Mountmellick Embroidery: Inspired by Nature

(Paperback)

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Description

NOW FULLY REVISED AND EXPANDED
Mountmellick embroidery is a highly texured form of whitework embroidery, originating from the town of Mountmellick in Ireland, around 1825.
While it is sometimes referred to as Montmellick, Mt Mellick, Mountmellic, or even Montmellic, Mountmellick is the correct spelling as it is taken from the name of the town in County Laois (pronounced leash) in Ireland.

Mountmellick embroidery uses floral motifs and heavily knotted and padded stitches. The plants featured are traditionally those that grew in the township of Mountmellick itself, such as oak, blackberry, dog rose, and ivy.
Mountmellick embroidery is highly textured with many knotted and padded stitches used. Part of the fun of working Mountmellick embroidery is playing around with the stitches and working variations of them. On some historical examples of Mountmellick, there were only a limited number of stitches used. However, due to all their variations, the effect produced was highly patterned and varied.

Reviews

Meg-online:The authors call their excellent book 'inspired by nature' and the samples worked by them are truly inspirational. To begin, they give a thorough history of this Irish technique with some beautiful historic examples. All the materials, equipment and preparation for stitching are clearly explained followed by a comprehensive list of stitches traditionally used. The diagrams for stitches are clear, easy to follow and include knitting techniques for the fringing. There are two sections of projects, one traditional and one more contemporary, so there are enough ideas to satisfy any stitcher. As a bonus, at the end of the book, there is a pattern transfer to be used to help those who find stitching easier than drawing. A great book for traditional techniques. www.karenplatt.co.uk: The textured form of whitework originated in Ireland. It is very attractive. Mountmellick embroidery is subtitled inspired by nature and the designs are from plant sources that originally grew in the area from which the work takes its name. This is a fully revised and expanded version of the original book. This is now a 104 page book that also includes a full size pattern sheet for a runner. The book gives a history of the technique of Mountmellick embroidery and also of knitted fringes. A comprehensive guide to stitches follows plus projects to practice what you have mastered. Learn the stitches with the aid of 600 clear instructions and diagrams. The seventeen projects are graded from beginner to advanced embroiderer. Try your hand at beautiful samplers, runners, doilies and table mats. This is an amazing book that will introduce you to the art of this type of embroidery - long may it be kept alive. I fell in love with it at first glance. Like Yvette's other embroidery books (see reviews), I would recommend this to anyone without hesitation.

Author Bio

Yvette Stanton is the publisher and designer behind Vetty Creations. She has a passion for whitework embroidery, and a passion for sharing it with others. Yvette has written three books on whitework, one of them with her twin sister, Prue Scott. Yvette is an accredited tutor with the Embroiderers Guild of NSW, and teaches embroidery classes, specialising in whitework at shops and guild groups around Australia. Yvette Stanton and Prue Scott are award-winning embroiderers with over 15 years' experience of producing beautiful intricate embroideries. Both Prue and Yvette have a particular love for whitework embroidery. Prue is also a trained botanist and botanical artist, and her beautiful designs are a feature of this book. Yvette's previous book, Elegant Hardanger Embroidery was published in 2002 by Simon & Schuster (Kangaroo Press). Both authors live in Sydney.
Visit Yvette's blogspot at http://vettycreations.com.au/white-threads/