The Bottom Line: This collection is a must-have for Wentzler fans and is recommended to intermediate/advanced cross-stitchers who enjoy large, detailed patterns and are looking for beautiful, whimsical designs.
Prior to last year's publication of The Best of Teresa Wentzler Fantasy Collection, Wentzler fans had to scour eBay for hard-to-find and out-of-print designs. Leaflets for "The Castle" and others often went for $30 and up - just the leaflet, mind you, not any of the materials needed to stitch the pattern. But last year Leisure Arts took pity on us (or saw a quick way to line the company coffers) and deigned to publish a collection of ten of Wentzler's more popular designs.
The book is 96 pages of a fantasy-loving cross-stitcher's dream. The dimensions (in inches) are 8 5/8 x 11 3/4 x 1/4, perfect for full-size charts. The front cover is a photo of "The Castle" and a close-up of the unicorn in "Unicorn," while the back has smaller shots of the remaining designs. Opening with a three page biography, the book moves quickly to the designs themselves. Each design has a two page, full color spread at the beginning of the book and its corresponding chart in the second half. The starting page for each is listed in the table of contents.
The Designs
Rapunzel shows the lovely lady standing near her window with her mandolin set beside her. Beyond the window is a mist-covered forest, and, far off in the distance, a cliff-top castle.
Day is an attempt to capture everything bright and wonderful about daytime in the form of a young woman. It has a lovely golden and blue flowered border; the woman stands among the summer blooms in full skirts with her long hair flowing down her back.
Night is the companion piece to "Day." The design is similar, but where the lady of "Day" expresses an open exuberance, the lady of "Night" is more hesitant to reveal herself - instead clutching her cloak to her chest. Despite the static medium, Wentzler has given energy and motion to "Day" and saved an eerie stillness for "Night."
Magical Night presents a whimsical scene: two pegasi pull a sleigh and its female rider through the night sky, above the treetops.
Carousel brings back the charm and delight of an old-fashioned carousel. Nine horses are visible around the carousel; the front five are rendered in detail, each with its own pose and style - there's the stately one, the frisky one, the shy one, the one in mid-leap, and the one tossing his head toward the roof. The chart for this design has six sections, so don't say you haven't been warned.
The Castle Sampler has a double border design. The outer border shows the alphabet on three sides and the numerals below; inside a noble lord and lady relax on cushioned chairs while three musicians entertain them - the lady is even working at her needlepoint! A second border encloses a castle atop a rocky crag - perfect for pulling out and stitching separately, if you're so inclined.
Stroke of Midnight shows Cinderella as she rushes down the steps, away from the ball and her would-be suitor. Her dress is absolutely gorgeous, in pale blues with golden and green flowered trim; her shawl is slipping down her shoulders as her hair works free of its upswept style.
The Castle is pure fantasy. A colorful dragon perches atop a castle on a tiny stone island. The light in the center turret clearly fascinates the large creature. This is probably the simplest design in the book, and the only one really suited for stitching on Aida.
Pegasus is the image of serenity. The creature stands with its feathered wings raised but not outstretched, near the edge of a small pool in a forest glade. The white of the pegasus stands out nicely against the backdrop of greenery.
Unicorn is the companion piece to "Pegasus." The creature stands beneath a tree on a smooth stone path in the dead of night; above and to the right a hazy human outline is visible in an open window.
Odds and Ends
The charts are all computer-generated in black and white with magenta lines for backstitching. Each chart takes up multiple pages, and all are far enough from the gutter (the binding of the book) to easily allow working copies. (This is not an endorsement of copying for your friends and fellow stitchers - just making one copy for yourself to mark up as you stitch.) If you've forgotten a stitch and want a quick reminder, the two final pages of the book give a quick lesson in the specialty stitches you'll need to know for some of the designs (lazy daisy, diamond eyelet - three variations, attaching beads, etc.). The inside back cover gives a handy DMC - Anchor conversion chart.
Commentary
Teresa Wentzler is my favorite designer. There are plenty of fantasy themed designs for cross-stitch, but none of them capture the realism and minute detail of a Wentzler design. Her creations really feel alive; the faces of her people and creatures show emotion, the ruffling of a dress or the grass shows movement, and the blended threads open the range of color choices that much wider.
I cannot in good conscience recommend these designs for beginners. These are large designs, some with edge-to-edge background stitching, some with over-one on linen stitching, and most with specialty stitches. All of the designs require blending threads - stitching with two or more colors on the needle - which creates more realistic color tones in the finished piece, but takes planning, coordination, and patience. Some designs also make use of beads and metallic threads.
For the intermediate or advanced stitcher ready to tackle a large project, though, The Best of Teresa Wentzler Fantasy Collection offers ten wonderful designs from which to choose.
Full color pictures of the finished pieces as well as their descriptions and some additional hints for stitching can be found at the Teresa Wentzler Designworks website, as can a list of places to purchase this collection: http://www.twdesignworks.com
And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to return to "The Castle Sampler" if I hope to have it finished in time for the holidays.
Paperback, 96 pages
ISBN: 1-57486-186-7
List Price: $19.95
Recommended:
