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 Elspeth reviews some books by
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| Updated: Oct 8, 2005 |
Home > Elspeth's Alcove > here
Country Bumpkin Publications asked Elspeth to review some of their books for this Web site. She was happy to help and the results are below. |
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CONTENTS[•] A-Z of Bullions |
All of these books are spiral-bound. You can lay them flat for easy reference! |
Who is Elspeth?
In the SCA*, my wife Elizabeth is known as Elspeth nic Cormac. She has been recognized as a lady of surpassing skill in both freehand embroidery and costuming with a focus on headgear. Also, she has done embroidery since before she went to elementary school.
* The SCA is an international organization that recreates and studies culture from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance with a focus on Europe.
A-Z of Bullions
From the publishers of Inspirations Magazine
Country Bumpkin Publications, 1999
ISBN 0957715994
This is a splendid book that focuses on the bullion stitch. It has comprehensive instructions on the creation of the stitch and variations on it, tips on diagnosing problems, and a discussion on materials and tools to use.
It shows variations on the classic bullion rose and then goes off in new creative directions with instructions on how to make animals, Christmas motifs, other flowers, food(!), and other designs using bullion stitch with patterns at the end of the book. This is a definitive guide for what can be a difficult stitch to master. I highly recommend it.
A-Z of Embroidered Flowers
Edited by Sue Gardner
Country Bumpkin Publications, 2001
ISBN 0957906900
This book is a collection of floral embroidery patterns ranging in difficulty from simple to advanced. The designs are arranged alphabetically by flower, and some flowers have multiple patterns. For instance, the pansy has six very different patterns listed. The patterns cover varied embroidery techniques, such as ribbon embroidery, regular freehand embroidery, stumpwork, and beadwork.
The book has some isolated instruction of a few specific stitches but does not cover all of the stitches required by the patterns. This is not a book for a raw beginner, but rather for those who already have working knowledge of embroidery stitches. This is a valuable reference for some lovely flower designs.
A-Z of Embroidery Stitches
From the publishers of Inspirations Magazine
Country Bumpkin Publications, 1997
ISBN 057715986
This book is an odd collection of embroidery stitches of many styles organized in alphabetical order. My preference would have been to have all the ribbon stitches together, all the counted thread stitches together, and all the freehand stitches together.
This is a relatively minor quibble however, because the instructional pictures and directions are all that one could ask for in a stitch dictionary. It’s a handy tool for looking up that stitch you may not quite remember how to do.
A-Z of Ribbon Embroidery
From the publishers of Inspirations Magazine
Country Bumpkin Publications, 2002
ISBN 0957906935
This is a wonderful compendium of ribbon embroidery techniques divided into four sections of information:
- The first section covers general information about ribbon embroidery materials and tools.
- The second section has instructions on stitch techniques. I found the instructional pictures to be clear and the directions easy to follow.
- The third section covers designs of specific flowers to embroider, which is what I really salivated over. The designs are truly lovely and elegant.
- The fourth section has pattern diagrams of the flower designs covered in the third section.
I found this book to be both user-friendly and inspiring. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in ribbon embroidery.
A-Z of Smocking
From the publisher of Australian Smocking & Embroidery Magazine
Country Bumpkin Publications, 2000
ISBN 0957715978
This book is a comprehensive guide to smocking technique and stitching. I found the instructional pictures overall to be very clear. A lot of good information is packed into this slim book and it has a lot to offer both beginner and advanced smockers. If it’s not everything you wanted to know about smocking technique, then it is darned close to it.
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Original page posted: October 6, 2005. Links tested: September 2, 2007. Last tweaked:
July 3, 2006.
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