Crafts Hobbies Books

This has so much potential, it is hard to review. There is no limit to the possibilities that this book brings to mind. Highly recommended for the design potential alone.

This book is a lot of fun. My son and I are both making quilts from it and it is very easy to follow and understand and the array of blocks you can make is wonderful!

Great book, but if you already own the first book of one-block wonders there's not a lot more information. If you were to buy just one then this is the one to get.

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.

Knitting Socks is an excellent book with straight forward instructions that make sense. I'd tried several patterns before I found this book at the library and I loved it so much that I bought it! Happy knitting!

Great book!! I borrowed it from my library and realized that I wanted to own it. Anyone who wants to knit socks should buy this book. It is the best one of its kind.

This is the best, clearest, step-by-step how-to for sock knitting. It goes through each step in the process with nicely laid out pages and photographs, and also gives patterns according to each type of yarn weight. In the back there are lists of varieties of stitches you can substitute. I had never knit a sock before buying this book, and I have no problems knitting them now thanks to this book.

I've been a knitter for several years, but never brought myself to knit socks. I decided to get this book to teach myself how to knit socks, and I couldn't have been happier with it! The instructions are so clear, and I was able to knit my first pair in a matter of days with minimal mistakes. I also enjoy all the patterns that are included within the book, as they go from a basic sock pattern to more complex cabled and lace patterns for when you progress. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is intimidated to tackle knitting socks...you'll have your first pair of handmade socks before you know it!

I haven't even been knitting for more than half a year and have never followed a pattern. I got this book and am almost done knitting my second sock. I've never even knitted in the round before! If I can knit a sock, anybody can (using this book)!!!

This coloring book is the perfect coloring book. It's non-traditional, but it encourages your child to build upon his/her imagination and express their individuality as well as personal artistic flair. It provides the foundation for a lot of coloring fun!

Love this series of book!! I ended up buying one for each of my eight kids ranging from 16 to 4 years old.

My four year old got this out of my gift pile (to give to others), and had a great time doing the first half of the book. Needless to say, it works for almost any age! It gives you the beginning of a picture (usually) and gives you guidance on what to draw. Here's an umbrella, draw some rain. Fun and creative gift for any age!

I bought this book as something my 3 y/o and I could do together. We finally pulled it out tonight (I was saving it for some quality alone time) and I LOVE IT! This is just very basic generic coloring book and each page has a simple instruction to add to or finish the scribble on the page. You can interpret it however you want and do with it what you please. Follow the instructions literally, abstract something, create something completely different. This book definitely inspired creativity in both me and my son. My mom is pretty artsy and I am going to order one for her. I'd love to see what she'd do with it. Great choice if you're looking for something different and I totally agree it's good for any age.
As for the dead person...if your child can read, let them draw a dead person. It's about interpretation and creativity. They don't have to draw a corpse. Maybe they choose to draw Abraham Lincoln or Jesus. If they can't read, tell them to draw whatever you'd like to see.

I bought this for my 3 year old who loves coloring books, as long as they have dot to dots and "design the cookie" type pages. This is perfect for her. She loves it just as much as i thought she would. What I don't like is that some of the pages are landscape style. I mean, they go across the binding of the book which makes it difficult. I tried ripping the pages out, then glueing them to a bigger piece of construction paper. That can olny be done if you have already done the pages on the back sides (unless you want to waste pages out of a 20.00 book, i don't) it would be nice if the whole book were landscape, and the worst thing about this book is the page that says to "draw a dead person." What in the world? I ripped out that page, and good thing i saw it before she did. It has a box that resembles a coffin that you are supposed to draw the 'dead body' in. I would have considered returning the book for that reason alone had she not used over 1/2 the book already,a nd been in love with it. Seriously everyday since she got it, she has done 10-15 pages.

I would agree with other reviewers that the techniques in this book are not stardard metal smithing techniques, but that makes it all the more interesting. I often teach short classes to teens and this provides some great project ideas for beginers as well as some interesting techniques to use to make my own projects. I like the photos, the instructions are clear and it provides some great foder for new projects.

I bought this book because it had the word "Rivet" in its title and I want to know more about the use of rivets. While I didn't learn much about rivets from this book I quickly fell in love with the projects, instructions, and fabulous examples of work by other artists. I've created six pieces from the projects in 2 days and they are so easy and gratifying. You can take the projects and let your imagination run wild to create your own unique and very special jewelry. Absolutely my favorite jewelry technique book and I have a LOT in my library. If you are interested in creating pieces that truly qualify as wearable art (versus the safe same old same old) this book is a must for both instruction and inspiration!

I absolutely love this book! It's heavy on organic looking design. The author does it without a lot of expensive tools, so it's beginner friendly. Her directions are written very nicely, and there's lots of eye candy for those fellow artisans who are into the organic look.

This book is so well written. And the projects so innovative - not your run of the mill jewelry making book. This will stretch your borders and incorporate lots of new ideas and techniques into your jewelry making.

Mary teaches you new skillsets and gives you unique projects with which to practice. It's very easy to do variations from her basic projects - she sets your mind spinning in new directions.

I was really disappointed by this book.

It should have been called wirework in jeweley. I bought it mainly for the 'rivet' part, but there's nothing about riveting in the book--if you don't consider using pre-made eyelets like me. If you are a beginner in jewelry making, it might be good for you to learn how to make jewelry with pre-made parts. But if you are hoping to learn 'new' tricks in cold connections, don't waste money on this book.

The only thing that I like about this book is the artists' showcase at the end of the book.

Great book with modern easy to follow patterns. I originally got it for the long crochet jacket pattern but love the other designs as well.

I have tried, over and over and OVER again to learn how to crochet,off and on for over a year. I was starting to give up,then along came this amazing book, the answer to all of my crocheting prayers.
I had picked up Ms. Stollers Stitch n' Bitch book earlier, in an attempt to re-introduce myself to hand knitting, and it had gone so well, that I didn't think twice before plunking down my money for this book.
It took me less than a day to get through the basics.
The instructions seem a bit funky at first, each lesson takes a couple of read-thoughs before you can make sense of what you need to do, but trust me, the instructions will click!
Although it may help to have your boyfriend on the phone cheering you on. ^^
Give this book a shot, it's nice and thick, with great glossy pics and lots of random splashes of color. Full of puns, and just a general joy to read. I will be buying more for several ladies in my family.

This book taught me all of the basic stitches I use (whether ready or not) during my introduction to crochet. I refer back to it for a quick refresher or an idea for a pattern change. Well worth every cent.

AWESOME I'd recommend it to anyone. Her pictures/diagrams are GREAT if you're a visual person. Such a great book, I carry it around with me

This is a lovely book to buy, useful information, stitch techniques and lovely patterns. I'm very happy with it.

I first saw this book at a fabric store I worked at in the area. I was immediately drawn to the originality of it, and the beautiful fabrics she used in the book. It wasn't until later that I saw it on here. It is a great bargain for what it is. It can sit flat on your sewing table or the floor as you work, and the instructions are concise as simple.

This book would be a beautiful addition to any sewing room.

I love this book. I've made 2 of the tote bags multiple times and the yoga bag. Everything I make in this book comes out looking very cool. The instructions are well written and easy to follow. Most things don't have patterns and use measurements instead which keeps it simple. Lotta's designs are creative, functional and crafty.

Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing: Patterns and How-To for 24 Fresh and Easy Projects

Gran libro con estupendos diseños. Contiene patrones a tamaño real.

This is a great book for beginners. I can't wait to get started on some projects.

My friend Chassity and I got this book to teach ourselves how to sew and absolutely love it! The projects are modern, simple, useful, and well designed. I haven't had any trouble deciphering instructions and I'm loving the finished items. My favorite project so far has been the All Day Tote, I'm on my third one! These projects make great gifts too!

I have this book, and Nicky Epstein's "Crocheted Flowers", and I prefer this one. I love the simplicity of it. She has sections on centers, stems, leaves in addition to the flowers, which makes it really easy to create something really unique. I love all of the project ideas too! These projects really give you inspiration on how you can use the flowers....from cardmaking to embellishing a shower curtain. The example photos also use a lot of different yarns, which really give inspiration on using different types of yarns to create different looks. There are no charts, and I wish charts were included, but otherwise this is a very well done book. I have so far noticed only one typo...in the index section it lists the abbreviations as page 1---they are actually on page 17. Great Book!

Really nice book, lots of good ideas and clear instructions.
Quality photographs and projects. For the adventurous crocheter with some experience!

This is a wonderful book! The author has provided many different designs and types of flowers so you'll have plenty of inspiration! She shows the flowers in lots of different yarns so you can get an idea of how your stash will look crocheted up into these little beauties. I only wish it was spiral bound so it would stay open when you're working from it. Other than that, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to crochet flowers and leaves.

I'm always nervous when I order a pattern book sight unseen. I am so pleased that I gambled and ordered CROCHET BOUQUET! My daughter and I are planning to decorate hair clips with tiny flowers created from the patterns in this book. Wish us luck!

Most new crochet books have little to offer that's new to an experienced crocheter; but I took a chance, ordered this book, and have not been disappointed. There are all kinds of flowers and multiple versions of each to choose from. I'm enjoying just sitting down in the evening and "picking" a flower to make with leftover yarns in my stash. Although the flowers lend themselves to lots of projects, I'm just making whatever strikes my fancy with a vague notion of eventually creating some kind of freeform floral collage. The poppy pattern is spectacular, and -- as one who loves leaf motifs -- I find there's a wonderful variety of leaf patterns to choose from (the fern and ruffled leaf are a couple of my favorites). The author also tosses in some nice ideas for embellishing the flowers,such as using purchased craft stamens, novelty yarns, beads, buttonsm and the like. For me, the real fun of this book is the process of crocheting rather than aiming for a particular project to be completed -- playing Simon Says with a pattern and seeing a lovely flower magically emerge from my hook. Plus, following these patterns opens up my own creativity; now I feel I could pick up a hook and start designing a new flower or two of my own. If I had one quibble, it would be that I wish the book were spiral bound so that it would lie flat on my lap when I'm working. However, that's true of most crochet books.

I love this book for the ideas! It's fun to look through for the patterns and design ideas that are within. It gives great instructions on numerous products and many printing techniques. I love that it gives picture and word instructions for all the projects. As an artist I don't really enjoy art books that are all words in the instructions. This is a great book for anyone. If you have kids, there are some fun projects that could be done as a family, and if you are a professional artist that loves design, you will get inspiration as well!

Had a lot of great ideas, esy to ready, great pictures. If you have never stamped before, this is agreat book to start with, simple and exact, makes it look so simple and fun.

I saw a How-To video of this artist on [...] and subsequently quickly went out and bought this book. It is a great how to and gives you a lot of inspiration to get out there and start making your own stuff.

Love this book---must have for artists and crafters

This is a wonderful book, I love it. The aesthetic, techniques clearly explained and all the ideas just make me itch to do some surface designing.

Nicely written but nothing new here. If you have been crafting for a while you may want to skip this one.

This is a very interesting little book. I got it because I'm always looking for crafting ideas that I can incorporate into some of my art projects. I mostly just scanned through looking at the pictures and then got caught up in reading how the little figures were made. And I believe I can make these little creatures. The instructions are not too complicated and seem pretty easy to follow. Many of my friends will probably have little fuzzy pets for Christmas and birthday presents in the coming year.

I'd been looking forward to getting this book ever since I saw the cover. There are several felted animal books out now and this one is good because it doesn't use wire or even cord armatures which makes it real handy for novices.

I wish I had been able to preview the inside of the book before purchashing. It does have many cute animals - for a beginner. I was hoping for some more advanced designs.

I am new at needle felting, but this book explains each step very clearly. The book includes photos and drawings along with very clear descriptions. They even show and tell you what you need for each product. This is a great book for anyone interested in learning this craft.

I'm a novice sewer and serger and found this book to be incredibly helpful on the topic of sewing/serging knits. I loved that this book offered different levels of accomplishment for the projects. The author did a great job of breaking down the steps to complete each task. There are many tips and techniques and this book is designed for both the advanced and beginner sewer. I know I will refer to this guide often and really appreciate this spiral binding that allows the book to lie flat. This is an essential addition to any sewing library.

This is a wonderful resource for sewers of all ages. I am always eager to learn how to do different things - not to mention more easily. I heartily recommend this book. Instructions are easy to follow.

this book is a lot of fun for anyone with a serger and the basics of sewing. you can make cute, quick garments using comfy jersey. i think even a beginner would be able to use this book. serging is so fast and easy. all of the patterns fit me great, super cute styles. can't wait for the next book!

The author's attitude that anything can be done--just try it, is liberating for any kind of sewing. Lots of good inspiration and just a good instruction book for knits.

This is a great book - I'm a "veteran" sewer and purchased it mostly for the patterns. But my thirty-something daughter LOVED the clear, concise explanations -- and it has inspired her.