Crochet book reviews

4 Stars! 

ABOUT THE BOOK -

For many of us, afghans are the epitome of comfort. Colorful and inviting, they are a staple of the home, without which a living room or bedroom just wouldn’t feel complete. And whether you’re making one for yourself, as a housewarming gift, or to welcome a new baby into the world, the process of creating a handmade afghan can be as rewarding as the finished product.

Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans features 50 patterns for these cozy blankets, made with Berroco Comfort yarn—an affordable, ultra-soft acrylic/nylon blend—and designed by the Berroco team, headed by Norah Gaughan. The book includes something for everyone: The designs range from ultra-modern to traditional, from spare to embellished, and are inspired by sources as varied as Scottish tweeds, Japanese Ikat, and Delft pottery. Intended for knitters and crocheters of every skill level, this collection brings new life to the well-loved and versatile afghan.

MY REVIEW -

Very nice book! There are 50 patterns in this book! So you are bound to find a few you like. 

Very good, easy to follow instructions.

Bright, full color pictures for every pattern! Yay!

Lots of variety, every pattern is different and unique.

There are a few in here that I definitely want to make! Some of these could even be made smaller to make into a shawl! Which I know are real popular right now.

This is one of my favorites, I just love the whole patchwork quilt look of it. -

And I love this one as well -

Thank you Netgalley and "Open Road Integrated Media" for sending me this e-book for my honest review!

Get you copy from Amazon - HERE

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3 Stars

ABOUT THE BOOK -

For many of us, afghans are the epitome of comfort. Colorful and inviting, they are a staple of the home, without which a living room or bedroom just wouldn’t feel complete. And whether you’re making one for yourself, as a housewarming gift, or to welcome a new baby into the world, the process of creating a handmade afghan can be as rewarding as the finished product. This sampler from Comfort Knitting & Crochet: Afghans is intended for crocheters of every skill level, and brings new life to the well-loved and versatile afghan. 

MY REVIEW -

This is a very small book, 19 pages with only three patterns. I really only liked one of the patterns. The other two were kind of plain to me.

But - the directions for all three seemed very good! There were very nice full color pictures - so bravo for that.

Basically - look at the cover, if you like what you see - buy the book! Its only $1.99 on Amazon so well worth it even if you are only making one.

Thanks Netgalley and "Open Road Integrated Media" for sending me this e-book for my honest review!

Get yours from Amazon - HERE

Crafting book reviews!

ABOUT THE BOOK -
These sweet and sassy baby hats will bring a smile to your face! 25 adorable patterns for every celebration of the year: Birthday Cupcake Cap, Halloween Hat, Holly Holiday Hat, Baby Chick Cap, Crystal Party Hat, Firecracker Topper, Leaf Peeper Cap, and more.

MY REVIEW -
Adorable! These hats are so stinkin cute!
The directions seem real good and clear, easy to follow. I can't wait to try some of these. Nice of nice pictures too!
I will have to warn the daughter and son-in-law that their future babies will have tons of insanely cute hats to wear! :-)


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ABOUT THE BOOK -
From the sweet, simple primer on techniques (working with wool fabrics, hand-stitching, machine sewing, and quilting) to each individual project’s detailed instructions (with tips on cutting, pressing, top-stitching, hand-tying, and more) Susan’s passion for sewing shines through. Each project is rated from 1 sheep to 3 sheep, according to difficulty, and there are helpful box-feature guides throughout—helpful advice for everything from substituting fabrics to matching plaids to fabric care. On every page, readers will discover just how gratifying sewing can be.

MY REVIEW -
This is a real nice book with some great ideas - All using Pendleton wool. The directions seem simple and easy to follow even if you are a biginner, with lots of  nice full color pictures! I haven't dragged my sewing machine out in a long time. This book just might be enough to make me do it!
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ABOUT THE BOOK -
Sticky Fingers is a vibrant, easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to creating amazing projects with the hottest crafting material on the market today duct tape! The book includes tons of photographs alongside directions designed to make creating a wallet and making a bag even easier, while also providing a steady stream of ideas for personalizing and embellishing your duct tape creations. Each project includes icons showing difficulty level and project time, as well as helpful hints, such as how to keep your scissors clean and what to do with end pieces. So grab a roll of duct tape, pick a project, and get started!

MY REVIEW -
Just what I was looking for! Seriously! I was givin a real cute roll of Hello Kitty tape and didn't know what to do with it. I knew there were books like this out there but had never actually looked at one.
This one is excellent! Lots of real great and even practical ideas with great directions! Lots of full color pictures used with step-by-step instructions.
This book is enough to get me to buy up a bunch of Duct tape and Tape my world!

Moving and knitting

Well I don't have hardly any followers or viewers and I think most of you probably know by now that my husband and I are moving.
If you are a silent blog viewer and do not know this - My husband and I are moving! LOL

We have lived in this house in upstate NY for just over 18 yrs.

There is now a "for sale" sign in our yard!

Why? you might ask... The hubby has been working in PA for a large transportation company for about 4 yrs. He was "on the road" most of the time, on location, staying in motels. So it didn't really matter where we lived, he was never home anyway.
Recently he got a promotion and now has an office job (kind of a middle mang. position) so this means he is home every night in his apt in PA and I am home every night here in NY. It just doesn't make sense. So we decided it was time to finally make the move.
Hopefully by the end of summer we will be moving into our new home in central PA.

I have already started sorting and packing.
And believe it or not I have packed my yarn! Gasp! I know!

I did keep out enough for a few summer projects.
I am still working on my tank, which alone should take me the rest of the summer.

And I am once again working on this "sockie blankie" that I started forever ago! It is made out of all scrap sock yarn! Here is the link for the pattern - HERE

And I kept out needles and yarn for a pair of socks.

That should be enough to keep me busy before we move.
I will keep you updated.
And please - pray that we get an offer on our house soon!

Project update

Remember the tank I was working on -

I finished the body and am now working on the lower edging. This is a little more challenging. As you can see it is worked up and down across the bottom of the tank. I have never done this before and it took me a few tries and several times reading the directions to figure it out. And I have to say, the directions were not the best, it was not very clear at all and I am an experienced knitter. This is my first Cascade pattern.

And here is a pair of socks I am working on - of course! I can't ever be without a pair of socks on the needles.

I must have a thing for greens this month, maybe being spring and all.

Fun Friday!

Here are some cute ideas for some Easter knitting (and crocheting)! -

Oh my gosh I love the little carrots -

CUTE!!! -

Ha! Egg hats -

Cable zipper sweater vest - Finished!

Well I finally finished my sweater vest. I am very pleased with it. It took my almost as long to find the zipper I wanted as it did to actually knit the sweater!
I wanted something heavy, like a jacket zipper. Something bulky and green to match. You can't just buy those at Michaels.

I ended up ordering it from WAWAK - HERE
I am very happy with it. It is a beautiful zipper, very good quality, and very fast delivery. I will definitely buy from them again.

The orig. pattern for this sweater vest is - HERE

So here is the finished sweater -

And here are some modeled by a young girl I babysit. She is 11 so the vest is big on her, but she loves being my model. I wanted you to see what it looked like on. We shall call her "A". -

PS & BTW - "A" said - "Oh I love this!"
and I said - "Yeah, well when your mom comes don't go trying to sneak it home with you!"

Project update

This is the hat for my niece I made. This turned out perfect! I love the wide band and floppy top. This is one of the best hats I have made. I will definitely make more.

This is an iPod armband holder! The daughter calls and asks - "Mom, could you make me an iPod holder, like something I can wear on my arm while I do Yoga?" I created this pattern because I couldn't find anything even close to what I wanted. I love the way it turned out.

 Notice the two flaps overlap so the iPod doesn't fall out. Also notice I make a hole to put the earbuds through.

 I think you could pull it up over your elbow. I didn't because I couldn't take a pic of it then.

These are felted clogs for one of my other niece's. They are a beautiful bright plum color! I love 'em. They are all knitted and ready for felting.

And this is the beginning of a tank for myself.I love the colors!

 But, I hate the yarn! This yarn was so hard to wind into a ball! It was a tangled mess! And this is expensive yarn too! Shame on you!

It is a Cascade pattern, get the link - HERE