Here, I will be sharing details of books from which I take patterns.  There will likely also appear photos from Facebook where I love to watch what is happening with embroidery by Ukrainians in Ukraine.

Sneak peak into my home – this is my collection of Ukrainian embroidery books:

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Українські вишивки, Марії Куценко
Ukrainian Embroideries by Maria Kutsenko

Inherited from our Mama, this is one of my all time favourite books of patterns and designs.  It features designs from the Kyiv, Poltava and Polisia regions of Ukraine.  Specs: Published in Melbourne by Spectrum Publications in 1977.

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Гуцульська вишивка, з колекції Національного музею народного мистецтва Гуцульщини та Покуття імені Й. Кобринського
Hutsul Embroidery, from the Collection of the Kobrynksy National Museum of Folk Art, Kolomyia Ukraine.

Specs: Published in Ukrainian, English and French by Rodovid Press 2010.

A luscious, beautiful book of information and embroideries from the Pokuttia and Hutsul regions of Ukraine.  Rodovid Press is responsible for several books in my collection of embroidery books and are actively publishing award-winning, gorgeous folios of classic and contemporary fine art, naive art and folk art, photography, costume and textile.  See http://rodovid.net/en/ for more information and the full collection.

~oOo~

Вишивка моє життя, Ольги Возниці
Embroidery is My Life by Ol’ha Voznytsia

I bought this book in Lviv on a visit to Ukraine – one of several collections available of the embroidery works of one individual.  Specs:  Published in Drohobych in 2006 by Kolo.

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Українська вишивка, С.Г. Нечипоренка
Ukrainian Embroidery by S.G. Nechyporenko

A tiny book filled with hundreds of delicate, dainty designs from various regions of Ukraine, such as the Kyiv, Poltava, Podillia, Prykarpattia and Chernihiv regions.  A gold mine of pretty colours and pretty designs all collected and embroidered as samples by the (male) author.  Amazing.  Specs: Published by the author in 2010.

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Вишивка Чернігівщини – Рушники, Віри Зайченкo
Embroidery of Chernihivshchyna – Rushnyky, by Vira Zaichenko

Specs: Published by Rodovid Press in 2018.

An exquisitely detailed catalogue of the collection of the Chernihiv Historical Museum, this folio details no less than 521 rushnyk pieces dating from as early as 1746!  Rodovid Press is responsible for several books in my collection of embroidery books and are actively publishing award-winning, gorgeous folios of classic and contemporary fine art, naive art and folk art, photography, costume and textile.  See http://rodovid.net/en/ for more information and the full collection.

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Gay Eaton’s Ukrainian Whitework, by Gaynor M. Eaton

Extraordinarily, here is a book on a particular Ukrainian embroidery compiled by a lady from New Zealand?  Gay Eaton explains her arrival here: searching for little known techniques to offer as workshops at the Otago Embroiderers’ Guild annual School of Embroidery.  Using a design from “DMC Library of Openwork Embroidery,” Gay was taken by a friend to the Ukrainian Arts and Crafts Museum in Melbourne and learnt there that her work was in fact Uki openwork embroidery.

This beautiful book contains some history, personal histories of migrants, sixteen beautiful designs, both embroidered and graphed out, and instructions on some really very tricky-looking techniques. Specs:  Published in Dunedin in 2005 by Tablet Print.

Given lovingly as a gift to me by our friend and neighbour, the very generous and very kind, pani Vera Fedewycz in 2007.

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Invincible Spirit, Art and Poetry of Ukrainian Women Political Prisoners in the USSR.

This is a gift my Baba gave Mama before I was born, now inherited by me, and speaking to the strength, spirit, defiance and capacity for beauty of women political prisoners of Soviet labour camps.  In the soft cover fly pages of this publication, the final paragraph reads: “We bring this book to the Western reader with the desire that these treasures of Ukrainian art not be lost to the world – all the more so because of the tragic, yet heroic circumstances under which they were created – and in the hope that the lives of Ukrainian women political prisoners, their Invincible Spirit, will be an inspiration to others”.

Specs: Published in Baltimore in 1977 by Smoloskyp Publishers, a non-profit organization, with the comment that “Net royalties will be used in the interest of Ukrainian political prisoners in the USSR”.

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Українське народне мистецтво вишивання і нанизування
Ukrainian National Art of Embroidery and Beading by E. M. Lytvynets

I’ve made absolutely no record or note on when or how I acquired this book!  But, I do think I bought it on one of my trips to UA.  It describes origins, techniques, fabrics of embroideries from all across UA and also gives designs on this and beading. Specs: Published  in Kyiv in 2004 by Vyscha Shkola.

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Ксенія Колотило, Альбом
Kseniia Kolotylo, Album

This one I inherited from my grandmother. Specs: Published in Kyiv in 1992 by Mystetstvo.

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Вишивка Східного Поділля, Євген і Тетяна Причепії
Embroidery of Eastern Podillia, by Yevhen and Tetyana Prychepiyi

This extraordinary collection of rushnyky (ritual cloths), naframytsi (head scalves) and shirts by Yevhen and Tetyana Prychepiyi presents over 300 pieces belonging to the very distinct region in Ukrainian embroidery of Eastern Podillia. This is a book to have and to hold.

Spects: Published by Rodovid Press in 2007. Rodovid Press is responsible for several books in my collection of embroidery books and are actively publishing award-winning, gorgeous folios of classic and contemporary fine art, naive art and folk art, photography, costume and textile.  See http://rodovid.net/en/ for more information and the full collection.

~oOo~