Flowers, Birds, and Unicorns: Medieval Needlepoint ePub download

Excellent book: detailed pictures with patterns and explanations, though not all pictures had patterns, sadly, but the ones it did have can be easily adapted to any project. I'm currently making a pillow needlepoint pattern much smaller for a book cover and it is easy to follow. The colors of the thread/wool are all listed beside each pattern if you want to buy the exact ones (and amounts) used, but you can also match others to the sample in the book very easily. One thing just to be clear about the book is that, like the title, this is flower and animal needlepoint, which means background elements from famous medieval tapestries/paintings (like orange trees, vines and monkeys) not the humans in the pictures.

This is a beautifully laid out and illustrated book. I saw it last year in New Paltz, New York for the full cover price. Even for $40 I was tempted to purchase it after flipping through the book a few times. Naturally I found it on Amazon for much less.
The designs and patterns are sophisticated and very beautiful. If you are interested in creating a needlepoint tapestry that feels authentically medieval, this is the book for you. I personally bought it to seek inspiration for my own miniature punch needle work, which has been displayed at the Gunn Museum in Connecticut. After studying the patterns and photographs I embarked on a miniature unicorn tapestry. So, the book works on two levels. Clear patterns for needle artists who wish to re-create historic tapestry designs and inspiration for those of us who create our own patterns.

love this book

This is a very beautiful book full of gorgeous creations. However, all of the designs I fell in love with have been left out. For example, in the "Birds and Beasts" chapter you are shown a wonderful rug and cushions featuring a hunting dog, rabbit, squirrel, falcon, and pheasant, but you are given a much less appealing monkey design to create. I find this very frustrating and disappointing. It seems the book is mainly meant to show off the author's work. You can order the missing patterns online, but be prepared to pay $100-$200 or more for them.

best set of patterns ever. easy to read wonderful colors. Any of this series of books is a must have for period patterns. The history and explanations are as lovely as the finished products. Worth the read,

Designs were too busy and flowery for my taste, and a lot of the colors were drab. But I may be able to use some of the designs by simplifying them and changing the colors.

I like the history of textile design in the Middle Ages and especially appreciate it that the author discusses and includes pictures of the Unicorn tapestries, one each of the two world-renowned sets; The Lady and and Unicorn, in the Cluny Museum in France, and The Hunt of the Unicorn in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The nice lion pattern she includes is specifically, in heraldry, described as passant regardant, meaning standing and facing left with its right front paw raised and looking backward to the right.

The playing cards cushion is unique--the only other needlework project I've seen involving playing cards is one of a table upon which you can play the game itself. I can't recall the game right now but it dates from Anne Boleyn's days at court. This cushion is of our current deck of cards but Ms. Bahouth gives a detailed discussion of the standard deck stemming from Tarot cards, the first form of cards in Europe; the first written mention of cards is from 1463 when King Edward IV made it law that cards could not be imported from elsewhere but only manufactured in England. I have some decks and a book on Tarot cards and am reminded that our suits derived from Tarot via: hearts are from Cups which symbolize love and family; spades are from Swords which stood for misfortune; diamonds are from Denarii or Coins and referring to business or journeys; clubs are from Batons symbolizing money. The face cards are self-evident and the joker derives from the Jester or Fool, who represented the Average Man who was bandied about by the Wheel of Fortune.

Candace Bahouth is frequently associated with Hugh Ehrman as his books include some of her designs and vice versa. I didn't realize that the author is originally from the U.S. but moved to England and lives in a converted chapel in Somerset. Her works have been exhibited in the Victoria & Albert Museum and Royal Academy in London and at the time of this publication, she had just been commissioned to create a tapestry for the Lady Chapel at Winchester Cathedral, a high honor indeed.

This book does give you at least one project each of flowers, birds and a unicorn but I treasure it even more for the discussion. You may be interested in these other books that I have and recommend:

Debby Robbinson's Medieval Needlepoint: Twenty-Four Easy-To-Make Projects for the Home
Angela Wainwright's Medieval Cross Stitch Samplers
Beth Russell's Traditional Needlepoint: Glorious Rugs, Cushions & Pictures (though this is from the William Morris era)
Sandra Whitehead's Celtic and Medieval Cross Stitch: A Collection of Inspirational Projects and
Celtic, Medieval and Tudor Wall Hangings in 1/12 Scale Needlepoint
Margaret Swain's Scottish Embroidery: Medieval to Modern

To read more about medieval designs see:

The Unicorn Tapestries in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications)
Early Medieval Designs (British Museum Pattern Books)