This past summer while I was away, one of my guest post writers was Anna Catagnetti, who has recently authored and published a book on “Openwork Embroidery” (Ricami a Fili Tesi).
Now that the book is on the market, I’ve had a chance to look at it, and I thought I’d show it to you, too. If you like needle lace, this is a good instructional book to have on hand!
What is different about Anna’s needle lace? Not only does she combine multiple types of filling stitches in one project, but within each filled area, she works a variety of filling stitches to fill a given space, as you can see in the sample below.
Hence, “openwork embroidery” – more than just needle lace fillings worked separately – it’s the combination of filling stitches to create a more complex openwork area. I like the result. Think free style surface embroidery, where you can use a combination of many stitches to create your picture, and translate that into a free-style needlelace, where, within one area, you can use a combination of many stitches to create your filling.
The main text area of the book is written in Italian, but on the sides (and anywhere there’s that gold background), you’ll find the English translation.
Step-by-step, up close photos demonstrate how the variety of filling techniques are achieved.
I think what I like about the book most is the sections on different edgings. I’m always drawn to edgings, and I really like the very up-close photos that instruct on the various edgings included in the book.
And there are little photos of each motif or edging throughout the book, so you can see it finished, in isolation. This is great for flipping through the book to find a picture of what you want to do.
Ricami a Fili Tesi can be found at Italian Needlecrafts, in their book section. Keep in mind, if you’re ordering from Italian Needlecrafts, that the prices are in Euros, and you have to pay for international shipping. If you’re interested in the book, you might browse her other books and her fabrics (she carries some very nice linens by Sotema), to make the shipping a little more worth while. On the up side, at 64 pages, this book is not too weighty!
