Helen M. Stevens' Embroidered Birds

The latest edition in expert embroiderer Stevens's Masterclass series shows experienced embroiders ways of working in the opus plumariam (""work of feathers"") style, which is characterized by stitches""in fluid, ever-changing sweeps of color"" that""create an illusion of three-dimensional life and movement."" Stevens's birds, here depicted in large color photographs and drawings, are brilliantly hued and very life-like, and her captions and text offer insight into the different species' habits and habitats. In the five masterclasses offered throughout, Stevens shows how to embroider birds such as barn owls and great crested grebes, listing the different stitching techniques she employed, the colors of silk she used and the order in which she progressed (""Infill the eyes with straight stitching in black...highlight in white seed stitches.... Work the beak in Champagne yellow in a wedge of radial opus plumarium""). Stevens's colorful volume will please and inspire the skilled textile artist.