Julie Hasler's Fantasy Cross Stitch: Zodiac Signs, Mythical Beasts and Mystical Characters [Hardcover]

Julie S. Hasler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1998

Bring a new and exciting look to your cross stitch with this collection of 60 fantasy designs. Hasler takes the subjects of myth, mystery and magic in a portfolio of designs you can recreate in simple cross stitch to produce unusual gifts. Includes a charted design for each Zodiac sign, easy to follow colour chart and step by step instructions.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Drawing on the realms of lore, legend, and magic, Fantasy Cross Stitch is a stunning gallery of intricate designs, a refreshing departure from the usual cross-stitch themes. Celestial subjects and mythological figures abound, from the signs of the zodiac to unicorns and mermaids to wizards and warriors. Accomplished needlework designer Julie Hasler finds inspiration in many places and many eras: medieval Europe, ancient Egypt, Greek and Norse mythology, the Orient, and the heavens. Each of the 23 highly detailed designs is fully charted in color, plus there is nice background information about each one. We learn, for example, that the ibis-headed Egyptian deity Thoth is credited with the invention of hieroglyphics, and that the Chinese dragon's waking, sleeping, and breathing was believed to determine night and day. In addition, a "symbol library" charts 35 smaller motifs (such as the yin-yang, Viking runes, Hindu talismans, and early Christian symbols). With subtle shadings and elaborate detail, these designs are apparently meant for the more experienced stitcher. But the artwork is good enough that anyone intrigued by these mystical motifs may even want to consider adapting them to other crafts. --Amy Handy

From Library Journal

Hasler, the compiler of numerous collections of cross-stitch motifs (e.g., 500 Cross Stitch Charted Designs, LJ 10/15/97), has ventured into the fantasy world that is popular with modern stitchers. The designs she offers are more complex than many in her earlier collections and are presented as projects for pillows, bags, and clothing. The zodiac designs are particularly striking. Each design is charted in color and symbols with a DMC thread key. A small section of motifs is charted in color only, though there are color photographs of all the finished projects. Sure to be a popular selection.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Sterling Pub Co Inc (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0715305719
• ISBN-13: 978-0715305713
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #953,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy and legends with style, September 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Julie Hasler's Fantasy Cross Stitch: Zodiac Signs, Mythical Beasts and Mystical Characters (Hardcover)

I have found this book to be wonderful. I bought it whilst on holiday in England, (New Zealand is my home)and have used several of the designs already. The Pegasus and Unicorn are very good with only using 3 colours for the main design (4 if you count the one accent in black) The star signs are really wonderful, very courful. The oriental Dragon is striking, the wizard is, though just the top half,good to do in any fantasy background. I love Frey and Sif the Vikings, then of course there is the mermaid as well,I just hope I get time to do more of Julie Hasler's talented work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good renditions of zodiac symbols but lacking elsewhere., December 9, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Julie Hasler's Fantasy Cross Stitch: Zodiac Signs, Mythical Beasts and Mystical Characters (Hardcover)

Julie Hasler's renditions of the zodiac symbols are WONDERFUL!!! I have not seen better anywhere else (and I've looked!) However, my praise must be tempered by the rest of the book. Except for one chart of the moon,the rest of the designs were no where near the quality of the zodiac, and at almost $28 this was a pricey buy!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lovely designs, horrible presentation, July 3, 2002

By 

"tistutzman" (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Julie Hasler's Fantasy Cross Stitch (Paperback)

I really wanted to like this book, and I love most of the designs themselves. What I have an extreme difficulty with is the horrific charts. The small projects are fine. The larger ones are dreadful, being that in order to squeeze them all in, they are so reduced in size that they are nearly illegible. The lack of stitch-counts (or none that I could find, anyway) is also a minus for me; for those of us who rarely use the "recommended" fabric (particularly Aida, which I loathe and never use), this creates the necessity of hand counting the projects (and some of them are massive) in order to calculate fabric size--a hassle and very annoying.

So the book as a whole gets 3 stars based on the designs themselves and the pretty pictures. The charting gets a 0.