Connecting with Nature: Mindful Stitching and Textile Art Through the Seasons

In this mostly satisfactory manual, Rose (Daydream Journals) shows how to make crafts featuring materials found in nature. A few of the projects don’t require any stitching. For instance, the “mini flower press” consists of several pieces of paper folded in half and tied at the crease with twine, creating a portable booklet where readers can collect flowers for pressing. However, most of the projects utilize a needle and thread, including the nature mandala, which is made by constructing a circular geometric design from found materials, sketching the results, and then recreating the sketch on fabric with stitching. Elsewhere, Rose describes how to create a “stitched garland” by embroidering plants on scraps of fabric and stringing them together on a ribbon, as well as how to make an “eco-dyed wall hanging” by sewing fabric strips—dyed at home using red onion skins, turmeric, marigold petals, and other natural ingredients—on top of each other in a concentric rectangular design. The open-ended projects provide plenty of opportunities for readers to flex their creativity, though the “showcasing treasures” project is a letdown, consisting of little more than collecting natural materials and placing them on a shelf. Still, eco-conscious crafters will enjoy this. (Oct.)