Customer Reviews

Creative Hand Embroidery

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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This is an absolutely amazing book. As a moderately experienced embroiderer and fiber arts person, I mostly drew inspiration and instruction from the many color pictures, not just of the author's embroideries, but those of her students! The embroideries pictured are just stunning. What is truly impressive is just how technically simple this embroidery style is. She does provide very complete instructions on the stitches (straight stitches, french knots, and lazy daisies are about as complicated as it gets) but mostly this book is about ideas and artistry. She provides complete directions on one example, but then clearly she wants you to branch out and embroider your own gardens and landscapes. And I was able to! I'm not the greatest artist, but using this book I've been able to create original embroidery designs that look almost as good as those in the book! If you are getting a little tired of cross-stitch or following other people's designs, this is the book for you!

I've been waiting for this book on back order and it was worth the wait! The scenery pictures in the book which have been embroidered (very well) by Sue's students, present a real variety of scenes and what interests me the most is some of them have other skills besides embroidery used, for example, you can create a realistic stone wall - and a gate! I love that kind of creativity because it adds to the picture you are creating and means you can embroider anything at all, not just landscapes. Each secne in the book has information on stitches used, and preparation, eg, some have painted sky or background which adds to the realisticness of the scenes. The scenes are English in case you are Australian or American/Canadian, but the majority just need local flowers added to make it fit your country. Excellent book, can't wait for her other book to arrive!

I was ready to go a step higher in my embroidery work, and this is it! I have both of Sue's books, and pour over them looking at the lovely photos of work the ladies have done, getting inspiration for my own. I have already, since Christmas, completed three projects of this type and have more in my head. You don't have to have alot of experience, she has all the needed stitches shown right there, and you can complete them with little cost for materials (also listed in the book.)