I received this book as a birthday gift at the same time I received Carol Phillipson's "Celtic Cross Stitch Designs." It says "over 75 beautiful designs" on the cover; online purchasers should be aware, however, that only approximately 25 of the designs are individual project designs -- a few relatively large and complex (including two different pillow tops, a tablecloth design, a firescreen, and a picture of two Celtic peacocks) and then several more fairly small and quick coordinating projects (such as a 4x4 inch scissors keeper pillow, a key ring design, and a couple of bookmarks). The major themes/designs are as follows:
*a set of small but lovely knotwork-design stitchery items (shown on the cover of the book)
*a purse-purse mirror-keyring-glasses case set done in scrollwork and swirls in muted colors "to reflect the colours and textures of rocky landscape"
*a picture of a pair of peacocks adapted from the Book of Kells and stitched in very vibrant colors
*a notebook cover, paperweight, bowl lid, and card in celtic key patterns (worked in just one color on a black background) plus two bookmarks (two colors each)
*a picture of golden dragons with knotwork around them stitched on a black background, also
*four variations on small, round intertwined serpent designs worked in pastel colors
*a Durrow circle firescreen in red, gold, and green, with a large central disc and then two angular knotwork bands at the top and the bottom
*two throw pillows (one birds, one hounds) worked in pastels similar to those used in the snake designs
*a cat-with-interlaced-birds bell-pull done in muted but not quite pastel colors
*and finally, an extremely elegant-looking tablecloth and napkin set using La Tene-style designs in shades of gray-blue.
The other 50 designs are a "Celtic Motif Library" of borders, small knots, small animals, and so forth which could be used for a variety of purposes.
I think that Phillipson's book is likely to result in a greater number of projects for my own stitchery, primarily because it included a larger number of distinct project designs, but I still definitely like this one very much and I'm happy to own both. There are a number of very beautiful projects, most of the major designs would be easily adaptable to projects other than those shown in the book, and the motif library is likely to prove useful, as well, since I do a fair bit of improvising my own designs. For novice stitchers who primarily want to work projects precisely as they are printed in books, the Phillipson book might make a better first choice, but this one would be excellent for anyone who has a specific interest in any of the major designs included in it (all of which are quite nice) or who enjoys futzing around with design elements, as I do.