Needlepainted Plants and Pollinators: An Insect Lover's Guide to Silk Shading Embroidery, Hardcover

Exquisitely detailed and worked in silk floss thread with tiny size 12 needles, Victoria Matthewson's embroideries are a masterclass in thread painting, and shine with vibrant color and life.

Starting with key stitches and techniques, this inspiring and practical book contains 9 step-by-step embroidery projects. Choose from 9 key plant and pollinator combinations including the dogrose and greenbottle fly, ox-eye daisy and hoverfly, and fennel and seven-spot ladybird. Many people think of bees as being the only pollinators but, in fact, a wide variety of insects help with the pollination of plants, including butterflies, moths, wasps and beetles - all of which make wonderful subjects for embroidery. Each stunning project also contains fascinating entomological insights about each pollinator and its plant, verified by the experts at Buglife charity.

The book will suit people with some previous embroidery knowledge, or ambitious beginners.

About author(s):Victoria Matthewson is a hand embroidery artist specializing in needlepainting, also known as silk shading or long and short stitch embroidery. Combining her love of nature and craft she has developed a distinctive style of embroidery, creating realistic artwork inspired by British flora and fauna, with a special focus on insects.

Working in silk floss thread (as it creates a depth of colour and shine that brings each piece to life) and using the smallest size 12 embroidery needles and a magnifying lamp, each piece can take between weeks and months to complete.

She is proud to have built a reputation as one of the top silk shading artists in the UK: in March 2018 she won Needlecrafter of the Year at the National Needlecraft Awards in collaboration with DMC thread for her embroidered ladybird. She has recently been accepted to join The Society for Embroidered Work and have also created two recent projects for Stitch magazine.

Her website is www.victoriamatthewson.com