Customer Reviews

A Cross Stitcher's Oriental Odyssey

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book by Joan Elliott truly takes you on an odyssey.

The first part of the odyssey begins with the cover image of the Oriental Lady "Wisdom" and continues inside with small and simple florals, sachets, notecards and trinket bowls as well as large and more complex pictures, all rich with color and attention to detail.

The second part of this Oriental Odyssey begins with the first words of the Introduction. Joan's love of the Orient is obvious in the history lesson she relates about such cultural staples as the kimono, the obi, the paintings, calligraphy and feng shui. Each design contains a more detailed description of the extensive symbolism within.

The third piece of this odyssey is the urge to stitch that is created from the color charts. The number of floss colors required to stitch these designs is minimal given the amount of detail achieved in each. Joan was also able to make the designs rich in symbolism while maintaining a trademark of her work - a deceivingly simple and easy-to-follow flow in the charts.

This Oriental Odyssey concludes with pages of instructions for finishing your projects as they appear throughout the book. These instructions are written and illustrated in a clear and concise fashion. A bonus for those who are not confidently creative is the recommendations by the author that various designs can be finished in the same manner as others.

After closing the book it became very clear that Joan Elliott not only loves Oriental art but also has an ability to incorporate it into her cross stitch designs and share it with others. She not only created designs that are appealing but also that relate a story within the borders of their stitches.

I love cross stitch and needlepoint and I also love oriental designs. This book fits both criteria and then some! You will find wonderful designs, some very small and quite a few large ones. Two things are really appreciated...very few colors are used (which is amazing given the depth of the designs) and very few fractional stitches are used, which again makes the stitching that much more enjoyable. Three large designs of geisha's are included and several designs focus on oriental plants and calligraphy. I would definitely rate this as one of the best cross stitch books I have ever purchased.

I ordered this book seeing the good reviews and because I wanted some oriental cross stitch designs and I must say, I havent been disappointed at all! All the designs in the book are breathtakingly beautiful. Like another reviewer has mentioned, tbe designs are all vivid in detail and rich in color, yet the palette used is limited. There are patterns in all sizes, a few big ones, a few medium sized ones and a few small ones. They are beautiful and easy to work on, yet the end result looks amazing. It is now my favourite cross stitch book.

Joan Elliott caputured the beauty of the orient in her cross stitch designs in this book. Finally there is a source of beautiful oriental designs from graceful women draped in colorful kimonos to Chinese calligraphy. There is also a nice introduction to oriental art and easy to follow color graphs. There is a huge selection of designs and the patterns are easy to stitch. It is a pleasure to see oriental designs make it into the market place in such an elegant way.

Full color charts - great designs, ranging from small to large.
Charts include ladies, flowers, and oriental symbols. The designs are lovely and all the charts are easy to read. I hope this author plans to do another book on this subject, as Asian designs of good quality are hard to find. Great book - I highly recommend to anyone who likes Asian designs.

These designs are absolutely stunning! Every design is beautifully finished and photographed. The charts are large and very easy to read. The charting is done with both symbols and colored squares so you can easily determine which thread to use for each stitch. And as an added bonus there is a paragraph or two about the history and symbolism of each design.

About four years ago I bought four kits that came from this designer but missed out on buying the other two from the collection. Well imagine my surprise and delight when I bought this book and found all of them in it. These designs are excellent, easy to follow and beautiful when completed. THey also transfer over easily to needle point when using an 18 ct mono and floss instead of wool. This is a great edition to anyone's collection

Whether a beginning or advanced stitcher, this book has something for everyone.
There's a wide variety of designs included in this book- oriental ladies beautifully adorned in intricate dress, Chinese/Japanese script, florals, and animal designs. The patterns range all sizes, and the book offers a variety of projects (towels, tablecloths, wall hangings,pillows, and sachets).
Not only are these designs beautiful, they are also very easy to follow. All patterns are pre-colored, and although the end results appear intricate, the process of following these designs is quite simple.

The designs are beautiful, but the recommended fabric is Rustico Aida by Zweigart. This fabric is very difficult to get, and not one I'd use for showcase stitching--which these could be. I would recommend stitching these on a linen evenweave.

Looking for a book with beautiful oriental designs? This book is it, and then some! This book has realistic, well done oriental designs. The various sized projects means you can start out with something small and not feel overwhelmed. There are many wonderful designs and the charts are printed larger, making them easy to follow. I've been looking for good oriental designs for a while and I wasn't disappointed in this book at all! I can't wait to start my first project!