Accessories

Review: Knitted Dinosaurs

by --Deb 10.03.2011
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I was never much for dinosaurs when I was a kid. I had a hard enough time with monsters like King Kong or the Cyclops without thinking about honest-to-god monsters that used to be REAL.

But this collection? It could make me change my mind.

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Review: Great American Afghans

by --Deb 04.06.2011
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First, the facts: Title: The Great North American Afghan Published by: XRX Publications, 2011 Pages: 53 Type: Afghan pattern, 24 squares. Title: The Great American Kids Afghan Published by: XRX Publications, 2011 Pages: 29 Type: Afghan pattern, 12 squares. The In-Depth Look: Both these books (booklets?) are very simply a straight pattern for an afghan–the [...]

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Review: Gifted

by --Deb 08.12.2010
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This is one of those charming little books full of charming little projects, meant to be given as gifts.

What? You want more of a review than that?

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Review: Comfort Knitting and Crochet Afghans

by --Deb 07.29.2010
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This book is a collection of over 50 patterns–a mix of crochet and knitting–for afghans. Some are made in one, big piece. Some are made up of squares or triangles or other geometric shapes. Some make great use of color work, some have cables or other texture. In other words, there’s lots of variety.

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Review: Knitting MochiMochi

by --Deb 06.22.2010
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I have to be honest. This book made me smile. Chuckle. Giggle, even.

It’s just fun.

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Review: Knitting Green

by --Deb 04.22.2010
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“To the casual observer, knitting looks to be an earth-friendly practice that hasn’t changed much over the centuries. But our ancestors raised their own sheep, and spun the fiber into yarn, and grew flax and spun it into linen, all without the use of antibiotics or pesticides. They gathered, processed, and spun the fiber by hand, dyed it with whatever was available, and hoped that there would be enough for a garment. … But progress comes at a cost–the carbon footprint grows with every aspect of large-scale production. So, how do we enjoy our yarn choices while being mindful of our delicate planet?”

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Review: One Ball Knits Gifts

by --Deb 04.19.2010
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Like their One Ball Knits book for Purses, this book is filled with an assortment of quick, easy patterns you can make with one ball of yarn–this time, though, the theme is gifts.

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Review: Weekend Knitting

by --Deb 03.08.2010
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How old does a book have to be before it becomes a classic?

Well, let’s hope six years is enough, because this one deserves to be. I’m not the only one to think so, either, since the publisher has recently come out with a paperback version of the book–a relative rarity in knitting books which are usually published in one format, and that’s it.

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Review: Nature’s Wrapture

by --Deb 02.22.2010
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Here’s what the author has to say:

“Nature’s Wrapture incorporates fascinating aspects of nature–color, contours, textures, and patterns–with classic and updated shapes that flatter all body types, resulting in a real sense of inspired style. From the elegant and sublime to the practical, this collection has broad appeal not only for the knitter but also for the wearer.”

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Review: Magnificent Mittens and Socks

by --Deb 01.01.2010
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The main part of this book is taken up by the mittens. Lots of mittens. Glorious mittens. Bright, colorful, creative, they make you wish for snow kind of mittens. 42 patterns for the mittens themselves, along with charts for the cuffs so you can mix-and-match, and an assortment of edges so you can finish your mittens however you like.

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Review: All New Homespun Handknit

by --Deb 10.19.2009
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This book is is a collection of patterns for small projects. The largest designs in here are a couple of child-sized sweaters and lace shawls. Most of the patterns are for mittens, hats, wrist-warmers, scarves, and small bags. This is handy because, so often, you have just one skein of handspun yarn and no plans for what to do with it. What can you do with your 4 ounce skein of Bluefaced Leicester sock yarn? Or your Cormo laceweight?

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Review: Knitted Gifts

by --Deb 08.09.2009
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One of the things I’m enjoying most about this gig of writing book reviews is having a chance to look through books just like this. As I flipped through for the first time, I kept smiling and saying, “Ooh,” “Pretty,” “Nice!” from one pattern to the next.

There are a lot of them, too. I count 37 patterns, and that’s not separating out the ones that are listed as sets, like the hat/mitten set on the cover. Thirty-seven patterns. That’s huge!

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Review: One Ball Knit Purses

by --Deb 04.26.2009
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This is a cute little book filled with cute little purses.

They’re quite nice, really. They have some nice design elements, and look to be well thought out and assembled. But, of course, they’re all made from a single skein of yarn, so they’re not exactly, well, large.

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Review: Crochet Bouquet

by --Deb 02.08.2009
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Knitters like to embellish things. And while you can knit flowers to attach to a hat or a bag, you can also crochet them … and if you do, this is the book you’ll want to have nearby. After all, crocheting is sometimes faster than knitting, and there’s no denying that you can do things with one that you can’t do with the other, so why limit yourself?

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