Arts and Crafts Books

This was one of the 1st books that inspired me in faux. It is a must have in any faux finish library.


We used some of these clasic techniques and principles in the famous faux house captured in the hot new book "The House that Faux Built: Transform Your Home with Paint, Plasters and Creativity" The House That Faux Built

If you can't decide what to do to that plain ole drab wall look through this book!! Shows step by step exciting and new techniques that maybe one wouldn't' have thought of ((or have the nerve to do)). If you get get stuck in what to do, just flip through and it will get your " creative juices" flowing!!

I was looking forward to this book but was rather disappointed due to the extensive written instructions but the rather sketchy illustrative photos.

I bought this book more than ten years ago, I have an almost complete collection of books on painted finished, especially of wood and marble. The "Professional Painted Finishes" is absolutely the best I have, it is oozing QUALITY throughout. It is not for beginners but is The reference to return to again and again. It is also lovely just to browse through.

I liked this book because it contained great illustrations and it also had helpful information about the business side of faux finishing. The text is compact, so each page contains alot of data.

I totally LOVE this little book. I suggest it to anyone who wants to machine quilt. This book is written for quilting on a domestic machine, but I just purchased a long-arm and this is my absolute favorite book. Her quilting is awesome and the pictures are great. She clearly explains several excellent "background" and "filler" patterns - all of which are easy to do. I was so tired of just settling for basic meandering. She talks a lot about the different threads she likes and why, and even gives a list of her favorites. You will not be disappointed in this book. And did I mention it is "spiral bound".

This book is complementary to her Guide to Machine quilting, This book is more like doing a class with Diane and she shows various methods of background quilting. recommended for anyone who wants to learn more on freestyle quilting.

I must have at least 30 books alone on just quilting designs. This is more than that though. It explains everything, or almost everything, you would need to know about quilting your designs on your quilt. I don't know what I did without it. I do know my free motion quilting has improved greatly and I keep it right by my machine. The only quilter that comes close to Diane is Sharon Schamber. Both are just wonders in my book. Thanks so much for writing this.

The designs that Diane presents in the book are certainly worth trying and practicing until they're perfect. This book is for the machine quilter who uses a domestic sewing machine.

This book was everything I expected. It had been highly rated by several readers as a great book to teach free motion quilting. Would recommend it to any serious free motion quilter

The stories in here bring out a lot of emotion. It made me feel like I was right there with some of the women. I cried when they talked about losing loved ones along the trail and having to bury them wrapped up in a quilt. I bought this copy for a friend after reading at the library, now I will buy me a copy.If you like history, please buy this, it really connects you to the past in a way that a textbook filled with dates and facts cannot.

I read this book in about 24 hours - it is a wonderful book. It has a lot of history regarding the pioneer women and the quilting traditions they brought with them from their home states. The history alone would have made this book worth the read and worth owning, but the pictures alone would make this book a must have! There are dozens of color and black and white pictures - single quilts take up an entire page in full color through out the book.

A basic knowledge of quilting terms is needed in order to understand everything that is written. Unfortunately, a lot of the quilts that are written about specifically are not pictured, but the quilts that are pictured make up for that small disappointment.

This is a book that I enjoy reading and savoring at my leisure. It incorporates a broad spectrum of mid 19th century history of those who treked to the west via covered wagon with a story of not only quilts but of the sewing that people did, including the Native Americans. The pictures of not only the quilts but of the people are terrific. Four patterns of traditional quilts are included. As always Sandra Dallas has provided a wonderful well researched resourse book, particularly those who are interested in the fiber arts and history.

Excellent book, lots of pictures and interesting human interest stories

Lovely looking book for your coffee table or your sewing library. The cover gets you 'in' and there it keeps you. Good quality illustrations and photos. Makes me feel all red, white and blue and I am an Australian. I love American history and this book did not disappoint me. It was a great thrill to see photos of quilts with their actual makers. As a fellow patchwork and quilter I enjoyed it from cover to cover.

Autumn is my favorite time of year, and when I saw this book, I just had to have it. I can't wait to finish my current project and to have the time to try some of the sampler quilts in this book. The directions are clear and concise, the pictures excellent, and unlike other 'autumn-centric' quilt books, this one isn't filled with drab pictures and quilt blocks using dark colors.

I particularly like the sampler on the front, the "apple pie" wall hanging. The only negative with this book, was the focus on the applique. I'd like to see a few more straight piecing projects. Still, this is a great addition to any quilter's library. 5 stars.

There is a gift idea as you turn each page. Three days after I recieved the book-I was able to give a friend a unique gift made from this book. Can't wait to make more gifts. Hope Lois' next book comes out soon.

I thoroughly enjoy this book and am currently making three projects for my home and for gifts. The use of color is very appealing, and directions are easy to follow. The Baking Day trio is a favorite. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get started on some new fall projects for the home.

This book is packed with projects! First, you are presented with step-by-step directions for creating a beautiful fall wall hanging block-by-block. Then, as if that were not enough, the author embellishes on the blocks and guides you through constructing additional wall hangings, place mats, pot holders and a table runner. The directions are clear, concise and thorough. The projects are colorful and eye catching. This book will have you searching for fabric as soon as it arrives!

The cover quilt, in autumn shades, and colorful fall applique blocks, is what drew me to this book. I would still buy this book for this pattern alone. Plus it's laid out one block at a time, so that you may have your very own block of the month club right in your own home. Sewing an entire quilt at once is too overwhelming for me, but one block at a time is great. The print in this book is easy to read, and the directions are clear.
The applique patterns are clear line drawings that will
be easy to trace from the book to freezer paper. There are many smaller projects to make that compliment this grand wall hanging.
I may try one or two on my way to completing this quilt. I particularly like the sunflower wall hanging and the chickadees in the window wall hanging. There is also a wonderful baking day wall hanging for the kitchen, and a small squirrel wall hanging that is displayed on a branch hanger. Some of these smaller projects would look great in a mountain cabin or in an office to
bring a little of the outside season indoors.
The color illustrations are very clear. You can even see the quilting stitches on some of the wall hangings. I always have a hard time deciding what to quilt in the blank areas around applique, and Lois Fletcher has some great ideas for simple, yet effective quilt patterns in these spots.
For any of you dulcimer players out there,directions for an autumn leaves bell pull is included. If you were to widen this panel a few inches, it would be perfect to place your wall hung dulcimers over to give your instrument a little cushion against the wall.
I'm glad I bought this book.

Instructions are clear and easy to follow. By far the best book I have seen on the subject.

I just received this book today and read it cover to cover. It has everything. It's well organized, lists items you need to create a project, has step-by-step directions and tips. The pictures show you the process and gave me many ideas to copy. This is a beautifully presented book. You can't go wrong with Francoise Read's book.

One of the most wonderful books for Stampers.
Very clear and great to have.

This book is great. Has heaps of ideas. I would recommend to all rubber stampers all over the world to buy a copy of this.

The Rubber Stamper's Bible

Very good book. I wish I knew about it when I started stamping two years ago. If you are just starting to stamp, it explains the differnt inks, cardstocks, tools, techniques, etc. which would have been such an asset instead of my learning bits and pieces at a time. I would have at least knew what people were talking about.

This book has great, inspirational photos and very good instructions. My main disappointment with it is the authors attitude toward silk paints (i.e., not dyes). I have used several varieties of the paints that are made to mimic dyes and find them to work very well, leave the silk soft and be very easy to use. They are a great way for a beginner to get started and try most of the same techniques used with dyes without the hassle of steaming or the toxicity. I am glad that I had some experience silk painting before I got this book because her attitude would have discouraged me from every trying. Aside from that - it's an excellent book, worth the price and full of great pictures to inspire you.

I love this book! I think the blend of historical content and variety of techniques described make this the perfect book in your resource library!

You name it she tells you how to do it. For beginner & Intermediate silk painters. Educational, Informative and well formatted. My only suggestion is a ring binding so the book could lay flat when it is being used for refeence.

This is THE best book I have read on silk painting and I have't seen another to better it in the past 10 years. There ARE other books on the same subject that are good, but I certainly haven't felt the need to purchase another since I thumbed through this beauty!

Everything you could possibly want to know in relation to silk painting is covered in a consise and presise manner. This is supported by photo demostrations for various techniques not easily explained through the written word. The authors pratical experience shines through in the text and fablously gorgeous photos of her and other artists work.

The book is full colour with lots and lots of sensational photos. Much of the silk painting shown is very detailed work eg flowers, pictures; rather than overall "textures" or designs which is more often what you find in other books on the same subject.

Seriously consider this fantastic book if you are interested in this subject, it is worth every $, if only for the inspiration provided by the fablous photos

An excellent, comprehensive guide for the beginning silk painter. The author demonstrates many inspirational designs and recommends her preferences for dyes (by brand), gutta, and other resist options. I've not painted on silk before and, after reading this book, I feel I have all the knowledge I need to begin painting on silk.

Fabulous quilts, Kim's colour sense is excellent, she also tells the reader how she selects fabrics & colours for her quilts. Alot of quilters have trouble with colour, so I found this info. very helpful.I haven't made any recipes as yet, if they are as good as the quilts they will be delicious.

This book has some great patterns. They are all warm and will be fun to put together.

Simple Seasons: Stunning Quilts and Savory Recipes (That Patchwork Place)
I did not know what to expect of this book when I bought it, as it's my first of Kim Diehl.
As the title tells the book contains works from each season.
I have not done any of the patterns yet, but I'm going to. The authors explanations of "how to" is visualized in a very good way. I am looking forward to sit in my garden with my sewing machine (if the weather allow it) this summer, sewing quilts from this book.
The recipes seem lovely too. I have to try some of them, all though I have to translate them in to Norwegian first.
This is a book I highly recommend.

I purchased this book in the hopes of completing a quilt top or two prior to Kim coming to Fort Wayne and being a guest speaker. Simple patterns. Easy to follow instructions.

What could be better than a book full of beautiful pictures coupled with great recipes, instructions and tips? This book is for quilters of all experience levels. For beginners, Kim includes clear, precise and easy to follow instructions. For the more experienced quilter, Kim's clever tips are always worthwhile. I never cease to be amazed at the author's fresh use of time worn patterns and techniques. She leaves me shaking my head saying, "Why didn't I think of that?" Buy this book even if you are just thinking about making a quilt.

I was wildly attracted to the insane looking creatures on the book's cover and even more ecstatic when I found this kit offered; the obvious benefit that you can make a creature immediately - and I'm sure Mr. Murphy, the author, knew that once that was done, you'd be hopelessly hooked!

You'd think a sock would pose many limitations, but once you get the simple, basic techniques down, you're limited only by your own imagination. The slightest alteration in stitching and element placement (limbs, facial features, etc.) can produce fantastically varying results.

Important to me, a "stuffing novice", was the inclusion in this kit of the appropriate polyester fiberfill which is extremely soft and fluffy. (Michael's sells what I found was the best, Fairfield's Poly-fil Supreme.)

You really can't go wrong with the wonderfully detailed instructions and helpful tips in this book. And get this... he even provides ideas on how to use the leftover scraps from each project. I think at that point, I was ready to give him my first born. *lol* Once I finished my first creature, I couldn't help but giggle every time I looked at him sitting on the back of the couch. Each subsequent creature's personality blossomed quickly and amusingly. I originally wanted to make these as gifts, but I'm finding that I just can't part with my new friends!

The kit comes with everything you need, however, instuctions are not easy to follow. I bought this for a 6 year old and ended up doing most of the work myself.

This book takes good juju to an entirely new level. Every detail has a smile or three behind it, and the net effect is a better world. Enjoy it too much, as I do.

I purchased this kit for my 11 year old son, as he always has great fun entertaining the family with his impromtu sock puppets. The skills needed to create the little guys are a little more advanced than I thought, so I ended up doing most of the sewing...but it still has turned out to be a fantastic gift. My son and I will plan a creature out, and once he is finished, he has something to cherish that we did together. We enjoyed learning about the author from he website, and wish him all the success in the world!

Great fun book. I can hardly wait to lay in a supply of kinky socks and make a bunch of these creatures.

If you are new to Lego Mindstorms then you are also probably new to Lego Technics. This book not only covers how to program robots but also how to build them with Lego Technics parts and makes use of many well laid out and easy to follow diagrams. This book should be included with every lego Mindstorms set.

This "Unofficial" book is very good. David does a great job of showing exactly how to build each project with informative snapshots from the program Lego Digital Designer. The programming was missing a little of information on what to fill in the for each module, but his comments provided enough information to fill in the modules. I did have a question for David and he responded with the answer I was looking for.

This is a great beginner/intermediate level book for both kids and adults. The building section is excellent at explaining HOW to use the technic pieces. The programming section is a very good primer for those new to the NXT-G programming environment and language. It sets you up well for the building & programming projects found later in the book. As a middle school teacher running a robotics club, I set some of my more advanced 6th graders to work on whatever project they wanted to from the book. They jumped into taking on the guard-bot and the golf-bot which are the more advanced projects. With little guidance from me, they were very successful and had a blast. That shows how well written and designed the book is!

The Unofficial Lego Mindstorms NXT Inventors Guide

Author: David J. Perdue
website: http://www.davidjpredue.com ; http://www.nxtguidedavidjpredue.com
Strengths: Very nice schematics, parts listings and visuals to highlight or the parts for the machines. Easily readable. Good for novice robot builders but also advanced users will find it helpful as well.

Weaknesses: The book has black/white text.

Novice/Intermediate/Advanced

Rating: 5/5

reviewed by Dr. Eric Flescher, Olathe, KS: (dreric1kansas@aol.com)


Introduction

I have been working with robot kits for many years. I started with the Fischertecknik robot turtle which I built and was able to use with the logo interface with my Apple IIE. Later on I heard about Lego Mindstorms and bought a set to use. It was tough going and after much delay because of the programming and the light issues with the brick, I was able to get legos finally working. Since then, I have worked with several kits and working with PC and Macintosh interfacing. But I was still looking for more a more helpful guides to build more interesting robots. I think I found one in The Unofficial Lego Mindstorms NXT Inventors Guide.

This author David J. Perdue knows his stuff and Lego Mindstorms. He has been creating MINDSTORMS since 2001 and just won the NXT Camera Bot Building Challenge competition and is the author of Competitive MINDSTORMS (Apress, 2004). He has received three Special Mention awards for his creations on the official online MINDSTORMS and is a full time student, pursuing a degree in Management information Systems in Texas. So I opened the book to see what else I could find out and how I could use the book for my LegoMindstorms in the future.

In the beginning, it was difficult to use Mindstorms. For me the kit did not work at all. Working with Macintosh was not an option. There were minimal additional information for working with the robots beyond the parts, software and initial schematics. I had to use a PC. This version works with PC (needs Windows XP or higher and will or already have shipped Vista version) or Macintosh OSX (version 103.9 and higher). It was not until later that I learned from a Legos salesman that the light in the room could be an issue. Its little things like this that kept me and possible others, from doing more with robotics.

I was hoping that the book started with novice programmers and robot creators. This books has "novice " beginning information so this book can be used with those who are new to Lego Mindstorms or are upgrading to the NXT version. It is good to know that this advanced robotic author, is "down to earth" with his writing and when "speaking" the language of robots. I have not upgraded to the NXT version yet and so and wanted to see whether it is would be worth upgrading myself but if so how and what ways could the robots be used with this new version.

The black and white screenshots are integrated within the instruction. The visuals are large enough to read and decipher what you need to know. The lack of color does not really hurt. I really liked the screenshots and illustrations listings of the parts for assembly. However it would have been nice if they were in color (the parts are a multitude or colors. Tables do however include numbers, piece names and the place color however. When you need more information about the parts, they are all there listed and illustrated/ photographed.

Throughout the book, there are helpful ideas in the way of bold notes that are "peppered" throughout the tutorials. In addition, there are pointers that go along with the "balloons " which have text inside of them about related to the robot parts. Circles and arrows highlight the illustrated areas in the screenshots that the author is clearly targeting for his instructions. This makes the understanding of the parts even more explicit.

The introduction introduces Lego Mindstorms, NXT, building , programming and starting and working with robotic projects. Here is an outline of the chapters and what is in store for you.

Part I in entitled "Introduction to LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT". In the Chapter 1, LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT starts off with building robots, the programming of robots, activating robots and what can you do with robots and NXT. Chapter 2 is includes solid but easy to understand information about starting with the NXT robotic set.

Part II illustrates the building with 4 chapters. There is electronic pieces, understanding the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT pieces, the need and building sturdy structures, and working with and building with gears

Programming section is in Part III . Chapter 7 introduction has a nice introduction to the NXT-G system. Later 3 chapters involve advanced NXT-G programming a. There is also more in the form of unofficial programming languages for the NXT.

Part IV involves 6 robot projects and that is where your in-depth robotic education really begins. You are taught the author's Mindstorms method, and working with 6 nice in-depth but easy to understand projects.

Appendices are good resources. Appendix A has LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT piece library. The Appendix B NXT-G has nice quick reference guide section that includes information for advanced programming to perform more intricate tasks. The author details a lot of the complexity, not only with words but also visually illustrates how to and in what ways to to complete the array of blocks, sensors and programming information. While it is not easy to learn, this section takes you "once step at a time". Appendix C informs with other internet resources.

Conclusions

I recommend this book highly for its in-depth tutorials, the visual schematics and the quality of the reading that makes the information well understood. No one said building robots was easy but with this book, you will learn and go further than you thought you could achieve. What I like about this book and the way the author has crafted this book is that he actually invited you to build robots in a none intimidating way. The in-depth information, the visual assemblies and tables, and the easy to read information along with the tutorials will allow you not only start but develop your skills in robot building. You will learn to be creative but at the same learning the logic of the machines and how to build robotics. I know there are many books that teach Lego Mindstorms out there but I am glad I chose this one first.

I'm a coach of a FIRST LEGO League team and I bought this book to help my son "get to the next level." I am making this book mandatory for every team member next season! It is informative, yet easy to read. It covers all the bases from good robot design to programming explanations. I can't recommend it enough!

I have Diane's original, self published version of this book, but having this version, with all the colored pictures, is worth the price of buying the new edition.

For those who like such, there are also specific patterns using the stitches-- something I dont remember the original ook having.

AWESOME. This book is detailed, very easy to follow, and causes visions of projects in your mind that you JUST might be able to do now. This toom of teaching bead weaving goes above and beyond other books written about the same subject.

Highly recommended for content, price, and excitement. Buy it now!!

Lovely book. Wonderful photos and clear instructions of various stitches used. The historical pages are very interesting. Looking forward to the next book!

I love this book-have made one bracelet, and am onto a second one. The instructions are so easy to follow and there are lot's of different patterns to try.

I cannot begin to describe the appreciation I have for this book. Being an Amercian of African decent, I always appreciate learning about the culture and history of people from different parts of the motherland. I have been trying to find a how-to-book on making African beaded jewelry. From what I observed from books about African Art and culture, the jewelry is always so colorful and beautifully designed. I want to make and wear jewelry that imulates the beauty of African styles of beading. Through a perspective of a person of African decent, I would have liked to see photographic examples of jewelry made by the Africans, which the book shows, but with more of them and the instructions demonstrating how to make them. However, the author has made the jewelry shown in this book to truly represent styles and beauty of African beaded jewelry. The photographs, the jewelry and instructions in this book are fantastic as others have mentioned and plus some.