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I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

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Delicious Embroidery – A Luscious Book!

 

Amazon Books

Today, I’m going to review for you an absolutely luscious needlework book called Delicious Embroidery, by the mother-daughter team of Lesley Turpin-Delport and Nikki Delport-Wepener. It’s brand new on the market, and you won’t find it too widely available right now, but I’ll list some sources at the end of the article.

As the name implies, Delicious Embroidery loosely parallels a cookbook approach towards the embroidery and mixed media projects within.

It’s a fun and fascinating book, for both its instructional content and its visual content – it’s definitely one of those books that deserves Coffee-Table Status. I think even non-embroiderers would enjoy browsing through it and marveling at the contents!

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

If you’re familiar with Embroidered Flora & Fauna, written also by the Turpin-Delport-Delport-Wepener team, you’ll already know what type of embroidery to expect within the pages of Delicious Embroidery. Much of it is dimensional in nature and involves all kinds of glorious fibers mixed together for really interesting results.

But… some of the embroidery within is regular surface embroidery, too, so if mixed media and dimensional embroidery isn’t really your thing, you’ll still find plenty to inspire within the pages of Delicious Embroidery.

The book overall is aimed towards stitchers with some background. I’d say it’s for intermediate needleworkers and beyond, although a beginner will certainly find plenty of inspiration within and some projects that are accessible.

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

The book is divided into five main sections:

1. Just for Starters – which includes basic background information on tools and materials for stitching

2. New Flavours – offering general instructions and tips on working with your cloth, working with textured threads and natural fibers, working three-dimensional embroidery, and some uncommon stitches and combinations

3. On the Menu – Projects – where you’ll find 18 different projects to work, using the techniques highlighted in the book

4. Templates, Watercolors, and Drawings

5. Stitch Glossary

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

It’s in this first section, New Flavours, that you’ll find the majority of in-depth instruction in the book.

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

For example, this is where you’ll find instructions for things like transferring photocopied photos to your ground fabric…

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

…for embroidering with ribbon…

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

…for using your computer and ink-jet printer to print images on your ground fabric…

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

…for shading in embroidery.

There are heaps of instructional tips and techniques in this first main section of the book, covering what you need to know to tackle the projects that follow.

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

The projects are loosely grouped and presented as part of a daily menu, to keep things going with the “delicious embroidery” theme.

Keep in mind, not all the embroidery features food. Some of it is not food-related at all, some of it is loosely food-related (bugs, for example, as pollinators and part of the food chain) – but the theme serves as a cute organizational tool.

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

Each project includes finished pictures of the embroidery (like the rooster and chickens and little chicks on these egg cozies), a list of “ingredients” or materials, and an indication of the techniques and stitches used.

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

Dragonflies are featured in the bread-related project, which is an embellished bread cloth and napkins for the table.

So, while there’s a “Bread” section on the breakfast part of the menu, the embroidery isn’t really bread-related. It’s bug-related.

I’m just clarifying this, so that you aren’t expecting a lot of embroidered food – there is some embroidered food (like the figs featured in Embroidered Flora and Fauna, along with a other fruits, vegetables, herbs, a cupcake, and the like), but there are also flowers, bugs, teacups, ocean crustaceans, live chickens, live fish, and so forth.

In short, you’re not going to find projects for embroidered bacon & eggs, bouillabaisse, rib roast, fish & chips, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, or anything like that.

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

But you will find mushrooms.

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

Even big mushrooms!

Each project is also accompanied by a line drawing with stitch & technique placements indicated, as you can see above.

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

There’s a fantastic speckled trout project on the supper menu!

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

And there’s a lovely section on herbs, embroidered.

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

And of course, no day is complete without teatime! One of the projects here focuses on an embroidered antique Spode teacup and the other, on a cupcake.

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

Under the insects section is where you’ll find this lovely butterfly project, along with a project featuring multiple grasshoppers.

The butterfly fits in with pollinators (that’s how the authors work it into the food-related theme), but I’m not sure about the grasshoppers. How do you like yours? Chocolate covered? Or fried crispy?

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

In the back of the book, you’ll find the line drawings for all the projects within…

Delicious Embroidery by Lesley Turpin-Delport & Nikki Delport-Wepener

…followed by a stitch glossary made up of basic stitch diagrams.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

1. While being thoroughly instructional, the book is also beautiful, interesting, and even amusing in a sense.

2. You’ll find a wide variety and range in the projects.

3. There’s all kinds of meat here for the fiber artist who likes to play with all kinds of textiles and fibers and threads and such, along with all kinds of tips for interesting approaches to embroidery.

4. You’ll find some excellent tips on some unusual stitches and combinations that can carry forward into your own embroidery projects.

Cons:

1. This point depends a bit on your personality and sense of humor, I think. If your personality type doesn’t go in for fun gimmicks, you might find the book a little irritating in the way it’s set up. I didn’t notice it at first – I really enjoyed reading through the book, looking at the fiber art within, admiring the photography, and interacting with the theme. Because food blogs, cookbooks, and the foodie lifestyle are so big now, though, the food theme can seem kind of gimmicky. I like fun gimmicks if they’re cleverly done, so that didn’t bother me. It did bother a couple friends, though – they thought the book was “trying too hard” to fit an organized food theme.

This is the thing: Don’t buy the book for the theme! Add the book to your library for the ideas, instructions, and inspiration within!

2. The book is similar to Embroidered Flora & Fauna, and you’ll see some repeated information in this book. But it definitely goes beyond Embroidered Flora & Fauna with new projects, different techniques, and lots of new inspiration. If you liked Embroidered Flora & Fauna, you’ll love Delicious Embroidery.

3. It’s a little difficult to get ahold of the book right now. But I’m sure it will be more widely available soon.

Where to Find

The only place I know of right now where you can order Delicious Embroidery is through All Threads in Australia. I think it’s the first place to have it in stock!

It is published by Les Designs, which is the online home of Lesley Turpin-Delport and Nikki Delport-Wepener (located in Hong Kong, I believe), so I am sure that they will be carrying the book soon, too.

If you know of any places carrying Delicious Embroidery, feel free to leave a link to the shop below, and I’ll update the list of where to purchase the book as I find more sources for it.

 
 

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(15) Comments

  1. Wow! Love that book. It looks like the instructor is a good teacher and the items are gorgeous. I might purchase it for myself. Thanks for the review.

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  2. Dear Mary

    Delicious Embroidery book does look fascinating, interesting book with it’s different embroidered species of insects and I like the Menu page and the various embroidered food that you have shown in your photos. It also seems very instructional with the stitch glossary and the drawings and I would be interested in the how to transfer patterns on to fabric via the laser jet printer. Thanks for reviewing Delicious Embroidery book and passing on your view to us.

    Regards Anita Simmance

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  3. I saw a newsletter from All Threads that had this book in it. I love the turpin-delports! Such a creative team. Anyway, I have been keeping my eye out to see if it has been released to the US yet. Haven’t seen anything. I do wish their kits and threads were more readily available (such as offering visa and paypal).

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  4. I have just purchased the book from All Threads and it is as beautiful as it looks on the web. If you are into raised creative embroidery you will certainly enjoy this book … A must have!
    Glenda from Downunder

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  5. Wow. Looks very yummy and gave you heaps of scope for pun-making didn’t it? Since I almost missed out on their last book by fiddling around, I have ordered this one already. Thank heavens it was an Australian supplier too – bit less postage, although not much. Does anyone else think postage is waaaay too high?

    Anyway the book should reach my grubby little paws by early next week and I can’t wait to see it. Thank you Mary.

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  6. So, so gorgeous! I went to the Hedgehog website. What a monumental error in judgement. I have a physical need for every product. I want everything on this site. I am fairly certain I have an addiction and obsession.

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    1. It’s called SABLE…..stash accumulated beyond life expectancy….no cure and anyone on this site already has it!
      The good thing is it isn’t our fault that we just keep acquiring things, so just kick back and enjoy it because you can’t help yourself.
      Kindest regards
      Roma

  7. I just ordered this book from AllThreads. Can’t wait for it to get here. There seems to be no end to what I “must have” for my obsession Love it.

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  8. ce livre est extraordinaire.Je l’ai trouvé à Londres ce vendredi 10/10/14 à l’Alexander Palace où je n’ai malheureusement pas vu les auteurs….
    Je me régale Bravo à la maman et à la fille.
    Encore beaucoup d’oeuvres aussi prestigieuses.
    Marie-Paule de Bruxelles

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