Knit Your Own Dog: The Second Litter: 25 More Pedigree Pooches by Sally Muir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Yeah! It's time for a craft book review!

From the authors of the beloved and best-selling Knit Your Own Dog and Knit Your Own Cat comes 25 more cute dogs to knit! The list of included dog breeds are:

1) Chihuahua 2) Bichon Frise 3) Shih Tzu, 4) Wire-haired Dachshund 5) Chinese Crested Dog 6) Cavalier King Charles Spaniel 7) Hungarian Puli 8) Shar Pei 9) Lurcher, (10) Greyhound 11) Border Terrier 12) Cairn Terrier 13) Staffordshire Bull Terrier 14) Bedlington Terrier, 15) Yorkshire Terrier, 16) Airedale Terrier 17) Weimaraner 18) Pointer 19) English Springer Spaniel, 20) Golden Retriever 21) Irish Wolfhound 22) Beagle, (23) Bernese Mountain Dog, 24) Boxer 25) Doberman Pinscher

Now, I know what you are thinking - anyone who knows me, knows I don't make stuffed animals! I just have NO talent for it, but it doesn't mean I don't admire people's creativity and talent and doesn't mean I can't love the book all the same!

I mean seriously, how can you not love something like this?

My favorite patterns in the book are the Shih Tzu (a dear high school friend of mine had one of those) and the terriors. The one I liked the least? the golden retriever, which is one of my favorite dog breeds - it just didn't really look like a GR to me.

Again, not having made anything out of this book, take this with a grain of salt, but looking through the instructions, some of them seem a bit unclear to me, and sewing up all the little tiny pieces scares the crap out of me.

I received a review copy through netgalley.

View all my reviews

DIY Mason Jars

DIY Mason Jars: Thirty-Five Creative Crafts and Projects for the Classic Container by Melissa Averinos
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was terribly excited to see my library had an e-copy of this book that just came out a month ago - not bad for small town USA!

The geek in me loves Part One: Mason Miscellany, which includes a history of the humble mason jar and explains the difference between a canning jar and a mason jar.

The projects use mostly common household objects and the projects are presented with very straightfoward directions. There's various categories and each category starts out with a basic project - like a base for making your own salad dressing using a mason jar as your holder.

Projects include:
vintage ceiling light
Reed diffuser
Sprouting jars
Homespun soap dispenser
pincushion
cloud jars

The best part about this book is Melissa's witty charm which is evident throughout the book.

View all my reviews