Crafts Hobbies Books

The photos are beautiful, but I didn't purchase it for the photos.
I purchased it to discover the use of mechanics to construct the beautiful florals. There is some text about materials used, but very little. Disappointing.

Garish and over the top almost to the point of vulgarity. Not my taste I prefer cleaner lines and less ostentatiousness.

Although I think this book is well done, I much preferred his other books.

I bought this book so I can find ideas for my wedding decoration, it has great and beautiful pictures, but obviously it's impossible to try to imitate Preston Bailey's ideas. I do recommend this book. You can use it afterwards for a coffee table book.

I'm an Interior Designer and this is a practical guide for clients visually. I'm not for copying works but inspiration to what we can do of endless possibilities.

A lovely book with lots of informative information and I can't wait to get piecing

After seeing references to this book, I decided I had to buy it. Was very pleased with the patterns and instruction. It definately pays to buy through Amazon.

The log cabin has turned into my favorite block and what a book to have in my collection. There are so many new ideas I haven't seen. I have since purchased other "Judy Martin" books and just love them. The instructions are written for both templates and rotary cutting...

Anyone that enjoys piecing log cabin quilts will love this book. The quilts are absolutely beautiful and an inspiration. I have already started on my first one.

This book is a great inspirational tool to create beautiful log cabin quilts. Being able to see layouts is a great help. The instructions are very helpful. Wonderful book!

Okay, the projects in this book are stunning and doable. If you think this is knit every row, plain old garter stitch, you are wrong. There is no purling, but the knit stitch is used to create interesting effects and texture. The only problem is picking out the first project to make.

This book is worth the price just for the stitch lexicon in the back of the book. It has some nice projects, but that extra workshop of stitch patterns allows you to adapt designs and textures to projects of your own.

20 projects all using garter stitch. All directions are written out but they include some helpful charts where needed. My favorite is the long vest on the cover. I also like the diagonal blocks cardigan, houndstooth hat and scarf set, triangle patchwork cardi, log cabin throw, calypso vest, slipstitch pullover in 2 colors, wrap around vest, and diagonal afghan. Also included is a selection of 33 garter stitches different from those used in the projects. Most of the projects are by other designers such as Nazarin Fard, Valentina Devine, etc. Recommended but not essential.

This book is not just plain garter stitch - however all the stitches are knitted. The projects are vaieried. The first thing I noticed is that there are no schematics of the sweaters. There are diagrams for the modular projects, but no drawings with the measurments on them. While I can work around this and create my own, most current garment knitting patterns have them. Also the reversable blanket pictures don't include the other side, important when the other side is a different color.
All of the above being said, there are a few things I'm planning on making from this book, starting with that blanket.

I am someone who is *sewing impaired* and now thanx mainly to this book I'm a happy beader;o) The instructions are easy to understand and the full color instructional photos make it easy to see how to do each of the steps. It's filled with soooo many beautiful pictures which are inspiring! You'll find projects that are perfect for beginners and other projects (like shown on the cover) that are for the more experienced beaders. Definitely a *MUST HAVE* for your beading library!!;o)

This is an excellent book with great photographs and clear and helpful instructions. It is equally helpful to the beginning or experienced beader. I loved browsing through the photographs getting inspiration for projects of my own! Because this book has two authors with different techniques and ideas they are able to compare the way they do things and make clear that we each have our own way of accomplishing the same task. The way they compared their techniques and approaches was extremely helpful and interesting. This book will inspire anyone to develop their own personal style and try something new.

You will be spellbound by the gorgeous jewelry designs in this groundbreaking book! I bought "The Art of Bead Embroidery" along with "Beading with Cabochons" and I have already taken on a grand design myself even though I am new to 'seed beading'. The gallery photos are irresistable inspiration. These two designers are certainly at the forefront of this beadwork style. I suggest both books will give you tutorials and ideas to keep you beading and getting rave results.

THE ONLY DRAWBACK TO THIS BOOK IS THAT IT INSPIRES YOU TO DO MORE AND MORE BEADWORK, TAKING UP MORE AND MORE TIME. IT'S A BEAUTIFUL, CONSISE BOOK THAT MAKES THE DESIGNS SEEM SIMPLE AND EASY TO DO. IT REALLY MAKES YOU WANT TO BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY CHEW, OR HAVE THE TIME TO CHEW. IT IS REALLY A BOOK FOR PEOPLE WHHO LOVE TO BEAD - LEAVES NOTHING TO BE DESIRED. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT FOR ANYONE WHO LOVES TO BEAD, OR WHO MERELY LOVES TO LOOK AT THE OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHY. BY ALL MEANS, PURCHASE THIS BOOK - TO KEEP OR AS A GIFT.

Even if you never make a project from this book, you will truely feast your eyes on the astounding works of art you will find here. Combine that with really warm and friendly dialog, and I totally loved this book. I have not tried to follow the project directions yet, but they look very nice.

AWESOME book!!!! I will use this until it falls apart. Loaded with tons of great quotes etc. Perfect for my scrapbook pages. This is a must have product!!!!

This book covers everything that you will ever need to use to journal or find a title. It is worth every penny.

Love this book. I keep it handy for all my creativity blocks. I shared it with a friend who loved it so much she's getting one too. Use it just once and it will have paid for itself. Well organized and covers all the topics.

Great resource for scrapbooking! Has great quotes and titles for use with those "hard to find the right words" scrapbooking pages....has a wide variety of subjects and topics too! Highly recommend!

I love this book! I have used it over and over for my scrapbooks, for the "blank" greeting cards I purchase, for notes to my children, and bulletin board topics for my classroom! I especially love the friendship and volunteer quotes. A wonderful, organized and varied arrangement of inspiration!

I have no words to describe this book. Exquisite patterns, a lot of great tips and the best "beyond the basics" ever! I really like Interweave publications because the patters are so well explained that even an intermediate knitter like me can do difficult patterns.

Really liked this....I haven't been knitting that long and didn't have these patterns from the magazine....I look forward to making some of them.

Worth the money. It's the kind of pattern book to which you will constantly turn for special gift ideas. Looking for a dishcloth pattern? Forget about it!!! This is STYLISH stuff.

Interweave Knits is the knitting magazine I eagerly await each season for, without fail, I find a "must-knit" in its pages. Over the years, many well-known designers have had patterns featured in this popular magazine, although many young designers have found a place here as well. Interweave Knits is known for its innovative and appealing designs, offering challenging and wearable garments for advanced and beginning knitters alike.

As Pam Allen, past editor-in-chief, explains in her introduction: "The best moments [in putting together the magazine], however, come when the contents of a submission envelope spill out and elicit a collective `Ahhh!' from the staff...For The Best of Interweave Knits: Our Favorite Designs from the First Ten Years, we've culled as many `Ahhh' projects from past issues as would fit into these pages."

Over the years, many Interweave Knits designs have become as well-known as their creators, and this collection of 30 designs contain many of these: the Lotus Blossom Tank (Sharon Shoji); the Forest Path Stole (Faina Letoutchaia); and the Icarus Shawl (Miriam Felton). This leads to the obvious question: How many of the patterns featured here are your favorites? This collection includes four of mine, two already listed (Icarus Shawl and Forest Path Stole) and two others-Striped Fringe (Amanda Blair Brown), an ingeniously designed wrap of seven different colored stripes, and Cambridge Jacket (Ann Budd), the perfect zip-up weekend sweater.

Sweaters in The Best of Interweave Knits range in finished chest sizes of 32.5" to 57.5", with the average range being 36" to 48". Scattered throughout the volume are "beyond the basics" sections that cover topics from cast-ons to blocking, pulling together great resources into one volume.

Armchair Interview says: Find new personal favorites.

I have liked Interweave Knits since its beginnings. One of the reasons Interweave Knits is interesting to me is because every issue pushed the envelope on design and technique. It also had very lovely pieces.

Unfortunately, the pieces in this book, (except for Forest Path Stole) don't really bring to mind what made Interweave Knits the best mag on knitting. The pieces are nice, but they are some of the blandest designs that were published. You feel as though the people who sat down to pick the patterns wrote down a set of rules: "OK, gals, we need one from every issue, AND we need sweaters, and a shawl and a stole and a pair of socks." Instead of going at it from the angle of what really were the pieces that made Interweave Knits stand apart.

And frankly, it's as if the editors couldn't pick and just decided to agree to disagree on the most fantastic pieces and go with the consensus makers. And you end up with a beautifully edited and hugely promoted boring knitting book.

If you're a beginner looking for precise information, don't buy this book. If your a Knitter who takes Knitting VERY seriously, don't buy this book.
But, if you're a knitter who would find it refreshing to glean a few good insights from the experience of another while laughing your head off, then buy this book and enjoy it.

I am enjoying this like a great dessert - savoring each chapter. As a life long knitter, it's a joy. Any knitter would appreciate the information, stories and humor - we've all been there (sometimes more than once) and it's great to know we're not alone!

The Yarn Harlot, as the author is commonly known, not only has incredible amounts of knitting knowledge but a great sense of humor as well! I laughed out loud more times than I can count while reading this book. She is very straight forward about herself and her knitting habits, knitting mistakes, family life, etc. She's self-deprecating and freely admits she doesn't know everything (of which I am doubtful!) and her writing style is more like having a conversation with her rather than reading a book.

I love when she talks about how addicted to yarn she is, how she manages to hide her "stash" around the house, and how she rationalizes her oftentimes expensive yarn habit. I could totally relate.

And you just gotta love the "recipes" she comes up with for making items such as socks, hats, scarves, etc. I used her math to make my very first hat -- and it worked!

Her tips are easy to understand and use, her knitting philosophy accessible and hilarious. This book is a MUST HAVE for every knitter, whether they've only just started, know nothing at all, or have been knitting for decades. Would make a great gift!

I regularly read and enjoy Stephanie's blog, and have followed the Yarn Harlot's exploits for years. While her first book was a bit recycled, this one is terrific: original, creative, interesting, engaging, and chock FULL of ACTUAL knitting and patterns. I don't think any of her later book compare with the quality and quantity of this one. Definitely her best book! If you buy only one Yarn Harlot book, this would be the one to choose.

I've read this book at least twice now. It's great for new and old knitters and it's one of the few laugh-out-loud books I've read. Stephanie has a way of getting right to the heart of all things knitting, and the things we think about all the while. She also gives great tips and references for whatever project you're working on.

I got this book in great condition and much earlier than I had expected it!

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!