A Passion for Needlework: Blakiston Creamery

A Passion for Needlework: Blakiston Creamery is the third book in the series. Inside you will experience the delight of beautiful embroidery and inventive design sitting perfectly at home in an environment of rustic textures. Twelve new stories of superb needlework are showcased in a premium hard cover with a fabric spine, pocket for pattern sheet storage and high-grade paper stock.

About the Author :
With a rich history forged with needle and thread, Inspirations Studios publishes the world’s most beautiful needlework books and magazines. They are based in Australia; for more information visit www.inspirationsstudios.com.  

Review :
The concept is simple: a dozen embroideries from the same number of designers assembled in one location. The execution, however, is so much more. It involves all the care and attention to detail you’d expect from the Inspirations Studios team. The resulting book is a treat on every level. There are the coffee table pages: beautiful photography, beautifully staged. The imagery elevating the embroideries to objects of unquestioned beauty. Then there are the business pages where the art of achieving the same results for yourself is boiled down to clear and confident instruction. The designers come from all over the world. Their stunning designs embrace the traditional, the quirky and the practical: William Morris inspired crewelwork, a sea turtle sculpted in goldwork and handy little pots with stumpwork lids. All are aimed at those with experience. And all are exquisite. This is a glorious celebration of top-end hand embroidery at its best. The beautiful setting provides a stunning backdrop against which the designs can shine [...] As ever with Inspirations, the setting of each photograph is meticulously planned with gorgeous detail to tell the story of the work on show. Each section is accompanied by the some word from the designer on their history and experience, an an introduction tp the project itself.  And what lovely projects they are! Lovers of rich coloured silks, nature and a bit of sparkle will fall for Cynthia Jackson's Tudor Garland and Susan O'Connor's Mirror image, the latter presented as a frame for a small looking glass.  Christine P. Bishop's Tulipan is a crisp, delicate piece of traditional Hedebo, or Danish Lace, shown as both a table mat and a feature on a cushion cover. While Christine Burton's Limonera Pear, the book's cover star, puts a modern spin on blackwork, using variegated coloured threads and glass beads to decorate a three-dimensional linen pear pincushion, topped with a metal thread leaf and a felted stalk. [...]  An embroidery book featuring beautiful designs is nothing without clear and detailed instructions to accompany them, and Inspirations bring their years of experience in this area to the book. Each pattern features pages of photos and step by step instructions, followed by explanations of all the techniques required to complete each design. Stitches needed for each piece are listed at the beginning of each section, along with guidance on the best way to transfer the design to the fabric and a suggested order of work. This is essential for a complicated piece which can be intimidating for a new stitcher.  [...] The extremely high quality of the projects included in Blakiston Creamery, as with any Inspirations publication, can seem a little daunting. However, while a certain level of previous experience is certainly beneficial, there is enough explanation, help and advice for an ambitious beginner to try any of the projects included in the book. It is a wonderful collector's piece; the photos are attractive enough to interest stitchers and non-stitchers alike, and even if you do not attempt anything included then the book is still a wonderful source of inspiration, but I challenge any stitcher not to find their fingers itching for a needle, and be tempted to have a go.