Fiction, non-fiction and a fabric book in the making

 

Good morning from not-so-sunny Yorkshire.  It's all grey sky and the promise of rain out there, so I'm indoors and thinking about books.  

I've finished reading this, and to be honest I won't be recommending it.  On the good side, it's full of historical detail about England in the Civil War years, and that must've been a fascinating, frightening but thrilling time to exist in.  But the problem I found with this novel was that the characters never came fully alive.  I didn't feel any of them were ever swept up in the emotions they were supposed to be experiencing, whether that was love or grief or fear.  I ploughed on to the book's end, but was glad to be done with it and it's off to the charity shop for someone else to hopefully enjoy more than me.  

Still on the subject of books, I popped into the Art Library yesterday and borrowed a couple off their well-stocked shelves.  My developing interest in embroidery got me thinking at a tangent about the Bayeux Tapestry, and I thought this might be worth reading about.  The book's heavy on illustrations and I love seeing the costumes, hairstyles and quirky details of the individuals portrayed in the tapestry.  

The author Jan Messent is an embroiderer and former teacher of art, English and history.  She's written over twenty books on embroidery design.  

It's all illustrated by her, and if you wanted to make your own mini version of a section of the Bayeux tapestry then wouldn't these help with your design?  

I love that border of horses, and the jaunty step of the larger horse.  

But - you knew there was a 'but' coming, didn't you? - but my main gripe about the book's design is the print.  It's hard to read this style of calligraphy when the print's small and  paragraphs are so dense.  I feel as if the writing's has been given more importance than the ease of reading it.  Oh, for some Times New Roman or Calibri or any other clear font.  Maybe my tolerance level is decreasing as I'm getting older and crankier, and others wouldn't find this calligraphy a problem?  What do you think?

I feel mean saying mean things about books, because in each case the authors will have put their hearts and souls into them.  So let's move on to something more positive.  

This looks a much better choice to have plucked from the library shelves.  'Three-dimensional embroidery' by Janet Edmonds.  I've only had a chance to flick through it so far, but look at these stunning textile creations.  

The description of this is 'A combination of natural and man-made materials ... A wire and plastic core is wrapped with cotton fabrics and stitched with thread.  The binding has been further embellished with coloured, plastic parcel tape and beads'.  By Felicity Clarke.  

This one is by Amarjeet Nandrha, and inspired by Asian bridal jewellery.  To quote, 'Stitched wireform panels are decorated with layers of Lasertran, areas of knotted gimp and beading.  The panels are held in place with machined wire and wrapped metal foil beads.'  Can't say I know what Lasertran and knotted gimp are, but they're very effective.  

I assume these have been made by the author, Janet Edmonds.  I love the top ones that look like decaying seed pods, as though frost and autumn/winter winds have damaged them and left them frail and nearly disintegrating back into the earth.  I'm so very tempted to buy this book.  Should I indulge in yet more online shopping?  The bank balance wouldn't thank me if I did ... Trying to divert myself from thoughts of browsing WOB for a secondhand copy, let's turn to a fabric book I'm making after the idea dropped into my head at breakfast time.  

I've got this little embroidered piece that came about after a workshop with Hayley Mills-Styles.  I'd left it propped up on the mantelpiece, still in its hoop, not knowing what to do with it.  I'm also working on the stitched piece from the Stitch Art class, as per yesterdays blog post, and I'll want somewhere to keep that after it's completed.  So why not, I thought, make a simple fabric book to sew them into, along with any other slow stitch squares I might happen to make.  

I've cut twelve inch squares of calico, and am going to fold them into quarters to make my outer cover and inner pages.  Nothing complicated, but it should be a handy place to store odds and ends that might otherwise end up pushed into drawers or getting dusty on a shelf.  

I'd better end this blog post now as I need to grab some lunch before heading out to buy groceries.  Yup, it's a life of non-stop glamour for me as I mooch down to Lidl, with maybe a sneaky rummage through a charity shop or two on the way home.  Well, you never know what bargains you'll find, do you?