A-Z of Needlepoint (A-Z Embroidery Series)

Jan 06

Anybody who has ever seen the very beautiful Inspirations needlecrafts magazine is sure to be impressed, and the news that they publish books too is even better. If you don't live in Australia getting hold of them was not easy, but Search Press are selling them to people in the UK and beyond. I used to think that needlepoint was tent stitch or cross stitch, but a look into this book reveals more than 65 different and lovely stitches.

Lots of stages color photographs make learning them easier than many other similar books as each stitch has so many stages - some complex ones are over twenty. They are in full color, but the easiest to follow are the ones where the yarn used is a good contrast to the canvas. Some of the paler yarns make the stitches less clear so read this in a good light! It is a feature of this series to pepper their books with pretty historical illustrations, quotes and tidbits of information about the history of the type of work, as well as gorgeous examples of projects from Inspirations magazine. Combined with the spiral back, this all adds up to a handsome, user-friendly and useful primer. My only sorrow was the lack of any projects at all; I wanted to do more than just practice my newfound knowledge of needlepoint. There are other books available in the series, and of course that magazine but even half a dozen projects would have made a good book truly great.

Mar 06

This is a handy little spiral-bound book with a fold over spine. It contains 65 different stitches with a little history at the beginning, which is quite fun. Unfortunately, rather than using diagrams for the stitches, the book shows step-by-step photos in pale, slightly shiny, thread on light-coloured canvas. This does make it quite difficult to see. However, the fact that you can see the stitch building up could be quite useful, especially when it is worked in two colours. Could well be worth it but oh I do wish they'd used a darker thread.