The Secret Garden of Cross Stitch

I simply fell in love with this book. The designs in this elegant book are stylish,very beautiful and grand. The life-like designs are categorized into 6 chapters:Bulb flowers,spring flowers,roses,herbal gardens,wild flowers and orchard harvest. Each includes projects(21 in all) that are described in full detail:easy enough for a beginner to follow,sophisticated enough to appeal to an advanced cross-stitcher. My fingers are itching to start on all the projects at once. The layout of this book is SUPERB to say the least,I highly recommend it to those who love floral cross-stitching.

This book is nothing short of stunning. It elevates cross stitch to a true art form, showing what a needle, a simple stitch and colored threads can do in the hands of an artist.

There are so many beautiful color photos in this book, of cross stitch designs and gardens full of flowers. Each project has a sharp color photo (many have close-up detail photos), a chart in color, a list of materials and instructions. The floral variety and colors are stunning with subtle shading. Most of the designs are suited for more advanced stitchers. Projects in this book were stitched on linen.Stitching and finishing is described, and a list of suppliers is included (US, UK and Australia). Thea Gouverneur's floral designs are stunning and very lifelike.

Wonderful book! Beautiful pictures and descriptions of herb,flower,and fruit gardens along with large easy to follow charts. The instructions are very good and this book is worth every penny. I hope she continues to publish more like it.

Ms. Gouverneur is a well-known European designer who grew up in the bulb-growing region of the Netherlands. [The yellow trumper daffodil `Burgemeester Gouverneur' was named after her grandfather.] For those who know and cherish her work this book will not be a disappointment. For those not familiar with her this will be a wonderful introduction to a superb natural history artist.The charted designs are beautifully executed in color and keyed to both DMC and Anchor floss. They are generous in size and very easy to read. Most importantly, the associated instructions are detailed, clear and precise. There is a section devoted to a discussion of the materials used, the execution of the stitches including clear instructional diagrams, and an in-depth discussion of techniques including embellishment with beads. A well-structured chapter describing the finishing of the projects includes mounting the embroidery, making a cushion cover and edging table linens. The listing of suppliers for the materials needed to complete the embroidery covers the USA, the UK, Australia and Japan. While this book is an exquisite collection of charts for embroiderers it is also more: it includes lovely color photographs of the bulb, flower, herb and fruit specimens that inspire her designs. The text associated with each major section (Spring flowers, herbal gardens, wild flowers, and orchard harvest) gives a brief account that includes some historical information and lore associated with each specimen. It would be a lovely addition to any coffee table collection of art books.