Machine Embroidered Art: Painting the Natural World with Needle & Thread by Alison Holt

Alison Holt's machine embroidered art will amaze you! She renders nature scenes in photographic detail, the foam of breakers on a rocky shore, a verdant meadow, or dappled forest floor depicted only with paint, needle, and thread.

Holt guides artists through her process in over 200 pages, lushly illustrated. 

Using photographs, she composes her scene, then paints it on silk. With straight and zig-zag stitches on her Bernina sewing machine, she creates layers of thread to detail the natural elements. 

Her book explains every step, from composition and color, how to blend and shade with thread, and how she combines the two basic thread stitches to create flowers, leaves, trees, water, and other elements. 

Holt guides you through her process in creating individual pieces, every step photographed and explained.

I was impressed by the detailed instructions. With study and practice, and easily obtained basic tools, readers should be able to create their own nature art. She is clearly a gifted teacher.

As a book of art, this is a pure delight. As a source of inspiration it is invaluable. 

I received a free book from the publisher through Amazon Vine in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Look inside the book at

 https://www.searchpress.com/book/9781782217916/machine-embroidered-art

Learn more about Holt at her website https://www.alisonholt.com/

Visit her blog at https://www.alisonholt.co.uk/ali_wp/

About Alison Holt

Alison Holt, a UK contemporary textile artist with a Fine Art Embroidery BA Hons degree from Goldsmiths College, London, specialising in freehand machine embroidery.

Using a basic Bernina sewing machine and just 2 stitches, straight stitch and zig-zag I make embroidered pictures of landscapes, seascapes, flowers and garden scenes, influenced by the Shropshire Wales border near Oswestry where I live and by my travels.

Alongside the 5 books on my style of threadpainting and an educational DVD, Creative Machine Embroidery, I offer a range of textile courses, workshops, demonstrations and lectures in the UK and abroad.

I work to commission and have experience of exhibiting regularly at the Chelsea Flower Show and other venues in the UK, France and Australia.

Machine Embroidered Art: Painting the Natural World with Needle & Thread
By Alison Holt
Paperback $31.95
Published by Search Press
ISBN 9781782217916

from the publisher

Table of Contents

• Introduction 
• Materials & equipment 
• Planning an embroidery 
• Light 
• Colour 
• Creating backgrounds 
• Starting to stitch 
• Flowers and foliage 
• Seascapes 
• Trees and woodlands 
• Index 

A showcase for textile artist Alison Holt’s exquisite machine embroideries, this book will teach you to ‘paint’ your surroundings with thread.

Use thread to paint the world around you with free-motion embroidery. Alongside new examples of Alison Holt’s exquisite and distinctive machine embroideries, this book collects together her teachings and techniques for machine-embroidering flowers, woodlands, landscapes and seascapes.

A huge range of techniques and ideas are clearly explained using step-by-step photographs, and demonstrated through a selection of inspiring projects.

Learn how to create landscapes and seascapes of your own, and find inspiration through numerous examples of Alison’s original work.

Creating Art Quilts with Panels by Joyce Hughes

The ladies in my weekly quilt group love to work with preprinted panels. I have never thought seriously about buying a panel, even though I have seen some nice ones.

Until now. Now I can't wait to get my hands on some panels!

Creating Art Quilts with Panels by Joyce Hughes showed me how marvelous preprinted panels can be as the basis for art quilts. She embellishes the fabric with thread painting, sometimes replacing backgrounds or rearranging the elements to create a new image.

A friend recently took a class in thread painting in which they used a photo printed on fabric. Why not use a printed panel?

typical preprinted panels from Creating Art Quilts with Panels

Joyce Hughes came to use panels while teaching as a time saver so students could jump into technique.

In her book, we learn how to select a good panel.  Joyce covers all the supplies needed including sewing machine needles and feet, threads, fusible, batting, rulers and marking tools. She shows us how to prepare the panel including rearranging elements with fusible applique.

details of thread painting from Creating Art Quilts

Then she shows us the techniques for free motion quilting and thread painting with detailed photos and complete instructions and hints.

using an overlay from Creating Art Quilts from Panels

creating a new background for a panel from Creating Art Quilts with Panels

Other techniques covered include trapunto, use of an overlay, three-D effects, bobbin work, couching, and embellishments. Finally, she shows how to add a border, block and bind off the quilt, and add a sleeve.

landscape panel with quilting in colored threads from Creating Art Quilts with Panels

I was stunned by the finished quilts.

a finished panel art quilt from Creating Art Quilts with Panels

Joyce offers six projects: a flower, embellished tree, flag, a landscape, winter birds, and the heron seen above.

Last of all there is an inspiration gallery of art panel quilts of all types, from pillows to wall hangings.

The detail in the book is fantastic. Between the photos and instructions, I feel I could tackle my own project with success. What needle to use for different techniques, how to layer threads by color, how to fuse large pieces with less fusible--there are so many things I will take into my projects.

Now...its time to go shopping for panels!

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Creating Art Quilts with Panels: Easy Thread Painting and Embellishing Techniques to Create Your Own Colorful Piece of Art From Panels
by Joyce Hughes
Fox Chapel Publishing
Pub Date 10 Dec 2018 
ISBN: 9781947163164
Paperback: $24.99 (USD)