Needlepainted Plants and Pollinators by Victoria Matthewson

Exquisitely detailed and worked in silk floss thread with tiny size 12 needles, Victoria Matthewson's embroideries are a masterclass in thread painting, and shine with vibrant colour and life. 

An insect lover's guide to silk shading embroidery.

Many people think of bees as being the only pollinators but, in fact, a wide variety of insects help with the pollination of plants, including butterflies, moths, wasps and beetles all of which make wonderful subjects for embroidery. Starting with key stitches and techniques, this inspiring and practical book contains nine step-by-step embroidery projects. Choose from nine key plant and pollinator combinations including the dogrose and greenbottle fly, ox-eye daisy and hoverfly, and fennel and seven-spot ladybird. Each stunning project contains fascinating entomological insights about each pollinator and its plant, verified by the experts at the charity Buglife. With a foreword written by TV naturalist Iolo Williams, and a comprehensive design and stitch guide, this gorgeous and informative book will inspire you to observe and capture the beauty of these vital ecosystems.

The book will suit people with some previous embroidery knowledge, or ambitious beginners. 

In my favourite section of the book Victoria talks about how to find inspiration, working from a photo, choosing a design, and then planning the design. She mentions stitch direction, shading guidelines, order of stitching, light direction, and discusses colour. All very important steps.

Victoria explains how she chooses threads and both she and I have a serious love of DeVere Yarns silk threads.

Within the book is a section showing the basics of long and short stitch, how to work directional long and short stitches and information about parking your threads properly.  Victoria gives details about other stitches such as waste knots, finishing threads, split, satin, French knots, seed, and lazy daisy stitches. and also includes help on threading a needle and how to shade out a berry or spherical shape, and shading leaves properly.

Contents 5, Introduction 6, Foreword 8, All about pollinators 10, Materials and tools 12, Techniques 20, Stitch gallery 26, Small stitched elements 34, Inspiration 38, Choosing colours 40, Order of work 42

The Projects 44
Dogrose and greenbottle fly 46, Lords and Ladies and owl midge 56, Ox-eye daisy and hoverfly 64, Fennel and seven-spot ladybird 72, Meadow buttercup and thick-legged flower beetle 80, Bramble and gatekeeper butterfly 88, Common knapweed and six-spot burnet moth 96, Blackthorn and buff-tailed bumblebee 106, Gooseberry and common wasp 114

Templates 122