Arts and Crafts Books

Book came in great condition, on time, and worth every penny. It's filled with many old patterens and lots of history, a pleasure to read. If it's Redwork you enjoy , then order this one.

I found these books to be very informative and interesting. I would recommend them to anyone interested in Redwork Quilts.

Once again Deborah Harding shares a piece of history with us. Her beautifully organized and prodigiously researched book on redwork quilts is a welcome addition to any quilt lovers library. It seems that no stone was left unturned in her search to bring us a comprehensive documentation of this needleart. I recommend this two volume book to anyone interested in quilts. Not only is it a lovely publication to look at, but it educates us in an area of quilting that little has been written about. Bravo Deborah!

This book would make a lovely gift for anybody interested in textile arts, even for someone with little or no quilting or embroidery experience. The presentation is lovely -- two nicely bound, wonderfully illustrated books nestled inside a snug cardboard jacket. One book features a short discussion of redwork embroidery along with illustrations of exquisitely executed quilts. The other supplies brief instructions (perhaps too brief -- especially the section on transferring the patterns)and a lovely collection of redwork patterns so that readers can create their own redwork quilt. My only quarrel with the book is that a beginner (like me!) might not feel confident with the brief instructions. However, a quick trip to the fabric store to talk to a knowledgable salesperson should dispel any doubts. Despite this small problem, I give the book 5+ stars -- it was great fun to browse through, then to read intently , then to pore over as I selected possible designs for my very first quilt!

Often it is difficult to get accurate, well documented information on traditional crafts and handwork. Much of that art form was passed down from generation to generation with very little written record. Deborah Harding has done a wonderful job of finding old newpaper and magazine articles on Redwork, as well as fantastic old patterns reproduced here. A friend of mine loaned me this set of books, and I could never bring myself to return them to her, so I knew I had to have my own set!

A truely gorgeous book for those of us who adore roses. Her instructions are easy to follow and the photo's are wonderful. Highly recommend for rose lovers everywhere.

I love this book. These are beautiful applique' blocks. Wonderful patterns and instructions. I've been working on this quilt for awhile. It has become very special to me. Everyone who sees it gasps. Get this book and start your heirloom today!

Rosemary Makhan has updated antique Rose blocks and proportioned 20 patterns so that they flow together. She has produced the book to appeal to new and seasoned quilters alike by offering beginning applique lessons along with basic quilting and binding; additionally, reverse applique and some embroidery. The gallery of quilts are offered in beautiful color varieties; one of my favorites being a blue, teal and lavendar. If you are partial to Rose of Sharon blocks in applique, this is the book for you.

This book is one of the best quilt pattern books that I've ever bought, and I've bought many. It is clear, precise and understandable in every way. The projects presented int he book are varied; I believe you really get your money's worth on this book. The patterns are easy to copy and use.

I love this book. These are beautiful applique' blocks. Wonderful patterns and instructions. I've been working on this quilt for awhile. It has become very special to me. Everyone who sees it gasps. Get this book and start your heirloom today!

This book is a steal considering how much it costs to take the class from Ruth herself! It features well thought out instructions and inspiration for piecing a landscape quilt. This is not a book for beginning quilters.

I have been experimenting with my own designs and representating them in a more artistic point of view. My desire is to create work that pops with my perspective. This book is already showing signs of distress as I continue to go back and examine the methods and the examples. This book is for a quilt artist who wants to set goals and methodically achieve them. Written with a solid perspective that yes you too can accomplish master work. I believe quilters or fabric artists can add this book to their library and know it won't gather dust.

This book is inspiring and precise. Each step of the process of creating challenging curved pieces is clear. Just love her encouragement and helpful hints. I have learned so much following her clear directions.

Good book, well worth the time to read for any innovative quilters. Ruth does a really workmanlike job on her books.

This book by Ruth B. McDowell is amazing. It contains many suggestions, with demonstrations, that can encourage individualism with designing your own quilts. I love this book and it is worth every penny that I paid. This information is not offered in the general, informational, quilt books. Thanks again, Ruth!

Great shape and fast shipping. Would buy from again.

This book is full of ideas for anyone to try. The directions are easy to follow and the techniques shown look beautiful. A good book for those who are new to scrapbooking and need inspiration or looking for something different. I am so glad that I bought it.

This is an execellent book. It has a lot of techniques for adding texture without a lot of bulk on your scrapbook pages.
The photography of the pages are excellent also. I love a book that shows the finished page in a nice size so I can see all the details that were added without having to use a magnifying glass.

I'm not really into 3D scrapbooks because I thought that it would take up too much space in my albums. But I bought this book because I figured I could make gifts and the reviews were great. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that most of the pages don't really protrude too much and are all very usable in my scrapbooks. Plus, you can tweak some of the ideas if you'd like more of a 2D page. All the layout ideas are beautiful, innovative and attainable. I've been scrapping for 5 years and I think these ideas are for beginners and "pros" alike. I don't have alot of time to scrap but these layouts are beautiful and fairly easy and quick to do. I also really liked that each page is a different layout idea and there are instructions for each layout. I actually bought this book before I realized that you can watch Sandi Genovese on Scrapbooking ( on DIYnetwork ). So it was a pleasant surprise to see a "familiar face". I hope this was helpful to you and HAPPY SCRAPPIN'.

I am starting a scrapbook for my first child and came across this book. I am so glad I bought it. I've gotten alot of scrapbooking ideas for my little girl's upcoming holidays and special events.

The various layouts are just beautiful and elegant. Even the simplest layout was well done. I've looked at plenty of how-to books but nothing came close to this one. Most of the layouts in other books looked tacky and unappealing.

Looking forward to more of her books!

This was a touching book of the authors using their grandmothers dresses as quilts. There is great information on fabrics, examples and patterns as well as suggestions for other ways to personalize your own quilt.

I bought this book for my friend becasue after reading the description I thought this was a very clever way to perserve memories. The quilts pictured in the book are beautiful and my friend reports back that the instructions are clear and easy to follow. I highly recommend this book.

I have read SCRAPS OF TIME from cover to cover and I have found lots of projects to do. I do not have old clothes at my house but I can still make most of the projects, they are easy.

I am so pleased with Scraps of Time. This book was written by authors that truly understand the feelings that fabrics from our past evoke, and they have created patterns that will allow me to showcase these fabrics. I especially am pleased that the patterns include both basic piecing and foundation piecing. My favorite patterns are "Dancing Down Memory Lane" and "Sure You'll Wear it Again". I now have a pattern to use my Dad's ties in. I love the sentiments of this book.

Thank you Ann and Amy for directing me (saving me) on what I can do with prom dresses, prarie skirts from the 70's,those big sleeved, big bowed awful bridesmaid dresses I still have from eons ago,vests from the late 70's and the ties I saved from that "Annie Hall"/Punk Rock early 80's era I went through....Geez! These twins have given me "enthusiasm" not that dreaded,"why did I keep this stuff and what will I ever do with it?" feeling!
When purchasing a quilt book, I look for good directions and details I can understand......this quilt book gets 5 stars from me, because their directions are easy to understand, the pictures are great,and they've walked me down memorylane with all their own memories beautifully written.

The quilt I'll try first is on page 53...."Dancing Down Memory Lane"....I can't wait to get the scissors and rotary cutter out!

Linda M. Poole
Milford, PA

I have 25 or more carving books and access to many more. This is easily the best book to own to learn how to carve birds. The author does not hung up on the use of power vs. hand tools. That is left to the student. Each step is clearly explained and shown in clear photos. Buy this book first and jump start your carving hobby.

My husband, Ron, is an excellent carver and has been doing songbirds for about ten years. He brings life to his carvings by burning the feathers in with such detail nearly everyone reaches out to "pet" his birds. This past year he decided to go beyond the "natural" look and asked me to paint a robin so that the gift to our grandson would be from both of us.
I had only worked with watercolors previously and so, having had no experience with acrylic painting, I was still able to follow the instructions in this wonderful book and came out with a robin that looked very real. In fact, when painting one day, I had to answer the door and the guest flinched, thinking I was holding a real robin. Now if I can only come up with her instructions for painting a blue bird and/or a blue herron I would be grateful beyond words.

It just arrived in the mail and I can hardly wait to carve another bird. This book gives the carver just what he needs--patterns from the front and side plus top and bottom views! Lots of black and white photos, but then you get color photos just when you need them--which is when you begin to paint the bird. Plus, I really like the way the birds look. If I can't produce a fine looking bird from this book it will not be from lack of direction. This beats just about any other bird carving book I have, and believe me I have bought a lot of them!

Rosalyn Daisey's book is a suberb example of how to author a "how to" book. It's top notch in patterns, instructions, and illistrations. You can't go wrong with any of her books. I'm impressed enough to own them all.

My husband, Ron, is an excellent carver and has been doing songbirds for about ten years. He brings life to his carvings by burning the feathers in with such detail nearly everyone reaches out to "pet" his birds. This past year he decided to go beyond the "natural" look and asked me to paint a robin so that the gift to our grandson would be from both of us.
I had only worked with watercolors previously and so, having had no experience with acrylic painting, I was still able to follow the instructions in this wonderful book and came out with a robin that looked very real. In fact, when painting one day, I had to answer the door and the guest flinched, thinking I was holding a real robin. Now if I can only come up with her instructions for painting a blue bird and/or a blue herron I would be grateful beyond words.

One of the first spinning books I purchased, easy to use, indexed well, spiral bound and small enough to take along in my knitting/ spinning supplies.
A reference book I am always picking up to read; pest controls,hand carding,different spinning methods, washing yarn. Also a good bibliography for further reading.

I'm a brand new spinner, and this book has helped me immensely. It has helped me to better understand the parts of the wheel and what they do, how to draft, how to troubleshoot problems such as the yarn not winding onto the bobbin or overtwisting. It has a wealth of information about all aspects of spinning, from start to finish, in a concise and useful format. The way the book is constructed so you can stand it up and refer to it while spinning is also a big plus. Highly recommended!

If you've just learned to spin, this book will enhance your library. It is very clear and complete. It explains all those terms that get thrown around.... Grist, twist, ratio... This book will help you keep it all straight.

I had enough money to buy one book and picked this one over the Amos Big Book of Handspinning. Its compact size is perfect for keeping in my workbasket, it is also a perfect size for "going on the road." The information is clearly presented and valuable. And...it lacks the demeaning comments of the Amos book, for those spinners that use double tredle.

Great little book to chuck in with the traveling wheel/spindle gives the pertinent information with reasonable pictures easy to use, easy to pack has become a constant companion. Coil bound with heavy card pages lays flat even outdoors.

"A piece of paper has a special purpose as you will see. You are like this piece of paper, for you, too, have a special purpose." "Spread Your Wings and Fly" is a wonderful tool of exploration into an ancient art and into the self. An origami fold and tell, this book guides in simple steps and through story, to creating a flapping crane. But it does more than that.

This book touches on life's lessons and builds self esteem. How? By demonstration - the first fold makes a triangle from a square, by bringing the opposite points together. The author encourages "think of two of your good points and bring them together." In this gentle affirming way the reader/participant is learning not just a relaxing, satisfying art, but is learning about herself as well.

Mary Chloe Schoolcraft Saunders served for eleven years as an elementary school speech-language pathologist where she used origami to foster the development of speech. Fold and tell is a proven training method of this art but it also serves as a means of helping children to open up and communicate. My young daughter loves the book, the art and the process, as I am sure you will. The illustrations are beautiful and rich, while the diagrams are precise and clear. A wonderful addition to any educators, troop leaders or your own personal library.

Spread Your Wings and Fly is a wise and enchanting book, using the ancient art of origami to teach us about ourselves. By following the simple instructions for folding a flapping bird, children are gratified and delighted to learn that they have the ability to create such a wonderful creature and are wonderful themselves.

Mary Saunders uses the process of folding a flapping bird as a metaphor for the unfolding of life's journey and as a symbol of the unlimited possibilities in each of us. She continues the metaphor poetically in the directions for creating the flapping bird. "Think of two of your good points and bring them together" is the eloquent instruction to fold the paper in half.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Carla Mihelich. The diagrams clearly explain each step of the folding process. In the vibrant illustrations the bird emerges into magical, mythical landscapes and creatures guide and accompany it on its journey of becoming. As the author writes in the preface: "May you and the children in your world experience enduring moments of possibility as you fold the flapping bird and set it flying..."

Spread Your Wings and Fly is a wise and enchanting book, using the ancient art of origami to teach us about ourselves. By following the simple instructions for folding a flapping bird, children are gratified and delighted to learn that they have the ability to create such a wonderful creature and are wonderful themselves.

Mary Saunders uses the process of folding a flapping bird as a metaphor for the unfolding of life's journey and as a symbol of the unlimited possibilities in each of us. She continues the metaphor poetically in the directions for creating the flapping bird. "Think of two of your good points and bring them together" is the eloquent instruction to fold the paper in half.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Carla Mihelich. The diagrams clearly explain each step of the folding process. In the vibrant illustrations the bird emerges into magical, mythical landscapes and creatures guide and accompany it on its journey of becoming. As the author writes in the preface: "May you and the children in your world experience enduring moments of possibility as you fold the flapping bird and set it flying..."

Spread Your Wings and Fly is a wise and enchanting book, using the ancient art of origami to teach us about ourselves. By following the simple instructions for folding a flapping bird, children are gratified and delighted to learn that they have the ability to create such a wonderful creature and are wonderful themselves.

Mary Saunders uses the process of folding a flapping bird as a metaphor for the unfolding of life's journey and as a symbol of the unlimited possibilities in each of us. She continues the metaphor poetically in the directions for creating the flapping bird. "Think of two of your good points and bring them together" is the eloquent instruction to fold the paper in half.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Carla Mihelich. The diagrams clearly explain each step of the folding process. In the vibrant illustrations the bird emerges into magical, mythical landscapes and creatures guide and accompany it on its journey of becoming. As the author writes in the preface: "May you and the children in your world experience enduring moments of possibility as you fold the flapping bird and set it flying..."

The art of Japanese paper folding is called Origami. It is an ancient art, a discipline that has entertained and amazed both children and adults alike.

I learned to fold the Origami paper crane when I was a teenager. It is something I have remembered all my life, and I have always enjoyed showing someone how to make one, or taken delight in seeing the happiness in a child's eyes as the piece of paper turned into a graceful bird.

Spread Your Wings and Fly is a positive affirmation book that you read as you learn to fold your paper crane. The beginning of the book discusses how the author learned to fold the crane and there is even a little history of the art of origami. She also discusses how to use the book and achieving the end result, a flapping version of the paper crane.

But it was getting into the story, into the folding of the crane that really grabbed me. The crane can be a difficult feat if not shown by someone who can patiently teach the art. Ms. Saunders has the pictures of folding the crane broken down into the easiest and most basic way of folding. I followed through, page by page, fold by fold, and while it is a little different than the way I was taught, I had no problem following and achieving a proper and working crane.

Then I went back and read the story. Each fold has a purpose in making the final product. Each time you fold, you are presented with a fold that life can offer you. Sometimes the fold can resemble the shape the paper has taken, sometimes there is a ripple in the fold. While a fold can remind you of a mountain, the mountain can be a big dream or it can be a small one. As you flatten the mountain out, you are reminded that dreams can be squashed also. Wonderful visuals to accompany the process of making the crane, to discovering the folds in your own life, and finally flying free with the finished crane, no matter how life folds for you.

This is beautifully written, well explained, and to top it all off, there are the excellent illustrations, quality print on glossy paper, all of which only compliments the entire work. Together, Ms. Saunders and Ms. Mihelich have given us a book that will provide parents and children with some quality time and some insightful mini-meditations for both of them. Or, if used by a child alone, it is time this child will spend exploring him/her self.

This is one of my favorite quilting books. There are many great ideas for quilts made from scraps and FQs. Most of them can also be made from yardage if you so desire. The photos are great, directions are clear, and most quilts feature variations. One of my favorite parts of the book is the detail on how each project was quilted. In the back there is a great section on making pieced backings, quilting and tying.

My first response when thumbing through this book wasn't very positive. I saw only one quilt I thought I might make. However, over several days, I found myself thumbing through the book over and over again and becoming very excited about making a dent in my fabric stash with several of the patterns.

Her instructions are so very good, I've moved this book from the bookshelf to my sewing table and expect I will be using it until the pages become dog-eared and fall out of the book.

Having been a quilter for almost 40 years, my fabric stash is shamefully large. I'll probably never really bust it but this book is helping me put quite a dandy dent in it and I'm having a great time doing it.

Her patterns adapt equally well using new bold fabric colors and older vintage fabrics left over from quilts made decades ago.

Very clear. Some new ideas. Very well written. A method of tying quilts I haven't seen before and it works beautifully.

Wow! Some new ideas, and each project is presented in at least two colorways. Instructions are clear, with abundant illustrations. Nothing overly intimidating for the beginner.....some look complicated, but really aren't. I'm inspired! And I need more fabric!

Gorgeous quilt patterns with very easy to follow instructions. Patterns adaptable to your own stash - I'm inspired!

One of the most beautifull books I have. Very clear and encouraging. Lovely to the eye and for the mood... =)

By all means, buy the book and try it. This is the official textbook. But if you really want to learn this art seriously, you need to get a certified teacher. Check japaneseembroidery.com for pictures and a list of teachers.

This book is great if you want to learn Japanese Embroidery, and are already a decent stitcher. I would not recommend it to a complete novice - it is a difficult method of embroidery that can easily overwhelm the new stitcher. The pictures are clear and the text is easy to read.

I highly recommend this book.

The book is full color with BIG diagrams and closeups of the stitches. There are also many gorgeous pictures of completed works to inspire one. There are some very impressive looking techniques in this book, yet because of the clear explanations it was very easy for me to pick up the idea, start and finish my projects (and they came out pretty well for a beginner like me, if I do say so myself. Some of my past embroidery attempts were pretty pathetic). In short, it makes a lot of sense and isn't hard to understand at all.

The explanation of tools and necessary materials is very complete, yet I could still accomplish the various techniques with a cheap embroidery hoop, an embroidery needle, cotton cloth, and floss (rayon seems to work better at filling in large areas than cotton. Rayon looks more like the silk in the book). Still, it's nice to know about the other tools. I am sure they would be helpful for larger projects.

The pages are heavy enough that the book will stay open to the pages while one is embroidering (believe me this helps). I've used it in many projects and it's still in great shape (some of my other paperback "how to" craft books have fallen apart at the binding after similar use).

There is a little bit of history and some explanation of symbols and motifs (from pages 9-25). I found this fascinating. It's nice to know more than just "how to."

I think this is a great book! I especially liked the "weaving stitches" and his examples of layering stitches on top of stitches. They really make my projects look really fancy!

I purchased this book for my wife who is learning this technique and her words were, 'the best book I have ever seen on this subject'. She says that this book gives more advice and is more easily followed than any other books she has seen. It is meant for the beginner who is new to the technique and is therefore invaluable.