Customer Reviews

Victorian Needlepoint

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If you are a needleworker (or thinking of becoming one), favour the richness of tapestry and are looking for William Morris designs to reproduce, then the work of Beth Russell is exactly what you're looking for. She has adapted classic William Morris pieces for tentstitch in Appleton tapestry wools and produced easy-to-follow colour charts for cushions, chair upholstery, and rugs. I have a number of needlework books I purchased for the sake of one or two patterns I couldn't find anywhere else. With this book, I cannot decide which of all the designs to work first.

The designs in this book are terrific, and very adaptable. The difficulty is in the charts: the colors used in the design keys are different from the colors used in the charts, or the patterns are all outlined and the hand-drawn outlines are not along the graph lines. With patience, you can sort it out - the designs are so wonderful that it's worth the time.

I'll start by saying that I LOVE Beth Russell's interpretations of Arts and Crafts designs in this book as well as her other two. She's chosen wonderful motifs and arranged them into lovely, unique needlepoint projects. I speak from experience, as I'm now working on my third project from her books, the orange border design shown on the cover of her latest volume, worked on large canvas to make a rug. I highly recommend all three books for lovers of needlepoint, other charted needlework, arts and crafts design, or William Morris.

This book is beautifully laid out and lovely to page through and read, but its loveliness is one of its downfalls: The charts are printed in often washed-out color, without utilizing symbols to indicate yarn colors. Although this choice makes the charts pleasant to look at, the subtle differences between yarn colors are sometimes very hard to see in the charts, making working from them difficult. I spent too much time squinting at the latest chart, making little pencil dots on it to differentiate between LIGHT grey green and MEDIUM-LIGHT grey green!

I'll be proud of the resulting product, and will forgive Russell's editorial choice. Do consider buying this book, but be prepared for some challenges in using it.

Beautiful, classic designs, based on the works of William Morris. Not for the bunnies-and -kittens set. The charts are a bit hard to read, though.

I bought this book a few weeks ago after looking long and hard to find beautiful to stitch, not cheesy. I love the patterns, my only problem are the mistakes in the patterns- instead of fixing the color on the chart, there are notes in the text that indicate a certain area is supposed to be a different color than marked on the chart- causing confusion and ripped out stitches. Otherwise I love this book!

This book is absolutely beautiful. Definately one of the best. No silly, soft pictures here only classic, elegant needlepoint. Heirlooms to last for generations. I would recommend this book to any needlepoint enthusiast, beginner or experienced. Take your time, study the charts for timeless, breathtaking pieces.

I after an exhausting search for prefinished needlepoint canvases to recover my dining chairs, I was resigned to having to make my own. I wanted a vintage-feel that reminds me of my great-grandmothers home (she was born in the turn of the century). Beth Russells expert blending of colors in her work make these "masterpieces in wool". Not like some of the cartoony looking cross stitch patterns that are a dime-a-dozen these days. Just gorgeous floral, acanthus leaves and bird patterns--many replicating fabrics designed by William Morris. There is plenty of instruction given, so even a dedicated beginner could produce hierloom quality projects. Designs are appropriate for making pitcures for walls and photos to inspire uses for home decor (pillows and chair covers). The designs lend themselves equally well for working in counted cross stitch. I am not disappointed!

Beth Russell consistently produces charted needlepoint designs for those of us who like to produce our own creations. It is easy to follow her charts and even take several deslgns and combine them. For someone with little talent for drawing, but the desire for more original needlepoint designs, all of her books are great.

The projects in this book are excellent to say the least; I have done 3 of them; they take between 400-500 hours, but are simply elegant. The designs are beautifully done by Beth Russell, and they need to be done in Appleton tapestry. I am very glad I bought this and all of her books. They were all purchased through Amazon.com since Barnes & Noble and the other large suppliers do not have them in stock.