Customer Reviews

Brenda Keyes' Traditional Samplers

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

 

 

This is Brenda Keyes 5th book and as motivating as the other 2 I have. Twenty samplers are featured, with many smaller samplers, inspired by a wide range of antique motifs. There is a sharp color photo of each sampler, many in room settings. They are stitched beautifully on linen and Aida, in bright complementary colors, suited for beginning to advanced stitchers. Samplers are well displayed, framed and matted using inspirational methods and materials. Charts are in color, and black and white, and are very easy to follow. There is an added assortment of 10 alphabets for personalizing samplers with initials and dates. Framing methods are suggested, cleaning stretching, use of acid-free materials and charting your own designs are explained. I look forward to stitching my own samplers from this collection inspired by antiques that our ancestors put great effort in creating.

Although I liked the book and the fact that it contains patterns for the samplers, the first 2 samplers I worked on had some glaring mistakes in the pattern that should have been fixed by either the author or her copy editor.

The first sampler I did was the Engagement Sampler (pgs 66-69). The sampler called for DMC 3021 thread which was identified in the pattern in the book as mid-green and was mid-green in the picture of the finished product. However DMC 3021 is not mid-green in fact it is a dark brown color. I ended up using DMC 3051 for the color which was a green color.

The second sampler I worked on was the Edwardian Style Birth Sampler (pgs 118-121). The first typo was in the Alphabet border (they list A-Z twice around the border) the letter "G" on the left side is different from the letter "G" at the top. They should both be the same and the left "G" should be like the top "G". The other typo is the omission of a warm brown border (DMC 434) around the basket of the hot-air balloon. The warm brown border appears in the picture of the finished product but is not in the pattern.

As I really liked having the patterns in the book, I would have loved to give this book a 5-star review but with mistakes like these in the 2 samplers I completed I felt as though the author or copy editor didn't really pay enough attention to the details. I haven't worked on any of the other samplers so I don't know if there are any other pattern typos.

I thought this book paled in comparison to Brenda Keye's other book, The Sampler Motif Book.....I ended up giving it away....

When you are - as I am - passioned about (traditional) samplers, stitching and embroidery, you need to buy books from Brenda Keyes.

This books gives you nice and clearly traditional patterns. You are also shown how to use them in modern arrangements. Very good technical support.

I don't need to tell you how nice it is to have this book in your little sampler librabry. You can look at it as much as you like.

Nice book in very good condition. Excellent seller : good packed and quickly send.

Negative : expensive international postal costage.

If you like Samplers, this is a wonderful book for you. Other reviewers have stated the charm and attention to detail that Brenda Keyes uses as a standard of excellence in this book. It is well worth the time and the investment to have in your library. I particularly appreciate the color charts and the educational instruction she includes with each piece and in the introduction to the book. There are full scale smaplers and some delightful motifs combined from the differing pieces that she pictures as stand alone designs. I am well pleased. My only regret is that the suppliers she lists are all in the UK. I guess that's why we have our cross stitch magazines; so that we can see where to look for our resources here in the USA. And yes, we do have the internet also.