Melanie Couffe started her career as a language teacher and has always been an avid cross stitcher in her spare time. She started her cross-stitch design company, Tom & Lily Creations, while on maternity leave and has been an independent creative entrepreneur ever since. She has also developed her own range of hand-dyed stitching fabrics and threads. Melanie is a qualified colour therapist and colour is an integral part of her life and business. Melanie was born in Wimbledon in the UK and now lives in the south of France.
This book is so inspiring. As with all Search Press books it has plenty of clear photos and diagrams. This makes the techniques easy to follow. Within minutes of opening the cover I couldn't wait to get started, over the first weekend of reading it I completed the designs pictured here. The book is laid out according to the seasons, there are several projects for each including a tree which is included in all seasons so you could put them all together as a set. I found the blackwork designs so relaxing to stitch as, once you get the hang of it, there's no need to constantly refer to the chart. The designs can easily be used in other projects and I look forward to using them in some of my own. Overall this book is definitely worth reading it is both interesting and inspiring. -- Amanda Seadon * Customer Review * I love this book, it is really beautiful. The introduction shows the enthusiasm and passion that Melanie Couffe wants to share and it is infectious. The background and instructions are clear and informative. I have been stitching for a long time and have felt blackwork becoming more popular and modern recently and this book certainly adds to that movement. I love the layout and seasonal themes in the book. I wanted to do a little bit so I could review the pattern layout. My plan was a jellyfish as I am drawn to all things marine. As soon as I started I was hooked. I painted my own fabric for the first time and before I knew it I had a whole aquatic bookmark which you can see here. The patterns are clear and not too small. I didn't have any of the amazing threads used (although I may invest as they look gorgeous). This wasn't really a problem as part of the ethos and joy of the book is experimenting with your own colour palette. The size of the projects are very variable which is perfect to match to the time you have. Some of the larger patterns have a motif like style which could lend itself to seasonal samplers for example. It's a great book for all levels as the possibilities are endless. Next stop tulips. -- Joanne Riley * Customer Review *