Claire's blog

I had a fantastic surprise today – a parcel came through the post with a complimentary signed copy of The Beader’s Floral!  It’s written by Liz Thornton and Jill Devon (who owns The Bead Merchant – fantastic kits), and a while ago they asked me to design two large-ish beaded panels for the book.  I never expected to be sent a copy of the book, so I was so pleased when I opened the parcel.  And the book itself is amazing, and I’m really proud to have two designs in it.  The whole book is flower themed, and divided into several sections.  The first deals with different stitches (herringbone, brick stitch, square stitch, peyote stitch) covering how to make basic flowers, an example specific flower and a project for each stitch, and finishing with a section on making double and tubular flowers.  The second section gives instructions on how to make beautiful tiny versions of specific flowers based on the techniques in the first chapter, including pinks, cornflowers and snowdrops.  Part three covers extras you might want to add to your flowers, such as berries, buds and leaves.  Part four offers a range of flowery braids to bead, and part five is a range of projects to make based on what you’ve learnt so far.  The whole thing finishes with a gallery of finished pieces for inspiration.

It really is a lovely book, and one I’d definitely have bought even if I wasn’t in it!  It’s perhaps a bit much for a complete beginner (although the instructions are very good), but I’m really pleased to see a book that stretches skills a bit.  I’ll put links to the authors and book as soon as I get them, but in the meantime it’s due to be released in October and you can pre-order a copy from Amazon.