Melitastitches4fun's Blog

Neither of these are “stitch books” because they are focused on creating projects, but both show you how to apply stitches to create a realistic design.

Making Needlecraft Landscapes by Mary Carroll has 32 landscapes, and stitches are provided to make them. The color photos, diagrams, and detailed description of stitch placement are great.

I did post previously about the other booklet, That’s Not Needlepoint (It’s Inspired Art Created with Your Needle), which is by dede Ogden (2011) and represented by Fleur de Paris, Inc. It’s not intended to be complete charts or diagrams to finish the various painted canvases but to offer suggestions for types of elements found in seascapes. The first canvas discussed is Seahorse Spyglass 18073 and is still available (and so is a stitch guide by Tony Minieri). Other canvases discussed are still available from a variety of sources including Undersea Fish 1373, Glass Aquarium Tropicals Green Fish 18015, Glass Aquarium Tropicals Blue Fish 18034, Undersea Garden 1378, Seahorse Pillow 18056, and Enchanted Mermaid Dream 18050.

The Casalgudi stitch is discussed, although I can’t understand where it’s executed. The photos could be better. And, without padding, it’s probably better called a wrapped stem stitch. The Railway Stitch makes a good background stitch. Sue has an interesting Bead Cup Stitch and shows how to expand an overlapping cross stitch to fit fluctuations in the width of seaweed.