The Best-Dressed Knitted Bears: Dozens of Patterns for Teddy Bears, Bear Costumes and Accessories. Emma King by Emma King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I LOVE this book! It's laid out well, the patterns and directions are very clear, and I love the photos and the patterns.

First of all, and I know you've heard it before, I love toys even though I can't make them. This book once again makes me want to desperately try. I love how the book is set up - an easy bear to make (and some clothes), a harder bear to make (and different clothes), and lastly, the hardest and biggest bear in the bunch to make, with more clothes. The bears are knitted flat, but an knitter can easily convert the bears to being knit in the round to save some of the seaming chores.

The clothes are only written for each individual bear size, but again, an experienced knitter can easily make them a little bigger or smaller to fit the bear you knit. You can also adjust yarn weight & needle size to make the bears a little bigger or smaller.

Most of the outfits are beyond cute - I love the wizard and pirate outfits the best - and a few are rather simple, like the princess dress.

Any knitter who enjoys toys and making them for the children in their life - or big kids like me! - will love this book.

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Knit Christmas Stockings: 19 Patterns for Stockings and Ornaments by Gwen Steege
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So let us begin, shall we?

Now, I want to start off by saying... I've never knit a Christmas stocking before. I know, I know.... though I've knit plenty of socks, I've never knit stockings, and I don't hang any up by the chimney with care, either... I have a store bought stocking for hubby, my parents & I and that's it. But maybe with this book... just maybe... that will change?

We start with the usual how to section, including how to knit, purl, increases and decreases, turn a heel (short rows) and the importance of a gauge swatch. I've complained before about how knitting & crocheting books always include a how to section & it bugs the heck out of me, I find it a complete waste of space. If you are buying a book of knitting patterns then you already know how to knit... if you want to learn how to knit, you are going to buy a how to book, or take a class, or ask a friend, or go onto youtube

The patterns are laid out very clearly, and each part of the stocking is spelled out for you, casting on, knit the leg, turning the heel, finishing, etc and the photos are what you'd expect: clear, pretty, well lit. Patterns are all charted.

So, the patterns! Some of my favorites from the book include:

Winter Wonderland - a cute fair isle stocking, space to customize a (short) name, with little 3 dimensional snowmen to add on

Mix and Match Stockings - just what the title says, it's a great mix of fair isle patterns, you can also add a name to it.

Stars Brocade - if I were to knit my MIL a stocking, this would be it, though instead of the photographed white I'd use a Victorian burgandy

Mini Socks - great for an advent calendar

there's also an assortment of ornaments/package tags as well.



I received a copy of this book free through netgalley.

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book review: Knit Your Socks on Straight: A New and Inventive Technique with Just Two Needles; 20 Original Designs by Alice Curtis

Knit Your Socks on Straight: A New and Inventive Technique with Just Two Needles; 20 Original Designs by Alice Curtis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good morning!

Have you seen this book yet, that just came out today? Have you admired the crazy gorgeous yarn on the front cover or the designs on the inside? Have you started knitting socks yet?


Anyone who reads my blog knows I knit a lot of socks - a lot - though I make mainly basic, easy, toe up socks and don't often challenge myself in the socknitting department... or really, the knitting department. (I'll challenge myself with crochet sometimes, but knitting... knitting is just for me, and for fun, and I really do like the basics though I do know how to do any knitting technique under the sun & teach them all on a regular basis). Now, that being said, I love to knit in the round (and regularly turn flat knit patterns into being knit in the round) but I can't wait to start the socks in this book.

OK, whew... went off on a tangent there, didn't I?

So the book begins with the basics... how to, gauge, and specific sock knitting techniques as well, such as turning the heel. Then come the socks... oh the gorgeous socks! There's 15 patterns here, from the basic worsted weight sock to the fancy, fingering weight texture or cabled socks, and there's baby socks and heavier slipper socks. Surprisingly, there's only a few intarsia designs (Coffee Break would make EXCELLENT scrap socks) & only one pair of lace socks (though admitably it's gorgeous).

Alice Curtis, who's an LYS owner (lucky girl), even explains the best way to seam the socks... and seriously... it's not hard, and the finished socks look good. Crocheters, are you listening? She's having us slip stitch the sock seam!


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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.

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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.

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Lace One-Skein Wonders: 101 Projects Celebrating the Possibilities of Lace by Judith Durant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First of all - I am a BIG fan of lace, and when I'm not knitting ribbing or garter stitch, I'm probably knitting lace. And being an avid yard saler who ends up with nothing but odd skeins in my stash, you know I'm all about the one skein projects! So yes, I freely admit, this book was published just for ME! (oh, you mean I'm not the only one?)

The sections are:

hats and caps
mittens, gloves and cuffs
socks (of course!)
knits for kids
it's a wrap - scarves, shawls, and the like
lacey accessories
items for the home
And of course, a variety of weights of yarn in each section and different construction methods.

Now, some people, when they think of lace, think of gossamer, see through, open, airy, and hard... most of the projects aren't that at all, but simply modern designs that happen to have a lot of holes in them, you know, holes you put in your project on purpose. Designs are charted, and though some have a large number of rows / rounds in them, alot of projects are easily memorizable. There's some matching sets in the book, too, which I always like.

There are some incredibly cute baby knits in here - the baby accessories are cute, but what really stands out are the adorable sweaters and cardigans for babies that makes me wish I had a baby to knit for right now. Hana and Haru are my favorites.

And I don't knit baby things! ever! (OK: I do crochet baby blankets)

There's even a cute American Girl Doll set.

I received a review copy from netgalley

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Knit a Kitten

Knit a Kitten, Purl a Puppy: Picture Knit Projects for Pet Loving Families by Peggy Gaffney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a review copy of this book last fall, and it's been sitting on the side of my bed since then. I hadn't written a review, not because I didn't like the book, but because I DID like the book - I had intentions of making up a project from the book, and sharing that along with the review. Well, life gets in the way, and you procrastinate, and I finally accepted the fact that that is just not going to happen, so I better get my act in gear and write up the review!

This is the second book Peggy Gaffney has in her series of animal related patterns. The book is very straightforward - a bunch of animal charts, that you can use for sweaters, bags, skirts, vests, and hats. The items are all straightforward, so that the cute animal charts will shine.

The positive:
* it's dogs! it's cats! it's knitting! and it's intarsia!
* there's a great range of dogs, from from Golden Retrievers, to Siberian Husky puppies, to Bulldogs and German Shepherds - there's also a selection of bonus charts you can mix and match with any of the patterns in the book.
* there's a section on intarsia hints (including how to eliminate holes) and suggestions for making it easier
* there's a section on spinning dog hair

There's a few negatives I see with this book:
* some of the finished samples didn't look very well executed - I suspect a heavy blocking would have fixed this, but because of the nature of intarsia, it's very difficult to keep your gauge steady and consistent & neat looking. Some of the pictures are distorted and this distracts from how cute the dogs are!
* there's not a lot of cats - it's 75% dogs and 25% cats. I expected more kitties!
* There's a brief mention of how you can substitute any chart in any design - just center it. Well, that's great, but I''m not much of a math person & my head began to swim when I tried to figure it out. I'm sure it's easy, but I could've used a hint to get me started.
* the book is just a classic paperback - knitting books with large charts like this one, really need to be published in a spiral bound format so the book will lay flat

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book review: The Olympknits by Laura Long

The Olympknits by Laura Long
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I seem to be reviewing an awful lot of toy books lately so I won't say my usual disclaimer on toy books, you know the drill by now.

I picked up this book at the library because I couldn't resist. I actually remember seeing this book last year during the Olympics but didn't have time to grab it then, so I grabbed it now with a stack of other books I probably won't have time to even look at, let alone read and review... sigh.

There's several other similar books out there along the same theme (just search amazon). This one is unique because the doll is knitted but the outfits are sewn, making this book really a sewing book, not a knitting book, despite the title.

All in all, the book is cute enough, but there's nothing terribly unique about any of the outfits or how they are presented or sewn.



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book review: Lovely Knits for Little Girls

Lovely Knits for Little Girls by Vibe Sondergaard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is a great resource for anyone who wants to make something for the little girls in their life, and many of the designs are easily adaptable to bigger girls as well. There's a great range of designs, from lace, cables and texture, from basic beginner stuff to more complex techniques.

Most of the book is focused on sweaters and cardigans, but there are several cute scarves/shawls as well.

The designs are very modern and different, which could be construed as a good thing, but for me is actually a negative - I buy books and knit things that will last for years, can be handed down when something is outgrown, etc., not something that will look dated when trends change in a year - at least, when I'm knitting for someone else (I've been known to wear a granny square sweater in public, so I'm not exactly fashion forward).

I had an e-book copy of this book, but other reviews did comment on the quality of the book which is important to note.


I received a review copy of this book for free from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Knitting Green by Ann Budd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are a ton of cute projects in this book, well written, charts as needed. Some cables, some lace, some basic, some more complex. The yarns used are all "green" yarns, like Eco Wool (yarn is neither dyed nor chemically processed) or Schulana Sojabama (bamboo & soya, a fiber from soybeans, that is similar to silk in feel).

There's smaller projects, like Sustainable Bamboo Scarf & Soap Nut Vessels (a little bag to throw your soap nuts into). There's wearables, like Organic Sprout tank, which uses Classic Elite Sprout yarn (organic cotton), or the classically styled All (North) American Hoodie, using St Denis Nordique wool yarn (a yarn grown, harvested, processed, & distributed all in North America).

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