my review of Hoopla

Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery by Leanne Prain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an excellent book exploring how many different people use embroidery in their lives, and the great storytelling potential there is in this.

I was interested in the diversity of the embroiderers. I am going to use that term despite some of the people in the book preferring to use the term 'manbroidery" as it is all embroidery, regardless of who has the needle in their hands.

There are stories of people and stories of place. Some people took it up as a way to pass time in gaol, and there are some wonderful project associated with this, and with providing income after gaol. (The British Library work of art for the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta has been partly embroidered by prisoners.). Some of the examples in the book are by individuals, and others are collaborations.

There is also background information for getting started in embroidery and some projects you could consider. Embroidery has a lot of potential for linking to local studies in public libraries, and there would seem to be some great possibilities for collaborative work. I really enjoyed reading this book, and am considering trying some embroidery.

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