A showcase for textile artist Alison Holt's exquisite machine embroideries, this book will teach you to 'paint' your surroundings using just two simple stitches. This is a must-have instructional and inspirational book for anyone interested in free-motion embroidery. Drawing on new material, as well as that previously published as The Beginner's Guide to Machine embroidered Flowers, The Beginner's Guide to Machine embroidered Landscapes, Machine embroidered Seascapes and Machine embroidered Woodlands, this book provides a showcase of Alison Holt's exquisite machine embroideries. Learn how to create beautiful machine-embroidered pictures of all aspects of the landscape, from formal gardens and flowers to romantic seascapes, landscapes and woodlands using various combinations of just two simple machine stitches. Information on silk painting and colour mixing is also included. All the techniques are broken down into clear, step-by-step instructions, with numerous helpful photographs and a great range of inspirational pieces. Alison 'paints' her threads on to hand-coloured backgrounds, blending her stitches and achieving stunning results. This book covers everything, including the materials required; how to compose a picture from photographs that have inspired you; achieving perspective; light and shade; painting backgrounds; and all the basic stitch techniques you need to know. There are stunning step-by-step projects so that the reader can put into practise his or her newly-acquired skills.