Needlepoint 202 – book review
Ruth Dilts with Joan Lohr, Rainbow Gallery, 2007.
In Needlepoint 101, Ruth took us through the process of stitching a canvas with tips, stitch, and several stitch guides. But we wanted more.
Ruth has delivered everything we wanted and even more in this second volume. Here the emphasis is on embellishment of the painted canvas ,so lots of clever techniques and new stitches are covered. So much great stuff is packed into this book, it’s hard to know where to start.
The book opens with Ruth’s “philosophy of embellishment,” a one page outline of her approach to selecting stitches and embellishments for a canvas. Next she defines terms and has a list of abbreviations. Then she has an index. It’s worth taking some time to study this because it is a complete outline of the rest of the book.
Ruth covers many difficult techniques in detail, some of which still confuse me. She has great instructions for stitching knots (including bullion) padding, thread blending,and tufted stitches. There are lots of other less common techniques too, including wrapped cord (I’ve been looking for a place to use this one).
In addition to the many techniques, there is a slew of new stitches diagrammed, one per page. And 12 new stitch guides. The guides are a real treasure. Each design is identified, and pictured, in color, both stitched and unstitched. There is text covering exactly what stitches and threads were used to create the finished piece. Stitch names are in bold and color numbers are listed in the text. The stitches come from both books.
Where space permits, Ruth has added Helpful Hints and space for your own notes.
I am completely in awe of this book and Ruth’s creativity. She has designed guides which look totally right for canvases I would have stitched in Basketweave and wondered why I was unhappy.
This book has new things for even the most advanced stitcher to learn. And if painted canvases are new to you, buy both Needlepoint 101 and this book and be inspired and learn.
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