A collection of embroideries focusing on nature, the countryside and sacred places. Each chapter contains an adaptation of a legend or fable.

Celebrates the diverse beauty of nature from around the globe.

This is the fifth title in "The Masterclass Embroidery Series" showing how to create stunning embroideries designed by internatio- nally acclaimed textile artist Helen M. Stevens.Helen explores a range of beautiful garden settings, from the intimate and personal cottage garden, to the stately splendour of the formal country park, using pure silk embroidery threads to achieve astonishingly realistic effects.Each of the five chapters builds toward an in-depth masterclass project including landscape templates and close-up detailed colour templates of garden wildlife, as well as colour keys and step-by-step stitching instructions.Easy-to-follow colour photographs illustrate the working stages of each masterclass embroidery, ensuring that perfect results can be achieved when recreating the picturesque designs.

In this inspiration-packed book, Helen M. Stevens brings stitchers exquisite designs for every month of the year. These gorgeous projects celebrate all the important traditions, holidays and mile markers. The book features:

Drawing inspiration from over 1200 years of history, this book provides a collection of 75 embroideries alongside sketches from the author's workbook. It includes full instructions for all techniques and stitches.

Embroidery artist Helen M. Stevens lives and works in the heart of the Suffolk countryside, which inspires her embroideries of wild animals, birds and flowers. This book reproduces in colour a collection of 75 examples of her work, and also contains a discussion of the techniques used.

Table of contents

The authors of this book investigate the patterns, imagery and symbols of stitching through history to show how they can be interpreted in embroidery techniques today. Topics covered include embroidery used for narrative and magical purposes, for clothing and fashion, in interior design, in imagery, and in the use of nature and natural forms. Each topic is illustrated with drawings and embroidery samples, both historical and contemporary in origin. This book is designed to be of interest to emroiderers, City and Guilds students as well as anyone interested in art and embroidery history.

Diana Kennedy, the authoritative cultural missionary for the foods of Mexico, shows the incredible range of her imagination as she concentrates on one amazingly versatile ingredient: the humble tortilla. "No one touches Diana Kennedy when it comes to Mexican food".--New York magazine. 38 halftones and line drawings.