5 comments about Colorful Stitchery: 65 Hot Embroidery Projects to Personalize Your Home.

1. I ordered this book to learn some embroidery stitches to make Christmas presents. The pictures and directions were great, and I easily learned the stitches to complete my pillows. She bends the rules of "traditional" embroidery and uses the stitches to create something modern and gorgeous. An excellent book to learn beginner techniques. I will be ordering another book to learn even more stitches.



2. This book is not for the experienced crafter. If I had had the opportunity to flip though it before purchasing, I wouldn't have purchased it. With that said, I do think it could be useful for someone young and new to crafting. It has some good basic information and cute projects. I sent it to my 23 year old daughter and she is enjoying it much more than I.



3. I am loving the colorful, hip designs in this book! Nice photographs and well thought out directions. These projects made me want to pick up my needle right away.



4. This book is quite inspiring and cheerful. You begin to think of your ideas after seeing the projects here. I highly recommend this book.



5. I live in a very small apartment so I can't collect books, but this is one I will keep. Easy to follow directions and nice projects. Detailed information on how to make projects that are more complicated like dying fabrics. I received the book and made two projects over the weekend and have plans for a couple of more. This book is inspiring, well written, and COLORFUL! A must have, you won't be disappointed.

1 comments about A Cuff Above (Leisure Arts #4784).

1. This book has a great combination of socks to knit in it. All the instruction are clear and easy to understand and the baby socks are soooo cute.

5 comments about The Magic of Crazy Quilting: A Complete Resource for Embellished Quilting.

1. This book is my first introduction to crazy quilting and it covers everything you need to know. Including fabrics, stitches, embellishments, patterns, squares, techniques, ... everything! With this book you could go right out and buy the materials and get started! Highly recommended!



2. The best part(s) of this book are the stitching techniques demonstrated right along with the sample quilt(s). You're able to see how the stitching will look as the quilt comes together. Beautifully done with excellent diagrams and photos. The historical information is also very good. A great book to have for your quilting repetoire.



3. Just received this book and it exceeds my expectations. Made my selection due to the reviews of this book and thanks to all for the comments because this is a great choice. I wanted a book that gives basic instruction on making crazy quilts plus some of the more frequently used stitches,and thats just what I got. Author gives 20 pages to show different stitches and their various possiblities on a project. Inspiring photos, and suggestions for applications of crazy quilt method. This has been a find for me, doubt anyone will be disappointed with this books and all it has to offer. enjoy.



4. I prefe the books by Judith Montano. This was well written and illustrated. It was for the beginner, ideas were limited.



5. In my opinion this is the BEST book out on making Crazy Quilts. I have four others but this is my favorite. You'll love it.

5 comments about The Beaded Garden: Creating Flowers with Beads and Thread.

1. It was great to find a beaded flower book as the book shops over in w.a. dont have any. I found the book well illistrated and although I do my beaded flowers with wire I can adapt them to my way. It was great that you were able to look at some of the pages before buying it.I wanted to know that it had different flowers in it from the ones I already have and that it is easy to understand and it shows how to make them clearly which is what this book has. Although I do my flower different I am going to have a go at the way they are done in this book. They look really beautiful. It is well worth the money to have.



2. I love beaded flowers and have browsed through several books on making them in the past. However, I had lost interest in them after discovering that they were made using the French Beaded Flower technique. Don't get me wrong, french beaded flowers are gorgeous. They are just not for me. Threading a multitude of beads onto thin wire and then shaping it does allow for the creation of beautiful art, but I find the process arduous. When I discovered Diane Fitzgerald's book The Beaded Garden, I thought it would be more of the same. After skimming through it, I discovered that the techniques used were not only easy for me to understand, they were also made with seed beads and thread! My favorite type of beadweaving! I purchased the book and I have been glad I did ever since. If you are an avid beader who would like to create beautiful blooms without using wire, then this is the book for you!



3. I like this book from Diane better than other one I own. It is really inspirational. I haven't done any work from the book yet but it sure helps me to explore different techniques on beading.



4. I enjoyed the design techniques. I am new to beading and it was easy to follow and made your mind think of other ways to improvise the flowers.



5. If you are not an experienced sead beader then you might have some trouble with this book. I have made a few of the projects and had to really think how to start or end the project. Over all I really like this book.

5 comments about The Harmony Guides: Knit & Purl: 250 Stitches to Knit.

1. What a great book! It gave me great ideas for gifts this holiday season. I didn't have to search for patterns to make each gift individualized. I just flipped through the various stitch patterns and everyone received something just right for them. Pricing for the book was excellent.



2. I got this book over a year ago and have found that it has a good selection of knit and purl stitches, but not enough variety for me to consider it a great reference book. I have reached for it a handful of times for ideas during the past year. I recently got 101 stitches to knit by the same publisher and found that selection more interesting because it has stitches from all their books (cable stitches, lace, etc.) and it is made of portable cards.



3. I really do like this stitch pattern book. It sticks to mostly the basic knit and purl stitches, and doesn't get wild and exotic---if you need to know how to do any of your more common and useful stitches, they are probably here. The pages have plenty of space and are clear, which is a nice change from many stitch books. I love the comments thrown in here and there---it makes the book feel more homey and less clinical, as if you have a friend teaching you the stitches. The book just looks good---it's well designed.
   
   However, it's not perfect. The pictures of each stitch pattern are very close up. That could be useful, but some patterns really don't show themselves unless you can see them over a larger repeat. There is room for two pictures on the pages, and that might be nice in some cases. Also, here and there there is a cable instruction or other more complicated stitch component thrown in, which could be frustrating to those really only looking for the basics. And another pet peeve of mine---please tell me the minimun number of cast on stitches! If a pattern says something like it need 16 + 9 stitches, and I cast on 25, don't all of a sudden have a row that requires 34 or 43 stitches, unless you warn me!
   
   I don't mean to complain about this book a lot, though. I really do like it, and I think it would be a great book to have around when you are looking for a stitch pattern to try.



4. Skip this stitch dictionary and get one or all of the Barbara Walker Treasuries.
   
   While this book provides some interesting stitch patterns, it doesn't stack up to other stitch dictionaries. There seems to be no organization to the various stitches, and there's no index to the book. Though there is half a page in the introduction devoted to how to read the charts, and though some of the stitch patterns tell how to interpret special symbols in the charts, the book has no charts. The color pictures are clear, but they're often too close up to give readers a good idea of how the stitch patterns would look in a garment. All the stitch patterns are worked in the same yarn, which is an understandable editorial decision, but, I think, the wrong one. Lastly, there's no descriptive text.
   
   I give it two stars only because there are some attractive stitches I haven't seen in other stitch dictionaries before, but this book isn't nearly as good as it could have been or ought to have been.



5. Ordered this book for my wife. Was very pleased with purchase price and speed of delievery. 100 % happy with all aspects of shopping on Amazon.com and will continue to do so in the future.

No comments about Scandinavian Needlecraft.

5 comments about Fleece Dog: A Little Bit of Magic Created with Raw Wool and a Special Needle.

1. This is the best book of this kind I have ever found lots of information well illistrated easy to understand instructions



2. Wonderful full of colour pictures to help you get the colours right can't wait to put the illustrations to good use and become proficient as I am a newbie to needle felting the illustrations make it look easy ...recommend if you are a dog lover



3. This is a fun little book with great instructions, and wonderful ideas for making fleece/felted dogs. Making felt animals is all the rage (have you seen how much people want for the finished product??) and this book will have you doing it before you know it. It takes very little product to produce one of these darling dogs, and they are the perfect "accessory" for those of us who set up dioramas with our dolls, and need "pets"!



4. Needed a book to show me how to make this cute little one. I am glad I got this book as a reference guide.



5. I bought this book thinking it would be full of techniques for making fleece dogs. that part covers a couple of pages. the rest is devoted to a gallery of the author's dogs. there is nothing wrong with 'gallery' books, i find them an inspiration in many of my crafts. but that's not what i paid for. i actually sent this book back, i was feeling so deceived.

5 comments about Craft Challenge: Dozens of Ways to Repurpose a Pillowcase.

1. This book has lots of ideas for using pillowcases for sewing projects. I have made pillowcase dresses for toddlers and little girls for almost 40 years and it was great to see a book like this! From this book I made my 6 year old grandson two superhero capes out of a satin pillowcase. It was fun to do and I can't wait until he gets them for his birthday! And I can't wait to try some of the other projects.



2. As a garage sale fan, I love the idea of re-using pillowcases. I wanted to love the book but some of the projects were uninspired and some were really clever, so I'm in the middle with a 3 star vote. The staid photography using out-dated props made the book look stale even though I know it was just recently published. Okay but could have been so much better.



3. Photography is beautiful, and the projects are not hard even for a somewhat beginner. My only dislike is that there is no way for me to enlarge the patterns in this book 300% and more. So, I'm left frustrated and trying to 'make' patterns with paper. Ugh. I've made two of the dresses and while it took me a lot longer than someone with experience they are adorable.



4. I have to share that I am one of the featured vingettes in the book - my little memory of pillowcases is on a side panel.
   
   The neat thing though is that my daughter has wanted to refashion pillowcases for sometime and this book has clearly explained directions and ideas. Such great projects.
   
   If you have little ones and are busy sewing clothing for them this would be a great addition because the projects are cute and fast! A plus for busy mom's.
   
   Thank Lark for a great craft book & including my little memory.



5. What a delightful book....I was pleasently surprized.
   It has some of the familiar ideas like little girls sun dresses and little boys capes,,,but it doesn't stop there,,, I LOVE the embroidered tiered Apron, the Tea Pot Cozy and assorted Purses & totes....
   It even reminds us to utilize the bits & pieces for stuffed toys and pin cushion, etc.
   I have a feeling my scrap pile of tattered/worn pillowcases will be getting smaller.
   I also like the ides of using old, stained cases, cutting them into strips and crocheting them into a bowel, I'll go one further,,,a small rug.
   The graphics and photos are wonderful and the instructions look to be simple & clear and easy to modify.
   My first project will be the tiered apron.
   Thank you Suzanne for a great book.
   >^..^<

No comments about Get Spun: The Step-by-Step Guide to Spinning Art Yarns.

2 comments about Artful Applique II: Introducing Scraplique and 12 New Floral Designs (That Patchwork Place).

1. Jane Townswick's ARTFUL APPLIQUE II introduces scraplique and 12 new floral designs that demonstrate how to create applique shapes from scraps. A gallery of quilt art results accompanies step-by-step instructions for piecing a range of flowers and accents any quilter will find an excellent embellishment add-on.



2. The floral designs in Jane Townswick's second Artful Appliqué book are beautiful, natural, and detailed. Never fear, Jane takes you step-by-step through her way of mastering this realism. While advising beginners to consult one of her previous books or another reference book for the basics of appliqué, she introduces many fantastic techniques to throw into your appliqué bag of tricks.
   
   In this volume Jane introduces Scrapliqué, a technique for creating mosaic-like fabric compositions for your motifs without having to stitch tiny pieces together. There's also information on unit appliqué, where you can stitch an entire flower before stitching it to the background. Jane explains several advantages to this strategy.
   
   The book has sections on color blending, free-form stems and branches, and a unique way of stitching sharp points. There's a gorgeous gallery of quilts and 12 floral blocks with step-by-step instructions and photos. You'll find anemone, camellia, iris, lady's slipper, pansies, sweet peas, and more!
   
   A rich resource for the appliqué enthusiast.
   
   Kay Mackenzie
   Author, Easy Applique Blocks: 50 Designs in 5 Sizes (That Patchwork Place)