No comments about Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Update 89, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials).

No comments about Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing: Applications and Inspection (2nd Edition).

No comments about Atlas of Fashion Designers: More than 150 Fashion Designers are Featured from Around the World.

4 comments about The Spec Manual.

1. Great, great, great! I have not found many references on specs, which are very difficult to do in an amazing way. Before purchasing this book, my specs were mediocre/ average first year fashion student. After thoroughly working with this book, however, my specs were fantastic! I highly recommend this book.



2. I have been looking for a book like this for a while. I find most books with information on spec sheet writing complicated and unorganized; not this one, this book separates garments into different chapters such as how to spec a blazer, pant and shorts, a vest, a turtleneck, etc. A simple glance at the glossary and I am able to quickly find the category of clothing I need to build a spec sheet for and have all the information neatly presented in bulletin style with clearly drawn samples of flats indicating how to correctly measure the garment, which is invaluable since so many books tend to assume the reader already knows how to establish measuring points. There is also a handy basic spec sheet template included for every category.
   
   Easy to read and easy to learn --this is one book I am keeping around for a long time.



3. A comprehensive, user-friendly guide to the skills and techniques for measuring garments and creating spec sheets. It's an excellent resource book which provides the fundamentals for building, developing, streamlining your flats and specs library. It's a neat and concise reference book you would find so useful that would like to own and keep at hand at all times. Furthermore, the enclosed CD-ROM makes it even more versatile for it offers you the possibility to save, send, print, alter (and carry!) all the information. I find it extremely helpful.



4. This book is great for anyone new at drawing flats and specs, or if you have been in the industry for years, it is a great brush up. I have also taken a class by one of the authors and she made flats easy...just the way the book does it!

3 comments about Scarves to Make.

1. This books has lots of pictures of beautiful, well photographed scarves; but I was very disappointed in the lack of technical instructions. Even as a moderately experienced semestress, I thought the "instructions" glossed over the difficult parts. I found very little help given in this book on how to make a professional looking scarf.



2. If you are an experienced seamstress, this is a really nice book. There are many beautiful scarves in it, some with a lot of detail work.

   For the rest of us, (who take the machine out occasionally to mend with) the directions are rather confusing. Also, there are only a few scarves that aren't too dressy to wear with jeans for a walk in the park, so you are going to be spending some $$$$ to make most of these designs.

   I wanted to give this book three-and-a-half stars. Not for a beginner, but someone who really enjoys sewing would like this book, especially if they like to dress up--see if you can understand the directions first!




3. I was excited with the idea of creating my own scarves to accompany the clothes I make. Well this book helped me immensely to experiment with different embellishment techniques and ideas. Linda Lee has selected 13 artists (among them Marcy Tilton, Jane Conlon and Stephanie Valley whose books are among my favorite) each one presenting one or more scarves they made with a different style and a new approach to traditional techniques and materials. The scarves are very beautiful and stylish (!!) and the photographs are so good that many times I just go over them admiring Linda Lee's work.

   But this is not just a book full of pictures of beautiful scarves. It is a well organized book comprising six parts each one concentrating on a different traditional approach to embellishing. Each part includes 5-6 different scarves with a list of materials, fabric notes, cutting instructions and full of clear and detailed instructions and illustrations on construction.

   The first part of the book is focused on ribbon fantasy including "delicately hazy sheers, iridescent ribbons and open-weave lattices''. The second part of the book is focused on traditional arts including "the art of piecing, applique, cutwork and shadow work". The third part of the book is focused on contemporary interpretations to make interesting scarves by slashing, washing, shrinking etch. The fourth part of the book is focused on beads and baubles. The fifth part of the book is focused on senciled, stamped and stitched techniques to create very beautiful and original scarves. The last part of the book is focused on architectural shapes that are truly fun to make and wear !!

   I highly recommend this book to any (beginner, intermediate or advanced) sewer that takes pleasure in creating special accessory pieces!!

No comments about Young European Fashion Designers.

No comments about Basics Design Format (Basics Design S.).

No comments about Art of Three-Dimensional Design.

5 comments about Emily's Secret Book of Strange: Emily the Strange (Emily).

1. Hey there, my name is Emily, that's not why I love Emily The Strange. I am also 12 years old, but 2 years ago, thanks to someone special, I got into Emily stuff. My friend Ashley, well, her big sister showed me some of her Emily stuff, I really liked Emily then, she told me to look out for some Emily the Strange stuff and that it's probably right up my alley. And she's right, 2 years later, I'm an Emily the strange freak! I collect all the cards, I 've got tons of stuff, actually, I think that's all the stuff I have, Emily the Strange stuff. Maybe a few hello kitty stuff, but nothing else. I went onto hot topic, and spent some of my birthday money on Emily the Strange stuff, I have a really nice bed spread and pillow cases that match. Anyway, about the book, I love every single thing about it. It really inspires me. I like the way Emily can speak cat, I like the plan with the cats to attack the dog, I'm an animal lover, and I would never hurt one, I wouldn't hurt someone either. I like the way in one of the pages it says hell-o-kitty, you have to see that. I have 2 cats, who are very friendly, I have my own posse. This book is a must have, I do recommend the Emily's good nightmares book, I only have 2 of Emily's books, I'm looking out for the other one. I know Emily's morose code all by heart, so does my friend Ashley, we do all sorts of letters to each other with the morose code, that way, no one knows what it says but us!But this book is really cool, I like that it has such big, and discriptive pictures, but with such little words, I like that it's simple. A good item for a strange collection, like mine!
   Now, get strange, or get lost!
   Emily the strange, the stranger!



2. Emily is an intelligent little black and white child who started out as a small internet idea but spawned into a large merchandise line and nows the chance to see for yourself why this little goth girl is so popular. With wit, sarcasm, insight, and her four dangerous cats, Emily will show you the dark side of life that has already been favored by many of us. I love the awesome cover, the illustrations and each page in the book has many secret codes and messages for you to find. I've had this book for months and theres still things i find myself noticing for the very first time! Rock on Emily!



3. It's essential for any chick who is drawn to the darker things in life to own at least one Emily item but once you enter her bizarre world it's hard to go back. I received both "Emily's Book Of Strange" along with the 2004 calendar for my birthday and those were a perfect introduction to this quiet (but nowhere near shy) cat-luvin' Goth grrl who's preferred favorite color is everything black...or red. Her attitude is anything but cheery but sometimes us open-minded people have to shield ourselves from the ones that are afraid to venture outside the box and to explore what's beyond the edges. I could be wrong but I believe her image is a symbol of encouraging individuality. Or, in other words, to think for yourself without following the crowd by listening and dressing according to what's considered "normal".

   There's not a lot of text within these pages (there's often a bare minimum of two words) but the illustrations by Rob Reger and Buzz Parker are creatively "strange" and pure (or is that tainted?) candy for the eyes.

   I especially enjoy perusing this on cold, rainy days.




4. I really like the Emily's Secret Book of Strange because it has really cool pictures. Although, it doesn't really have that many words in it either but the pictures are amazing and fun to look at. the secret messeges that are on the pages are really cool, but you have to look closely to see them. If you like to look at a lot of pictures, Emily's Book of the strange has a lot of them.



5. I actually had never heard of the Emily books, untill my friend showed me her autographed copy of this book & I fell in love, my copy is on the way via mail, this book has neat pictures with very cool secret writing on each page. A fun book for anyone.

1 comments about LA/SF: A Sketchbook from California.

1. In the flood of published sketch and artists books, this one stands as a real valuable and personal contribution. The artwork is loose, atmospheric and truthful in its portrayal of the real world, not the artificially contrived and prettyfied world of other so-called artists. Christian's artwork in the film production of "The Road to EL Dorado" or "Over the Hedge" is fantastic. Here we have a much looser version of the artist at work.
   
   It is what is missing that forces me to take one star of the review. It doesn't explain the circumstances and media in which this sketches were made. The notes in each sketch are great to convey the sense of a diary but techniques and media are a mistery and for those who would like to learn something about the making of the artwork, there is not even a footnote. I think a technical prologue or epilogue would have rounded up a great book.