Book of the Month: September

A change of pace for this month's selection. This book was published in 1974 and is so vintage that it blows my mind (in a good way).

The Stichery Idea Book by Beverly Rush is full of wonderful examples of embroidery, applique, bargello (needle work), batik, crewelwork...all that cool retro stuff that some probably think is terribly outdated but I enjoy looking at and getting inspiration from. There are some glorious examples of original design and even though most of the examples are in black and white photos you still get a great impression of the work involved. While you turn through pages of dolls, embroidery on clothing, quilts, art, accessories and holiday ornaments you get a sense of many talented artists and crafters who have come before. This book is not about how to craft these objects but is instead intended to be ideas to get the creative juices flowing.


I can't remember exactly where I found this book but besides the subject matter something else made me buy it. It has an inscription:

To Jennie,
In the tapestry called life
you're my favorite stitch.
Dougie
Sept./'79
(two wks before...)

Besides this being my name, with the spelling of it being the less popular "ie" ending that I so rarely get to see, I was so intrigued by this inscription. I wonder what was happening in September of 1979. Was this a husband writing to his wife before the birth of their first child? A enamoured groom writing to his bride of their upcoming wedding? Two friends about to embark on a trip? I will never know what prompted Dougie to write to Jennie 30 years ago but it's fun to wonder and I can treasure this book as a resource for wonderful ideas for years to come.