1 comments about One-Block Wonders Encore!: New Shapes, Multiple Fabrics, Out-of-This-World Quilts.

1. One-Block Wonders Encore!: New Shapes, Multiple Fabrics, Out-of-This-World Quilts
   
   Excellent book, easy to read and understand instructions . . .and . . . it has the instructions for the "boxes" that were not in the first book. Exciting quilts can be made from this book.

5 comments about Things I Learned From Knitting (Whether I Wanted To or Not).

1. 
   Uncontrollable laughter while you are reading a book is a pleasure, but a tad embarrassing when in a group of total strangers. Worse yet, I tried reading this book while at a conference where I was supposed to be listening to the (rather dull) speaker. Another mistake! She is hilarious. She spells out 45 lessons that she has learned from knitting. Her descriptions of flinging the knitting across the room, using words our children shouldn't be exposed to, and opening another glass of wine while reading a lace pattern, for example, are all things that most knitters can relate to. Read it and LAUGH in recognition!



2. Entertainment extraordinaire, with life lessons explained! How does knitting fit in today's busy busy world and do you think you might enjoy this very old pastime? Find out as you read Things I Learned from Knitting... whether I wanted to or not. This is a handy little book that will fit into a small bag. It is very very funny. I found myself laughing out loud more than once as I was reading it. The author, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee lives in Canada; she speaks and writes the Queen's English, thus the reader must often think, more than a wee bit, to extract all the meaning. That makes it all the more enjoyable. The author uses 45 old adages which illustrate life lessons and she contrasts and compares cognitive psychology to the thought processes used in knitting. That being said I think it will make a wonderful graduation present for my close friend, a young wife, mother, and knitter, who just spent the last ten years working toward her PhD in Biomedical Engineering with a speciality in Oncology. With that accomplished she now has more time to knit and to get on with life's lessons learned!!!



3. Knitter fanatic Stephanie Pearl-McPhee always has too many projects on needles, and here celebrates her knitting passion in a series of admonitions and adages perfect for knitters who 'have everything' in the way of instructionals. From pairings of feelings about yarn to boyfriends to descriptions of patterns of risk, this funny yet pointed collection is the perfect gift for any who love to knit, and a fine addition to collections catering to them.



4. The Yarn Harlot is a funny lady with a genius for telling home truths in ways that sound fresh. I bought this book because -- okay, (a)it's McPhee, (b)I have all her other books,(c) I've never met a knitting book I didn't need to have immediately (except those that purport to be not your grandmother's something or other). Pathetic reasons, but there you are. This book divides a bunch of those home truths into brief chapterettes -- a clever way to organize the material but one which (sorry) shows off its shallowness. "Practice Makes Perfect," for instance. Oh, thanks; never thought of that. "You Can't Win Them All." Yes, well; you learn that one the first time you try to frog mohair. "Patience is a Virtue:" This little essay does raise the interesting question of whether knitting teaches patience or whether patient people become knitters. Either way, so what?
   
   My sense is that her publishers said, "Steph, it's time; you've got to get another book out there and do another tour." My stronger sense is that between the books and the tours and the blog and whatnot, this lovely knitter is becoming too much of a brand, the voice is becoming too familiar, and the same thing is being sold over and over, with diminishing returns for the reader. Excuse me; I need to attend to my own knitting.



5. I've read all the Yarn Harlot's other books, faithfully read her blog, and heard her speak live. I enjoy her style and funny anecdotes. This book was disappointing. It didn't have any substance to it, and I found it dull. Her next book sounds like it'll be much better. I wish I'd skipped buying this one and waited for the next one to come out.

5 comments about The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn.

1. Wonderful book. Great pictures. This book is very helpful and explains allot of important information on yarn. This book is a must have for all knitters and crocheters.



2. Wow. I'm only sorry I put off getting this earlier... I have so many knittig book duds - preordered, going by past history, etc etc, that I had resolved to wait and see what reviewers said before ordering more knitting books. I should have known better, as Clara's site is excellent. This book is even better than I thought it would be. Information about yarns, their makeup, what the different fibers and plies are best suited to, even patterns - it is amazing.
   
   Thanks for an excellent book from a long time website admirer :)



3. I found this book after reading about the loss of one of the shawls from this book. Excellent guide to yarns and the patterns just add more to the knowledge of using the yarns. Also the patterns are great too. The pictures are clear but they are presented in an old fashioned way reminding me of an old Hungarian book's pictures. I prefer glossy.



4. This book is a good book on yarns...however not for beginners...unless very very interested in yarns. The yarns specified for the projects are quite expensive and hard to get....



5. As President of Signature Needle Arts yarn makes our needle business possible. This book is fantastic--whether you have just started to knit or are the most experienced. All the information about fiber and yarn manufacturing you have ever heard (and a lot you probably don't know) is in one place. It explains so much about what a knitter experiences from one yarn type to another. Understanding of the basic raw material of all knitting projects will prove invaluable and save time, expense and the heart-break of choosing the wrong yarn. Knitter's Review is a great website, but this book should be on every knitter's shelf as a reference.

5 comments about Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac.

1. As usual, Elizabeth Zimmerman presents knitting in a fun, helpful way. The patterns are beautiful. Yet, if they're not exactly what you want, she gives hints on how to make them your own, limited only by your own creativity. Thanks to EZ, I've dared take my own knitting to places I never would've dreamed. She gave me the courage to try different things; sometimes failing, but more often designing patterns that exceeded my wildest dreams. Thank you Elizabeth Zimmerman. You've made me the knitter I am today.



2. I bought this for my mother for Christmas and she thinks it's great. A Zimmermann clasic. It's a good book for both knitters and non-knitters.



3. Excellent book for knitters who like to take a pattern and do there own thing! Very entertaining.



4. If you knit you are missing something if you haven't read EZ's books yet. They are all wonderful--you will learn about knitting and EZ's wonderful philosophy of life. You don't need to knit her patterns (and nonpatterns) but you will learn about knitting.



5. I love Zimmermann's technic and pattern. The only negative thing I could find is that the object isn't so top fashion. But the book is absolutely quality and something you need in your knitting collection.

No comments about Inspired to Knit: Creating Exquisite Handknits.

5 comments about Sew What! Skirts: 16 Simple Styles You Can Make with Fabulous Fabrics.

1. The book is well written, with lots of basic information for beginner sewers and tips in side panels to help troubleshoot difficult sewing techniques, such as sewing hems on curved fabric or matching curved pieces to straight pieces. I found the idea of not using a pattern refreshing and have so far made two skirts from the book.
   
   I did run across errata, so make sure to check out the publisher's page for any new corrections or problems with older editions.
   
   Because you make your own patterns, you need to make sure to take your measurements and determine what the "length" is your skirt will be, prior to purchasing your fabric. This is especially true if you aren't sure about the fabric amount listed in the book. Examining how the skirt is placed on the fabric will help you to determine if you need more or less fabric then suggested. It's not hard to write the lengths out on the diagrams to see how much fabric you need.
   
   The only thing I would love to have seen in this book is a longer section on fabric choices: cottons, rayons, gauzes, organzas, silks, etc. Otherwise, there is a great deal of information in this book, both for beginners and those of us who have been sewing for years.
   
   This isn't really a con, but the author does refer to the reader's sewing machine manual, so make sure to have this on hand, especially if you are not familiar with how to make buttonholes, other sewing stitches, or you are a new sewing machine user. I suggest you practice on something else before you use a new stitch on your skirt fabric.



2. If you are tired of making unhappy compromises when shopping for skirts, this is the book for you. Sew What! Skirts: 16 Simple Styles You Can Make With Fabulous Fabrics is women's liberation at it's best -- you'll never have to settle for the wrong fit to get the right color, or a too-loose waist to get hips that don't cling.
   
   If you have even the most basic of sewing skills, the author will turn you into a magician who can turn out just the perfect skirt that you want, without the torture of sorting through racks of junk you don't want.
   
   This is a great book!



3. I love this book! It is a great way for beginner/intermediate sewers to really get a feel for what it takes to make skirts that truly fit. You will be able to learn to draft simple patterns that will become beautiful skirts. The directions are clean and concise. I recommend this book to anyone looking to learn the beginning steps in clothing construction.



4. Although I have not yet made anything with this book, I have read it again and again. It is small but mighty in what you can learn.



5. I am a novice at sewing and wanted a informative book with good illustrations on easy skirts to make.I found this book to entertaining and very informative. Out of date looking skirts but the information covered very good and easy to follow. I would certainly recommend this book..

4 comments about Jelly Roll Quilts.

1. This is a great book. Simple to follow and lots of good patterns and ideas.



2. Excellent source of patterns AND some very good sewing tips. I'm an experienced quilter, but found lots of new tricks and ideas.



3. This book has beautiful patterns and detailed instructions for each. It also includes alternate color schemes for each quilt. I'm currently making the cover quilt which is going together easily. I would recommend this book for quilters with at least basic knowledge and experience. Jelly Roll Quilts are GREAT for all skill levels.



4. This is one of the best quilt books I've purchased and I have about 25 of them. The book makes you want to buy a jelly roll and get started. Some quilts are more difficult than others, but for someone that's not experienced enough to take on a more complex quilt there lots of simple ones to choose from. The quilts are very attractive for how easy they are. In this book easy does not equal boring.

5 comments about Forbidden LEGO: Build the Models Your Parents Warned You Against!.

1. Great book, as soon as my four sons saw the word FORBIDDEN the wanted to read it right away.



2. This book has step-by-step instructions that are fun to build and use. My Jr High students really enjoyed making the projects.



3. You've always wanted to make that medieval catapult hurl things at your siblings. You've always wanted to gear down that racer and try to take it into the sandbox. Now here are designs that can help you do it. Not only do you get a ton of cool designs, but included are a ton of ideas on changing up the designs or switching pieces in case you're missing a few of the bits recommended. The designs all work very well, and are of the top quality that you'd expect from the former LEGO employees who made this book.
   
   The real fun is that you get so much more than that. The book opens with exposition on how the LEGO design process works, and gives you a ton of excellent trivia (yes, the designers really have hugs bins of every part ever made so they can build any design they can dream). The insights into the LEGO design process not only show you the incredible quality that LEGO puts into every product, but give you excellent ideas on better building for your own models as well. Even when the book's models are presented, they've given multi-page stories detailing their history, and why the designs would never make it at LEGO headquarters, as well as the little technical aspects down to exactly why the model uses the gearing solution it does.
   
   I definitely recommend this book for the LEGO fanatic in your life- they'll thank you for it. And, with help from the designers, they'll likely expand on the models presented and dream up all-new creations that will allow the design hints from this book to remain in use for a long time to come.
   
   The only thing I'd note in closing is that this isn't really a book for kids, though you should be able to figure that out from the gun modeled on the front. This is a book for grownups, or at least kids with proper supervision.



4. I was very excited to get this book for my LEGO-crazed son, and the included projects are great...EXCEPT for the fact, as others have pointed out, that many required parts are, to say the least, non-typical. To require the book purchaser to spend hours searching for parts online, then spending multiples of the book price to get them, is deceptive to say the least. Bad form. It's like writing a cookbook with recipes requiring ingredients only available in ancient Mesopotamia or on modern-day Madagascar.



5. the boook is fine, but you only get five "projects". for $17 dollars new, you'd think there would be more ... guess i should have reviewed the table of contents before purchasing. also, the pieces aren't identified well enough for me. a name, or piece number would work MUCH better because i don't have some of the pieces and would need to purchase them, so now, i have to order them, blah, blah, blah. anyway, the book is nice, slick and well bound. there, i said something positive.

5 comments about Masters: Art Quilts: Major Works by Leading Artists (The Masters).

1. I just love all the wonderful artists in this book. The pictures are wonderful and it's a book to look at over and over again. By having ten pages for each artist you really get to see a good representation of their work. I hope they do another one to add all the wonderful artists still out there.



2. I highly recommend this book for your quilt library whether you create or just admire fine art quilts. The artists selected are varied and talented. The format allows the reader to follow the growth of each artist over a period of years. The photos are wonderful and inspiring. When my quilting friends saw this book, they rushed to order it.



3. There is so much eye candy in this book that I ran the risk of diabetic shock just browsing it! This is an amazing collection of fiber art, a plethora of inspiration and a joy to own. I would give it a 7 star rating if there were one. It's a "must have" in every fiber artist book collection! Bravo Martha!
   
   Reviewed by:
   Normajean Brevik
   [...]



4. Martha Sielman has put together a book documenting and celebrating 40 quilt makers and their art with beautiful photography, an insightful intro for each artist by Sielman, and commentary from the artist. Every page is a visual treat. A book of this type of art was long overdue, and this volume is everything one interested in quilt art (or any textile art) could hope for. Bravo!



5. Whether or not you're a quilter you would find it hard not to find inspiration in the pages of this book. Page after page of the most incredible quilts await you in this 400-page book. The photographs are clean, clear and placed on pages with no background clutter to detract the reader's eye. This is a book to be savored one page at a time and one that you'll find yourself picking up and flipping through over and over again. A must have for any fiber artists library.

5 comments about Doodle Stitching: Fresh & Fun Embroidery for Beginners.

1. This book is quite nice and the projects are all very do-able. The color combinations used are very nice and I liked Aimee's pattern style.
   
   But my only regret is that there is very few patterns in the book and most of the project photographs are highlighted on the finished product and so the patterns don't get much focus. It would have been great if Aimee has bundled in more of her patterns at the end of the book so that we had more choices to mix and match various patterns in the same projects that she have shown.



2. I am a beginner at the art of embroidery. I love this book. It has very clear instructions on embroidery stitches. I love the idea of doodle-stitching! No boring clip art stuff here!



3. I bought this book, thinking it was connected to Jenny Hart and Sublime Stitching: Hundreds of Hip Embroidery Patterns and How-To. Much to my amazement - actually, just now, more or less - they are not. But the styles are very, VERY similar. The main difference is that in this book, you will get mostly craft ideas and some designs. In Sublime Stitching you'll get mostly designs (iron-on). Both are geared towards beginners - and both have very lengthy introductions into the basic steps and stitches.
   
   While I'm now very startled that I did not in fact buy a Jenny Hart title, I am very pleased to have found a new embroidery sensei to follow in Aimee Ray.
   
   One last note: the model used in the book is attractive, but has the weirdest pseudo-smile that unnerves me. Be on your guard. The crafts are worth it, though.



4. I've purchased many craft books, only to return immediately because the cover/description were completely misleading, but this is not one. Clear pictures and descriptions, and I love that it provides instructions not only for the embroidery, but sewing the projects as well.



5. I have been greatly inspired by Aimee Ray's embroidery. Picking up this book was great because I was able to get a good idea of stitches and see some wonderful project ideas. I had never embroidered before I had seen her work, so I can vouch for this being a great source for a beginner. Some customers complain that some items lack patterns, and while this is true they are available on the author's etsy page. I saw those as an example of what works using stitches taught could turn out like. The nature of the works Aimee Ray is exhibiting in her book is just like the title, doodle-stitching. I don't see it as wanting the readers to necessarily copy each thing from the book, but inciting them to be creative.
   
   Even though transfer methods are discussed, which is greatly beneficial, depending on one's resources it can be rather difficult. If there are no other resources (copier or a light box), I would recommend having carbon paper on hand. Tracing paper may also be very useful, but a transfer pen or pencil would also be necessary.