Friday book review

"Natural crochet: For babies and toddlers"
by Tina Barrett
ISBN: 978-1861086242

UK crochet terms

This book has been sitting on my computer desk for months now waiting for me to review it - and I've really wanted to do so, there just hasn't been the time. Seeing as the two little ones seem to be sleeping I'll try and write you a quick review now.

The book is beautiful.

The layout is simple with a photo gallery at the start with a few photos of each project model by some pretty adorable looking little ones which if you are at all like me you'll spend a good amount of time cooing at. This book is unusual in that I found most of the projects really appealing and would be very happy to have a go at making all of them. Sadly my own little boy is probably too old to make for now as he is past the largest size this book has patterns for.

The first half of the patterns are for babies and usually have instructions for more than one size, either 0-6 or 6-12, but there are some patterns with just the one size given. Some of my favourites from this section include the hooded cardigan which is particularly lovely and the little matinee jacket that is very similar to the Maisy baby cardigan I made up for my little niece last year

The second half contains the patterns for toddlers and has some really cute jumpers for little boys in which are so much nicer than the boxy crochet patterns you normally get for boys. However as I need to make a present for my soon to be one year old niece I went with the swing jacket pattern and made the version for a 1-2 year old. To achieve the gauge I had to use a 5.5mm hook instead of the 4mm hook that was recommended, however I did get the jacket to match what the finished dimensions were supposed to be. The jacket looked massive though, but as I didn't have a 1-2 year old about to try it on I crossed my fingers and sent it off. Well - it was far too big as I thought, in fact it was a much better fit on my other niece who is 5!

There is a brief techniques guide at the back of the book - but even so this is definitely more for the intermediate/advanced crocheter. I'm not too convinced with the sizing of these garments after the results I got from the coat I made, but I'm tempted to think it was a one off as a good number of other Ravelry users have had lovely results from the other patterns in this book. So I think I'll try another pattern from here next year and I'll let you know more then.

Friday book review

"Candy babies: Cute crochet for wee ones"
by Candi Jensen
ISBN: 978-1931543545

US crochet terms

It seems strange to be coming back to this book again - I gave away my original copy years ago (before I was writing this blog) over on Crochetville. This was one of my early online craft book purchases where I would just order based on the cover photo instead of trying to find out a bit about what the book contained first (Ravelry is a great place to check before you buy, you can search out the book on there and see what patterns it contains as well as have a peek at what other people have made and if they had any problems).

Nothing in this book appealed to me back then and so I gave my copy away a few years later and forgot about it. Seeing as my lovely crochet book collection is currently in a storage container somewhere I had a rifle through my local library for any suitable baby crochet books and this is the only one that was half decent (can anyone please recommend some good titles for baby crochet?). On second inspection I did find one pattern that I thought would be worth a go - the Party Princess one, so after a quick trip to a local yarn store I started work.

Seeing as I haven't been doing much in the way of crochet my brain seems to have stopped working correctly as it took me over 3 hours to figure out that my gauge was horribly wrong because I was using the wrong yarn weight - I had bought DK instead of the worsted weight that the pattern calls for. After realising this I had to rework the pattern to account for the finer yarn and thankfully this was possible with a bit of tweaking due to the pattern having the finished measurements marked up. The instructions were clear and it was a simple pattern to follow so I ended up enjoying making this item.

So perhaps a book worth looking at - but I would strongly recommend you have a browse through it first to make sure you like the patterns it contains first, for me it still isn't one I would buy but I am glad that I gave it a second chance.

Friday book review

"Yummi 'Gurumi: Over 60 gourmet crochet treats to make" by Christen Haden & Mariarosa Sala
ISBN: 9780740792601

US crochet terms

Last week my copy of this tasty looking book arrived all the way from America and I sat up with it gazing at all the yummy looking treats inside. My favourites to look at were the pretty looking cakes in the last section, that was until I read that they were all made with crochet thread and so would probably take quite a bit of work (as well as a whole stash of crochet thread in a large number of colours) to recreate.

Slightly disappointed I decided to give some of the fruit a try - starting with strawberries. Apart from there being a confusing error in the pattern I was very pleased with how mine turned out and before long I had four juicy looking strawberries so I started on some of the other tropical fruit on offer. I tried to keep to some of the more recognisable fruits as these were destined to be play food for little ones (there were also patterns for a persimmon slice, peach slice and pineapple slice) and after a few issues with a couple of the patterns I ended up with a lovely collection of tasty looking fruit.


Because I wanted my fruits to be easily recognisable I had to alter some of the patterns a little, my orange segments have a white pith and an orange rind - which though a little more of a fuss does mean they look more like orange slices. I also made the white centre in my kiwi slices a little larger and I embroidered far more black seeds in mine to try and make them look more real.

After all this healthy food I decided to give a sandwich a go, and because I loved the look of the tomato slices shown in the book I decided to make up a BLT. Again I found a problem with one of the patterns, the instructions for the lettuce were slightly wrong and were quite hard to figure out how to fix. After reworking it a couple of times I really loved how it looks and think that the design is lovely, but the instructions need rewriting. My bacon got real crochet streaks of fat as I felt that the running stitch shown in the book looked a little naff. And because I ran out of time I didn't make up the slices of bread and just used some of the bread I had made previously that was tucked in my son's play food box.

This book was sadly not as good as I was hoping it would be. There are a number of errors in the patterns that would make it very confusing for a beginner to use - which is such a shame as more pattern testing would have highlighted all of these. The patterns all look lovely, though because this focuses more on adult food tastes like sushi and a fun looking cheese board, there is little that I would end up actually making. I just don't know anyone who could use a crochet bottle of wine or a crochet stir fry.

Friday magazine reviews

Just thought I would put up a couple of magazine reviews this Friday as I've been getting a bit behind with doing them and they aren't much use if you get them 3 or 4 months late!

"Inside Crochet" issue 13
January 2011
UK crochet terms

This issue of Inside Crochet starts the New Year on the right foot with a good collection of patterns including the beautiful 'Esmee cardigan' by Sarah Francis which I am definitely making for myself one day. There are also patterns for some cute kids stripy jumpers, a very pretty 'Lily shawl' and a lovely 'Henna rug' which would look so pretty on our wooden floor.

As well as having plenty of good patterns this month there are also some great articles covering topics like customising your clothes, doing freeform crochet (which has intrigued me for a while and I may well have a try myself soon...), and some interviews with a couple of London based ethical craft shops which look fantastic (Fabrications and  Prick your finger).

"Inside Crochet" issue 14
February 2011
UK crochet terms

I really enjoyed reading through this issue of Inside Crochet too. There are some lovely patterns in here with my favourite being the 'Bloom blanket' by Rebecca Velasquez which looks so very bright and cheerful that it would be perfect for bringing Spring into your home nice and early. I also really like the 'Valentine settings' place mats, the pretty bobbily 'Artichoke hat' and the cosy looking 'Cherry wrap', so lots to keep you busy this month.

The articles also make a good read with a feature about filet crochet, some impressive fashion crochet pieces and a fantastic interview with Emma Lamb who makes some very beautiful crochet banners, cushions and pot holders that are bursting with colour.

Friday magazine reviews

"Sew Hip" issue 23
December 2010

This Christmasy issue of Sew Hip has quite a few projects that I like from some pretty dresses to a handful of lovely quick and fun Christmas projects. My favourite was the mini Christmas tree bunting which was simply little triangles of fabric quickly sewn together on a machine and joined together with line of stitches. After showing my issue to a friend she had a go at making some for my Christmas present so hopefully I'll be able to show you how that turned out soon.

I've also had a go at making something from this issue, the very pretty felt baubles that you can see on the cover. I added some sparkily sequins to my baubles so that they would reflect the lights on the tree and I'm very happy with how they have turned out. My only problem in making them was trying to cut the pattern sheet out of the magazine which was very tricky.

As well as some pretty patterns this magazine also had some good articles including one about a blogger who is trying to learn a new craft every week for a year. What a fantastic idea - if a little exhausting! Christine's blog is a very inspirational place to visit so why not have a look for yourself?

"Sew Hip" issue 24
January 2011

Strangely the contents of this issue didn't come as much of a surprise to me... remember that I won their Etsy competition last month? Well they reused a copy of their magazine layout as the address label for the parcel and I got a quick preview of what this issue would contain that way!

Not as much in this issue that I was keen on, I did love the little simple dress on the cover and the patchwork panda was very cute too. I also enjoyed reading the article about the work of Heidi Kenney who does such beautiful softies and has such a distinctive style to her work.

Friday book review

"Country crochet & Knitted lace" by Jan Eaton
ISBN: 1-85368-227-6

UK crochet terms

This book is where my love for crochet first started... back when I was 17 I found this book in my local library and I fell in love. I could already crochet as I had taught myself a few years before from some old issues of 'Golden hands magazine' but I hadn't really gotten past making up test squares of the different stitch patterns. Then I saw the photos in this book of some stunning crochet lace pieces and I wanted to make it all. Sadly the Library wanted the book back and even though I tried a few bookshops no one could get hold of this title any more (even though at that time it had only been published two years before) and that was the last I saw of it.

That is until I recently found an entry for it on Amazon, without a cover image and available only through marketplace sellers. So I ordered myself a copy in 'good condition' and I'm delighted with how good the condition is. The book is as beautifully presented as I remember it to be, in fact with all the different crochet books I've read through since I can now see just how good a book it is. The photography is beautiful, there are some very lovely photos throughout the introduction of a number of the projects featured next to some other old and new pieces of lace that the author has inherited from her own grandmother.

This book is really two separate titles in one (see the bottom of this review for links to the original two books) - as I don't really do much knitting I'll just be focusing on reviewing the first half of the book which is all about crochet lace. 

The introduction is lovely and includes a detailed section about the history of crochet especially focusing on how crochet has been used to imitate a number of different lace making techniques. There is a good section on selecting the right materials and hooks for your project (with some handy conversion charts for UK/US hook sizes, yarn types and stitch terms) as well as a short but nicely illustrated section for how to work the various stitches. Then the book goes into detailed instructions on a number of crochet techniques from how to do filet crochet to following a written and a charted pattern. There is also an illustrated finishing techniques section that is very useful and some detail on how to care for your finished crochet project.

The projects are almost all worked using crochet thread of varying thicknesses so none of them are what I would term 'beginner' projects as I find working with thread to be very tricky and not very forgiving of mistakes. That said the projects have all been given a difficulty rating by using a cute ball of wool with crochet hooks stuck through it to show how much work each would take, 1 hook = quick to 4 hooks =  a very, very long time indeed. The larger 4 hook projects are both for table cloths one a beautiful looking butterfly edged table cloth and two a very large and wide edging for a 'crystal and silver' table cloth. Both of these would take me about 3 years to finish so I thought it better that I focus on the 1 hook projects.
 

Some of you may remember the Christmas tree stars I made for friends and family last year - well these stars are one of the first things that I started making and the pattern for them came from this book. These stars are very simple to make up - if you can do a granny square then you can make these. After working the central granny hexagon you then work each of the triangular points directly on to the sides, you then sew in a good number of loose ends and starch the finished star to make it stiff for hanging.

These stars went down a treat last Christmas (though I did at the time promise never to crochet with thread again after getting blisters on my fingers trying to sew in all the loose ends on these) as I hope will the next project that I have to show - little lavender bags.

These lavender bags are made using a filet crochet motif worked in thread which is then backed with some felt and made into a little lavender bag. They are simple and very effective, especially if you use a dark coloured felt to highlight the detail in the pattern. Though I had some trouble working the hexagon windmill design it turned out that the pattern was fine, it was me that was reading it wrong.

So after over a decade since last seeing this book my enthusiasm for it hasn't declined, in fact in some ways I appreciate it more as I've read through a lot of crochet books over the years and know how rare it is to come across a book as well written as this one. I love all the patterns, though I may never have the time to make most of them, and the detailed introduction as well as the pattern library that you find at the back make it worth having for just those alone.


After a bit of digging I've discovered that this book is in fact a combination of two earlier titles published by New Holland Publishers Ltd. You may have more success in getting hold of these as separate titles "A creative guide to knitted lace" & "A creative guide to crochet".

Friday magazine reviews

Sorry yet again for the delay in getting my Friday magazine reviews up - this time we have the latest two issues of Inside Crochet to have a read through...

"Inside Crochet" issue 11
November 2010
UK crochet terms

I'm not particularly taken with most of the patterns in this issue, especially the 'Nautical sweater' which is yet another shapeless looking pattern for men. I'm also not convinced about the baby leg warmers which go with a pattern in the previous issue for baby nappy soakers... and the Harlequin cardigan is also a bit too dated looking for my tastes.

The patterns that redeem the issue for me include the lovely looking chevron cushions which look like a lot of fun to make, I'm also quite taken with another hoodie pattern (which you can see on the cover image), but as I don't have the time for any large projects at the moment I'll just have to bookmark it for trying after Christmas.

The feature articles this week focus on colour theory and include a piece on choosing colours, working chevrons and also include an interview with Sarah London who does some of the most beautiful colourful crochet that I've ever seen.

"Inside Crochet" issue 12
December 2010
UK crochet terms

Lots of lovely patterns in this month's issue, the cover project 'Anastasia dress' is very pretty and the different stitch patterns used give a lovely individual touch. The 'Waterfall coat' for a little girl is also very lovely so I'll be bookmarking that for potentially making for one of my nieces, then there is the 'Winter mist jumper' that looks very cosy and with its rib effect it should be quite flattering when worn. As well as all this there are also a selection of smaller project designed to be quick makes for last minute Christmas presents - just what we need!

In the articles there was a piece about Pauline Turner (she has the impressive web address of http://www.crochet.co.uk/) who set up and runs the Distance Learning Crochet course as well as a feature on Irish crochet incleding a how to guide on how to work it.

Friday book review

"Love.. Crochet: 25 simple projects to crochet" by Carol Meldrum
ISBN: 978-1-84773-595-9

UK crochet terms

My latest visit to the local library gave me the opportunity to borrow a copy of this new UK crochet title - it had only just come in before I snapped it up! Ah - I do so love libraries!

This book is aimed at beginners and so has a beautifully photographed how-to section which includes information on hooks, yarns and how to hold the hook as well as step by step photographs for the different stitches. Strangely though the photographs for working the stitches are taken from the opposite angle to how they usually are so you are looking at the stitches as if you are watching someone else crocheting which I would find a little confusing.

All the projects in this book are very simple and would be a good place to start for a new crocheter. Most of the patterns didn't appeal much to me, finding good clothing crochet patterns is tricky normally and I didn't think much of the look of the ones shown in here. Out of the other patterns there were a couple of things that I thought worth having a go at including the cute little cupcakes at the back of the book.

The pattern for these little cakes turned out to be wrong. If I had followed the instructions as written I would have ended up with some very tall and thin cakes. To remedy this with my cakes I added a couple of extra increase rows to both the base of the cakes and the icing. I did enjoy working the sides of the cake though as they used something called 'linked stitch' which I haven't come across before and produces a lovely dense looking fabric that I really like.

As I wasn't very impressed with the first pattern I tried I thought I would give this book one more chance and try a second pattern. For this I chose the very simple looking crochet hook case that seemed such a nice simple solution for all your hook carrying needs. The pattern was as basic as it gets, you just need to work a long strip of crochet with a few colour changes to create a piece of crochet fabric that you can fold in half for the outside of the case. To the inside of this you sew a felt pouch to contain the hooks and after you've added some buttons and bits of elastic you're done.

I'm really pleased with how my case turned out but again the pattern was a bit confusing - this time with the hook sizes. The materials list a 4mm hook and the gauge also says to use a 4mm hook, but when you turn over the page the pattern specifies a 3mm hook. I stuck with the 4mm hook and also had to make my case a bit longer to fit my hooks, but after that it was a very easy make.

In summary I wouldn't recommend anyone to go out and buy this book - it is well presented and has lovely photographs of the projects but the patterns don't seem to be very well tested and the project ideas are nothing really special.

Friday magazine reviews

Sorry for the delay in my usual biweekly reviews - there has been a lot of crafting going on here at Tea Towers which has distracted me a little from writing up my usual blog posts. I'll try to drag myself away from all the crafting excitement to get my 'to blog about' pile under control.

"Sew Hip" issue 21
October 2010

 Not much in this month's issue of Sew Hip managed to hold my attention for very long. The smaller, quicker projects didn't really appeal to me as they were either too simple to really merit the instructions (like the coasters which were just wool beads threaded together) or far too advanced/time consuming for me to want to start. The duffle coat on the cover is very cute - but definitely beyond my beginner skills. I also liked the pretty patchwork throw but sadly I just don't have enough free time at the moment to start anything that large.

The articles were quite interesting but more aimed towards the experienced sewer as there was a focus on tailoring and adjusting patterns to fit. I enjoyed the interview with founder of Craftsville which is a new craft website based in the UK that has recently been started. Craftsville is definitely worth taking a look at especially if you are a UK based crafter as they have up to date details of upcoming events.

"Sew Hip" issue 22
November 2010

Ah - much better! This issue of Sew Hip had quite a lot more in it that I enjoyed including a good few projects that I would like to try my hand at making. For me my favourites were the very cute little egg cosies that look so fun and quick to make, the pretty ruffled shoe clips that I could see being used on a number of different projects, the lovely fabric hampery baskets that would look so good with a pile of yarn in. 

The articles in this month's issue were also more enjoyable. The interview was with the Felt Mistress who makes some truly fantastic softies which are so unusual and full of character that they really don't fit in with traditional softies. There was also a piece on the curator of the UK edition of the Etsy blog which highlighted a few fantastic UK crafters which made for lots of drooling over photos of beautiful crafty goodies.

Maybe I'll have had a go at one or two project from Sew Hip by the time I next do a magazine review...

Friday book review

"Super-super cute crochet" by Brigitte Read
ISBN: 978-1907030246

UK crochet terms

You may remember that back in June I featured a designer focus on the work of Brigitte Read who has been a long time favourite designer of mine. Well a month later I was lucky enough to be given a copy of her first book of patterns for my Birthday and as I've finally gotten around to trying a few of the designs I thought it was time to write the book review.

Sadly my first impressions were not as good as I had hoped. A handful of the patterns published in the book have already been made available for free on the roman sock blog and due to the way the patterns have been printed some of the useful step by step photos from the free patterns have not been included. Even though there are a number of patterns that feature Brigitte's brushed crochet technique the instructions in the book have been limited to only two paragraphs and no photos which considering the detailed guide that is available from the roman sock blog seemed a little odd.

There are a wide variety of patterns in this book all for cute animals ranging from the more usual cat, dog, bird pattern to some much more unusual designs including a walrus, anteater, silkworm and star-nosed mole. Most of the designs I liked the look of so there was plenty in here to keep me busy and I found it quite hard to single out only a few designs to do.

First up I had a try at the cute little blue whale which looked pretty simple to do. The main body was a basic oval shape and the tail was worked separately and added on at the end. Because there are only photos in the book of the finished toys it was hard to work out where to put the eyes and where to attach the tail to the back. A close up photo of the back of the whale would really have helped but the focus seemed to be to show how cute the whale was and hide the fact that the tail looked a little odd just tacked on at the back. Other annoyances included that the mouth of the whale in the book was just a piece of pink yarn stitched straight across and positioned to look nice for the photos - not actually embroidered properly. The method used for starting the main body section would not have left the nice tidy top that you see in my photo and in the book photos - I tried it and it left a gap at the top... you need to use a magic circle to get the finish you see here. Lastly the main body construction is made of two pieces which are joined together at the end which leaves a clear ridge at the bottom of the whale's body (I've carefully photographed mine so it isn't noticeable)  which in my opinion looks a bit silly.

So not a very good start so far. For my next pattern I tried the more difficult looking flamingo and was much happier with the finished result. There were a couple of errors in the pattern but nothing too difficult to figure out and even though the instructions for stuffing were contradictory I found this pattern much easier to follow.

(If you want to try this pattern then I recommend you stuff the head before you get too far crocheting the neck. Once you've finished the neck insert a pipe cleaner with a little bit of stuffing as well, then stuff the body before you finish it off.)

The long bendable legs and the funny little wings make this a very cute toy and well worth the time you spend putting all the separate pieces together.

Lastly I decided to try one of the patterns that is also available for free from the roman sock blog - the beautiful Manta ray that I've been meaning to make for a few years now. The pattern for this ray is exactly the same as you will find online except it has all the useful step by step photos stripped out of it so the free version is more helpful then the pattern published in the book. However this pattern seems to be error free - perhaps because it has been available for a long time before this book and so has had plenty of time to be tested for errors. I found it to be easy to make up though quite fiddly to put together due to all sewing in of pipe cleaners and needing to construct a pink felt mouth. I love how he turned out and would definitely recommend making him to anyone.

In overview - although this book was sadly a bit disappointing as I had expected much better pattern instructions from this designer I would still say it has some of the nicest designs for amigurumi animals that have been published so far. There are still at least 10 more pattern in here that I want to have a go at making which means this book ranks pretty high in my collection of crochet titles. So yes I would recommend it as one to add to your collection - though beware that you may also find some of the patterns have errors in them.

Friday magazine reviews

"Inside Crochet" issue 9
September 2010
UK crochet terms

Inside Crochet magazine has just gone monthly which means two things, firstly I'll have to try and wait to do my magazine reviews until I have the two latest issues (otherwise I'll just end up every two weeks with just magazine reviews and no book reviews). Secondly I'm going to need to get it renewed again at Christmas time as what I thought was a year's subscription now will disappear after 6 months!

This September issue was the first of my new subscription to Inside Crochet and so also came with some lovely white merino lace weight yarn that I can't wait to have a go with. The only problem is that I only got 50 grams of it and trying to find a pattern that will use that quanity is going to be tricky. Hopefully you'll be seeing the start of a project with it soon.

Now on to the contents of issue 9! The new monthly Inside Crochet has a new editor and for this 're-launch' issue she has found some new contributors which is a bit of a relief as we were starting to just get patterns and articles from the same people each time. There are some lovely patterns in this month's issue that really appeal to me, especially the beautiful baby dress that I just got on my hook yesterday and I'm alreadly loving how it is shaping up.

There is also a feature on working hairpin lace with a couple of lovely patterns designed for that technique. My other favourites include a very cute mushroom shaped pouch that I'm tempted to have a play with for a mystery project of my own, a mesh tank dress and the very beautiful flower square blanket made up using sock yarn in blues and silver.

The new magazine format includes crochet news with details of UK based crochet events, an array of lovely crochet related buyables, and a number of book reviews (the September issue also did a review of "Tasty Crochet" - obviously a popular book this month!), photos from reader projects, yarn reviews and a feature on a crochet related website. There was also a great article on crochet in fashion this month with some really fantastic photos from the graduate fashion week which was very inspiring.

So all in all a great new issue - I hope the new editing team continue to deliver!

"Inside Crochet" issue 10
October 2010
UK crochet terms

This month didn't seem to do so well for patterns, most of them I'm not even slightly tempted to make though there are a couple that redeem the issue for me, the lovely little kingfisher amigurumi designed by June Gilbank (I love her designs - the pigs I made recently were also by her), the Damson tunic looks lovely, the petal beret is very pretty and I like the stitch pattern for the Ammonite scarf.

The articles in this issue are what made it worth reading for me as there was another great piece about crochet in fashion with some more great photos of crochet designs on the catwalk. The article about the history of crochet was also very interesting, it spoke about the mystery over when crochet first started and where as well as about the highs and lows for crochet over the years.

Friday book review

"Tasty Crochet" by Rose Langlitz
ISBN: 978-1600613128

US crochet terms


Doesn't this book look so yummy - just look at that juicy apple and those adorable apple slices, even though I don't particularly like apples myself I'm still itching to get the crochet supplies out and have a go at making some myself. The patterns inside are all just as yummy as promised on the cover each beautifully photographed and with some you have to look twice to work out what is crochet and what is proper food.

I also love the layout of this book. The patterns are divided into four sections, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with each pattern including a 'ingredients' sidebar listing everything you'll need to make the item. The patterns are all well written with clear instructions and minimal abbreviations making them very easy to read and follow. In fact these patterns are so easy to follow that during the last two weeks of crocheting I've managed to make 9 of the projects and all of them I'm pleased as punch with!

This is certainly a book that I would highly recommend and perfect for making a really good range of play food for little ones or perhaps even yourself... I'm now off to try and make those cute little slices of apple, perhaps have a go at making a slice of pizza and if there is time then maybe I'll give the pattern for the pita pocket with falafel a go too!

Friday magazine review

"Sew Hip" issue 20
September 2010

Earlier in the month a copy of this magazine popped its way through my letterbox, along with a special subscriber gift (but more on that later). I'm still a little cautious when it comes to getting out my sewing machine and trying to make anything with it so my way of trying to beat that is to read a magazine about all the fantastic things I could be making if only I was brave enough to try. So this is where the Sew Hip magazine comes in...

The cover project really draws you in - that lovely dress looks so summery, and after reading through the instructions I'm startled to find that I think even I may be able to make it. In fact there are a large number of beginner projects in this issue, and on reading through a few of them carefully the instructions look clear, well written and easy to follow with clear diagrams for any of the trickier steps. But before having a go at trying to put together my first handmade garment I decided to tackle something a little bit more approachable, the lovely kit from clothkits which was my subscriber gift.

The kit was great, the pattern pieces and all the guidelines for folding were actually printed directly on to the canvas so no need to fiddle with cutting round a template - what a fantastic idea! The instructions were clear and helpful and I found myself working my way through them with very little difficulty. The only real problem I encountered was due solely to my not understanding my sewing machine... this was the first time I had every sewn on a zipper and working out how to change the normal foot to the sewing foot took quite a bit of puzzling out.

So now I have a rather lovely new wash bag to add to the increasingly crowded Christmas box. I'm so proud of myself for managing to make something that I think is good enough to give as a gift and I hope that this new found confidence means you'll be seeing more sewing projects here soon.

Friday book review

"Creepy cute crochet" by Christen Haden
ISBN 978-1-59474-232-3

US crochet terms

This lovely little book is one of my latest additions to my craft book shelf and it is already one of my favourites there. The patterns are fantastic - so very cute  and so very different from any other crochet books out at the moment. Who wouldn't want their own little grim reaper or amazon warrior to brighten up their work desk?

One of the problems I'm regularly faced with is what on earth to make for the male friends and family that I like to send gifts to. Well this book provides 19 perfect gift ideas suitable for blokes and I'm sorely tempted to try making them all. Another great reason to buy this book is that the creatures are very simple and quick to make up, all of them are are based on a basic head and body but once you add the different accessories they become very different and take on their own personalities.

The book starts out with some clear advice about all the techniques that you need to create your own creatures including guidance on working with modeling clay, making yarn hair and some specialist crochet techniques (I found the 'clean fasten off' technique to leave a much nicer finish and I'll definitely be using that a lot with my other crochet projects). Each pattern has a clear ability level, a clear photo of the finished item, stitch diagrams, written instructions and step by step assembly instructions (which I found really helpful in creating a professionally finished item).

After searching through my yarn stash I discovered that I was missing a good few of the colours that I would need to make a lot of the creatures (a suitable yellowy zombie flesh colour is a must and so is brown... I must stock up!) so I ended up just making the grim reaper, the devil and a valiant knight. The grim reaper I made up first and he was the simplest of the three, but I think probably my favourite. With just a simple body shape, a little crochet hood, some embroidery on the face and a little felt scythe he really comes alive (or as alive as a little crochet skeleton can get!)

Next up I decided to try a more tricky creature, the handsome knight - and again I found the pattern clear and easy to follow and had no problems putting him together with the help of the assembly instructions. I love his little shield and the embroidered detail on his little sword. One slight problem I did find was that the templates for the weapons were not to scale which would have been easy to do as there would have been plenty of room to print the full scaled versions.

Last up I made the little happy devil and because I didn't find the finished version in the book to be as cute as I wanted him to be I made a few changes. The eyes I used for my creatures were very small safety eyes so my creatures already look slightly different to the original designs. As well as this I moved the mouth lower down and made it a smile instead of just a line. I also left off his goatee as I didn't think it would suit my devil and I gave him a felt trident for extra devilishness. All simple to do and now I have a few more ideas for ways to personalise any future creatures that I make.

So to sum up, I love this book. Simply love it. If you too need zombies, vampires, ninjas or any warriors in your life then you really should go out right now and get yourself a copy of this fantastic book.

Friday book review

"The Softies kit: Instructions and tools for creating 15 plush pals" by Therese Laskey
ISBN: 978-0811858861

This is more of a set of instructions and a few materials than a book but even so is well worth doing a review for. The title is a little misleading as you could easily think that you are getting instructions and all the materials you need to make all of the 15 designs - you actually just get all the bits you need to make up the party cake design. So when I first received this kit back in 2008 I made the cake out of it and was quite put off by how tricky I found it to be. The kit also includes 14 other designs all printed on separate folded instruction cards, all the templates to make the designs and a little basic instructions book to show you all the techniques you'll need for the projects.

While having a browse through my craft book shelf I came across this kit again and felt that I had to give it another go as there are so many adorable softies shown. So while my husband was out with our little boy for the morning I started to iron out scraps of fabric and got to work on one of my favourite patterns - the "flat 'in' fat penguin".

Cutting out all the pieces was fiddly, and the purple corduroy that I had chosen as the main body colour was tricky to cut accurately but as I wasn't in a rush I managed it all fine. Once all the pieces were cut and ready I followed the very clear and simple instructions and before I knew it I had already finished putting together the face. During the next free chunk of time (nap times are fantastic) I got the flippers sewn together and the feet with their embroidered toes. Then once little Sam had gone to bed I put all the pieces together back to front, sewed all the way out and breathed a big sigh of relief when on turning the penguin the right way out everything was in the correct place.

I love this little penguin very much and finding him so easy to make has been a real confidence boost. I'm definitely going to be trying a few of the other designs in this kit and I'm sure the most crafters will also find a good few patterns in here that they too would love to have a try at making.

Friday magazine review

"Inside Crochet" issue 8
June/July 2010
UK crochet terms


Because I've only recently returned from holiday I've not been able to make anything from the latest issue of Inside Crochet so please forgive this project-less review, I'll try very hard to make it up to you next time!

This issue focuses on more summery projects with a good number of light weight crocheted cover ups that would be great for those cool summer evenings. There are also a few other projects that catch your interest with a very cute tea pot cosy (which I may have fallen a little in love with) as well as a chunky bag that has a great woven/plaited texture, a very sweet little crochet top for a young girl and a quick crochet project for kids to try. There are also a good selection of interesting articles to read through including a short piece about the fantastic SIBOL project that I wrote about in my previous Friday review.

Overall this was a great issue, there are a good number of pretty patterns that I'm sure would suit a range of tastes as well as some interesting articles and crochet news that focuses on events in the UK (including a brief piece about the upcoming Stitch yourself event being held by the Science Museum). This issue marks the last of my current subscription, though I'm hopeful that one of my family members will renew it for me as a Birthday present as I really do enjoy getting it through the post and so far it has been well worth the £25 for 6 issues. So keep your fingers crossed for me and hopefully there will be more Friday reviews for this magazine soon.

Friday book review

"Crochet inspiration" by Sasha Kagan
ISBN: 978-1933027128
 
US crochet terms

This book has been sitting on my craft shelf for a few years begging me to have a go at some of the beautiful things inside, but until I found out about the SIBOL (Sunshine International Blankets of Love) project I didn't really have any need to make anything from here.

Fired up with all the lovely images of different granny squares over on SIBOL I dove into my stash and spent a good few hours to come up with these 4 different 6" squares.

From the top left clockwise we have the Accent square, the Circle square, the Grannies-Lace square and lastly the 3-D Rose square.

For some reason my accent square seems to be a bit squiffy - I'm going to have to try a bit of careful blocking on it to see if I can straighten it out. The other squares all seem to have turned out similar to the illustrations so I'm pretty pleased with them. These squares will be making their out to the project soon, possible with some extra squares as I've developed a bit of a taste for doing them now.

This is a beautifully laid out book with great colour photos of all the motifs and projects. It is divided into 5 main sections with stitch patterns for different crochet fabrics at the start, some beautiful crochet motifs, lots of different squares, some very beautiful flowers and a few projects at the back to give you some ideas about how you could use the patterns. This is a book that you could find yourself turning to for all sorts of things and I do find myself spending hours gazing at the photos to give me ideas and inspiration for the work that I do.

This isn't a book that has been aimed at beginner crocheters, there are no diagrams/photos of how to work the basic stitches and all of the patterns have been written in a heavily abbreviated form which can make them difficult to follow. There are a good few errors in the patterns which should be easy to spot as each pattern also has a crochet diagram underneath. Even so this is a book that I would highly recommend a more experienced crocheter to own as it contains such a wealth of lovely crochet patterns.

Friday book review - a little late

Sorry for the delay in publishing my latest book review - the pattern that I choose to make from the book took me a little longer than I had anticipated.

"Vintage crochet: 30 specially commissioned patterns" by Susan Cropper
 ISBN: 978-1903221884

 UK crochet terms

This beautiful book contains a range of lovely looking projects all in the vintage style that seems to be becoming very popular at the moment. The projects range from cardigans and wraps to crocheted food covers and a beautiful summer canopy. The projects seem to be aimed at a confident crocheter as they all seem to be between intermediate and advanced level and there is only a limited techniques section at the back.

There are a number of patterns that I have fallen in love with from the photographs with my favourite being a beautiful wrap called the 'Ava wrap' which is made up with a repeating large open crochet motif. I also love the 'Papilon canopy' which is a simple open worked net which is designed to be hung up in your garden to give a little bit of shade in summer, if I had a larger garden to fit it in then I would be making it right now.  My other favourite patterns are both by the same contributor - Alicia Paulson, and I've book marked the baby cardigan as one to make up so I'll let you know how I get on with it.

The pattern that I choose to make up for this review though was the 'Peony corsage' by Kate Jenkins, mostly because I thought it wouldn't take too long... but I quickly realised it was fiddlier than it first appeared. I had a few disagreements with the pattern - there were some basic errors in the pattern that should have been picked up in pattern testing and there wasn't any guidance about making the flower up from the separate crocheted pieces.

However after about 5 hours of fiddling with petal placement and weaving in a ton of loose ends I did end up with a very pretty flower so this is a pattern worth making a bit of extra effort for.

Friday book review

Because I want to try and add an example of something that I've made from each of the books that I review I'm going to be now only doing a review every two weeks. These new bi-weekly reviews should hopefully give me enough time to have a go at crafting one of the projects. This should in turn help me to write a better review of the book and give you something more exciting to look at than just the cover image.


"AntiCraft: Knitting, beading & stitching for the slightly sinister" by Renee Rigdon and Zabet Stewart

ISBN: 978-1-60061-030-1

Sometimes the sugary sweetness of crafting can get too much and after looking through page after page of cute bunnies, pretty pink booties and lovable soft toys you start to get tooth ache. The antidote for that is probably this book - but be warned as this isn't crafting for the faint of heart!

This book has it all from a load of skull and crossbones emblazoned projects, evil Easter eggs and crochet whip with handcuff set. There is something for knitters, crocheters and people who sew (surely not sewers though?) alike with some simple getting started instructions at the back for beginners.

There are a large number of projects in this book that I will probably never make as I'm fairly sure that I don't need a menstrual cup cosy shaped like a squid or a two headed albino rat. However there are a small handful of projects that are really lovely, like these beautiful little owls by one of my favourite crochet designers Alice Merlino. Alice is super talented (does some beautiful crochet as well as very cute felt soft toys) and I'm a regular reader of her blog so when she posted about being one of the contributors to this book I just had to get my hands on a copy. The pattern instructions for these owls were simple to follow and as the owls themselves were such quick projects I was able to make all three of them for you to see - hooray!

As well as all the projects you also get a really good fun read. There are lots of little tongue in cheek articles about the dark side of crafting with plenty of Gothic old style images to enjoy and the occasional anticraft comic strip thrown in as well. This book is well worth having a good look through, but if you are looking for a more practical project focused book then this isn't one that you would want to spend money on.

Friday book review

"The Crafter's Companion" edited by Anna Torborg
ISBN: 978-1-905005-17-8

This book is one of my favourite reads when I need a little inspiration to get me crafting again. Each of the contributors have written about why they create and what inspires them as well as including a pattern for a sewing project. Most of the projects included are quite simple and are meant to give you a starting point for your own creativity. Even though all the projects have very clear and well written instructions I have yet to make any of them.

What keeps me coming back to this book are the beautiful photos of the creative spaces of the contributors as well as the photos of the beautiful things that they create. There are contributions from some very well known bloggers in here including Amy Karol from angrychicken, Cassi Griffin from belladia, Heidi Kenney from mypapercrane, Hillary Lang from weewonderfuls, Lyn Roberts from mollychicken and tons of others.

This is a really lovely book and a great introduction to a host of beautiful craft blogs that are well worth paying a visit to.