Stumpwork
is notorious for being one of the more advanced styles of
embroidery, and like just about everything produced by this
magazine, I would recommend this book for intermediate level
and up. If this is you, then rejoice, because this book manages
to update stumpwork for the 21st Century while retaining its
lush appearance and celebration of nature. The eight projects
depict flowers and fruits, and they have all been previously
featured in issues of Inspirations magazine. There are violas,
a coneflower and butterfly, windflowers, tansy, raspberries
and crabapples, strawberries and, my own favorite, the very
Jacobean partridge in a pear tree.
The
book opens with a two page history of stumpwork, and the rest
of the book contains the projects. Each one is several pages
long and has everything you need to complete the piece, including
a pattern on the sheet at the back tucked neatly into a pocket.
Along with many large and colorful photographs (so useful
due to the level of detail in each one), there are staged
photographs for stitches plus colored diagrams. What you need
is broken down into fabric, supplies, needles and threads
with DMC stranded floss being the main choice, but also Madeira
metallic, Anchor floss, perlé cottons, ribbon and various
types of silk threads. Each thread is assigned a number and
is referred to by it in the instructions, which apart from
the stitches are mostly in written form. At the back is a
glossary of all the stitches and techniques, each shown in
a good number of staged photographs. I think my favorite must
be the piece on how to utilise a real snail shell together
with wire, thread and glue to make a snail! This is a method
the original Jacobean embroiderers would have recognized.
A beautiful and inspiring book for the keeper shelf.
If you cannot find a good range of embroidery materials locally
try www.searchpress.com
for a list of suppliers.
Au Ver A Soie silk threads available from https://www.sewandso.co.uk/
Good range of DMC thread including floss and perlé
available from https://www.cloudcraft.co.uk/
Madeira metallic threads, Au Ver A Soie silk threads and Mill
Hill beads available from https://www.willowfabrics.com/
Kits for other embroideries and more available from Inspirations
Studios shipped worldwide https://www.inspirationsstudios.com/