
Every crazy quilter should own a copy of this book. It is the most comprehensive book on embroidery design that I have ever seen. This stitch library was compiled from antique quilts by Carole Samples and contains hundreds of stitches. It was published in 1999 by the American Quilters Society and might be out of print. However, I am still seeing copies of it at my local bookstores. With the exception of about 10 pages, the book is printed entirely in black and white.
The stitches are organized by type, ie, straight, blanket, chain, feather, laced, doodled, tied, knotted, combinations, zig zag, fern, chevron, triangle, fan, stem, geometric, back stitch, herringbone, holbein, arrowhead, star, cross stitch, and banded stitcheries. Patch pictures, alphabets and spider webs have their own sections. The blurb on the back cover states that there are 50 basic stitches and that there are many variations of each stitch. With 225 pages of stitches, you will never run out of ideas for seam treatments. I cannot imagine how many combination stitches are possible. The author includes a chart with the 9 functions of crazy quilt stitches that I thought was interesting. The 9 functions are outline, decorate seams, decorate patches, fill, applique, couch, tie, pad and finish edges.
What you won't find in the book are diagrams on how to make the stitches. There are no insert needle here, come out here instructions.
I only have one problem with this book. When I am looking for a stitch for a particular seam, I get overwhelmed by the choices available. When I am overwhelmed, I stop stitching. You would think it would be the other way around. Having said that, I cannot say enough good things about this book. Buy it while you can. You won't regret it.