Friday, July 29, 2005

book review

before i start about the book, wanted to answer a few questions
YES - i will be forwarding the mail, and we still own this house... there should be no problem with my mail. we are taking our time putting the house for sale. i will be doing some painting here and other things.
and, regarding my extension cord - i have a gas stove, so the electricity only runs the clock/timer and the spark for lighting the burners... so it's not a big a hazard as it seems :)
thank you all for the concern of our safety. a little more about the house. it is so beautiful. i LOVE the layout, the original 1940's oak floors, baseboards and crown mouldings, the original 2-way swinging door from the dining room to the kitchen, my coffee/yarn room. yes, i have a room in my house that is specifically for drinking my morning coffee and storing my yarn/wool. bye bye brand new bathroom - sniff sniff i am going to miss SO much about this house. i'm sad to go.. but excited at the possibilities of what is to come.
like this: FalconClub ahhhh the amenities
anyhow - life isn't all bad ;)

on to the book:
about a week ago i received this book
maran book
as a gift from the maran's of maranGraphics

first the good, no - the fantastic
if you are wanting to:
learn to knit
learn how to correct errors
find different textured designs/stitches
increase/decrease
knit in the round
change colors
finish off
add embelishments

OH MY - this book is definitely what you have been looking for!
the pictures and written descriptions are absolutely by far the best i have come across in any of the "learn to knit" books i have seen before.
when it comes to a craft like this, i think just about everyone is a 'visual learner'. this book definitely satisfies the need to "see it done"
this book also includes quick, easy and cute patterns at the end of the chapters to help further the understanding of the learned technique.
the only thing i could suggest to better the knitting portion of the book would be to list the weight/size of yarn used for patterns. living in a town with no yarn store and a very limited selection of 'good stuff' at my local hobby stores... i had to do on-line research of yarns used to know what weight each pattern calls for. the patterns list the brand,type and how much of each to purchase and all - but does not say (or other sport weight.... blah blah)
i have referenced this book several times in the week i have had it.
BRAVO! a very well done instructional book for knitting.

in my opinion, worth every penny of the $16.49







now, the bad:
as a crocheter, i have come to expect to be disappointed in teaching and pattern books of this beautiful craft. this book was no exception. the descriptions and pictures, however, are wonderful. i absolutely believe someone could learn to crochet using this book as a guide. the crocheting portion was only 59 pages long. versus the 183 of knitting. what?! and only 2 patterns - 2... of guess what - scarves. come on!
at the risk of sounding like a whiny 6 year old (i have one of these - and i know how they can whine), i am absolutely tired of the lack of credit given to crochet. as a designer (yes, i'm holding out on you all, dear readers), i know the wonders of a hook. the elegant laces, sturdy rugs, the deliciously textured fabrics to be used for sweaters, bags, afghans....

in my opinion, if you are looking for a book of crochet techniques, patterns and advancement, i'd pass. but definitely useful for someone wanting to learn the basics of crochet.

i'll jump off the soap box and continue on with the creations of my own patterns to hopefully fill this void one day in the not too far away future. - this is an open invitation for any publishers out there to contact me rebecca@ewedevil.com ;)

that said... i'm off. gotta go do some serious scrubbin' and spacklin' on what will soon be our new home.

6 comments:

Daisy said...

On the plus side, though, at least you don't have to fix the tub now...

noricum said...

Thanks! I feel better now. :)

Andrea

Lulu said...

good luck with moving..

~drew emborsky~ said...

I agree 100% with your review of the book. I was so sad to discover only two crochet patterns, both being scarves. I would have preferred that they focused solely on knitting and produced a separate much more intensive crochet book. Maybe in the future?

Tina said...

Good Luck with the move and selling the house. :)

Karla said...

That's one big bathtub repair job - buy a whole new HOUSE with a non abrasive bathtub! ;-)

 

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