Embroidered Country Gardens

Indulge your love of nature and gardens with this beautiful book on hand embroidery. You don't have to be a keen gardener to appreciate these lovely designs featuring gardens at their best, flowers and the creatures that live there. This reminds me of the vintage embroidery transfers my mother had collected and with which I learned the craft as a child. There is even a crinoline lady in the garden amid the buttonhole Hollyhocks and French knot delphiniums! But Ms Bateman has taken it farther than my old book showing basic freestyle stitches, as she has introduced some stumpwork, too, as well as beads, covered washers, buttons, trapunto and needlelace. This is very much a 21st century embroidery book that takes the traditional idealized garden worked in freestyle stitches and mixes it up a bit; this really brings it all to life. Starting from the beginning, you can discover how the author works and what tools and materials you need to obtain. There is advice on buying needles, storing threads and binding a hoop as well as a section with staged photographs showing how to cover buttons and washers, transfer designs, pad designs to make them raised and more. It is all very well explained with clear diagrams and explanatory text accompanying the many photographs. I like the way the best needle for each stitch is given, and there is even a section on perfecting those tricky bullion knots. Following this section is one giving an A-Z of garden flowers, showing the most commonly grown varieties in embroidery and explaining how they are worked. Roses get two whole pages all to themselves (most of the other flowers get a third of a page), and there are several different ways of working them using a variety of stitches. Also shown are things and creatures found in a garden that you might want to add, from archways to trugs, insects and birds together with that crinoline lady. Advice is given on how to design your own garden using very basic art materials like pens and coloured pencils. The rest of the book contains twelve projects showing how you can decorate all kinds of items using the author's designs. In place of the usual cushions and cards are some items embroiders would enjoy making and using including an ort bag, scissor keeper, pincushion, needle case and sewing bag. My own favourite has to be the lovely clutch purse which doubles as a pencil case. Each project has a list of what you need, photograph of the item in situ and pattern/diagram. Instructions are text only in rather small print - perhaps it is as well that there are patterns for a glasses case and magnifying glass! Even a beginner can practice the stitches and techniques earlier in the book, but the actual projects are aimed at intermediate level embroiderers who are also competent at making up items. Instructions for doing this are also given, again text only. This is a lovely book that certainly made me itch to start making that purse; one for the keeper shelf. If you cannot find a good range of embroidery and needlecraft materials locally try www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers. -- Rachel A Hyde * MyShelf.com * If you have ever been to one of Lorna Bateman's workshops then you will love this book. If you haven't then you are in for a treat. * SEW Region Magazine (June 2019) * I am very passionate about embroidery, I think the art of stitching fabulous designs lie in the ways of the teacher. Lorna Bateman both expertly explains and demonstrates the craft, and her 'pictures' come alive in this very, very beautiful book. The photography is stunning, and with the addition of templates, you will quickly be able to sew an amazing project. It will be easy to become a master of embroidery with just this one book. Embroidered Country Gardens lists all the tools you will need, it also gives you a comprehensive guide to needles.... if you thought there was only one kind think again!! The stitches are in A-Z order and what I loved was that each stitch is given a visual diagram, a hint and tip box and an easy to understand explanation. There are 12 projects, each one is perfect to practice your stitches and once again comes with specialist advice on getting a professional finish to your work. This is a must have book, inspired by nature it is quite divine. -- Tracy Shephard * Postcard Reviews * Indulge your love of nature and gardens with this beautiful book on hand embroidery. You don't have to be a keen gardener to appreciate these lovely designs featuring gardens at their best, flowers and the creatures that live there. This reminds me of the vintage embroidery transfers my mother had collected and with which I learned the craft as a child. There is even a crinoline lady in the garden amid the buttonhole hollyhocks and French knot delphiniums! But Ms Bateman has taken it farther than my old book showing basic freestyle stitches as she has introduced some stumpwork too as well as beads, covered washers, buttons, trapunto and needlelace. This is very much a 21st century embroidery book that takes the traditional idealized garden worked in freestyle stitches and mixes it up a bit; this really brings it all to life. Starting from the beginning you can discover how the author works and what tools and materials you need to obtain. There is advice on buying needles, storing threads and binding a hoop as well as a section with staged photographs showing how to cover buttons and washers, transfer designs, pad designs to make them raised and more. It is all very well explained with clear diagrams and explanatory text accompanying the many photographs. I like the way the best needle for each stitch is given, and there is even a section on perfecting those tricky bullion knots. Following this section is one giving an A-Z of garden flowers, showing the most commonly grown varieties in embroidery and explaining how they are worked. Roses get two whole pages all to themselves (most of the other flowers get a third of a page) and there are several different ways of working them using a variety of stitches. Also shown are things and creatures found in a garden that you might want to add, from archways to trugs, insects and birds together with that crinoline lady. Advice is given on how to design your own garden using very basic art materials like pens and coloured pencils. The rest of the book contains twelve projects showing how you can decorate all kinds of items using the author's designs. In place of the usual cushions and cards are some items embroiders would enjoy making and using including an ort bag, scissor keeper, pincushion, needle case and sewing bag. My own favourite has to be the lovely clutch purse which doubles as a pencil case. Each project has a list of what you need, photograph of the item in situ and pattern/diagram. Instructions are text only in rather small print - perhaps it is as well that there are patterns for a glasses case and magnifying glass! Even a beginner can practice the stitches and techniques earlier in the book but the actual projects are aimed at intermediate level embroiderers who are also competent at making up items. Instructions for doing this are also given, again text only. This is a lovely book that certainly made me itch to start making that purse; one for the keeper shelf. If you cannot find a good range of embroidery and needlecraft materials locally try http://www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers. -- Rachel A Hyde * MyShelf.com * This beautiful book was one of the most highly anticipated books here at Seashore Creative and it certainly lived up to expectations. What we love is the sheer volume of helpful information, particularly the detailed explanations of how to create each flower, plus the detail in the stitches, the patterns for tracing and templates. An absolutely stunning and gorgeous book! * Seashore Creative * If you love floral garden embroidery, especially if you like stitching small motifs that have an exuberant garden feel to them, you're just going to love this book. Embroidered Country Gardens is a beautiful book, and it's a thorough book when it comes to instruction for this type of free-style surface embroidery. I didn't see any cons to the book. It'll make a beautiful, fun, and attainable addition to your embroidery library, whether for reference or for further project development. * Mary Corbet - Needle n Thread * This book is a joy to read and use. Lots of information about different flowers, how and where they grow and how best to capture them in stitches. There're some lovely projects and detailed instructions on how to make and assemble them. It inspired me to create this piece of embroidery. It's a go to title for both experienced and novice stitches alike. -- Marion Dickins * Customer review * I was delighted to receive this wonderful book of traditional embroidery. The instructions are so clear it's brilliant for beginners of embroidery as well as experienced people like myself. There are a number of projects to complete along with patterns to get you started. I have already used several of the stitches to complete a task I have already started. Brilliant clear instructions to follow for all levels of embroiderers. -- Pauline Pritchard * Customer review * Even if you have never embroidered before you would be confident enough to pick up a needle and start after reading this book. It is probably best suited to beginners rather than more experienced stitchers as the author has gone into lots of detail on techniques such as backing your fabric and transferring designs. There are also detailed illustrations of different stitches as well as templates for 12 very pretty projects which will appeal to those who like their embroidery traditional. There are instructions to create many flowers from agapanthus to wisteria (especially love the hollyhocks and pansies) but also birds, insects, pots, tools and other accessories . The idea is to give you enough confidence to design your own gardens. Projects range from a wall hanging to a scissor keeper and thread catcher. Practice blooms could easily be used for cards that will be treasured by family and friends. There are also embroidered buttons which would be a very special present for a knitter. Lorna Bateman has been a full-time embroidery teacher for 30 years. She has a business selling her designs in kit form at www.lornabatemanembroidery.com but this is her first book. -- Diane Chalmers * Customer review * This book is stunning! If you love traditional embroidery designs you'll love this. The projects are varied so there's something for every maker and Lorna Bateman guides you through each project making them simple to follow. I particularly love the fact that there's a section at the back showing you how to finish your work off. -- Lizzie Powell * Customer review *