Freshly Stitched
Freshly Stitched: Modern Embroidery projects for Absolute Beginners
Celeste Johnston
Better Day Books
Introduction
The book is published by Better Day Books, a publisher tho really focus on wellness and activating ways to achieve this through creative methods. The aim is to finish a book and feel uplifted in some say. This book is no exception, based for beginners and those who maybe wish to freshen ideas, all on embroidery and its methods.
Author
Celeste Johnston has an embroidery company called Lemon Made Shop (check it out) and she is also the author of about two other books. She focuses on cute, but not simperingly so embroidery art - think florals and bunnies which really make you smile not cringe. She likes in the USA.
Why this book over so many with the same focus on beginners embroidery?
She has another book which actually works well with this one (seen soon or already published on my Book Review list). This is embroidery for the young mum, the school learner, the person who maybe feels like they left their embroidery too long on the shelf and do not know where to start in this more modern world. This is suitable embroidery for the now.
The projects are very portable, the sort you can take on your car journeys or even the bus - well even a holiday - ideal for the busy person who needs their enjoyable time to be done on the move.
It’s an honestly written book - the author is just like anyone of us and she makes sure that she puts that across in the way she writes. No talk downs here - no made to be smalls. She’s a mum, a worker, a wife - she has roles. So she can educate us in a way that lies in tandem with that. She has managed - so why can’t we?
The books hidden (at first from the cover) themes
Although the cover does not say it strongly, the projects are all botanically founded - this does not make it boring - botanical art has seen a rise in recent years - we all need a sense of soothing and maybe its found within the florals for you.
Notes on contents
I loved the little details such as colour advice and the template section at the back.
On page 24 we get a very unusual section - Notes on Self Care. Really? I questioned. Yes! Down to the way you sit when making your embroidery! Visually we are given examples of a space which would work for this sort of embroidery or creative work.
Finally
Even though I am not at this embroidery level, I still appreciated it as a book I would look at myself and use as a teaching tool.
