Graduating from the design and manufacture of stitchery kits, Orr and Clarke now have collaborated on a pattern book concentrating on Celtic symbols and images. Little time or pages are devoted to the how-tos of cross-stitch, though, of course, the basics, from fabrics to masking tape, are adequately covered. So, without much fanfare, the four different design concepts--fire, earth, air, and water--are introduced and incorporated into more than 40 practical items, such as pillows, sachets, bookmarks, even a chessboard and chessman bag. On the whole, motifs are decidedly geometric, based on knots and spirals and occasional iconographic images like salmon, saints, and angels. Each project features directions, graphs, and color photographs, as well as level of difficulty and ideas for variations. Elegant classic designs that can be used to embellish almost any object.
