Wool Needle & Thread II Book Review with Lisa

Hey everyone, it's Lisa from Primitive Gatherings, and today I'm extra excited because I can talk about my newest book from Mart & Gail. Now, we all know about this book, or if you don't, you will after. But this is my book that came out last year, and it is Wool Needle and Thread, The Complete Guide to Wool Stitchery. So it has tons and tons of information about wool applique and embroidering and how I fuse and how I cut my stems, but look at the step-by-step photographs in this book. So it's a huge encyclopedia of how-to, and I've got lots and lots of compliments, everybody thanking me for this step-by-step book. But really, Mart & Gail, they are the brainchild behind this, and they make it look so beautiful with all of these beautiful photographs. And then there's projects. So we have about five projects, I believe, in the book as well. What I'm really excited about is now we came out with a project book, and everything that we talk about in here refers to see stitch on page in this book. So it really gives you a reference point to go to if you need special help with a stitch or with a technique. So they kind of work together, but yet this is a project book that can stand on itself. But if you're a beginner or new to wool applique and you just want a little bit more help, it'll tell you exactly where to look in our first book. Okay, so Wool, Needle & Thread, a companion book for wool stitchery, is super beautiful. Again, I was asked to stitch the cover by Jennifer, and it can be scary and fun all at the same time to stitch your cover. So here was my cover of the book in real life. So I actually did have to stitch another sample, but this is actually a mat in the book. So let's go through the projects. I have to look at the book because I don't remember what we named them all. So please bear with me. All right, the first up is the Star Penny Pin Keep, and this is 7 inches round. Great for using up your scraps of wool, even down to the tiniest little pieces. And this is how I finish my pin cushions and turn them. I don't try to put a seam on the outer part of a circle. I will just put a slit in here and then fusible web that back down over the top because, let's just face it, the pin cushion is always going to be like this. So that's the first project in the book. And then we have Carry a Tune. Now we all have or we know somebody that needs a little case for their AirPods or their earbuds or whatever you want to call them. So this is a cute little carrying case that you can make for your grandchildren or for your nieces and nephews. But how fun is that to have a little personalized case for the earbuds. And look at the detail in the book. So it shows you super close on what everything looks like. Lovebirds is a little pillow. Now a little story about this pillow shape. I was at a rummage sale and I came across these patio furniture pillows that there was a whole box of them, like eight. So that's what's inside here, stuffed nice and firm, was a pillow form that I found at a rummage sale. And I think I got them for a dollar each. So look for that kind of stuff when you're on your treasure hunts. So that made the shape of this pillow. And who doesn't love two little birds amongst some roses. And here we have some drizzle stitches here. Super fun. And this is on flannel. So you can use wool on flannel, wool on wool, wool on regular cotton. And like I said, the book gives you all the stitches, all the threads, every little detail about each project. Now Seaside Garden is a little table mat or candle mat. Like you could put a little votive in the middle here. And what I like to do is go above and beyond. So do you see the leaves on here? Do you see how I embellished them with a feather stitch? Once you get really good at stitching, you want to just cover everything. The blanket stitch becomes kind of boring after a while. So you want to just add more and more and more thread to your projects. Trust me, you will. And I just want to point out, this is for Seaside Garden. See the whole template here? So you would trace this four times. And then they give you all the templates, all full size that you would trace onto your fusible web. And we have lots of videos on our YouTube channel on just how to do this. So look for Stitch with Lisa Bongean on YouTube and subscribe to that. And you will get lots of videos and lots of help with your stitching. Okay, American Flag Mini. This is so cute. I loved showing off with all my fancy stitches on each one of the flag stripes. So I stitched red on the red, cream on the cream, and then these stars. Now I used a variegated thread. So it kind of is cream and shades of cream in those variegated stars. And I think that just gives it a little bit more life when you use variegated threads. So don't be afraid to use them. Beginners always think that they should use solid. And then after you stitch for a while, you're like, oh yeah, I do like the variegation. All right, Frankie the Floppy Frog. So I have a couple of grandsons, right? And so I thought I would make them a little toy. And so fun just to embellish him, give him a little bit texture on his body. But he also sits up. So he can sit like this as well. He's not going to cooperate with me. Again, frog doesn't have to be green. We can make pink frogs, blue frogs, green frogs, purple frogs. So use your imagination along with different colors of thread. So this was a green variegated ball that went from super light green to dark green. I can't wait to make some more of these. Frankie's Diamond Penny Mat. Now everybody who knows me knows I love penny mats. And again, don't be afraid. These are so fun and easy. And just you think that they're going to take a long time, but they do not. And one of the things I want to suggest is make sure you use a heavier thread going around because I think seeing a thicker thread on pennies actually makes them prettier. And you will get good at evening out your stitches going around. The more you do it, the better you will get. And once you do this, you might want to just keep going around and around to make it as big or to fit the size where you want it to be. Again, look at this photography. I want this surface, this old table or whatever that is. It makes you want, makes you study every photograph in the book. All right, pot of flowers. These designs don't have to be mats. They don't have to be pillows. They can be framed works of art as well. So here we have a beautiful little centerpiece. And I embellished the pot here with some embroidery stitches. But other than that, everything else is a little basic blanket stitch. I could have went in here and added a little extra to the leaves. But hey, I chose not to on this one. No big deal. And I like to point out that I like to cross stitch over my stems. I think it gives it a different texture to look at and just makes the whole piece a little bit more interesting. So this is called Monogram It. Now I know you all have sewing friends. These would be perfect little gifts for Christmas, for sewing get-togethers, to make all your friends a little monogram, either their first name or their last name. Real simple, not a lot involved, just some time and some thread. And this could be flannel. This could be wool. So use your imagination and design it for that person who's going to get it in mind. So if Cindy likes purple, make her pink cushion purple. So super great idea. And we have the whole alphabet in there for you. And I actually did put this page of the book on my light table and you can see through it. So it does work. Down to earth table mat, nice oval, very neutral. And then I kind of showed off a little bit with some knots around the flowers, some chain stitching instead of stem stitching for the vines. And then here I added a little bit of feather stitch to the leaves. And then if you have one of these oval platters, look at how they displayed that in there. Okay, penny sheep. So a penny mat doesn't have to just be circles. You can put the circles onto a background and then make a shape. So I basically corralled these into a sheep design. And then this could be a table mat. It could be hung like in a wreath. It can be on a cupboard door. Again, use your imagination on how you want to display these. But look at all that thread in those pennies. So I just kept going and put a lot of thread on there. Tender tulips. We're getting down to the end now. So this is flannel and it's just a little quilt, kind of a four block style. This is one piece. So I didn't do this inside and then add borders. This was one like full cloth application. And then just cross hatched and a little bit of pebbling was done. I think Val quilted this one, yes? Vegas Val. Again, this can be a wall hanging. It can be displayed on the table. There could be a candle here as well. And then the last project in the book is a three part sewing essential trio. So we have this scissor case for your good scissors. A little place to fob your scissors. And then we have a little needle case. So I have my 24s, my 22s, and my binding needles. And then a little magnet that keeps it closed for safety. So thank you for hanging out with me today and looking through all the projects in the Companion Book to Wool, Needle, and Thread. If you haven't already pre-ordered your copy, they will be coming out soon. So get yourself onto our website, PrimitiveGatherings.us, and order a book. If you liked our video today, make sure you like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell. That way you can be notified for all of our upcoming videos. We'll see you again soon!