Jane
E Hall’s name is synonymous with Search Press’s
rare forays into the world of the hardback book. This
means you can expect a lushly illustrated item that
would grace any coffee table and you certainly won’t
be disappointed. If you are hoping for a
hands-on how-to book filled with projects you will have
to go on wanting, but experienced embroiderers can use
the pictures and descriptions of techniques to create
their own masterpieces. Ms. Hall sets out
to celebrate the butterfly in both life and art, as
each chapter is devoted to one of twelve species of
British butterfly. You can find out all about them
and what food plants they like, gaze upon photographs
of the living creatures and discover how the author
sets about capturing their likeness in fabric and stitching. Read
about why butterflies are so endangered, and discover
how the Large Blue has been brought back from extinction
by the work of conservationists. You can
also read Ms. Hall’s personal involvement with
butterflies and the painstaking process of making both
the insects themselves and the settings she places them
in. There are many photos too of her lovely
home, a perfect setting
for creation, although if I had discovered the butterflies
were made on a rickety kitchen table in a caravan it
wouldn’t have detracted from the beauty of the
finished work. Read (this is no picture book,
there are a lot of words in here), gaze at the polished
photographs and be inspired not only to create but also
to try and help save these fragile creatures.
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