Before I begin, let me explain clearly to all who read this that I love books, real paper paged books. I have a huge library of embroidery books and I treasure each one. I am also a proponent of technology and think that to ignore what it can do for us is a mistake. Mankind will continue to invent new ways of sharing knowledge and information and I believe the more ways we can share knowledge and information, the better.

When I traveled to Hampton Court in February I took my threads, my canvas, my needles, a frame, a lot of other things I needed for my Canvaswork course. All of these things – with the exception of the frame – are very lightweight. Even the frame isn’t that heavy. The books, however, are heavy. Especially the Mary Rhodes Dictionary of Canvaswork Stitches. I wasn’t over my limit on weight but I did think about it and I did weigh my suitcase to make sure I would be within the limits.

No sooner did I get home that I came across a wonderful “app” for canvaswork. It’s called “iStitches”. Ruth Schmuff, who writes the blog Not Your Grandmother’s Needlepoint produces them and I have been using them a lot during my canvaswork project.

There are three stitch dictionaries produced as iPhone apps. Now, I realise not everyone has an iPhone, not everyone likes technology as much as I do, not everyone would choose to use an “app” instead of a book, but I love them! I currently have the first two volumes and will purchase the third if I decide to do even more canvaswork. (Highly likely since I am really enjoying the problem solving aspect of canvaswork!).

Why do I like this “app” stitch dictionary so much? There are 300 stitches in each volume and they are all stored on my phone.  For better or worse, books are heavy and carrying them around can be problematic, especially when you are travelling. I have scrolled through the iStitches dictionary on the train going to and from work, thinking about my project and looking at different stitches.

The dictionaries are organised in two ways: stitches by type or stitches by name. I find the type index helpful since, as a beginner, I don’t know the names of the stitches yet.  On the other hand, looking through all of the stitches by name lets me explore loads of stitches i’ve never heard of and maybe find one that’s perfect.

The stitch diagrams are wonderful. Clear, easy to understand and, best of all, they can be enlarged so you can really see how to do the stitch. There aren’t instructions, simply a diagram with numbers telling you where to begin and what to do next. As a visual learner, this makes it really easy for me to understand a stitch.

There are often variations included in each stitch, so you can see how to work the stitch in different sizes. On the Gobelin stitch pages it’s shown over 2 threads, 4 threads and 6 threads. If you’re an experienced canvaswork embroiderer, then this might seem obvious, but for those of us who are not experienced, then showing that a stitch can be enlarged or reduced is really helpful.

The cost is reasonable and, of course, shipping is free. Here’s a link to the page where you can purchase the app or you can search for it in the app store; just search for “iStitches” and you’ll find it.

This review is unbiased – except that I like the app – and I am not getting any financial incentives or gifts for writing about this app. I just think it’s a great idea and I hope to see more like it in the future!

What about you? Are you strictly a pager pages book person or do you appreciate and use ebooks or apps? Share you thoughts with us – I’m sure it will be an interesting discussion!