Pansy Motifs 6
Pansy Coin Purse 8
Viola Sampler & Motifs 10
Common Wildflowers 14
Red Poppy Collage 16
Wildflower Garden Sampler & Motifs 18
Wild Rose Sampler 22
Wild Rose Journal 24
Berry Motifs 26
Berry Tote Bag 29
Chirstmas Rose 30
Yellow Flowers 32
Blue Flowers 33
Swedish Flowers Collage & Sampler 34
Wildlife Garden Collage 36
Gardening Pin Cushions & Sampler 38
Greenery Pillows 40
Leaf Coasters 42
Bee Apron 43
Embellished Dish Towels 44
Seedlings Motif 46
Spring Bulbs 48
Tools & Materials 52
Techniques 54
Stitch Guide 55
Project instructions 56
Resources 110
Kazuko Aoki is a talented and popular Japanese textile artist whose work features in many embroidery magazines and exhibitions. Her delicate pictures are inspired by her great love of nature, and the flowers in her own garden, which often provide the starting point for her creative designs. Kazuko loves to combine other embroidery techniques with cross stitch to introduce a beautiful and unexpected element in her designs and, in the process, create an original new style.
20 projects and 70 individual cross-stitch motifs make this a
must-have. I love this book. It is a treasure trove of good design.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. You will find all your
favourite flowers – spring bulbs, violas including the larger
pansies, poppies, roses, berries and wildflowers such as campion
and clover. You can produce small cross-stitch pictures with these
motifs, but you can also make any of the fabulous projects. I love
the pansy purse and the gorgeous tote bag, the samplers and
collages, the pin cushion tin lids, cushions, leaf coasters, apron
and tea towels. All the projects are elegant. The charts are quite
small and I would recommend that you enlarge them. The projects are
quite small too, a pansy is approx 5cm square, just 2 inches. Most
of the designs are done on 11-count linen. This is such a pretty
and practical book. It would enhance your home or delight
your friends if you gave the projects, or indeed the book itself as
a gift.
*Karen Platt -yarnsandfabrics.co.uk*
I was given this lovely book to review. I found the book really
easy to follow so I can do the cross stitches without difficulty.
The pictures are also very helpful. I would definitely recommend
this book to other people who enjoy doing cross stitching.
*Laura Harrison*
I was lucky enough to get hold of a review copy of this book from
Search Press.
I love cross stitch and love the satisfaction of completing a big
design the most, and this book has both larger sampler designs and
smaller flower designs that could be used for greeting cards. My
favourite design which I would love to try and find time to do is a
berry tote bag, which very effectively uses clusters of seed beads
for the berries. I have never used seed beads in my cross stitch
before, and I love the way they are used on this design.
*Amy Cockram*
Such a beautiful book. This book is full of wonderful ideas and
patterns with projects to use them.
It starts with a gorgeous gallery of the projects and inspirations.
For each project there is a little write up by the author about
their inspiration, a gorgeous picture of the finished project, some
close ups and in some cases pictures of the original flower or
garden. It is very beautiful and inspiring, plus rather lovely just
to sit and browse through.
There is a brief section on tools and materials, quite enough to
point the reader in the right direction to obtain supplies,
followed by a techniques section which includes description and
diagrams of the basic stitches, useful for the beginner or returner
(like me).
The main body of the book is charts and projects. The charts are
simple and clear, with nice written instructions alongside. The
other parts of the projects, such as creating the pansy purse, are
clear, simple instructions with useful diagrams. So how to sew the
purse and lining, then attach to the clasp, how to cover a journal
with an embroidered cover, attach a zip to a pillow, use waste
canvas. All with lovely photographs too.
A very inspiring and beautiful book, it would be very easy to mix
and match these projects with other patterns to create beautiful
and unique pieces.
All in all a book to both browse for it's sheer beauty and be
inspired by. Highly recommend it.
*Gill Colling*
A beautifully presented book with some great projects, some small
some big. The charts are clear and easy to follow. For cross
stitchers with some experience.
*Lynn Gibbins*
June 2016 Now this is what we call beautiful cross-stitching!
Inspired by her love of flowers, Kazuko has designed her love of
flowers, Kazuko has designed 70 motifs that are simply stunning and
have a real painterly feel. The phot of each design are gorgeous,
and along with the charts for flowers, hedgerow berries and garden
motifs, she has also designed beautiful projects for your home,
from contemporary cushions, to a purse, coasters and even a
journal. So whether you are looking to follow the designs exactly
or just add that something special to a gift, you'll certainly find
it in this book
*Love to Make*
Add a touch of floral magic to a wide variety of projects; all you
need to know is how to cross stitch! It just takes a few minutes to
learn and you have a new and very addictive hobby. There are over
70 individual motifs in here and over 20 projects to make,
something for all levels and a varied choice of items to decorate.
As this book was originally published in Japan it has a different
layout, with instructions and charts at the back and a long section
of glorious colored photographs of everything at the front. If you
are a true beginner you will need to read everything carefully;
stitch diagrams are simple to follow but could use some color
variation to be more visible. My tip for the charts is to enlarge
them all before working. They are in black and white and use
symbols, nice and clear, but on the small side as there are a lot
to fit into a modest sized book. Projects often have simple
diagrams to aid with working. Decorate pillows, cards, notebooks,
bags, kitchen towels, samplers and more with a range of violas,
pansies, wild roses, poppies, wild flowers and Christmas flowers.
All of the flowers will be familiar to me in the UK, and at the
back of the book is a list of stockists for the UK and US. I like
the botanical appearance of the flowers, reminiscent of those
wonderful old books with plates depicting paintings of plants. If
you want more out of cross stitch than kits and charts for
pictures, then this is an attractive and useful book.
*Rachel Hyde - Myshelf.com*
Gorgeous images. A retro vintage vibe to the projects, but with a
contemporary and modern twist. I found the instructions clear, but
the charts are a little small, so I would recommend a magnifying
glass so as not to strain your eyes. But I particularly liked the
use of Beads in the projects. Can't wait to get started
*Safron Faulkner*
I enjoyed reading the author's comments on gardening and its
influence before I even turned to the cross stitch charts. The
charts themselves are in black and white and clear to follow. There
are even tips for designing your own motifs and instructions should
you wish to make the items that are shown in the book.
*Janet Barnes*
A beautifully photographed book of cross stitch flower designs. The
charts are clear black and white, which can easily be enlarged to
work from. Most of the designs are whole cross stitch with a little
back stitch, mainly for the wording. Some also include beading for
the berries. My favourite projects are the traditional samplers
which I can't wait to stitch! As well as the 20 projects covered in
the book, many of the motifs can be adapted for personal use; the
smaller designs would make great quick to stitch cards for garden
lovers.
*Linda Rumsey*
The Cross-stitch garden includes over 70 cross stitch
motifs,including a variety of flowers, insects and other garden
items. Great photographs illustrate the projects throughout the
book, which include projects to create samplers, cushions, pin
cushions and a tote bag. The patterns are beautiful and inspiring,
however the charts are small to read, and would be enhanced, if
they were enlarged.
*Phillipa Hoad*
The Cross-Stitch Garden is a brilliant source of inspiration, we
love so many of the exquisite designs. Instructions are presented
in counter cross-stitch charts, plus step-by-step diagrams for
constructing projects. It contains over 70 individual
cross-stitch motifs and instructions for 20 project We loved this
book, it is absolutely beautiful, taking cross stitch to a whole
new level!
*Hot Brands, Cool Places*
How does you garden grow? According to designer Kazuko Aoki, the
answer to that question is stitch by stitch! Aoki's beautiful new
book, The Cross Stitch Garden features more than 70 cross stitch
motifs. Whether you adore the frail flamboyance of poppies or the
lavish petals of roses, there are designs to suit everyone and
instructions for making your stitching up into 20 projects from
samplers to aprons, coasters to cushions. We think that's probably
the most of this year's gifts covered - your stitched creations
will last longer than a bouquet anyway!
*Cross Stitch Collection*
Classic. Beautiful. Touching. The designs in this book are classic
and amazing.
Each of them has such a big impact, no matter how small. Not only
are there beautiful pictures with the charts for you to create the
flowers and garden designs,
there are also instructions of how to make the different projects.
I cannot express in words how beautiful I feel the designs are in
this book. They are so touching and make everything they touch look
so special. Whether you are just looking to follow the projects in
the book or whether you are wanting to add that little something to
a special gift,you really will find it in this book.
*Crochet Addict UK*
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