Embroidered Landscapes

About Judy Wilford

Judy Wilford worked with the mediums of fabric and thread and the many and varied techniques of hand embroidery. Her unique embroideries draw on years of personal study and practice in design, drawing, painting, print-making, clay and object making but it is the flexibility and technical variety inherent in textiles, in particular hand embroidery, that always fascinated her.

Judy sadly died in 2022, after a lifetime as a well-regarded tutor throughout Australia and New Zealand at Textile Forums and McGregor Schools (University of Southern Queensland), where she taught techniques she had developed revolving around birds and their habitats, the wider landscape and narrative works.

She won the 2013 National Australian Society of Miniature Arts Awards for Mixed Media and the 2012 Yvonne Perring Memorial Award for best use of Traditional Techniques.
She has written articles for various magazines and books, such as Masterworks and Inspirations, as well as having her book Embroidered Landscapes published by Sally Milner.

Judy lived in Armidale, NSW, Australia.

Be Creative.. with Workbox

November/December

Bringing together over 25 years of experiment, refinement, and tutoring by author, Judy Wilford, this book teaches you the processes and techniques of designing, stitching and completely realistic interpretations of landscapes. The book is divided into two sections - part one covers the materials and equipment needed to design and embroider a landscape, as well as detail on how to produce surface elements such as grass, trees and contains projects based on different land forms - The Coastlines, The Escarpments, The Plains and The Deserts; each further develop and extend techniques. Each of the land forms will have stitch samplers of specific elements and the flora region giving a total of eight projects.  We Love: The techniques, which are the combination and adaption of different art genres, textiles, traditional stitches and hand embroidery techniques. 

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Yarnsandfabrics.co.uk

Subtitled 'Hand embroidery, layering and surface stitching' this fabulous book shows you how to create fabulous hand embroidered pictures. The book is split into materials, design, layering, surface elements, natural elements, coastlines, ranges, deserts. It is an Australian book and has Australian themes but is easily adaptable by any embroiderer, no matter where you live, because it covers the essential elements. After all, we all have skies, water, mountains, sand and so on. In the design process, Judy talks of line, depth and colour amongst other things. She tells you why layering works best. There are great examples of Judy's finished work and some step-by-step projects. The detail is wonderful too, of grasses, trees, Australian native flowers, lichens, water, mountains and even patterns in the sand. There are also instructions for making silk paper. There are three projects included as well as samplers and a gallery of work. You'll also find advice on mounting and framing work. It is the best advice and method I have seen for finishing work. At the very back of the book, you will find a stitch dictionary with excellent line drawings. It is a superbly produced and very inspiring book and one I am very happy to recommend to all who love stitching. It is one of the best books on the subject. 

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Myshelf.com

Have you ever wanted to capture the beauty of a place in fabric and thread? This book will tell you everything you need to know about building up a picture using, as the subtitle states "hand embroidery, layering and surface stitching" so you can create a masterpiece.

This is a big book with sturdy board covers and it gives a pretty exhaustive account of certainly everything I can think of on the topic. It is the sort of book you need to read through a bit at a time as you work, and is a most impressive feat of writing. The author lives in Australia and the pictures she works through depict this country in all its beauty, although everything in here can be applied to whatever landscape you want to show. Ms. Wilford takes you from choosing materials and setting up a workspace to drawing out your sketch, layering up fabric for the background and deciding on stitches right through to mounting and framing. This is not a book for beginners, more for the confident hand embroiderer who wants a challenge and to go beyond commercial patterns and kits to their own choice of picture. Helpful drawn diagrams and staged photos are backed up with a lot of print for some foolproof projects to work through, or read through and create your own pictures. There are many pages of surface elements, namely grasses, trees and other plants, as well as tips for building up different landscapes. These are of course mostly plants that are found in Australia, but the simple rules for building up the shapes again apply to any - a wise idea that gives this book a lot of international appeal. This is not the only book on the market that deals with this subject, but it is by far the most in-depth. One for the keeper shelf.

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East Sussex Embroiderer's Guild

This has to be one of the best hand embroidery books I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time.  It contains a wealth of information the author has gained over a long period of time and her attention to detail throughout is second to none.  As an example, inside the front and back covers, as well as throughout the book, are small sketches of flowers, plants and grasses which inspired me to want to start stitching even before I had reached the project sections!  This book not only covers hand embroidery, but explains how to create a design, layer fabrics and then apply surface stitching.  There is so much in this book to enjoy and whether you are a complete beginner in hand embroidery or someone who is looking for something a little different this is a book worthy to sit on any embroiderer's bookshelf.

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East Kent Embroiderers Guild

Judy Wilford celebrates the beauty and wonder of her native Australian landscape using fabric and thread, depicting nature in minute and intricate detail.  Lavishly illustrated in colour and with detailed step-by-step instructions, the projects enable the reader to either replicate Judys designs, or adapt the processes to produce their own unique embroidery. This volume is a delight to look through again and again, and Judys meticulous attention to detail ensures that it is an inspiring book to be enjoyed by every needlewoman and worth its higher-end price tag.

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Crochet Addict UK

This book opens whole new world to embroidery. It takes you through all the processes and techniques to create realistic and amazing landscapes. This book is deisng for an embroider who wants to use their skills to create beautiful pictures and landscapes. The book is hard backed so that you can use it time and time again without it getting damaged. The book is quite large as there is just so much information held within. The pages are smooth and soft and hard-wearing. This is a book you just know iot's quality. Judy takes you through each stage giving you all the information so you can create your own landscapes . She takes you step-by-step through the process to create everything you need in your landscape. You find out about chosing your fabrics and colours. How to lay them to create the scene. Then it's onto how to layer your embroidery to create the landscape. This book is really inspiring and guides you so you feel like you you have a hand taking you on the journey. Judy gets you really thinking about what you would want to add to your landscape and how to do it.