…last christmas I got the Blackwork (Essential Stitch Guides) book as a christmas present and now I decided also to add the other books to my collection:
- Stumpwork (Essential Stitch Guides)
- Silk Shading (Essential Stitch Guides)
- Essential Stitch Guide to Crewelwork (Essential Stitch Guides)

…now lets start with the first one – Stumpwork :

This book is my favourite by now – the section about “Flat Surface Stitches” (including basics like the “Running Stitch”, “Back Stitch”, “Couching Threads”, “Couching A Silk Cord”, “Satin Stitch”,…) is very nice – especially for beginners to embroidery, the next one about “Raised Surface Stitches” is also very nice and starts with “French Knot”, followed by “Bullion Knot”, “Woven Picots”…, very nice is the section about “Needlelace Stitches” and “Metal Thread Work”… but my favourite sections are the one about “Padding” and the one about “Slips” (…”separate piece of embroidery worked off the frame and then applied to the main embroidery“…)

I think this is a great book for beginners and also a lovely book for experienced embroiderers who would like to get some inspiration for new embroidery projects… definitely nice and I think also a very nice and also very affordable christmas present for an embroiderer…

… Silk Shading :

My very first book about “Silk Shading” – the projects look nice but nearly all shown projects are worked in wool – to discover this fact was quite disappointing for me because I was looking forward to discover some silk embroidery…

..in the end I think it is a nice book for beginners but no must-have and not as good as the other books from the RSN.

… Crewelwork :

Ok, the book about “Silk Shading” disappointed me but the book about “Crewelwork” is, like the first book about Stumpwork, again a source for happiness – the section about “Filling Stitches” – “Long and Short Stitch” is very well made. I admit that I like it more than the one in the “Silk Shading” book and also the other stitches are very well explained.

Well, I think this book and the book about “Stumpwork” are both a very nice addition to every embroiderers book shelf – regardless if beginner or experienced embroiderer…