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Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies in Ribbon Embroidery and Stumpwork

by Di van Niekerk

     

Whenever I hear that Search Press has another title out by Di van Niekerk, I have to request a review copy of it. I know what its fate will be—my keeper shelf!  This one is no different, showing how you can adorn your walls with stitched masterpieces based on Cicely Mary Barker’s timeless and beautiful Flower Fairies.

If you are a novice needlecrafter, you would probably be better off not looking in here, except to see what you can aspire to with plenty of practice.  This is one for the more advanced stitcher, and a more exhaustive set of instructions really cannot be imagined.  There is everything in here, from copiable prints the right size to transfer to your cloth, to lists and lists of what you need to buy and what stitches to use.  You can learn the stitches in here if you don’t know them all, and this book combines some excellent drawn diagrams of these with lots of small but clear photographed details of the work in progress.  Books like this make everything else look sketchy, although of course this is a book showing how to reproduce the author’s work exactly.  If you want to add your own special touch you will need to change things, so make sure you read it through first!  Five fairies are shown in here, from oft-reproduced favourites like the "Red Clover Fairy" to the less well known "Black Medick Fairies."  You will have some real masterpieces if you work through all these and will learn a lot about this type of lush needlework into the bargain.  I love it!

If you cannot find a good range of needlecraft materials locally try SearchPress.com for a list of suppliers.

Reviews of other titles by Di van Niekerk

Dreamscapes in Ribbon Embroidery and Stumpwork
Embroidered Alphabets With Ribbon Embroidery
Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies in Ribbon Embroidery and Stumpwork
Little Flowers In Silk and Organza Ribbon
Monograms and Words in Ribbon Embroidery

UK Reviewer: Rachel Hyde's work can be found in The Bead Magazine, Making Jewellery and www.craftsuprint.com/rachel-a-hyde/

The Book

Search Press
January 2009
Paperback
1844484300 / 9781844484300
How-To Books / Needlecraft
More at Amazon.com US || UK

The Reviewer

Rachel A Hyde
Reviewed 2009
© 2009 MyShelf.com