustrated stitch dictionary so the stitches are clearly explained.
What visually are the designs about?
I see Crewelwork as depicting a story, in a motif illustrated format. It could be a floral scene, a bird, a cat…I enjoyed the Tabby Cat on page 63 and also the Greedy Squirrel on page 17 - the titles warm us to the projects which I found an interesting twist on my expectations, as I was projecting ahead to page through cold titles - my own preconception quashed!
Finally one little gem about this book
Coauthoring a book can either be successful or result in a disjoined piece of writing. In this case, I see it as a success and makes the book more universal in interest. Hazel lives in South Africa and Phillipa in England. Thus a wealth of cultural difference experienced so the authors have their own life journey’s to bring to the table. The ability of our times makes this possible.
