2 comments about Craft Challenge: Dozens of Ways to Repurpose a Tea Towel.

1. Maybe it's my age -- why use tea towels as anything but tea towels? Okay, maybe Aunt Edith had dozens and left them all to you. In that case, the ideas are clever, the book is pretty, but not all instructions are clear.



2. great book, has lots of simple projects on all sewing levels. make great gifts with clever ideas and easy to follow patterns and instructions. everything from purse, slippers kids dolls to picnic blankets. a must for any sewing library.

5 comments about Hooked Throws: 20 Easy Crochet Projects.

1. I recommend this book because the patterns are simple and the photos are complete in detail which makes it possible to count the stitches based on the photos alone. I do not agree that the yarns used are "easy to find", nor are they inexpensive. Nevertheless, if you want a finished project that looks as wonderful as the picture, purchase the correct yarn and enjoy making it.



2. I have finished two throws and am ready to start a third. The patterns are nice, pictures are nice, too. I'm pleased with this purchase and thought the price was fair.



3. This is a wonderful little book full of ideas. Most are great however, there are a few which are not particularly for me. I have stitched a couple and have a yarn shopping list for a few others. The pictures are beautiful and it offers a closeup of the stitches as well. Towards the back are how to's for some basic stitches and a flap with a ruler to measure gauge. This was well worth the price!



4. Hooked Throws: 20 Easy Crochet Projects
   This is a terrific book! I too am self taught and this book was very easy to use - I've made 3 throws already and I'm working on a "baby" throw right now - the yarns they suggest are common and can be found anywhere - this one really got my creative side moving and I'm already thinking of other colors to switch out to go with other decor! The spiral book makes it easy to keep a page open while you work!



5. Hooked Throws: 20 Easy Crochet Projects
   
   This "how to" book is fantastic and very easy to read and understand! I only wish it were entirely spiral bound so it lays flat and takes up less room. Great photos in this book as well. I would easily recommend it.

5 comments about Pretty Little Cozies (Pretty Little Series).

1. I'm a self-described ADD crafter - big projects end up half-finished on my sewing table. I love the Pretty Little books because of the "Little" factor - they are things that I can complete in an evening, or when I need a little gift to give as a "thank-you" (my house sitter loves the tea-bag cozy!). And, because they are small, they are also inexpensive projects not requiring large investments in fabric. Whenever I find something fun in the remnants bin at my LFS, I can find a project here to use it on!
   
   I'd love to see a Pretty Little Organizers book added to the series....



2. The entire Pretty little series has alot to offer. The cozies book has that beautiful cozy on the front cover. I am an advanced seamstress, so for me the picture is all I need. The book is loaded with alot of small interesting and easy projects. Great for whipping up a quick gift, or to make something cute and nice for yourself. The book offers alot of things for young people who are out and about. I am retired, so for me it offered things I can make for gifts. I was hoping to find more intricate projects, such as the front cover cozy, but found the book to have less complicated projects, but ones that would be good for people with less experience. I love all the books in this series, and so I was delighted to add this one to my collection. I would recommend this if you are looking for useful items that you can make up quickly. It really has quite a few projects. I gave it 4 stars because the cover makes you think the book has more intricate projects...but the projects the book does offer are all nice, but more plain and simple in construction than the cover photo makes you think the book contains.



3. I really like this book's ideas...very cute stuff to make if I ever have the time.



4. This is a great little book to get ideas for covers and cases for all types of things.



5. I love all the books in this series. There are some great ideas in here and the pictures are inspiring.

5 comments about 100 Afghan Squares to Knit: Patterns and Instructions for Mixing and Matching Afghan Squares for Blankets and Throws.

1. This is a lovely book, but the size of the squares, among the different afghans, is not uniform. For instance, the "flower power" afghan squares are 6" x 6", and the "lithograph" afghan squares are 7 1/2" x 7 1/2". If I want to pick a few squares from each afghan and put them together in my own design, it is not possible unless I use a complicated mathematical formula to make the designs fit together, which strains my brain and takes all the fun out of the project. I wish all the squares were designed to be knit the same size, so that I could mix and match effortlessly.



2. Book is beautifully illustrated. I would have appreciated a lighter-weight front and back cover. I solved the problem for myself by carefully clipping the binding away from the spiral-bound inside instruction pages. This allowed me to take the instructions with me in my knitting bag. When I wanted to keep the book on a shelf, I could use the combined front and back covers as a folder to protect the spiral pages.



3. I have just started knitting the Picnic afghan, starting on p. 87. I just discovered that the directions for the Basketweave square are incorrect. Row 13 -- the purl count in the parentheses should be 5, not 6.

   So far, the other squares are fine and it is quite lovely.




4. You'll like this book if you're crazy about intarsia knitting. Only a small selection of squares uses pattern instead of colour. Many squares have beads and sequins - I imagine it makes for an interesting-looking but uncomfortable blanket! The individual squares themselves are uninspired - geometric (lots of squares and circles), stripes, simple motifs like hearts and stars. Still, for the price, it's not a bad book. By "for the price" I mean that as of February 2004, you shouldn't have to pay more than US$ 7 for this book - it's been remaindered. I picked up my copy yesterday at a Canadian book superstore for CAD$ 7.50, and there were skids of them.



5. The best thing about this book is that although the squares are put together into specific afghans, there are clear instructions on how to mix and match them to make your own customized afghan. The patterns are all relatively simple and well-explained, and the color combinations are really striking. The only drawback is that all the suggested yarns are made by rowan. The back flap of the book says that the author is a Rowan employee, so it's understandable that she would suggest these yarns, but Rowan yarn is out of the price range of many knitters, especially for the size of an afghan that could cost hundreds of dollars with a yarn like that. But as a starting point for some great combinations, I think it's a great book to have on your shelf for reference! I learned a lot just adapting some of the squares.

5 comments about Temari: How to Make Japanese Thread Balls.

1. This is an excellent book for beginners. It has beautiful patterns that increase in complexity. It would help if the steps were numbered, but I was still able to follow the instructions.



2. I love Temari balls. If you want to learn this fascinating craft - you will find this book very helpful.



3. I first became aware of Temari when I saw some balls on display by a lady offering lessons on how to make them. The lessons were $65.00. I decided to check Amazon.com before I gave up learning it on my own. I ordered this book and was thrilled with the results. The instructions are very easy to follow with lots of drawings showing exactly what to do. I was successful on my first try and I am delighted with my new hobby. I have just ordered a second book by Diana Vandervoort and can't wait to get it. By the way, the balls that I had seen on display were all from this book.



4. I first was introduced to temari while channel surfing, and stumbling onto the Carol Duval show on HG network when Diana Vandervoort was demonstrating her craft. I could not wait to get my hands on her book and try it for myself-mostly because I could not believe something so elegant and complex could be so easy to do! This turned out to be one of the easiest crafts I have ever tried, and I have tried my hand at A LOT of things. The photos are truly inspiring, and the instructions are some of the easiest to understand and follow. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book, and new patterns.



5. This is an excellent guide to help you create beautiful, and fun-to-do, Temari balls. Simple and easy to follow intructions are given.

5 comments about Christmas Angels and Other Tatting Patterns (Dover Needlework Series).

1. This book has some great basic patterns. It's always a good standard to go back to when I need a quick pattern for something. The patterns are written long-hand, but are fairly easy to follow. The majority of the patterns are easy enough for beginner to intermediate tatters. Advanced tatters can modify the patterns to eliminate some cutting and tying. Overall a very good book.



2. This book is an absolute delight containing a huge selection of patterns by Monica Hahn. There are angels, bells, Christmas trees, snowflakes, doilies, bookmarks, collars, all sorts of things. Most are worked and shown in white, probably to facilitate the black and white photography used in the book, and the patterns are imaginative and interesting to work.
   
   The patterns are written in longhand with no diagrams but the pattern writing language is clear and consistent. This is a book which will suit someone who has learnt the basics (although as usual with the Dover Publications books basic instructions are provided) and who wants a good range of patterns to work with. It represents good value for money and will provide many hours of tatting pleasure.



3. I'm just learning how to tat and found these patterns easy to follow. I'm working my way through the book with plans to make them all. I haven't learned to use a shuttle yet and am doing them with the needle tatting method and have been able to adapt the patterns without too much difficulty.



4. This is the first tating bok I ever bought, and I have been quite disappointed with the patterns.
   There's some angles and some snowflakes, but a lot of the patterns are "one shuttle" works and I just can't make those look right because I can somehow never get the "bits of thread between rings" to be the same length.
   However the book has some very interesting patterns in it, like a 3d butterfly which I really want to make but since I have no clue of the english crocheting terms and those would be necessary to finish the butterfly I'm a little stuck *g*

   Anyway. if you're able to do "one shuttle work" really well and like stars and collars (3 of those in the book) this book might be just the thing for you :-)




5. I find the directions are difficult to follow. The patterns are pretty and useful. It takes extreme concentration to determine just what the author is asking when joining. I had to make 4 angels until I got it right which is not the case in other patterns I have followed.

1 comments about Prayer Shawls II (Annie's Attic: Crochet).

1. I belong to a Prayer Shawl Ministry and order every how to book that comes out. I have the original from Annie's Attic, so was interested in this one. I haven't had the book long enough to start a project yet, but the shawls and robes look very interesting and I'm looking forward to finishing my present project so I can start one of these.
   
   My only reason for only giving this book four stars was the fact that there are so few patterns in the book. I think Annie's Attic would have done better including all the shawls of books one and two together to have a more substantial book.
   
   I would recommend this book if you are into crocheting shawls. The patterns are simple and attractive. Instructions are easy.

4 comments about Transparency in Textiles.

1. Excellent photographs and explanation of the projects of the work presented in this publication. This takes, collage, layering, stitching, fusing etc., a step further. If you're not into Surface Design with mixed media you can always use this for a fabulous coffee table conversation piece.



2. If you are a beginner in textile art then this would be a great book to have in your library. It's an attractive glossy book, the instructions are very clear, and it covers a lot of techniques. However I was personally disappointed in the book for several reasons.
   
   Firstly I found that most of the information I already had in other books e.g. "Surfaces for Stitch: Plastics, Films & Fabric", "Layers of Stitch: Contemporary Machine Embroidery", "On the Surface: Thread Embellishment & Fabric Manipulation", and "Complex Cloth: A Comprehensive Guide to Surface Design", and any embroidery technique book.
   
   Secondly, it took a broader view of the term "transparency" than I would have, and many of the pieces are quite opaque.
   
   Thirdly, I thought a lot of the examples of the textile art were downright ugly, although I know this is a very personal and subjective judgment.
   
   Finally, I think a better title would have been "Transparency in Textile Art". Some techniques would be transferable to textiles for clothing, but most would not, unless you're making something in the wearable art category.
   
   The full list of techniques in the book are:
   
   running stitch on sheer fabric, sheer fabrics layered with stitch
   traditional shadow embroidery, and seed stitching, on sheer and net
   layering sheers with bondaweb
   random pleating, gathering and folding on sheers, held in place with free hand machine embroidery
   Brushing wax on fabrics, and using wax as a resist for dyeing (both fabric and glassine/translucent/plain paper)
   Mono-printing onto tissue, layering between organdie, applying wax and iron, then over-stitching
   Oiling paper and over-stitching
   Embroidering onto soluble/burnable fabric e.g. Lutrador, Solvy, then dissolving/burning away fabric
   Weaving open-weave fabrics using embroidery threads on a simple card frame
   Making silk paper
   Wool felting (thin layers of colored wool allow underlayers to show through, or leave holes to make a lacy effect)
   Stitching on sheers in lots of different threads, to achieve layers of varying translucency
   Stitching, painting and printing on acetate sheets (OHP Sheets), cellophane, PVC, old photographic film, and clear film
   Hand sewing together sheets of hard acrylic sheeting (drill holes first)
   Drawing, burning, painting, bending hard acrylic sheeting
   Heat laminating textiles between hard acrylic sheeting
   Using acrylic painting gel mediums on textiles
   Pouring polymer resins on textiles
   Casting resin shapes encapsulating textiles
   Fibre optic fabrics (A single, incredibly general, page. How I WISH this had been more covered in more detail than to say "you can readily purchase the necessary equipment to add these lights to your work". I would love to - what equipment do I need? Tell me how, please?)
   Using natural and artificial lighting to show off the transparency
   Incorporating wire-wrapped semi-precious stones
   Incorporating metal shims
   
   There's also a chapter on getting inspiration and developing designs, and another on presenting your work
   
   An important note about wax. The author suggests brushing wax onto your fabric, letting it cool, then over-stitching on the machine. If you use paraffin wax and then put the fabric in your sewing machine, the wax will flake off in small pieces, drop through your feed dogs and cause mayhem. You'd want to use a micro-crystalline wax which is more flexible.
   
   If you like the sound of these techniques, and you don't already have information on them. then you will love this book.



3. This book by batsford offers something different. It explains how you can incorporate and use the aspect of transparency into your own work, without being a step by step guide making it a very useful addition to my library. I love the new techniques working with hard plastics, the burning and bending bit in particular. And the consideration of using light and the shadows as part of the design is inspired.
   I love it and so do all my friends. Brilliant!



4. I was really excited when I first saw this title because I have been working with transparency in textiles myself. I was hoping that this book might help me along the path. I also think that Batsford is a great publisher. This book does offer some very interesting techniques; using wax, stitching to distort, resin - many techniques that result in transparency - but transparency with rigidity. It's a good book really and I am certain that for many this will be a 4 or 5 star! It just was not quite what I personally had been hoping for.

5 comments about Indygo Junction's Needle Felting: 22 Stylish Projects for Home & Fashion.

1. I bought this book specifically for the instruction to Tangled Scarf. Now that I have it, I like every single project in the book. I don't think I own a single other craft book that I can say that about. The Plaid Mittens (not very useful in Florida, unfortunately) look like so much fun to make and wear. Maybe I'll make a set and line them for oven mitts. The Fern Pillow is simple, understated and gorgeous.
   
   Right now is the perfect time to try needle felting, with supplies being generally available in craft and sewing stores. This is the book you want to go along with your new supplies.



2. I really enjoyed this book and I still refer to it to help me with my needle felting projects. The pictures are wonderful and very easy to follow; clear and precise instructions. I highly recommend.



3. I will enjoy this book for a long time. It gives me the help I need as a beginner, and has more challenging projects as well.



4. I really enjoyed this book. It was well illustrated with color photos and the instructions were very clear. As a novice to this technique it has helped me get started and I will refer back to this book often as I explore this medium. There are lots of really creative and fun ideas that can be adapted to any number of projects. The button project is such fun and will make a wonderful addition to any ready to wear or handmade garment. Needlefelting was the "hot" thing at the Houston Quilt Festival this year and I am glad that I have a head start on learning this fun technique.



5. I waited months for this book...should have just looked at it at Borders and walked. The pictures are nice, ideas are somewhat "crafty" creative, but it totally lacked the true art of needle felting in my opinion. She used purchase felt in alot of the applications. She has a gallery of nice pics in the back of the book, but I was not inspired. Most of the technique info she used in the book is available on the internet. The author was lucky to have a few contributing artist help her with this book, because her projects were basically elementary. Maybe my expectations were high, but just look at the cover, and it does tell you where this is going. (Live and learn) More yarn and purchased wool felt than start from scratch roving techniques, but someone else might be into that. If you looking for a good needlefelting book using roving and being creative from scratch, look elsewhere.

5 comments about Hats On! 31 Warm and Winsome Caps for Knitters.

1. I own this book and have made three hats from it so far. The patterns are easy to follow for an intermediate knitter. Ms. Schurch does not provide a lot of technical explanations regarding two-color technique. If you are not familiar with this type of knitting you will need to rely on other sources for tips and explanations. I am a moderately experienced knitter and really like this book. The patterns are wonderful, varied, and interesting. I really enjoy looking at, wearing, and knitting multi-colored items and this book is perfect for that. So far I have not found any mistakes and the patterns can be knit relatively quickly and inexpensively. Usually one ball of good quality yarn per hat. I anticipate knitting many more hats from the book as they make great gifts and this book's patterns are a pleasure to make.



2. I love all the different hats and want to knit all of them. The great plus is no two hats have exactly the same shape, some patterns are from exotic places like Turkey or Siberia so different techniques are used which is a great way to learn.
   
   The book can be used as a reference and motifs from other sources can be adapted to the basic shapes. It's a great reference book with instructions for 4 different sizes throughout. Hats off!



3. This is one of my favorite knitting books of all time. I've knitted three of the hats in this book and they've all turned out beautifully. I've got a waiting list from friends who want one, too! Charlotte Schurch does a great job rounding up traditional hats from around the world, but her Nordic ones are my favorites. You can see my Hats On! creations on Ravelry at julieandcompany.



4. This one book includes patterns for many hat styles. My favorite, and I have many.



5. The patterns are classic, and in Norway we all have hats like this. So the book is very useful. I have observed that the Norwegian sweaters and patterns are coming into fashion again, so this book can get a new life. My fifth star would have been shining if the author had used thicker yarn, 23-26 st per 10 cm is more "normal" for this kind of garments. It makes them warmer and the pattern easier to knit.
   Tips: Some patterns show a section of a hat to repeat: Easily you can knit mittens using one section of a hat -- with my gauge!