Customer Reviews

Stitching pretty: 101 lovely cross-stitch projects to make

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

 

 

I admit when I saw the Better Homes and Garden in the title I wrinkled my nose and thought it would be an average, cute book. But I was wrong.

Not only is it a well thought out book with excellent text, photographs and step by step, easy to follow directions but it is a book with ideas for any lifestyle or home decor. My favorites being the rooster on pages 21-23 and the Gloria Sampler on page 29, Mothers Sampler on page 42-43, the various wedding samplers that begin on page 44. I love and am doing the Consider the Lilies piece from pages 78-81 and will soon start the Flower Shop (pages 82-87), and the Family Tree from pages 141-145, which anybody interested in genealogy would love.

I am so glad I bought this book and the Amazon.com price is wonderful !!![...]

I don't usually take the time to write reviews, but I had to for this BH&G gem, especially since one hasn't been written as of yet. SOMEone has to let cross stitch fanatics know what they're missing! :)

This book is chock full of gorgeous charts for a variety of topics such as nuptials, love, home, samplers, florals, and hearts, just to name a few. Each one is printed in color and accompanied by clear instructions, as well as a materials and supplies list. In addition, each project has been beautifully stitched and photographed for inspiration.

There's a particular project I consider just one my many favorites, as well as probably the most challenging, called "THE FLOWER SHOP," in which the design is worked on two pieces of fabric and utilizes a combination of several different stitches (besides those of cross stitch) to arrive at a pretty spectacular piece of work. I was both excited, and I must admit, a tad intimidated to try it. If a cross stitch book can arouse this type of reaction out of me, I consider it a definite "keeper" for my library.

"...STITCHING PRETTY..." also contains patterns with instructions for the use of metallic and silk threads, a variety of beads, ribbon, etc. Speaking for myself, I love it when cross stitch books include patterns which call for the use of these items as part of the design, for they only enhance what I am capable of creating with just thread alone.

I happen to adore books with projects dedicated to the different skill levels of counted cross-stitch, especially those geared toward the more experienced stitchers. Very rarely do I see cross stitch books containing patterns for intermediate/advanced stitchers and in my opinion, there should be a lot more of them.

If you're brand new to cross stitching and are just learning the basics, though it DOES include "how-to" illustrations for all of the stitches required to do each project, this book will still probably be a bit too advanced for you. However, if you plan on sticking with it, please purchase the book because I'm sure it will serve as nothing less than an inspiration for you to continue with the craft.

If you're already an intermediate to advanced stitcher, purchasing this book will result in smiles and excitement, as the most troublesome thought you might have is trying to figure out which design you'd like to stitch first!

P.S. Merely just a suggestion...with each chosen pattern, you may want to copy it on a photo copier prior to stitching. It's a very nice quality book and I'm sure you won't want to "age" it prematurely with constant handling. Happy Stitching!! :)

This book features absolutely gorgeous charts in a nice variety of styles. The best part, to me, was that the charts are flawless - something you can only achieve by stitching each chart to test it, and someone has obviously done that for this book. I just completed the sampler of rows of houses as a gift for my mother-in-law, and it turned out beautiful.

Fair warning: this is not for the beginner cross-stitcher! But if you have advanced beyond the easy kits and want to really create some art, this book is for you.

As another reviewer noted, these aren't (for the most part) quick-to-stitch designs, but don't be scared off (though there are some items such as a bookmark, sachet bag, etc.). There are bears, birdhouses, hearts, houses, flowers, wedding items, a couple Christmas designs, and children. They are attractive designs with enough detail that they are attractive when finished, but they are not highly time-consuming designs, and scanning the book, I could not find any that you couldn't readily complete with ordinary floss. A rather classy book with a little something for everybody.

These are beautiful pictures, but difficult. If your like me and need fast projects because of small children, forget it. They use lots of beads and special threads. I think its great for your library. But these are very long and specialized, detailed graphs. I have to tell you I was happy that I bought it, but I will not be using it soon, some day when I have more time. There are some beautiful wedding samplers, pictures of flowers and no holiday special pictures, which I loved. If you like to work with beads and special threads go for it, if your a simple cross stitch lady like me with no time, wait until you have more time.

I purchased the book a while back when I began jewelry making.I found this book to be a great. Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

I thought I would really like this book. It's just not the kind of designs I like. It has way too many samplers for my taste. I really liked the tea cozy but there's not much in the way of instructions for it. I'm glad I only paid $5 for it with shipping. I'd be really disappointed if I paid full price.

Just a little hint, if you collect cross stitch patterns from magazines, you probably already have half these designs.

There are a few cute patterns, just not enough that I like.