Blog Hop - Modern Folk Embroidery

I have never done a Blog hop before, there is a first time for everything, right? 

In fact when I was asked to be part of this hop to celebrate the release of the super talented Nancy Nicholson's first book MODERN FOLK EMBROIDERY I did not hesitate to say yes for even one minute.

First of all - I have been a big fan of Nancy's work since I first came across one of her pieces on pinterest. The colours, the shapes, the simplicity - that is somehow not simple at all, the clever and sometimes surprising use of stitches. Looking at her pieces always makes me feel happy!

Nancy has been making Embroidery Kits for some time now. Gorgeous, colourful kits which include pre-printed fabric of her lovely designs, ready to be embellished with stitches. The projects in MODERN FOLK EMBROIDERY are different in that many of them use felt for the block colour before being embellished with her signature stitchery. 
So, just what will you find in the pages of the gloriously pretty and gorgeously photographed book??

THE STITCHES
One of my favourite things about the book is the way it encourages you to explore variations of basic stitches and develop different patterns using simple stitch combinations. 



In her Interview with Sew & So, Nancy explains how the designs are all "..build on simple stitches to make it look complicated". You can watch the interview HERE.
She has done this by grouping the stitches into families in the STITCH LIBRARY, making it super quick and easy to refer to and get an overview of just some of the many options there are to play with. To build on this, she has dotted beautiful pages of simple pattern suggestions to help you get on your way with your own design ideas throughout the book.

THE PROJECTS
"The projects should prove satisfying in themselves but I hope they'll also give you the confidence to use these ideas and skills in other directions, following your own tastes and sources of inspiration..."

The book offers loads of pretty and quick little projects to choose and draw inspiration from - gorgeous little pincushions, a super simple thread catcher or lidded box, fun brooches and the most fabulous ornaments and garlands - perfect for the Festive Season that is fast approaching. 

Among the bigger projects are cushions of various shapes and sizes, a couple of super practical bags, the cutest pinafore dress (with the prettiest butterflies that can easily be used on any item or clothing) and a glorious table runner. I particularly like those golden 'wheaty' looking flowers.

Another real 'beauty' about MODERN FOLK EMBROIDERY is that the instructions are kept just as simple and clear as the projects. The embroidery is presented simply as 'suggestions' (did I mention I love the 'please feel free to do as you please' approach?) with super clear, close-up photographs and diagrams to follow. The same is the case for the MAKING UP  instructions. 

"My mother believed that embroidery could be enjoyed by all and was determined to spread the word."  - Nancy

If you have been following along here for a bit, you will know I often talk about 'playing with stitches'. Some may refer to it as 'stitch samplers' That sounds terribly serious and makes me think of of super tidy, strict band samplers of the past. Well not anymore! The two little samplers in MODERN FOLK EMBROIDERY are anything but... They are sweet and playful. I love the tree house. As it turns out it was inspired by a project Nancy's mum Joan Nicholson designed in the early 50s - making it even more special, don't you think?

I must confess I had one big problem when writing this... choosing pictures to share with you. They are all so beautiful! If you would like to see more, have a look at the little youtube teaser above of flick through more pages HERE. 
And if you haven't already done so, I encourage you to have a look at the the previous blog hops... It seems the books notion of 'adapt to your taste' has already been taken up by some...

Monday 17th October - SewandSo

Wednesday 19th October  – Wild Olive

Thursday 20th October – Kate & Rose

Friday 21st October - Lilipopo 

TODAY here at Anna Scott Embroidery

Wednesday 26th – Carina Crafts

The book is officially released on 16th November, but both Amazon and Sew & So take pre-orders.

Best stitches,

Anna