Myshelf.com
Dec 10
Everybody has heard of the Bayeux Tapestry, but how was such a vast project actually tackled, who made it, what do all the pictures mean and what sort of stitches were used in its making? All these questions and more get answered in this beautiful and unusual book.
This is one book that can grace your coffee table and is sure to interest even those guests who aren't interested in embroidery (ie men). There is as much about what the tapestry (which is a misnomer) depicts as how it was made. Every page in this landscape shaped book is laid out in the Bayeux Tapestry style and tinted elegantly with colored pencils. At first glance trying to read the mediaeval style print will have you booking in for an appointment at the opticians but turning to the back will give you a transcript of what it says in ordinary type on white paper. The print looks attractive but after flipping backwards and forwards trying to match the transcript to the page I found myself wishing that a more legible font had been chosen to start with. This gripe aside this is one of the most attractive books I have seen for a long time, and very informative too. There are sections on the people portrayed in the tapestry, who designed it and why, who made it and what they used and how they used it and more. There is even a blow-by-blow depiction of each panel and what it all means which is helpful, and after reading it all I felt that I knew a lot more about the tapestry and the context in which it was made. Hard-to-read print aside, this one is a keeper.
Stitch
Oct/Nov 10
When Madeira Threads commissioned Jan to make the 'Bayeux Tapestry Finale', a reconstruction of the missing last 8 feet of the Bayeux Tapestry, her explorations into how the tapestry was likely to have been stitched provided the basis for this meticulously researched book. Looking at the Bayeux Tapestry from a designer's and embroiderer's viewpoint, the text that accompanies the beautiful illustrations was hand-written by Jan although it looks so perfect that it's difficult to believe it wasn't computer generated. First published in 1999, it's great to see this book back in print.
