Handpicked Collection vol 4 Up Close!

Last year, we looked at the first three books in a new series called The Handpicked Collection from Inspirations Studios – I reviewed those here – and today, I’m going to show you volume 4, which just recently came out.

Of course, it’s beautiful. It’s packed with a bunch of gorgeous embroidery projects covering a wide range of techniques and levels of skill, so it’s a book that’s suitable for beginners and beyond.

I’ll show you the projects in the book while we chat about it…

Volume 4 of The Handpicked Collection is presented in the same format as the first three volumes:

Each project has it’s own “chapter” in the book, in which you will find close-up photos of the finished project (beautiful close-ups, as is characteristic with Inspirations publications), along with an introduction to the project, a complete materials list, and the whole process for creating the project outlined step-by-step, with diagrams, photo instruction, and all that you need to accomplish the techniques and the finish work for each project.

You’ll find pull out patterns in the back of the book, too.

Volume 4 is hitting the shelves at a perfect time of year for most of its content.

Many of the projects are quite springy or summery and bright, from this Jane Nicholas stumpwork piece…

…to this ultra-adorable sweet scene by Jenny McWhinney.

I am always besotted with Jenny’s little “narrative” animal scenes that tell a story in themselves. This one is called “Great Escape.” It’s perfect on a baby or toddler blanket. If you’re not keen on a blanket, it would make a sweet nursery pillow or simply a nice framed piece for a wall in a child’s room.

Striking florals on a dark background adorn this workbox, pincushion, and scissor sheath set.

There are some great finishing techniques to learn with this project!

This sweet little lavender bag is a study in drawn thread and counted techniques. I like the style – it reminds me of a cross between Sweet Marguerite and Cotton Quartet. If you worked those projects, this would be a fun addition to them, with a different finish.

This is a perfectly accessible project for any level of stitcher, and the finish would make a lovely sachet or similar… think Mother’s Day!

Pansies are the best little flowers, aren’t they? This stumpwork piece is so sweet!

Helen Richman’s “Paradise Lost” is a lovely crewel piece for a cushion. It’s bright and summery – I like the colors, as they aren’t necessarily typical of crewel. The blues are nice and vibrant.

This is a very unique and structured beaded mat – very formal and rich! If you love working with beads, I think this would be a fabulous challenge piece.

On a very simple but striking table linen, this geometric design is worked in Catherine de’ Medici stitch and edged out with decorative tassels. This would be a nice exercise to get these techniques well-rooted into your stitching repertoire.

Trish Burr is back with her “whitework in color” approach – melding regular surface embroidery in color with techniques typically used in whitework – to create another floralized critter. A very bold bird, indeed!

It’s not spring everywhere! In the antipodes, they’re enjoying autumn, and this “Noble Oak” project by Di Kirchner is a nice multi-media piece to work for autumn. It involves wool felt, fusible webbing, wire – and a variety of stitching and construction techniques.

This bright and colorful accessory set would be a lovely addition to your work table. There are a variety of embroidery techniques employed, plus great lessons in finishing.

“Twinkle Toes” is a precious little set of linen baby shoes, embellished with floral embroidery and velvet ties. Soooo sweet!!

In a Nutshell

There are really no “cons” to these Handpicked Collection books – they are full of a variety of projects in a variety of techniques with a variety of finishes, by a variety of highly skill needlework professionals, to appeal to a very wide variety of stitching preferences.

Not only are excellent project books, but they are super instructional and highly inspirational.

Imagine working your way through all the projects in any of these books? Talk about mastering embroidery!

Where to Find It

If you want to add Volume 4 of The Handpicked Collection to your needlework library, it’s available in the shop right now.

If it sells out, of course we will re-stock is possible. (This depends on if the publisher sells out – they are popular!)

Right now, it’s set up for US shipping only, but if you are in Canada and you want to order a copy, drop me a line and we’ll see how the shipping costs work out. Right now, it looks like tracked and insured shipping is about $23-25 to Canada, depending on where you are located.