Book Review - The Maison Sajou Sewing Book By Lucinda Ganderton

Book Review - The Maison Sajou Sewing Book by Lucinda Ganderton Published by Ivy Press ISBN 978-1-78240-085-1

Hey guys, I have my thoughts on another stitchery book published by Ivy Press to share with you today. If you have been reading my blog, you will have caught two lovely books from Ivy Press so far, with the Sew Quick, Sew Cute By Fiona Goble full of super cute projects and Sewing With Letters by Nicola Tedman & Sarah Skeate which was full of fabulous typeface inspiration.

This week it is the turn of The Maison Sajou Sewing Book by Lucinda Ganderton another lovely book full of fabulous inspiration that won't disappoint if you are a stitchery fan.

The Maison Sajou is the passion of Frédérique Crestin-Billet and is the brand name of a nineteenth-century French haberdashery that Frédérique has relaunched and built up from her love of French vintage embroidery and paraphernalia. 

The book contains information on materials and techniques with plenty of tips for embroidery enthusiasts. There are also twelve pages of stitch instruction for the various stitches you will need to embroider the projects, and each stitch has at least one diagram of the stitch and in some cases diagrams of each step of the stitch which is very useful if you don't have an embroidery stitch dictionary. 

There are 20 projects in the book all designed by Lucinda Ganderton, the needlecrafter and craft book writer, and as she says in her introduction to the book she wanted traditional projects for the stitcher, the home and the family but with a contemporary spin. 

So you will find projects like a tote bag, tablecloth, sampler cushion and a gadget case included in the mix. All the projects are stepped out with diagrams and instructions for each stage of the making. A beginner could find projects to inspire them from this book but there are also projects with the more experienced embroiderer in mind as well.

But above all I will tell you what my most favourite thing is about this book: Lucinda has included her inspiration or mood boards for some of the projects, which I just love to see. 

As someone fascinated with the creative process, I love seeing the inspiration that triggered an idea and I think it is a great addition to the book and adds even more inspiration and interest to the projects themselves.

The book is hardback with 192 pages, it measures 27 cm x 19.5 cm and is 1.8 cm thick and retails at around £19.99. It is a beautiful read and if you are an embroidery fan or a stitcher wanting some embroidery inspiration to finish your projects then check out this book.

You can find it at Amazon.co.uk or at Amazon.com and if you have it already I would love to hear what you think about it, so do drop me a comment.

Kim

[Disclaimer Time: This is a sponsored book review so I received a copy of the book to review but as with all my blog posts I always try to give you my honest, unbiased opinion. (Prices correct for the date the blog post went live)]

Book Review - Sewing With Letters by Nicola Tedman & Sarah Skeate

Book Review - Sewing With Letters by Nicola Tedman and Sarah Skeate Published by Ivy Press ISBN 978-1-78240-087-5

I've got another sewing book from Ivy Press to share with you today and this time it is Sewing With Letters by Nicola Tedman and Sarah Skeate of Zombie Felties and Steampunk Softies, amongst other books, fame. So just as with the Sew Quick, Sew Cute book I reviewed in January and which is also from Ivy Press, this one is full of fun and cute projects but this time it is totally focussed around adding lettering, words and playing with fonts in your stitchery. This is one of my favourite art subjects as you know if you have seen some of my Papercraft Essentials articles from the end of last year, so I was super excited to get a peak at this book from Nicola and Sarah.

There are 20 projects in this book and they are more focussed around the lettering than the actual projects as you might expect from the title. Projects include things like a picnic blanket, apron, doorstop and some fun ampersand bookends to name just a few.

There are plenty of techniques and inspiration for how to add lettering, including techniques like stencilling, appliqué, ribbon work techniques and stitching. The projects themselves didn't fully inspire me personally, but one or two might get made: the Cafe blind will come in useful and I did love the ampersand bookends. However, the lettering definitely rang all my bells and I will use these techniques on some of my own projects. For the lettering inspiration alone the book is well worth adding to your stitchery craft library.

The book is nicely presented with lovely photography, professional-looking projects and step-by-step sketches to take you though the making of the projects. There is a small paragraph on the history of each of the typefaces used, with some examples of how the typeface looks which are fabulous touches and again appeal to my typeface-nerdity.

The book also includes lettering templates and a small section on materials and techniques but it doesn't go into full details to help a stitching beginner. With this in mind, I would say that the book would be great for an intermediate sewer who already knows the stitching basics and is happy with sewing machines and embroidery hoops, or a seriously confident beginner who likes to push herself out of her comfort zone but generally can do anything she turns her hand to might also want to take a look. Some of the projects need more common sense than skill but others do need a bit of stitchery experience to get a professional finish and not to look like your 4 year old did it (unless of course your 4 year old is a stitchery genius!).

Sewing With Letters is a 128-page paperback book with cover flaps and measures 25 cm x 20 cm and has a recommended retail price of £12.99. You can find it at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

Kim

[Disclaimer Time: This is a sponsored book review so I received a copy of the book to review but as with all my blog posts I always try to give you my honest, unbiased opinion. (Prices correct for the date the blog post went live)]

Book Review - Sew Quick, Sew Cute By Fiona Goble

Book Review - Sew Quick, Sew Cute by Fiona Goble Published by Ivy Press ISBN: 978-1-78240-088-2

It's book review time and I really do have a super cute stitchery craft book to share with you today, and they really don't come any cuter than this! Well straight off as soon as I opened Sew Quick, Sew Cute from Fiona Goble I found projects I wanted to try. There is a large range of sewing projects in this book from toys for babies to clothes for you and your family through bags, and even footwear, all of them very simple makes with the time-challenged in mind. Yep that is all of us isn't it? 

There are thirty projects, described on the cover as 'Simple, Speedy Projects' and they certainly are, but the beauty of them is that even sewing-beginners can dive into this book, get started and hopefully build confidence in their sewing skills. 

For those with a high degree of sewing skills, you might find these projects too simple and probably would not need help putting the projects together. For me, I would class myself at an intermediate sewing level (I can make clothes from a simple pattern, I know my way around a sewing machine and I *LOVE* sewing), and there are definitely projects that I want to make from this book. I found reading through the book quite inspiring. I think it is as much about a look as it is the project ideas and with some clever fabric choices, the projects tap straight into the current looks and trends in the sewing crafts. 

The book starts with a page of tips on what tools you need to make the projects. Next there is a page talking about the different fabrics you will need. Then there is a two-page spread about some of the basic sewing techniques you will be using, such as how to do a topstitch, how to clip curves and corners etc. It also gives tips on how to prepare the templates and all the templates are provided with the projects where needed and each project comes with an estimated time it will take to complete the project.

The book itself is beautifully presented with great project photography and clear step-by-step sketches rather than photographs. It's a paperback, with cover flaps, of 144 pages and measures 25 cm high by 20 cm wide and it has a recommended retail price of £14.99.

You can find Sew Quick, Sew Cute on pre-order over at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com and it is due out in the first week of February.

Happy Stitching!

Kim

[Disclaimer Time: This is a sponsored book review so I received a copy of the book to review but as with all my blog posts I always try to give you my honest, unbiased opinion. (Prices correct for the date the blog post went live)]