Sunday, February 23, 2020

Do You Like Real Stitch Samples?

Quite a few folks want their stitch dictionaries to have photos of the stitches stitched, preferably in color, along with diagrams. As this adds substantially to the cost of publishing, not a lot of books have this.  But there are books that do have photos of the stitches.  The last time this question was asked on NP Nation, I started a list.  Note that many of these are out of print and that I haven't seen many of them, so I don't know if they actually have photos of the stitches.  The folks recommending them say that do, but on social media, folks don't often read carefully and therefore they answer incorrectly.

Jo I. Christensen's Needlepoint Book, all editions (photos are black and white)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-needlepoint-book-jo-ippolito-christensen/1118892276

SuZy Murphy's books all have photos of the stitches in the back, some black and white, a few in color.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Needlepoint-Book-SuZys-Darn-Stitches-OOP-Suzy-Murphy-reference-stitching-patter-/283637737379

The Got Stitches? series, available from Gone Stitching.
http://www.gonestitching.net

The Embroidery Stitch Bible by Betty Barnden - Half of the stitches are on fabric, half on needlepoint canvas
https://www.needlenthread.com/2007/12/book-review-embroidery-stitch-bible.html

Needlepoint Dictionary of Stitches by Susan Sturgeon Roberts.  Available on Kindle.  Susan has a website with stitch diagrams where you can buy her books.
https://www.needlepointteacher.com

Stitch Sampler by Lucinda Ganderton, with all photos in color.  British author so may be easier to find in the UK.
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/stitch-sampler-the-ultimate-visual-dictionary-to-over-200-classic-stitches_lucinda-ganderton/300719#isbn=0135011574&idiq=33976833

Mary's Whimsical Stitches by Mary Legellet doesn't have photos in the book but does include URLs to type into your computer to see stitched examples.
http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/marys-whimsical-stitches

I'd like to warn folks shopping for needlepoint books to be careful about buying on Amazon.  Often the prices are very inflated.  If a book is out of print, you might find a bargain, but you might not.  It's best to look for books at your favorite needlepoint store, on eBay, at the Book Depository, or through the folks who specialize in needlepoint books.  Links below.
http://www.newneedlepoint.com

https://www.needleworkbooks.com

https://ruthkernbooks.blogspot.com

https://www.bookdepository.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 15, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.