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Book review: Glorious Embellishing

August 29, 2011 by Denise Felton Leave a Comment

Australian needle artist Gloria McKinnon has put together Glorious Embellishing for Martha Pullen’s publication company. This book is all about traditional-style crazy quilting: rich, colorful fabrics; antique images; complex embroidered seam treatments; silk-ribbon and beaded embellishments.

Project directions are a bit skimpy, assuming the reader already understands the necessary techniques. This led me to believe the book was not for beginners. But when I got to the instructions for thread, silk-ribbon, and bead embroidery, I found all the detail a beginner could wish for. So I think, as the title suggests, this book is not so much about creating crazy-quilting projects as on embellishing them.

Photographs of the projects are gorgeous. When it comes to instructions, be prepared for typical pattern-style line drawings. The pattern sheet is bound into the book–it must be permanently removed from the book for use. (You could always glue a heavy envelope to the inside back cover to keep the patterns with the book once you’ve used them.) A nice feature is the inclusion of nine antique-style images, Priscilla Ladies, that can be used to create photo transfers.

The book retails for US$24.95. ISBN 978-1-878048-64-6.

You could win a copy from CraftGossip! Go to the giveaway post.

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The Goldfish by Henri Matisse Advanced Cross Stitch Kit Review

The Goldfish by Henri Matisse Advanced Cross Stitch Kit transforms one of Matisse’s most colourful paintings into an impressive needlework project.

The original 1912 artwork is known for its vibrant colours and unusual composition, both of which translate beautifully into … Read More ...

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