Many years ago when I had to undergo major surgery, my friend gave me 8 different little embroideries on cream calico and matching variegated thread to occupy my hands and keep my mind busy whilst I recuperated. I finished them over about 7 weeks and eventually sewed them into a gorgeous table runner, which I love to this day.

I recently received a complimentary ecopy by one of Australia’s foremost patchwork and quilt designers, Gail Pan. Gail has recently published a pretty little companion book for quilters who also love to embroider. It’s called Patchwork Loves Embroidery, hand stitches, pretty projects and is a delightful book to have in your library.

Gail has been designing patterns since 2003 and has a worldwide following of enthusiastic embroiderers. Her gentle and delicate designs are very attractive, slightly learning towards naïve embroidery , but not over the top by any means.

Gail has a knack of combining gorgeous colours and colour schemes with a professional touch, so that takes the guess work out of which colours will look best.

In this collection of full sized patterns Gail includes wall hangings, totes, table runners, little quilts and lots lots more. A number of the patterns can be mixed and matched so you really get a pretty good bang for your buck with this publication.

I like that Gail has taken the time to describe the simple fancy embroidery stitches that are used in this book, and her photo images and diagrams are very clear and easy to understand.

Martingale webpage – Patchwork Loves Embroidery