Crafts Hobbies Books

I decided I was going to make aprons for my female family and friends for Christmas and ordered this book hoping it would give me lots of different ideas. It is actually more of a history lesson on aprons but did have lots of pictures and patterns and instructions. There does not seem to be a glut of books on Aprons so this was a good choice. If you are the least bit creative you can go with some of their general ideas and expand on them. Makes a nice coffee table book too.

Love this book!
I am always recommending it to others who love Aprons and apron stories.
It even has a user friendly pattern in the back of the book.
A must have as well as a great gift to send to friends who are apronistas!

I love this book - it brings back great memories. Very interesting information, photos, patterns, a great book to add to one's library.

Saw this in my book club at twice the money. I really identify with these, the good old days. Days when aprons were a part of getting dressed each day. I still am an apron person. Love those pockets.

I had to make an apron in Home Ec class many (many) years ago. I didn't enjoy it at all. I didn't care for the fabric, didn't really get the hang of using a sewing machine, just felt it was a waste of time. Nobody in my family wore an apron, anyway, somehow they miraclously stayed clean during food prep.
Flash forward a few decades. I like to cook and bake and I did not inherit the miracle of not getting messy while I cooked. Most aprons you can buy in a store are servicable - but not exactly flashy or pretty. One of my supervisors whipped up aprons as Christmas presents one year. I was amazed because I knew she was a very busy woman. Slowly, I began to gather fabric to make aprons. And when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. That's how I feel about this book. I recommend it highly.

Love the history...love the simplicity...love the book! For a long time I ignored this book on the selves, then I picked it up to look inside. I couldn't put it down. The author draws you in with the fasinating history of kimonos and then with simple designs shows you how to create these beautiful, wearable works-of-art. I'm currently making the one shown on the cover. I love the way it flows. The author brings a sense of Japanese respect for nature in the stitch and design. Thank you for writing this book.

P.S. The yarn does not have to be expensive. The author suggests worsted weight or sportweight for most of the designs. I easily found the proper amount in my stash.

I am impressed with this knitting book for two reasons... It is beautifully presented for a knitting book and most of the patterns I am able to adjust easily to my own homespun wool.
It is a book I leave on the coffee table for anyone to browse through.

I knit by hand and with machines. This book is easily adapted to machine knitting. The author provides a basic platform from which to create. I would say that the projects rank on the level with knitting an afghan, so if a person is not up to that level, best start elsewhere. The knitting itself is quite easy on most all patterns.

Once you have knitted blankets, sweaters, Irish cable knit sweaters, fair isle and lace and intarsia, it seems like there are no more fun projuects to do. But this book is FULL of gorgeous knitted kimonos that are extremely well designed and it's the best NEW knitting book I have bought in DECADES !! DECADES !!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

The kimonos are lovely. The patterns are very helpful- and if you are an experienced knitter you will be able to figure out how to substitute yarns. If you plan on using the yarns the author did, however, you should expect that some of these projects are going to get very expensive. I spoke with a lady who does museum archival knitting, and she said to substitute yarns one should match the gauge, not just the yarn weight. I think this book would have been improved by giving information about less expensive yarns.

I think the book is very good. It gives you detailed instructions on how to do a quilt. I have not tried quilting yet, but it seems like it would not be to hard to do.

This book has step by step instructions along with practice lessons. I took a quilting course and this will be a great book to refer back to.

I recently took a class taught by Ann Moore (EXCELLENT INSTRUCTOR) who recommended this book for her class. Although this book may not have a lot of pages, it gives a tremendous amount of information. In addition to basic machine quilting techniques, there are tables giving characteristics of threads, needles, batting, and other useful information. The types, uses, and sizes of threads are made very clear and understandable. The book starts with basic exercises and progresses through really advanced techniques used in art quilts. Don't let the 64 pages fool you into thinking there is not a lot of information here. It covers both "straight-line" and free motion quilting. As with any art, practice is needed before one excels, and this book provides exercises so you can build your skills. I have three other machine quilting books, and this is by far the best one for a beginning machine quilter.

Great book for novice machine quilter. I really like the exercises implemented to improve skills. Recommended for those who just need a fews basic tips for starting out and do not want to spend a lot of time studying the art of machine quilting.

I bought this book for a class in machine quilting and it's one of the most useful references in my sewing room. A very good hands-on guide to machine quilting!

This book is full of fun projects that will provide much inspiration if and when I ever get around to tackling the field of altered art.

A well-illustrated compendium for this particular gentre of work. Informative at several levels,sound techniques,excellent projects and interesting contributions from various artists in the field. It exists at a variety of levels,enabling a wide range of abilities from practising artists to beginners, to gain inspirational information. A bonus is the artist's biographies and web-sites. A good companion to "Altered Art'

I had been eying this book for awhile now and was surprised when my husband got it for me for Christmas. I love it! It's well laid out and has very lovely photos. Quite inspirational!

This is a nice book and has some great ideas. But I don't work in metal or wood so it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. If you are interested in 'tin' or other metal mediums then this would be a very good book for you to see. I usually check books out of the public library first to be sure they are what I'm looking for but the library didn't have this book so I bought it sight unseen.

It is a very good book with a lot of nice photos.

I am so deeply in love with this book! Each idea is fresh and new and the pictures make everything really clear. I haven't even finished it (although I've had it for quite a while) because I'm trying out the new mixed media ideas on projects as I go.....kinda savoring each section and saving the rest for later ...so many ideas! So little time!

We let the kids flip through this book and choose which design they wanted on their face. They had a great time and were also able to understand that with patience the end product would look (at least somewhat) like the picture in the book. They had a great time.

My Girl Scouts ages 8-12 had an awesome time practicing the face painting for the haunted house on Oct. 27 & 28 at the VFW Post 10211 in Key Largo, FLA. Thank you so much for offering such a book as the girls has no idea how to face paint and now they are prepared for almost anything!!! Cudos to you !!!!!! We wuld highly reccommend this face painting book to anyone young OR old that needs hints/help in the how-to's of face painting!!

I cannot rate this item. This item was on backorder and I have never received it!

I like the way the book is laid out and how simple the instructions are.

I did the vampiress and japanese doll faces from this book on my daughter and friend. We made an errand to our local "clown store" and all the entertainers said how great they were. Those were just 2 of the fun face designs out of the book. The wicked reptile & colorful butterfly faces from this book are also very nice. There are over 40 faces!

I recently purchased the Official U.S Mint 50 State Quarters folder for my grandson who has been collecting
the quarters. The folder was exactly what he was looking for. It was certainly the right price and because it
was "official" made it even more exciting for him to have.

I had a large coin book, but wanted the 100 hole for the 2 mints. This worked perfectly. It would have been nice to have them (D & P) side by side, but it folds up nicely, better than my last one. Yes, the quarters can be hard to place in the book, but for me, they stay put. I do not like the thin backing under the holes. I worry that if I push too hard, I might tear right through. I am still pleased with it, and have ordered several. It has made the quarter collecting more fun.

this is an excellent book to keep your state quarters in , a very nice folder showing both p asnd d mints- well made.

It is not a hard cover like it said it is. Philidelpia mints are on one side and Denver on another. I would have like to have seen the two mints together. Otherwise, coins fit in slots great and has interesting facts to read on the interior cover.

Wow, great fun as a little project with my daughter to teach them about saving and collecting.

As with Garland's first knitting book, "Knitted Babes", in "Dream Toys", Claire Garland presents several basic doll patterns and shows how with a few simple alterations, these can be turned into toys that fit into one of five "fantasy" themes: "Enchanted Land" (castles and princesses), "Fairy Dream", "Wild Trail" (cowboys), "Set to Sea" (pirates) and "Magical Waterworld" (mermaids). I actually prefer this book to "Knitted Babes" because this book is not just filled with dolls and their clothes, but also includes instructions for making a lot of play accessories. For example, the instructions are given for the cowboy's horse, the pirate's row boat and the mermaid's pet dolphin. I actually think a lot of the accessories are cuter than the dolls themselves. I can imagine that some kids would prefer the horse to the cowboy.

The dolls are all knitted, with some felt adornments, and their clothes and accessories are mainly knitted, although there are a few items that are either sewn or crocheted. The patterns are reasonably simple to follow (basic instructions on knitting techniques are given at the front of the book) and could be made by an advanced beginner, but not a child. Any child who is young enough to want these items, is too young to have the skills or stamina necessary to make them. Patterns for making any sewn items are given at the back of the book, but are not given at full size, some enlargement is necessary (one of my pet hates), but Garland provides the enlargement percentages for use with a photocopier, so this is made as simple as possible.

I love this book! The little dolls are so creative and can be made into anything! The only warning I would give is this: The dolls are knit on size 2 needles, so if you don't like to knit on small needles, this might prove a little tedious. I love the dolls, Im on my second one!!

I have owned this book for about a year now. I had to learn to knit to use it and am happy to have done so. To give you some reference, I am (now) a novice knitter and a pretty basic crocheter, with little sewing experience. I love to make toys, as best I can.

First I will address an issue brought up by another reviewer: the title is rather deceptive, since the majority of items, primarily and most importantly the dolls, their clothes and the horse/unicorn, are knitted. So if you hope to also crochet toys do not buy this book.

I rather like the unique look of these dolls, They look a bit odd, and different from an average doll, but that is the sort of thing I like - though I suppose if you like a traditional doll you would not like these. I am glad not to be making something that I could find anywhere else. However, this is an easy design to alter, say if you do not like the way facial features are rendered it is pretty easy to change. And once you learn to knit following the pattern, you can change up parts, making a different character beyond what is in the book (My son decided he loves Woody from toy story do I made all sewn clothes so the cowboy looks a tiny bit like Woody. I am working on a Knight version of the doll now).

What I find very appealing about these dolls is that knitting in general is a bit more soft and "drapey" than crochet (when using the very basic stitches, which I do). The dolls lend themselves to a lot of dragging and flopping and snuggling. My daughter leapt on to her mermaid and hugs her and plays with her hair all the time. There are the boy dolls (Pirate, Cowboy) and girl dolls (Mermaid, Fairy, Princess) so you can make dolls for any taste, as well as a horse/Unicorn pattern which is not too hard (harder than the dolls though) and rather cute.

I'm glad I purchased this book with its whimsical patterns. The toys are wonderful, and not too complicated to be fun to make. I'm an experienced knitter, but I don't enjoy extremely complicated things that give me a headache to make. I was pleased to find that while the knitting can be a bit involved; all the directions are written out line by line. The patterns are easy to follow, as well, as none involve complicated colorways. Mostly, they utilize simple stockinette stitch with increasing and decreasing to add shape and garter stitch to add texture. Some knitters may prefer charts, but the only one to be found is a color chart of the Jolly Roger. One thing I particularly liked is that Garland indicates at the beginning of each row as to whether it's an "increasing", "decreasing" or "shaping" row. (Very helpful). A few simple color choices, and a few felt trims (patterns are in the back for extras like the fairy wings, eyes, nose, cowboy outfit, saddle, etc) and you have a beautiful doll.

The toys to create are the archetypical "toys of childhood" - unicorn, horse, mustang; princess, mermaid, fairy; cowboy, pirate, sea creatures, even a dolphin, castle and skip! They are delightful, and one thing I really enjoy is that their details are very pared down, allowing the child's fantasy and imagination to fill in the details.

I would recommend some things to those who want to follow the patterns in this book. First, read through the entire pattern to get oriented. Second, photocopy the pattern and go from the copy. Each time you complete a line, highlight it, so you know you've done it and skip to the next line. I also suggest that when you make legs and arms for the dolls, you consider doing I-cording (also known as French knitting, or spool knitting) as an alternative. (I'd like to credit Esmeralda Jones for this I-cord tip, from her review of Garland's other doll book, Knitted Babes). Be sure to check your gauge as well.

As a final note, despite the title of the book, these are primarily knitting patterns. The "crochet" in the title appears superfluous, and refers only to some embellishments throughout the book.

Overall, I would highly recommend this delightful book. Great patterns, and easy to follow directions make for a good knitting book for children's toys.

As far as knitting is concerned, the book is super cute, and I'm sure the patterns are nice. The problem is, the book itself AND the amazon description state the every toy can be EITHER crocheted OR knitted. This is false advertising. This book is almost entirely for knitters. The only things that can be crocheted are a little bandanna and a small part of the horse saddle. I just want people to be aware of this. If you are looking for a crochet pattern, do not purchase this book. IT IS A BOOK FOR KNITTERS!

Very clear. Some new ideas. Very well written. A method of tying quilts I haven't seen before and it works beautifully.

This is one of my favorite quilting books. There are many great ideas for quilts made from scraps and FQs. Most of them can also be made from yardage if you so desire. The photos are great, directions are clear, and most quilts feature variations. One of my favorite parts of the book is the detail on how each project was quilted. In the back there is a great section on making pieced backings, quilting and tying.

My first response when thumbing through this book wasn't very positive. I saw only one quilt I thought I might make. However, over several days, I found myself thumbing through the book over and over again and becoming very excited about making a dent in my fabric stash with several of the patterns.

Her instructions are so very good, I've moved this book from the bookshelf to my sewing table and expect I will be using it until the pages become dog-eared and fall out of the book.

Having been a quilter for almost 40 years, my fabric stash is shamefully large. I'll probably never really bust it but this book is helping me put quite a dandy dent in it and I'm having a great time doing it.

Her patterns adapt equally well using new bold fabric colors and older vintage fabrics left over from quilts made decades ago.

Wow! Some new ideas, and each project is presented in at least two colorways. Instructions are clear, with abundant illustrations. Nothing overly intimidating for the beginner.....some look complicated, but really aren't. I'm inspired! And I need more fabric!

Gorgeous quilt patterns with very easy to follow instructions. Patterns adaptable to your own stash - I'm inspired!