Almost two years ago I was asked to contribute some images of my work to a book on modern embroidery written by super-embroiderer Sophie Long. I had all but forgotten about it when the publisher contacted me to let me know that it was being released and that my work had made it into the final thing: Mastering the Art of Embroidery - whoop! I didn't really know what to expect but my copy arrived the other day and I was blown away. There is just so much packed in - a veritable who's who of contemporary embroidery.
The book covers every aspect of embroidery you could possibly hope to encounter: Surface Embroidery, Counted-Surface Embroidery, Embellishment, Stumpwork, Whitework, Three-Dimensional Embroidery, and Machine Embroidery. Each discipline is introduced with a bit of history, followed by a glut of beautiful interpretations by modern practitioners to get you good and inspired, and then rounded off with clear step-by-step tutorials to show you how to have a go at some of the stitches yourself.
Obviously we all know that cross stitch is my bag - the anally retentive mathmetician in me just can't help it. In fact the whole counted surface embroidery section really floats my boat. But I would also love to have a go at crewel embroidery, and the whitework chapter has some amazing things in it too.
I'm guessing that if you are reading my blog you have probably already fallen down the rabbit hole that is modern embroidery, in which case I can think of nothing more appropriate to feed your addiction than this book. Just be aware that you will likely lose many, many hours under its influence...
I am really proud to be featured alongside so many incredible artists, though I can't deny that it is a little strange to see my humble bedroom wall in print! It has been in a few magazines, but it seems different somehow when it is nestled within the pages of a hefty hardback...
Delilah x
All images taken from Mastering the Art of Embroidery.






