With Icelandic ancestry on her mother's side, Jona Sparey is renowned as an outstanding teacher, communicator and canvaswork designer, and her infectious enthusiasm for the traditional embroidery patterns of her homeland shines out from every page of this, her first book of needlepoint designs. Borders and flowers, repeating patterns and sampler motifs, star geometrics, traditional symbols, intrepid knights, mythical beasts...all these and more are represented in this vibrant and colourful collection. Clear, large-scale charts are provided for all the designs which have been photographed to show every detail, making the embroiderers a pleasure to stitch. They are worked simply and quickly in cross stitch without the use of a cumbersome frame, while the author's practical tips and advice ensure perfect results every time. The finished embroideries can be used in a variety of ways and suggestions are given throughout, with full instructions provided for making up into cushions and framed pictures.
Compiled with the attention to detail and emphasis on ease of working which ensure that Jona's Icelandic Tapestry School courses are always over subscribed, this book is a must for every needlepoint enthusiast who is looking for new and exciting designs to stitch.
Travelling by trawler to Iceland on regular holiday visits, Jóna Sparey became increasingly influenced throughout her childhood by the rich artistic heritage of this unique country. At school in London her most hated subjects was embroidery, but when confronted by the beautiful exhibits at the National Museum, Reykjavik, she fell completely in love with the rich and colourful traditional designs. She began translating the photographs she had taken onto graph paper, painstakingly reproducing and adapting the original patterns and working them into stunning canvaswork embroideries. Students first attended Jóna's classes in 1984, and her natural ability to teach, encourage and entertain, as well as the kits she supplies and the many features on her work which have appeared in national magazines, have resulted in many hundreds of British embroiderers stitching thousands of Icelandic Designs.