Machines Books

This is an excellent book for those interested in quilting on their home machine. The writing is clear and the photographs provide further clarification.

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.

Excellent - I plan to re-read it again before Christmas! Gets you centered and away from the frenzy of Christmas.

...then I'll be happy.

I have an unscientific observation. It seems to me the further away someone feels from the "perfect Christmas", the more money, time and resources they devote in pursuit of this unattainable perfection. Speaking from personal experience- there is not enough money, time, or resources that can produce this magical Madison Avenue promise.

It's July, and I just bought this book in the clearance section at Half Price Books ($2.00). Perfect timing!
The book had me at the preface. Although the women/men assigned roles do not reflect my life, I am able to hear the message that lies beyond the language.

To the authors: I've taken the Christmas Pledge and have started to gently share it with my family and friends. Thank you for standing up, speaking out.

I have an unscientific observation. It seems to me the further away someone feels from the "perfect Christmas", the more money, time and resources they devote in pursuit of this unattainable perfection. Speaking from personal experience- there is not enough money, time, or resources that can produce this Madison Avenue experience.

It's July, and I just bought this book in the clearance section at Half Price Books ($2.00). Perfect timing!
The book had me at the preface.

To the authors: I've taken the Christmas Pledge and have started to gently share it with my family and friends. Thank you for standing up, speaking out.

Unplug the Christmas Machine is a thoughtful look designed to help individuals become more intentional about how they celebrate the Christmas season. Based on data, observations and research into how individuals and families approach the Christmas celebrations, the authors have suggestions based on real thought that intends to remind people what their real goals are in Christmas celebration and what they can do to achieve those real goals.

Taking neither a secular nor an especially religious approach to how Christmas is celebrated, the authors are consistent in their desire for people to be intentional in how the holiday is celebrated. For example, they show through their research, the oft-repeated desire for the holidays to be more family centered, is encouraged by a slower approach to celebration, where different individuals in a family are encouraged to participate, rather than just one or two to carry the load.

The markers of modern Christmas - a big family meal with lots of gift giving and a smattering of religious observation are observed in the book as something that has sapped the life of what should be a restful, heartfelt celebration. Certainly stresses in families, due to divorce or other separating factors, combined with the notion of what Christmas is supposed to be, from the retail marketers contribute to how Christmas is often more trouble than it is worth for many. What these two authors have contributed is reminding people to achieve an enjoyable season by being intentional in their observances and by unhooking their daily lives from being passive consumers of the retail economy, and making holiday celebrations more focused on enduring truths; for as the authors point out, Christmas ends for retailers on December 26th, because they have nothing else left to sell the consumer. But for someone unplugged from a Christmas machine, it can be a season joy because it is based on the things that individuals value most: faith, family, rest at home and opportunities to serve others.

This book is recommend for families and individuals who are looking for ways to think through their Christmas celebrations in a more meaningful way.

Even though this is not a new book, it remains a good baseline for those who are overly stressed during the holidays. If each of us is honest and answers the posed questions truthfully we can all relax and enjoy the holiday rush. Each chapter validates how we feel and takes away the feeling that "I" am the only going through this emotional time. I am trying to follow the idea of doing less gift giving and truly appreciating why we have Christmas. While doing this it is easy to become more open minded and understanding about those I plan to spend time with during the holidays.

Bought this for my granddaughter and hope she finds out the the sewing machine isn't too scary.

Great tools to help your child (or yourself) get used to using a sewing machine.

I purchased this book for my 9 year old grandaughter. What a wonderful introduction to sewing. First and formost, it is fun, visually attractive, in a easy to use spiral format on durable stock. It begins with some nice graphics and games that involve learning the parts of the sewing machine, moves on to some FUN drills that teach little hands how to control sewing lines, curves, points and so on. It ends with some very basic projects that kids can complete on their own giving them a real sense of acomplishment. This is a must have for children learning to sew.

This is a great book. Inside it has actual patterns for your kids to practice tracing with their machine stitching. Very colorful and excellent quality...thick pages. Can't wait to try it out with my daughter after we give it to her at Christmas.

This book was exactly as described. Easy to read and use. Cute projects for kids!

Many machine quilting books give the nuts and bolts of quilting on an ordinary "domestic" sewing machine, but few take that next step to inspire a novice machine quilter to create her or his own quilt designs. This book does just that. Yes, I agree with those reviewers who say the quilts are nothing special, but the point is that they are there to showcase the quilting, not to detract from it. With the simple traditional block designs that we have all seen before, our eyes are drawn to the quilting. Each design is quilted in three different ways- a simple allover design, a design that shows off the plain blocks and negative spaces as well as the pieced blocks, and an elaborate "show stopper" with detailed quilting and touches of trapunto. As a longtime quilter, but a relative newbie to machine quilting anything other than loops or meanders, this book has done far more to improve my quilting than any other machine quilting book in my personal library. I have gone on to machine quilt at least four or five quilts without copying any of the designs in the book.

This book is a supreme example of the old adage "don't judge a book by it's cover." I found the cover quilt extremely boring to the point I couldn't imagine why in the world the book had so many good reviews. When I got the book I didn't even like the quilting design on the cover. I didn't like and wouldn't make any of the quilts in the book, either. They were way too basic for me. However, forget all that! The bland quilts in the book were just a quick way for the author to show her quilting designs, and I get it! The free-flowing designs are wonderful, and doable by all! There is no marking involved, no stencils, nothing to stop you! I suspect long-armers have known how to do designs like this for many years, but they just haven't been available to domestic machine quilters. I am grateful that I bought this book, and I think both beginning, intermediate, and advanced domestic machine quilters will love it.

I have a number of books pertaining to machine quilting, including the McTavishing book. That one is good, but this one is better. The ideas and instructions are superior. I've already put some of it to use and the improvement in my free-motion is very satisfying.

This is so much more than patterns. It gives you ideas on how to look at your quilt and then decide what to do. The hints it gives you on how to make your free motion work is well worth the price.

Looking for a book that goes into detail of free motion quilting after you already have the basics down? Then this is the book for you. Builds up skills and gives detailed instructions on how to design the quilt and map out designs. Step by step on how to practice the patterns so no marking is needed. Love this book!

I've been fascinated with the 200" Hale telescope on Mt Palomar since I read "The Glass Giant of Palomar" as kid. "The Perfect Machine" meets the highest standard you can apply to a non-fiction book--it reads like a novel. Not only does it correct the many errors and omissions of "The Glass Giant of Palomar," but it weaves interleaving stories in a fscinating and riveting way. There's the story of the glass blank of Pyrex and the difficulties casting it, the extraordinary vision of George Ellery Hale, and even the Surrier Truss design first used on this telescope tube. Then there is the site selection, constuction problems, and most of all a vivid portrait of the personalities involved in the construction of this giant. It is even more mind-boggling to realize that all this happened in the first few decades of the 20th century!

After reading this book I finally made my pilgrammage to Mt. Palomar to view the monster for myself. Knowing the details of the telescope's construction added even more to the sense of awe I felt standing in the visitor's gallery gazing in disbelief at this huge, huge machine, and knowing all the discoveries made with it over the years. It was an incredible experience. No photograph of the Hale telescope does it justice.

This is an extraordinary book.

Not only does Ronald Florence give a vibrant account of the design and construction of the Hale telescope, he manages to make the reader share his fascination for an admirable project and an awe-inspiring science machine. The book is better than well written, it is captivating. Having been closely involved in a major telescope project, I can only state that his account of the production of the "giant eye" rings true. Rarely has a science writer shown so much understanding of the intricate processes, technologies, and human relations underlying a large science project. Still, there are a few disturbing inaccuracies in Florence's story. On a number of occasions, the author wrongly gives credit to the Palomar telescope designers for innovations that had been experimented long before, such as the principle of the support of the primary mirror, actually due to Lassel (Malta, 1861). The account of the in-situ finishing of the primary mirror sounds completely implausible, the metrology of the time (I saw the Hartmann screen on the occasion of a privileged visit in 1995) being of too low resolution to allow any meaningful verification of local refiguring as reported by Florence. The post-1950 period would also have deserved a somewhat broader and fairer account; the Russian 6-m may not have been a success comparable to the Palomar but paved the way for modern mechanical designs, and the advent of entirely new and far-reaching concepts, such as active optics, in the hands of European designers and suppliers is completely ignored. Still, the vision and the endeavour underlying the making of the Palomar telescope emanate from every page; it is a nearly perfect book about a nearly perfect machine.

I purchased this book at the telescope gift shop on Mount Palomar back in 1996. I read it in the next few days. It is the fascinating tale of George Hale, a remarkable man who had to battle personal demons (in the form of debilitating mental breakdowns) to build the world's largest telescope--then do it again and again! I can't remember the first one offhand, but the 100-inch Hooker Telescope on Mt. Wilson was next, then the 200-inch Hale telescope on Mt. Palomar. This book talks about all the technical, financal and other difficulties that were overcome to make the giant telescope possible. It explains large earlier telescopes and how the problems encountered in their construction provided lessons for the designers and builders of the Palomar telescope. Anyone interested in the history of technology or astronomy should give this book a look.

I have no trouble pinpointing the splendid-ness of this book. All I have to do is mutate a cliche and say that "the angel is in the details." Florence's full, dramatic account of the various attempts to create the mirror for this enormous telescope -- first by General Electric and then by Corning -- is worth many times the price of admission. What you get is an exciting story of engineering hurdles met, overcome, and sometimes not overcome ... I am not an engineer, but probably should have been one. My father _was_ an engineer and, while reading this book, decided he would probably find it enthralling, and I was right.

Florence is such a careful and masterful writer, that this tale of seemingly-insurmountable obstacles and struggles should appeal to anyone. He makes molten glass come to life. Bravo. One of the better books I've read in the past 5 years - and I read a lot.

Florence's narrative brings alive the fascinating saga of the great Mt. Palomar reflector, in its time the world's largest telescope and a pioneering example of "Big Science." The instrument's gestation period, beginning in 1928 and interrupted by the second World War, was so long that three of the principal figures didn't live to see it dedicated in 1948. Included in this group was the project's founding father, George Ellery Hale, for whom the telescope is named. The author uses Hale's remarkable abilities and seemingly unending physical and mental travails as a unifying theme throughout the book.

A renowned telescope developer and respected solar astronomer, Hale had the establishment clout and scientific connections to launch such a grand project and assemble a team to carry it out. While suffering from a chronic nervous condition that often left him isolated in a darkened room, he was nevertheless able to lead the program through its most critical periods and help rescue it from a multitude of financial and organizational crises.

The immense 200-inch (nearly 17 ft) diameter of the Palomar telescope's main mirror gave it twice the theoretical resolution and four times the light grasp of its Hale-inspired predecessor, the 100-inch reflector on Mt. Wilson. Everything about the 500-ton machine was Brobdingnagian, perhaps best symbolized by the fact that an observer at the prime focus actually sat inside the telescope tube, with plenty of clearance for starlight to stream past him to the mirror some fifty-five feet below.

In the hands of Florence, what might have been a confusing welter of facts becomes a coherent and utterly engrossing suspense story. He seemingly overlooks nothing about the relevant issues of Astronomy, optics, engineering, business, politics and personalities; yet there is no sense of overkill and one always feels eager to begin the next chapter. The dozens of interacting characters are portrayed with enough subtlety, irony and humor to make them seem real and familiar. I have seldom gotten so much pure enjoyment from a book.

I'm a novice sewer and serger and found this book to be incredibly helpful on the topic of sewing/serging knits. I loved that this book offered different levels of accomplishment for the projects. The author did a great job of breaking down the steps to complete each task. There are many tips and techniques and this book is designed for both the advanced and beginner sewer. I know I will refer to this guide often and really appreciate this spiral binding that allows the book to lie flat. This is an essential addition to any sewing library.

This is a wonderful resource for sewers of all ages. I am always eager to learn how to do different things - not to mention more easily. I heartily recommend this book. Instructions are easy to follow.

this book is a lot of fun for anyone with a serger and the basics of sewing. you can make cute, quick garments using comfy jersey. i think even a beginner would be able to use this book. serging is so fast and easy. all of the patterns fit me great, super cute styles. can't wait for the next book!

The author's attitude that anything can be done--just try it, is liberating for any kind of sewing. Lots of good inspiration and just a good instruction book for knits.

This is a great book - I'm a "veteran" sewer and purchased it mostly for the patterns. But my thirty-something daughter LOVED the clear, concise explanations -- and it has inspired her.

This book has some great tips and "does and don'ts" for new bread machine users. I had problems with my results until I got this book. Now every loaf is perfect. The recipes are good, too. The white bread recipe is great - puts out a loaf you can use for sandwiches or anything else - very light (but not spongy). (Only thing I didn't learn from this book was using wheat gluten if you use white flour (1 tspn per cup of flour)).

Got this book for a Christmas present with my breadmaker. If you own a breadmaker, you need to have it too. The recipes are easy and very tasty. It contains the basics, some fancy loaves, and some specialty items like cinnamon rolls and different pizza doughs. A must have!

I must concur with the other reviewers. The recipes in this book always turn out great. I never have to adjust liquids/flour or anything. When I get creative with my own ingredients, I use basic recipe amounts from this book and modify flours, sugars, spices, etc. I can always count on these recipes to be right.

Clear directions and type-size for recipes, extremely well laid-out, and very good recipes throughout make this book one of my personal favorites for the bread machine.

I recently purchased a bread machine (Williams Sonoma) and wanted to try different recipes. I bought a book "Bread Machine Baking" which had recipes scaled for my machine. I also found this one on Amazon and bought it too.

I have found that the recipes in this book actually turn out better, even with the lesser amount of yeast used. Each loaf has risen evenly and nicely, creating a beautiful and delicious loaf of bread.

I also prefer the way this book is laid out. It is spiral bound which allows it to lie flat, it has a good table of contents and the recipes are easy to read at a glance.

I highly recommend this book. Try the Egg and Oatmeal breads. So good and easy to make with ingredients you have on hand.

This book is great for amateurs like me looking to get all they can out of their new camera. I am taking classes and trying to build a portfolio in hopes to get a photography business started, and this book is the best guide to 'all I don't know' I could find.

I found this book to be an excellent source guide for the XTi. When I have a question about my camera, this is usually the first place I turn to not the actual manual that came with the camera. Its unlikely that one would ever get a better recommendation than that.

Every time the author is describing the camera or its functions, there was a wonderfully detailed image of the topic. I can now navigate around the camera menus and other setting with ease after reading through the this book.

Its a great book for a begniner or someone entering digital SLR photography (like me).

If you are a newcomer to the (digital) photography world and want to have some useful advice on how to master light, shade with your EOS-400 this is the book for you. Even though it doesn't replace the reading of the users' manual, this book explains thoroughly how to use this great camera to make great pictures. The book is fully illustrated, has "screen shots" of the actual menus and is a joy to read. Highly recommended material.

This is a great book for explaining all the features and how-to's for the Canon Rebel. I have spent hours with it and have hardly scratched the surface. This book should come with the camera!

This is a very well written book and a very friendly to use format. I love picking it up to studying more about the XTi/400D camera. It's a great source of in depth knowledge to learn the capabilities of the camera. Much more user friendly than the original owner's manual. Nice diagrams and pictures to add some interest. Highly recommended!

This book also is misleading in the title. It shows you how to piece a fabric quilt using paper to guide you. The patterns are good and can be adapted to paper for cards.

I have always wanted to paper piece, but it seemed daunting. I bought this book, along with the book "Quick Strip Paper Piecing" and they both helped immensely. The instructions were easy to understand and follow. This book was great for a beginner paper piecer and gave some hints I found very helpful (if you get the book, the idea of using the post card to turn down your paper and trim was excellent!). The strip piecing speeds up the process. The only downfall is that you do waste more fabric than with other processes. Together these books made it easy for a beginner paper piecer and I successfully created a queen size quilt for my brother!

First, what I didn't like. When it says foundations for one small quilt included--they mean, this book only shows you how to make one quilt and that's what is included! That's right, you only end up with the pattern for the heart quilt shown on the cover. And when they say small, they mean really small.

Why then did I give this one quilt, 16 page booklet book five stars? Because the instructions are very clear and has black and white photos and diagrams throughout to guide you. Even though you only have instructions for the heart quilt, you could easily apply the skills you learn to any other foundation paper piecing quilt block. I bought it to learn the basics of paper piecing and it teaches that, but you will need to get other books or patterns for any other quilts.

This is a great instruction tool for learning to paper piece quilt blocks. Carol Doak does a fine job of taking the quilter step-by-step through the process, and the photos are very well done. I am confident that I can do the project with the paper piecing pattern that is provided in the book. Many thanks to Carol Doak for this fine little pattern/instruction book! I recommend it to any quilter who wants to learn to paper piece, no matter what their quilting skill level is.

I was taught in a class how to paper piece and dreaded doing it on my quilt.
When I received this book it helped my confidence to paper piece.




Thank you,
Julie Yunker

If you are interested in the art of embroidering with metalic threads, this book has what you need -- fab illustrations, ideas, how to information.

This book inspires me to take some steps further in quilting. I like the traditional quilts, but I always look for something new, for me this is new and so beautiful! I hope I can learn a lot from the pictures and the stories in it. So much detail! Practice, practice, practice!

First off, artist Ellen Anne Eddy is amazing and this book shows her work with beautiful images. Descriptions are given about each piece with color choices and the technique(s) used. After page 60 the learning begins with clear written details on how to learn her techniques with excellent illustrations that compliment the writing - very useful when you practice on your own. A brief section on color theory is also provided as a reminder to help make your art even better along with a short segment on thread dying and drawing techniques. I have to say her work is truly unique, and with these guidelines I believe that other thread artists can utilize some of her techniques for their own design style.

I love this book it is very informative and love her techniques it is worth every penny

Ellen Anne's book is much like the class she teaches, this book reinforces the principles she uses in her daily work. If you want to thread paint like a pro, this is the book for you.