Customer Reviews

The Art of William Morris in Cross Stitch

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my least favorite of the spate of design books honoring the centennial of Morris' death in 1896. I found most of the designs using pale, pastel or heavily toned--the hue or color mixed with a lot of grey--rather than the clear, natural, and more saturated colors that Morris favored. Ms. Hammett's designs usually wander very far from the original--often only one motif is used out of a large project. This gives the designs a 1920's Art Deco feel, far from the rich Medievalism so lovingly expressed in Morris' tapestries, cloth, and wallpapers. Anyone wanting a more faithful Morris look should look to Beth Russell's work, especially "Victorian Needlepoint." On the plus side, Hammett offers an extraordinary variety of finishing techniques. I'll probably use them for other designs...

Barbara Hammet has created a wonderful tribute to William Morris in this work. For those unfamiliar with William Morris, she provides a work biography of the master artist. Though short, she gives examples of his work, and explanation of his background. Once this is explained, she launches into the rest of the book, where she offers more than 40 charts that are Hammet's interpretations of Morris' style. Pillows, bell pulls, small motifs, wall hangings, broaches, bookmarks, and even a full alphabet are some of the items she offers. She even gives the design and instructions for a 3-D treasure box! There are small motifs in a few colors, or larger items in less than 4 colors which would be very well suited to the beginning stitcher and many things that are large and complex for the experienced stitcher.

Another reviewer said these are poor examples of William Morris's work. I must disagree. These items are beautiful, and they are Barbara Hammet's art she BASED on William Morris. Still, any of these finished works would be the perfect compliment to Morris's art.

Because of the wide variety of skill levels and project scales I would highly recommend this book to any level of cross stitcher. Even those needle artists not interested in Morris might find a few projects they find enjoyable in this diverse volume. Hammet does offer instructions for finishing the projects and a few basic cross stitch instructions, but I would recommend purchasing the Cross Stitcher's Bible in addition if you have NEVER cross stitched before, as you will probably need more instruction than is provided here.

Highest recommendations!

I completed 5 of the projects in the book. Patterns relatively easy to follow and projects vary from simple to very complicated. Works were gorgeous on completion. I found one or two minor typos in the thread coding.

I love the William Moorris style and this book presents his designs in beautiful needlepoint patterns that can be produced by even a novice. There is also a good variety of types of projects. CLear charts and instructions.

I first purchased this book prior to hearing about Beth Russell. The projects in this book are relatively straightforward and attractive, however, they do veer off from what William Morris was really trying to accomplish (i.e. rich, medieval tapestry, etc..). Please compare to Beth Russell's interpreetation of W. M. I have made a couple of projects from the Barbara Hammett book, but in future, I will work on Beth Russell's William Morris interpretations which capture the Arts and Crafts essence alot better. Some of the skein counts in B. Hammett's book were inaccurate as well.

Overall, if you want a basic book on William Morris, without anything too complicated or costly, this book is for you. The materials for Barbara Hammett's projects average between the 20 and 30 dollar range per project. Beth Russell's book patterns average over 100 dollars since you have to buy costly wool and heavy duty top notch canvas. Still, there is no comparison between B. Hammett and B. Russell. Although I have enjoyed doing B. Hammett's projects, I will do B. Russell in future, despite the cost. B. Russell's projects are truly for heirloom quality keepsakes.

I just received this beautiful book in the mail. Several projects will look great in my American Arts and Crafts bungalow home. I have purchased the material for the Orange Bell Pull and found the materials information for the item inaccurate. Specifically, the fabric called for cannot be Sage Aida 16 count. When I placed all the skeins of floss against the fabric called for many colors washed right into the color of the fabric!
I find the book easy to view and very aesthetically pleasing to read. Howeveer, if this material information is any indicative of other corrections I need to problem solve I am going to be very upset as I spend time/money on projects only to be met with frustration caused me by an editor's oversite.
I will, therefore, remain hopeful and positive and continue to stitch! If a reader of this has done the Orange Bell Pull and would be interested in sharing their experience with me please email. drl34859_98@yahoo.com

I was fairly warned by the other reviews, but I bought this book anyway because I really like William Morris. There are a couple of very nice projects that I might actually do, but not nearly as many as I was hoping for in a book of this size. I am probably going to buy a book from Dover of Morris' designs and chart my own. These just wouldn't be up to Morris' standards. You should also know that many of these projects are tiny. So tiny that if you saw them stitched, you might not recognize them as William Morris patterns. I think most stitchers looking at this book are hoping for some large, lovely, tapestry-like patterns. Look somewhere else if that's what you're hoping for.

This book it really great. So often books like this are "inspired by an artist," yet the design is so far off base. This collection has designs that look as if Morris himself made it. A great addition to any cross-stitch collection!

I haven't tried any of the designs yet, but they look very nice. Much classier than your typical bunnies-and-kitties cross stitch book.