Myshelf.com
Mar 13
Jane E Halls name is synonymous with Search Presss rare forays into the world of the hardback book. This means you can expect a lushly illustrated item that would grace any coffee table and you certainly wont be disappointed. If you are hoping for a hands-on how-to book filled with projects you will have to go on wanting, but experienced embroiderers can use the pictures and descriptions of techniques to create their own masterpieces. Ms. Hall sets out to celebrate the butterfly in both life and art, as each chapter is devoted to one of twelve species of British butterfly. You can find out all about them and what food plants they like, gaze upon photographs of the living creatures and discover how the author sets about capturing their likeness in fabric and stitching. Read about why butterflies are so endangered, and discover how the Large Blue has been brought back from extinction by the work of conservationists. You can also read Ms. Halls personal involvement with butterflies and the painstaking process of making both the insects themselves and the settings she places them in. There are many photos too of her lovely home, a perfect setting for creation, although if I had discovered the butterflies were made on a rickety kitchen table in a caravan it wouldnt have detracted from the beauty of the finished work. Read (this is no picture book, there are a lot of words in here), gaze at the polished photographs and be inspired not only to create but also to try and help save these fragile creatures.
Embroidery
Jan/Feb 13
Jane E. Hall's artistry is beautifully observed in a series of three-dimensional embroideries of butterflies that are difficult to distinguish from the real thing. Using the finest of silk threads and needles, Jane lovingly creates her butterflies' wings using the tiniest of stitches worked on to silk with exquisite results. Discover how.
Machine Knitting Monthly
Feb 13
Jane's embroidery is breathtaking and her gorgeous book combines a love of butterflies with her outstanding talent as a textile artist. The exquisitely worked, three-dimensional butterflies are almost indistinguishable from the real thing. She provides a fascinating introduction to butterflies in nature, reflecting her love for these exquisite creatures. Twelve projects, each based on a different butterfly, show the finished piece along with the materials Jane used and everything that inspired it. The photography is amazing and artists, embroiderers, textile artists or lovers of beautiful books should all add it to their wish list.
needlenthread.com
Dec 12
If you are enchanted by the butterfly (whether embroidered or not), this book will delight you!
Its a hard-bound book with a nice dust jacket, and its a beautiful book. It belongs out on your coffee table, where people can meander through it slowly and enjoy it. But it also belongs in your workroom, where you can learn from it! The book is about the authors particular niche in the art world the embroidered butterfly. But Jane Halls embroidered butterflies are unlike any embroidered butterflies Ive seen. They are ethereally light and incredibly real. Each one is an amazing artistic creation so close to the real thing that, at a glance, you may very well be duped. The book fills me with a sense of wonder its a study of a corner of the natural world that is truly wonder-filled. From the title pages to the forward to the introduction of the book, butterflies abound. Youll find them scattered throughout, each preparing to flutter off the page.
Its difficult to give a list of pros and cons for this book. I really love this book, even though Im not an avid butterfly person. I like butterflies (and I certainly appreciate them better now), but Ive never studied them up close or made them a subject of my own needlework pursuits. But for what its worth, heres my pro-con breakdown.
Pros
1. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous Book.
2. It is an inspiring book and a delightful book. I enjoyed reading it.
3. It is a book not just for embroiderers, though the embroiderer can learn much from it.
4. If you have ever yearned to create really realistic butterflies in your embroidery, this book will help you fulfill that yearning.
5. The information and inspiration in the book easily and readily flows into other areas of embroidery.
Cons
1. Its not a technique / project book, per se. You will not receive step-by-step instructions here for creating this particular butterfly that looks just exactly like this. If thats the type of book you like or want, this may not be the book for you.
2. I cant think of any others.
East Kent Embroiderer's Guild
Dec 12
Following her first enchanting book, Janes latest volume takes us into the world of the butterfly. Beautiful colour photography brings us Janes exquisite studies, highlighting her painstaking attention to the smallest detail and her delicate stitchery. The fragile creatures are so perfectly executed, each nestling convincingly in their habitats and only the closest scrutiny confirms that they are not, in fact, alive. This is a unique book. One to inspire, enlighten and lift the spirits. Truly a book to treasure.
Fabrications
Dec 12/Jan 13
With an introduction on the fly leaf by David Bellamy OBE this gives a clear indication that you are looking at something amazingly realistic and very special. This is a showcase of the exquisite work of Jane E. Hall, who is a world-renowned textile artist and embroiderer. I was fortunate to review and own her previous book 'The Art & Embroidery of Jane Hall, Reflections of Nature' and this book is equally stunning and truly magical, offering the reader the opportunity of an insight into the methods and materials used to create the butterflies and their habitat. Jane's butterfly studies are inspirational and all lovingly worked in breathtaking detail, which cannot fail to awaken in you a sense of wonder and awe.
Barnes & Noble (BN.com)
Nov 12
Breathtaking nature scenes are the specialty of world-renowned textile artist Jane E. Hall, and the butterflies that frequently inhabit her spectacular embroidery works are the focus of this exquisitely designed book. Close-ups of her three-dimensional renditions of the winged beauties are accompanied by notes on the materials used as well as the photographs, swatches, drawings, and paintings that inspired each piece. A profile of a professional artist at work, an exhibit of the art of embroidery, and a nature book all in one, this collection of needlecraft butterflies will inspire and motivate embroiderers to elevate their craft and non-embroiderers to appreciate the gorgeous spectacle of nature.
Merseyside Embroiderer's Guild (megonline.co.uk)
Nov 12
Jane Halls studies of butterflies have led to an inspirational book detailing these exquisite creatures. She creates her varied types of insects set in their own environment with flowers and leaves, displaying them in all their natural glory. The stitching she uses is hand embroidery giving her a creative and flexible medium to exploit their beauty. She explains the best materials to use and also the artistic techniques which she obviously enjoys using. An inspiring book for any lover of these beautiful creatures.
