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.
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.
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.
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