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annieb123's review
4.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Super Subversive Cross Stitch is a wryly tongue in cheek collection of snarky and appealing designs by Julie Jackson. Due out 2nd Nov 2021 from Sasquatch Books, it's 128 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
This is a fun collection full of appealing and uncensored sentiments for decorating and (potentially) gift-giving to like minded friends. The author has a humorous, nerdy, tongue in cheek style that is definitely not 'grandma's cross stitch' but is good hearted and honest. There's a fair bit of current culturally relevant commentary and meme-referencing from Ace Ventura to anonymous internet witticisms. All of the designs can easily be changed to suit personal preferences (in fact, the author explains that that was the genesis of Subersive Cross stitch - she bought a traditional cross stitch kit for some "art therapy" at a difficult point in her life and changed the sentiment to a pithy and rugged four letter word and found it truly therapeutic and it grew from there).
This would be a good starting book or gift for someone who was interested in learning the basics of cross stitch and finishing some fun gifts for themselves or friends. The first chapter provides a short but useful introduction to materials and supplies. She discusses needles, fabrics, thread counts, embroidery floss, hoops, etc. The photos are full colour and clear and the instructions are easy to follow. One of the more useful introductory segments is a short guide to personal style and altering patterns to taste. She has a lot of good ideas (there *are* no rules, follow your impulses).
The patterns themselves are arranged somewhat thematically: holidays, a world gone mad, self-help, cocktail corner, gifts, and work. The patterns are provided with stitch counts, approximate design size (in & cm), and recommended colors given with DMC numbers. The borders are very simple and most of these projects won't take long to complete and are well suited to small, last minute gifts.
Four stars. Full of humor and lalochezia. This would be a good choice for the stitcher's home library, public library acquisition, or gift giving.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Super Subversive Cross Stitch is a wryly tongue in cheek collection of snarky and appealing designs by Julie Jackson. Due out 2nd Nov 2021 from Sasquatch Books, it's 128 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
This is a fun collection full of appealing and uncensored sentiments for decorating and (potentially) gift-giving to like minded friends. The author has a humorous, nerdy, tongue in cheek style that is definitely not 'grandma's cross stitch' but is good hearted and honest. There's a fair bit of current culturally relevant commentary and meme-referencing from Ace Ventura to anonymous internet witticisms. All of the designs can easily be changed to suit personal preferences (in fact, the author explains that that was the genesis of Subersive Cross stitch - she bought a traditional cross stitch kit for some "art therapy" at a difficult point in her life and changed the sentiment to a pithy and rugged four letter word and found it truly therapeutic and it grew from there).
This would be a good starting book or gift for someone who was interested in learning the basics of cross stitch and finishing some fun gifts for themselves or friends. The first chapter provides a short but useful introduction to materials and supplies. She discusses needles, fabrics, thread counts, embroidery floss, hoops, etc. The photos are full colour and clear and the instructions are easy to follow. One of the more useful introductory segments is a short guide to personal style and altering patterns to taste. She has a lot of good ideas (there *are* no rules, follow your impulses).
The patterns themselves are arranged somewhat thematically: holidays, a world gone mad, self-help, cocktail corner, gifts, and work. The patterns are provided with stitch counts, approximate design size (in & cm), and recommended colors given with DMC numbers. The borders are very simple and most of these projects won't take long to complete and are well suited to small, last minute gifts.
Four stars. Full of humor and lalochezia. This would be a good choice for the stitcher's home library, public library acquisition, or gift giving.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
sharondblk's review
5.0
I was also lucky enough to get a review copy of Super Subversive Cross Stitch by Julie Jackson. While I'm not sure I would describe sweary sayings as "super subversive" these days, this is a fun, interesting book full of cross-stitch how to's, including how to design your own pieces. It's also beautifully presented, and very clear, perfect for those of us who have not done a lot of stitching.
It provides very clear guidance on everything from what you need to start, how to stitch and some ideas for using and displaying finished products. All round a useful, attractive book.
It provides very clear guidance on everything from what you need to start, how to stitch and some ideas for using and displaying finished products. All round a useful, attractive book.
opaline's review
4.0
This little book is packed full of 50 full colour cross-stitch charts. As you can probably tell from the cover they are word based patterns with sarcastic, quirky or swear-y sayings - not for anyone easily offended. This is definitely a modern take on cross stitch, introducing the craft to a new audience.
The book starts with a good introduction on how to cross stitch, including all the essentials for example what needles to use, what aida counts mean, how to start and end stitching and how to frame your work. All the charts have DMC thread numbers but as the author says, you can use what ever you have to hand in whatever colours you think would work. There are also instructions on how to personalise your projects in other ways, including charts for 5 different alphabets and 10 or so borders/flourishes you could use. The author also gives you a small blank grid that you could use to design your own chart.
This is a lovely little book for beginners or more advanced stitchers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sasquatch Books for this ARC in return for an unbiased review.
The book starts with a good introduction on how to cross stitch, including all the essentials for example what needles to use, what aida counts mean, how to start and end stitching and how to frame your work. All the charts have DMC thread numbers but as the author says, you can use what ever you have to hand in whatever colours you think would work. There are also instructions on how to personalise your projects in other ways, including charts for 5 different alphabets and 10 or so borders/flourishes you could use. The author also gives you a small blank grid that you could use to design your own chart.
This is a lovely little book for beginners or more advanced stitchers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sasquatch Books for this ARC in return for an unbiased review.
bonnysweetrobin's review
4.0
Don't quote me on this, but I am pretty sure that this designer is the one who brought swear-y cross stitch into popularity. First on the subversive cross stitch website and then through books. I did a kit from her back in 2012, reigniting my love for cross stitch. While I now feel that that many of the patterns are too simplistic and that is isn't subversive enough for my tastes, this is a great book for those wanting to dip their toes into making cross stitch that your grandmother would hate.
If you are a beginner, you have to at least look at Jackson's books, and I highly recommend going with a kit from the website! (subversivecrossstitch.com)
If you are a beginner, you have to at least look at Jackson's books, and I highly recommend going with a kit from the website! (subversivecrossstitch.com)
ashreads_inherjungle's review
5.0
Super Subversive Cross Stitch is a fan, sassy book of patterns for both newbie and experienced stitchers. The book opens up with a list of recommended materials to get you started and also illustrations on basic stitches. The photographs and illustrations are clear and well focused, but the author also includes a link to her website if learning from videos is more your style. The patterns themselves are all rather simple, though some do offer some advanced and different techniques if you’d like to give them a try. The patterns themself range from holiday to work related to political, and they even include some you may want to gift to (Squirrelfriends might be my favorite pattern in the whole book).
I appreciated that most patterns only use a handful of floss colors. Some crafts require quite an investment in materials (knitting I’m looking at you), so I love how this isn’t too cost prohibitive for people. The author also recommends DMC floss, which is readily available at big box stores, so you should have no problem finding the recommended colors. The last section of the book is about creating your own patterns, including different fonts and banners, which I thought was a great addition. You can tell that the author is really passionate about cross stitching and helping others build their skills up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sasquatch Books for this advanced copy. I can’t wait to get stitching and will definitely be recommending this to my fellow crafty friends.
I appreciated that most patterns only use a handful of floss colors. Some crafts require quite an investment in materials (knitting I’m looking at you), so I love how this isn’t too cost prohibitive for people. The author also recommends DMC floss, which is readily available at big box stores, so you should have no problem finding the recommended colors. The last section of the book is about creating your own patterns, including different fonts and banners, which I thought was a great addition. You can tell that the author is really passionate about cross stitching and helping others build their skills up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sasquatch Books for this advanced copy. I can’t wait to get stitching and will definitely be recommending this to my fellow crafty friends.
diversify_your_shelf's review
4.0
This book is such a delight! The patterns are fun and easy to understand and the introduction to cross stitching at the beginning is both informative and rather sassy. My favourite bit, weirdly, is not the patterns themselves (although they are such fun) but Julie Jackson's inclusion of alphabets and borders at the end so that people can make their own patterns and visualise how that process works! The book includes both instructions and pictures of how the pieces look when finished-- so you know that all the patterns have been tried and aren't just patterns made on software that no one bothered to check if they worked. My favourite pattern is probably "Let me Google that for you' as it is both a pointed remark but also features lovely book spines that make a rather amusing juxtaposition.
These patterns are fairly simple to do so if you're looking for a pattern to toil on for 100 hours and learn new skills these are not that, but they are fun and sweary!
These patterns are fairly simple to do so if you're looking for a pattern to toil on for 100 hours and learn new skills these are not that, but they are fun and sweary!
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