Yesterday I had to take the car in for an oil change so I took my copy of
Shapes of Needlepoint Series IV: Diagonals Verticals Horizontals by Sandy Arthur to amuse myself while I waited. WOW! I read it cover to cover for the first time, admiring the gray scale diagrams and looking carefully at the stitches as I mentally try to find something good for my next project.
http://networkedblogs.com/OPVam
As you know, this is the fourth in Sandy's series of Shape books, all of which categorize stitches by their general shape and then arranges them in the books by their width and height. This makes it very easy to find a stitch that will fit in an area on your canvas.
The thing I enjoyed most in this book, besides the diagrams which I admire greatly, was seeing vertical, horizontal and diagonal versions of the same stitch. You don't see that in most books and it is something that I will find invaluable when I do repeats of the same stitch oriented differently. The book is worth the admission price for that alone if you are constantly stitching and making it up as you go along. I don't generally count threads when I am looking for a stitch to put in a space, and I should get into that habit. Sandy's books make it a lot easier to solve stitch problems because they are set up that way.
I loved the book. Now that I have actually sat down with it and become familiar with what it covers, I will probably refer to it at least once per project.
If you are not familiar with Sandy's books, some of which are available as apps in the iTunes store, check out her website. Right now she has a special if you buy all four books at once.
http://duodesignsinc.com/wpsite/
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 25, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.
