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Stitching Idyllic
Spring Flowers
Second Edition
A stitching guide for flowers that are easy to create and look real enough to pick
By
Ann Bernard
Copyright 2016 ,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-2675-4
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Ann Bernard, 2016
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
stitchingidyllic.blogspot.ca
REVIEWS
Once in a lifetime, a keen student obtains an authoritative text which becomes a firm foundation for everything that follows. In the world of botanical embroidery – this is that text. It is not the fanciful embroidery of the Jacobeans, nor the drooping coils of Art Nouveau. This is the rendering of botanically correct images using embroidery thread with due attention to hue and colour. It uses the techniques artists use to create the infinite complexity of natural patterns. Follow the detailed instructions and the numerous illustrations and you will be exploring all the different yellows to contrast the daffodil with the crocus. Perhaps you will be making your first detailed observations of the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem. Others will then recognize the plants in the embroidery garden you have created.
With profuse illustrations of stitched gardens, real flowers, embroidered flowers as well as line drawings and how-to diagrams, Ann brings you a lifetime of dedication to embroidery and botany. Anyone who is new to embroidery (as I was) will be successful if they follow her detailed instructions on preparation, colour choice and methods for stitching flowers. Your garden will bloom!
Bridget O'Brien, Guelph ON
This book had me itching to start stitching. The level of detail is wonderful for new stitchers and great for experienced stitchers to help maintain good stitching habits. She tells us how to do a certain operation and what not to do from her experience. I thought that was great for those of us who do not follow directions very well. Looking forward to your next book.
Marsha Fontes, Cambridge ON
Ann Bernard has written a wonderful instruction book on how to stitch miniature garden flowers. Ann's instructions are so clear and precise I would have no difficulty in achieving excellent results.
It is plain this work is dear to her heart. The numerous illustrations of her exquisite flowers demonstrate her dedication to achieving extremely lifelike results. They almost look like garden photos that have been altered with special effects, not pictures painted with thread! The book is also very readable and it’s like having the charming, affable Ann in the room; I could almost hear her voice as I read it! Every embroiderer who loves flowers should have a copy of this book in their personal library!
Lilith Muramasa, Guelph ON
This 2nd edition of Hand Stitch Recognizable Spring Flowers is a good book to learn how to create and embroider spring flowers in an easy, free style manner. Included are wonderful, full coloured photographs and examples. Only four basic stitches are used. The beginner stitcher will feel a sense of confidence as she works through the very clear step-by-step instructions. This book is a good investment for the beginner but also for intermediate and other stitchers who may appreciate help in creating designs. The informal conversational style of the contents is engaging. It is, as if you are taking a class, one on one, with Ann in your own living room.
Ann Bernard is to be congratulated for the time and effort put into producing this extremely helpful book. Her teaching and stitching experience come through the words.
Alison Jackson, Cambridge
ANN BERNARD'S STITCHING BIOGRAPHY
Ann learned to stitch at her grandmother's knee, progressing to win, at the age of 10, an adult first prize at the Cartmel Fair in the north of England. From that point she was hooked permanently. Ann graduated from the Royal School of Needlework in the 1950s and went on to become an Occupational Therapist before emigrating to Canada. In later years, she specialized in CranioSacral Therapy, treating those in need of specialized rehabilitation. Ann has been a member of the Toronto Guild of Stitchery and the Embroiderers’Association of Canada, and has worked on the Toronto Historical Embroidery. Since moving to Guelph, she has joined the Canadian Embroiders’ Guild, Guelph. Ann is married, has three children and a grandson.
She has taught classes in Traditional and Contemporary Crewel Work, Contemporary Gold Work, and Creative Surface Stitchery. Her work has been exhibited in Canada and the U.S.A. and she has been a recipient of the Embroiderers' Association of Canada's Leonida Leatherdale Award. Her greatest thrill is when her students try new techniques and create original embroideries. Then, when they win awards for their efforts, that is truly wonderful.
Although Ann is a well educated and experienced stitcher, she is a novice with computers and a camera. She has learned a lot writing these books and hopes that Spring Flowers 2nd Edition will be more readable and attractive for you. Several new flowers have been added to the text, together with more stitched gardens. Also included are ideas for projects other than pictures. The information has all been reviewed with the goal of improving the clarity for the consumer. The original four basic stitches and their adaptations have been used throughout the book including the front cover embroidery.
eBook format has been chosen to make the cost of this book affordable. Please respect copyright and purchase a new copy for a friend rather than copying or lending yours.
Ann thanks you for joining her on this stitching exploration. All good wishes on your journey!
INTRODUCTION
Here is another book on stitching flowers. After hundreds of years in which stitchers have followed their own creative urges and used all the information available, what else could there possibly be that that has not already been created? Some new ways to interpret flowers in stitches are here for you to enjoy and to make your own. As I browse the latest books of textile creativity, I admire the vision and ingenuity, but I like to have a needle and thread in my hand and to stitch on fabric.
This started many years ago when
