Customer Reviews

Proper Stitch: A Guide for Counted Thread

5 star:		(6)
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This book has no equal - period. Interesting information, clear and concise directions and diagrams. Everything from simple running and cross stitches to those that take over 30 passes of the needle to complete, all easy to follow. No serious needlewoman should be without this one, but alas it is out of print. Someone PLEASE get Symbol of Excellence to run a re-print!!!

This book is out of print and extraordinarily rare! If you find a copy, snap it up at any price. It was published ten years ago by Symbol of Excellence Publishers and is the absolute best cross-stitch book I have ever owned (which is saying a lot - I have shelves of books, magazines, and patterns). Darlene O'Steen, considered one of the best - if not THE best - needlework expert and instructor in the country has assembled instructions for dozens of unique and interesting 17th century stitches that will transform your needlework and the way you use and look at threads and linen. The book is spiral-bound, printed on very expensive paper, and the (autocad?) diagrams are in full color and are the easiest-to-understand stitch instructions I've ever seen. The diagrams transform what could be quite challenging stitches into a simple step-by-step process. The book itself is a beautiful masterpiece celebrating a unique art. I was lucky enough to buy a copy of this book when it first came out, paying ($) at a cross-stitch shop, and I made one of the three samplers in the book - it didn't take that long to complete and looks lovely. Recently I came across another copy at a library sale for $3 and snapped it up fast enough to make my wrist hurt. No surprise - I found a (very happy) buyer who paid me ($) for the book. That was probably too low. I am hanging on to my remaining copy for dear life. You can look on ebay, you can call the publisher, you can look on addall, and you won't find it anywhere. Hopefully they'll reprint it someday, but I called Symbol of Excellence to ask and they said they have no plans to reprint it. Their advice? "Look on Amazon or ebay." So if you CAN find it, get it - and enjoy Darlene O'Steen's stitching wizardry.

I missed out on The Proper Stitch when it was first released, but I picked up the second edition copy when it came out. This book is a much loved resource for lovers of samplers. Ms. O'Steen presents several samplers and diagrams for many stitches, derived from old samplers. She has been designing samplers for many years, too. Unfortunately, the original has been out of print for years, and people buy and sell this book for huge amounts of money. The updated version is better than the original in that it offers additional samplers, but the photos of the historical pieces shown in the first edition are missing. The information has been shuffled a bit, but otherwise it is a treasure that all sampler lovers should have in their libraries.

Guess what folks. It's been reprinted!!!! Saw it at the Just Cross Stitch seminar in Colonial Wmsbg this afternoon (3 Dec 06). Amazon doesn't have it, but it IS out there to be had. I don't remember the exact price, but it was approx. $45.00. Hope that makes someone's Christmas brighter!

The bible of stitchers. A must for every cross stitcher! Wonderful illustrations, and three lovely samplers!

Get the revised edition if you can. It has three band sampler projects at the end that are worth the cost of the book in themselves. No stitcher of counted thread work should be without this book. Illustrations are large and clear, and there is plenty of helpful advice.