Crafts Hobbies Books

I think you have to be a master carpenter to actually do any of them in a week-end but the detail is pretty good.....odd thing is, I bought this book and already had it at home! I must have really liked it!

Color pictures of some fantastic tree house ideas. No limits on imagination here. One caution: Don't let the kids see it first! Can't wait to start one of these ideas.

Works for kids, works for adults, very clear and very helpful. Very graphics oriented and the sketches make the text very clear.
Unfortunately does not even mention escalating tree houses beyond the backyard project - if this were a full-revalation book, you would see the new engineering miracle, the Garnier Limb.

We were quite pleased - PS we are hard graders, hardly anything gets a 5.

Excellent guide for treehouse construction. We used the book as a basis for our treehouse and modified one of the designs. This book was extremely valuable for us and guided us through alot of potential pitfalls. Highly recommend!

What a fantastic book! My kids and I have had so much fun browsing through and getting ideas for their tree house. From the basic tree house to more elaborate designs, it's in here. With the help of this book, you can actually build one affordably.

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!

Deliciously rich photographically and in its text. Even a non-quilter would devour all of it's many flavors and tastes... a "cookbook" for fabrics...cook this one up!

This is my favorite quilt book - I've spent hours pouring over the delicious pages of this gorgeous book. Fassett is a genius of color design, and his quilt designs are sumptuous. If you love color, buy this book! (I've made the "Leafy Green" quilt and now I'm working on "Stamps and Money" - great fun!)

Heavenly explosion of colour across every page excites the eyes and gets ones fingers itching!

One of the most inspiring patchwork books I have seen, the quilts zing & colour combinations are fabulous.

If you are new to patchwork and need a step-by-step guide, this book provides it more than generously.

For experienced quilters it serves as an admirable ideas book, as it is brim-full of new ideas in design & layout.

Although Fassett does not stitch the quilts, he collaborates with Liza Prior Lucy very satisfactorily.

The book covers 8 Soft Pastel hued quilts, Bright "Circus" quilts, "Leafy Gardens" (my favorite section) containing 5 quilts, "Antique Stone" very traditional & quite elegant, and "Renaissance" quilts, which contain brocade & velvet combinations and all sorts of rich hues of saturated colour.

All quilts have step-by-step instructions, and actual size templates are included for photocopying at the back of the book.

A fabulous investment! I first borrowed this book from the library nearly 10 years ago, then purchased it 5 years ago, and I am still browsing through it. It is a great coffee table book and my guests are never able to resist it!

kotori ojadis@yahoo.com

I like everything this guy designs.. great reference for quilters if they need a little inspiration to get going again. Great color pictures as usual for Kaffe.

I have coveted my copy of Glorious Patchwork for several years now. I go to it for inspiration for color, pattern and texture for any design or art related or creative endeavor. This book is laden with beautiful pictures, but even more inspiring is the use of the quilts in the interior design aspect. I love this book, and I plan on keeping this book nearby for more ideas!

Learn how to twist and bend wire to make pretty wire jewelry with INSPIRED WIRE, a jewelry maker's guide using techniques perfect for newcomers to wire jewelry. A minimum of equipment is needed to produce the most complex of designs and eye-catching blends of wire and beads, making this an outstanding pick for any library strong in crafts or jewelry-making books. Large full-page color photos and easy instructions contribute to a winner.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The artist explains everything in detail and the pictures are extremely helpful. I would highly recommend this book.

I first checked this book out from the library. I liked it so much, I purchased it. There are several fresh new designs here. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys wire work.

This book is easy to follow with great ideas and good pictures. After recieving it I took a quick trip to the bead store and I am inspired!

I own many jewelry books of several types and this book is BY FAR leaps and bounds above the rest in all the important areas. It is gorgeous to look at and ALL of the projects are inspirational - meaning that they lead your mind to other applications of the techniques shown. It is an excellent teaching tool: it details particularly well the materials and tools you will need to be successful with this type of jewelry work, and the instructions for each technique and project are so well outlined and easy to follow. I truly am blown away by this book! (in case you can't tell!) Most books I've found to be somewhat disappointing, and not always as well-written as you might hope for. But to find all of that PLUS to love EVERY project... WELL! What an accomplishment!

Great book - great price. Gave me lots of ideas for my own projects. I was able to create original works using similar ideas to those others had made.

EXCELLENT review of many techniques, styles and approaches to clay tiles. Well presented with very good reproduction. A great addition to any potter or artists library. Expanded technical data would make this edition even better, but I still rate it a "9"...

Among the very best of the Lark Books "500" series. Brilliant color and design, not limited to traditional tiles and encouraging to the artist craftsman.

This book is a bounty of styles and artistic ideas for what tiles could and may become, with an open mind and some creative techniques. As a beginning ceramicist, this is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for; as I wanted to break out of the traditional 4x4 square and make something wholly unconventional. I wasn't sure if my ideas would work, but after seeing what others have done I am inspired to make my dreams a reality. Thanks to books like these, I can let my imagination run wild and my only limit will be time and creativity.

I must agree with the previous reviewers, the work in this volume certainly merits "Inspiring" being in the title.

As the juror states in the book's introduction, so much of the fun of this book is seeing the widely varied approaches the artists have taken with this format: figurative, abstract, painterly, sculptural, small-scale, architectural.

Full disclosure: my work is also included (p 409), and I am honored to have been selected and published next to so many visionary artists.

What a pleasure it has been to explore the works contained here, some by artists I know personally, or by reputation, and still others I am encountering for the first time. Highly recommended!

This book is nearly impossible to put down. Truly, it is just incredible how much wonderful information is packed into this book. Well worth every penny!

I've been quilting about four years and subscribe and buy about every quilt magazine on the newstand. I have bought many books in addition to this one. Of all the books/magazines this is absolutely the best quilting information that I have ever seen. Not only does it have all kinds of instructions, tips, etc., but has numerous resources that you can go to. I recommend this book to all quilters...first timers, as well as, experienced quilters.You will wonder why you haven't bought this book before now.This is absolutely a "MUST BUY" !!!!!!!!!

I purchased the book as a gift for a friend and one for myself. The book is full of very good information for quilters. Where to find speciality items and fabric. Excellent website data and just an all around good book for any quilter beginner or experienced. When it is called a comprehensive resource guide they are spot on.

Wow, it's hard to believe the amount of energy and persistence it must have taken to round up this much information on quilting, organize it, and put it in a lively and amusing form. Meg Cox is a dynamo, and this book reflects her vast knowledge and boundless enthusiasm for quilting. If you're a beginner or looking to become a beginning quilter, this is probably the most valuable resource you can get. And Amazon is just about giving it away at less than $13. Should be on every quilter's holiday gift list. If she can wait that long.

This book is a must-have resource for anyone interested in quilting! It is arguably eight books in one, very well-written by a former Wall Street journalist who has developed a passion for quilting. I bought it after hearing the author at my local quilt guild, thinking it would be a good reference....but I am now reading it cover-to-cover, which is not my usual response to a reference book! Lots of interesting tid-bits about the history of quilting, the leading authors/teachers/designers of today and yesteryear, and interviews with the "quilter on the street" and their views of specific topics. I loved the quilting world before I started reading it, and this book has only added to that feeling!

I couldn't resist the pun for the title, but it expresses my feelings about this book. I can actually say, for the first time, having read this book, that I understand the basics of finish materials themselves, how they work chemically, how they may be combined (alternatively, when they should not be), what processes each finish type is best suited to, the roles of solvents (thinners) and cleaners as well as the differences between them, sheen, dyes vs. pigment-based coloration, sealing and washcoats, finish leveling and rubout, and a score of other topics this book covers. I can tell you - precisely - the differences between evaporative, reactive, and coalescing finishes, how each builds a film, the strengths and shortcomings of each, the differences in repairability and protection, and more.

This book removes the BS factor from the horribly muddled world of commercially-available finishes, explaining along the way WHY it's as muddled as it is - reducing to history, marketing, and the role of finish manufacturers as middlemen - the finish chemists being employed not by them, but by the ingredient manufacturers. The author demolishes a lot of myths along the way, literally by listing myths and the corresponding truth in sidebars throughout the book.

There are specific topics and bits of advice that are priceless. Among them I would list the process for dyeing figured maple, pre-finish cleaning of oily woods, food-safe finishes, and a dozen or more ways to use shellac to solve problems.

I don't agree with everything in the book. I think the author is too generous to the polish manufacturers, for example, particularly as regards silicone. While he discusses fisheye and silicone issues mostly as a refinishing issue, for example, I think it is actually destructive to existing finishes due to its propensity to migrate under finishes by way of cracks and other surface flaws. I also think he comes off as a bit harsh on oil finishes, though I don't know if that was intended.

I found the book very readable. You will want to read it from beginning to end, as succeeding text builds on earlier concepts. The exception to that would be the final section, on refinishing and strippers.

Understand this book and you will be able to select and apply finishes with complete confidence. Be aware, however, that despite the title, it is not a step-by-step finishing manual. The focus is on understanding the materials.

Excellent book on the fundamentals of finishing wood, including detailed description of the three major categories of finishes and their characteristics. You must do some interpretation to make it work for you, as Flexner does not give extensive details and options for each wood species. Instead, he explores the functional properties of finishes, dyes, stains, fillers, etc.

I checked the hardcover version out from the library and enjoyed the detailed instructions for specific finishing techniques, as well as the general information on the types of wood finished and illustrative photos. A received the paperback version as a Christmas present only to be thoroughly disappointed that the beautiful photos had all been converted to sepia tones. That eliminated all of the detail! Save yourself the disappointment and go straight to hardcover.

This book is not a list of grandma recipes, it explains wood finishes to enable you to create your recipes.

a waste of time if you are actually looking for constructive finishing of a specific wood. This guy is more interested in impressing you with what he knows rather than helping you understand how to finish your project.

I really enjoy this book for ideas and inspiration. She has some truly wonderful soaping ideas in here, and I love just browsing through it.

That being said, I really don't use it that much. The recipes call for too many ingredients, are WAY to heavily superfatted to last, and her mixing method (in a stand mixer) takes forever. I can stick blend my soap to trace in just a couple of minutes.

We've also found out a few things about grapefruit seed extract since this book was published. Basically, it does little to nothing to preserve the shelf life of your soaps....a lot of reputable suppliers are pulling it from the retail inventory and substituting other antioxidants.

If you're looking for some interesting ideas, by all means invest, but don't make this your first book.

I found her information very helpful and clear. My mother also uses this book and is the one who suggested it to me. She has been making soap at home for years and finds this book the best one she's seen.

I've been making soap for some time and have enjoyed this book immensely. It has lots of good suggestions and tons of excellent recipes.

The Soapmakers Companion has been in print for more than ten years now. My copy of this book is worn and stained from many soapmaking sessions. Despite the drift of time and my accumulated knowledge, this is one book that I return to frequently for review of all that pertains to Soapmaking. One of the strong points of this book is that it gets you up and running making soap. The recipes work their way from the relatively simple Soap Essentials Bar comprised of a basic coconut/olive/palm oil mixture to more elaborate recipes such as transparent soap and soap in the round. While Susan Miller Cavitch notes that this book is not that much of a basic book, yet I believe that even if one has never made soap before, this is an excellent book to start with.

I am only just getting into soapmaking and found this book to be comprehensive and interesting for the most part. What I did not find helpful was the limited (and often dangerous) lack of direction that the author gives re: safety and soapmaking. References like, 'be ready to leave the room' or words to that effect, if you are overcome by fumes, is not my idea of dealing with safety issues, in a professional and sustainable way. Im still looking for information before I begin making soaps but this book did pique my interest even more. Limited what's available at present, finding a book on soapmaking that covers all bases, completely and accurately. It is a craft/business that is growing by leaps and bounds though, hopefully someone will write a book that really covers every issue in detail. Ill be ready to purchase!

I am a new machine embroiderer. I needed a book for learning the basics and for immediate reference. There is so much more to machine embroidery than it would appear on the surface. Needles, threads, stabilizers, hooping; there are just dozens of questions.

This book answered most of my questions. (The internet is also a good place for this info, but I like to have a book by my side if possible.)

Stabilizers are one very important area. If your stabilizer is wrong for your fabric, the design will not stitch out well. This book has a detailed explanation of each type of stabilizer and what to use it for.

How to hoop is explained and shown in a series of step by step drawings. So are different techniques. This book came with a CD-ROM with six designs that are featured in the book.

This is a very good book for beginners like myself. I have already used it for reference when working on a project. It was well worth the money.

I have just bought an embroidery machine and so am a complete novice in this area. I have found the book clear, well illustrated and simple to use. It has been invaluable helping me in my first steps of machine embroidery. The results are outstanding and the projects easy to follow.

I have been sewing for years and years and bought a top of the line sewing/embroidery machine combo one year ago. I just purchased this book and even though I had been doing lots of embroidery successfully,
I think there is quite alot of useful information and techniques which
will help me on future projects.

I just bought another copy of this book as a gift for a friend who just
got the same machine I have. I KNOW she will find it incredibly useful.
Sometimes the instruction manuals that come with a machine just don't
cover enough detail and this book certainly fills that in.

I was very helpful to me. I'm just a beginner with a newer machine. I could not relate to some of the information. But it did help me with the basics.

This is a great book. I am new at machine embroidery and found this book a wonderful reference book for what kind of stabilizer to use and an overall great "how to" for beginners.