Coastal Crochet Book Review

I am a diehard beach lover. I was born on the coast of California and grew up by the beautiful San Francisco Bay. So when I read an Editorial Note on Ravelry regarding Karen Whooley's new book Coastal Crochet, I knew I needed to have it!
The note on Ravelry spoke about walking along the beach and warming your feet in the sand or feeling the cool water gently lapping against your toes -- MY HAPPY PLACE!

When I flipped through the pages of Coastal Crochet and saw the beautiful designs, I knew that Karen had captured this wonderful feeling exactly!

You can see that Karen put a lot of time and attention to detail in Coastal Crochet. Every aspect of the book has been carefully thought out and meticulously constructed, from the lovely crochet designs to the thorough instructions to the beautiful photography.

It has twelve wonderful crochet wearables, designed for sizes S through 2X. If you LOVE timeless designs that are well written, then you won't be disappointed with this book. These designs contain detailed schematics and charts and they are very clearly written. As always with her

style, fashion-wise, the book is filled with lovely wearables that have become Karen's signature. She put a lot of thought into choosing a variety of beautiful styles and colors that would appeal to many different tastes, yet still remain with the cool beachy theme of the Northwest Coastal area.

One of my favorites is the beautiful Mist Open-Work Cardigan,

 as well as the lovely Depths Side-to-Side Shawl.

But there are so many pretty crochet projects in Coastal Crochet!

Each design is created with beautiful fingering OR lace weight yarns in a variety of colors.

You can purchase this beautiful book through AMAZON at THIS LINK.

You can visit Karen anytime at her BLOG,  .

You can see ALL of Karen's designs from Coastal Crochet on Ravelry HERE.

You can also see Karen's extensive design portfolio on RAVELRY.



This blog contains affiliate links.

Book Review and Giveaway Crochet Geometry

Do you have difficulty with Math or did you struggle with Geometry in high school, but LOVE to crochet garments? Then don't let the title of this new crochet wearables book fool you!

OR 

Are you a crochet Math geek who would learning more about manipulating fundamental shapes into intriguing designs and patterns that were born from a collaboration of geometry and art? Then you, too, will love this new crochet wearables book Crochet Geometry by

Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby!

Once again, I am honored to be reviewing one of Shibaguyz's newest crochet pattern books
Crochet Geometry  published by Lark Crafts.  
Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby continues to be one of my favorite crochet wearables designer.

Shannon's designs are trendy, cutting edge, very well designed and flatter most figures. He always takes the guesswork out of your project by providing all you need to master any of these sophisticated patterns, whether you are a beginner to crochet garment making or a seasoned veteran!

How does Geometry play into these designs? The silhouettes start with basic shapes: circles, rectangles and triangles. The shapes are then sewn together to create some "fashionable garments with minimal shaping and maximum drape."

As always, Shannon has included a generous amount of sizes up to 5X and most have very easy shaping.

This book is chock full of some really beautiful designs in crochet. Shannon continues to out-do himself!

 
There are 15 designs including shrugs, cardigans and wraps and as always are BEAUTIFULLY photographed and illustrated by Jason Mullett-Bowlsby.

From Shannon's own Introduction:
"The bottom line is this: whether this is your first or your hundredth garment, you will appreciate the use of simple shapes that create powerful visual impact through texture and lace. Finally, there's the bonus benefit--brag-worthy results when you show off your finished work".

 If you would like to read more about Crochet Geometry, you can do so HERE.

Would you like to enter for a chance to win a copy of this book? 

Just send your email address with Crochet Geometry in the subject line to cutecrochetATgmailDOTcom 
for a chance to win! 

Giveaway ends Monday April 25, 2016!  

  Lark Crafts contributed a copy of this book for my review.

Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet Book Review & Giveaway

Today, I bring you a review of a really fun book Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet by crochet designer, Brenda Bourg, and published by Stackpole Books.

Are you familiar with Tunisian Crochet?

Wikipedia describes Tunisian Crochet in this way:
"Tunisian crochet, also known as Afghan crochet, is a type of crochet that uses an elongated hook, often with a stopper on the handle end, called an Afghan hook. It is sometimes considered to be a mixture of crocheting and knitting."

Have you ever wanted to try Tunisian Crochet? Or perhaps you have tried Tunisian Crochet, but would love to tackle the beautiful color-changing technique of Fair Isle?

You don't need to worry if you have never tried this technique before or if you have only done it occasionally. The author, Brenda Bourg includes a great tutorial on how to do Tunisian Crochet if you are a beginner. She also includes beautiful step by step photos for mastering the color changes needed to complete the projects in Fair Isle Crochet.

Included in the book is a great explanation of Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet, 17 pages of step-by-step photographs of basic Tunisian Crochet stitches and color change techniques, how to read charts and everything you need to learn Fair Isle Crochet and complete the projects in this book!

The charts are large, colorful and very easy to follow. As a bonus, they could also be used for other color changing techniques in needlework!

If you are a beginner, there are small but fun projects to help you master this Fair Isle Crochet. There are a total 16 great Tunisian Crochet projects in this book!

From the publisher: "Get the look of knitted Fair Isle with the ease of Tunisian Crochet"!

Would you like to enter for a chance to win a copy of this book? It’s easy! 

Just send your email address with Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet in the subject line to cutecrochetATgmailDOTcom 
for a chance to win! 

Giveaway ends Thursday March 21, 2016! 

Stackpole Books contributed a copy of this book for my review.

Broomstick Lace Crochet Book Review and Giveaway!

I am thrilled to bring you a review of a new crochet book by Stackpole Books,

"Broomstick Lace Crochet, A New Look at a Vintage Stitch" 

by Donna Wolfe. 

 I haven't done Broomstick Lace crochet for years now, but after seeing this beautiful book, I going to try it once again!

Broomstick lace is an old crochet technique that has been around for years. BUT, Donna has brought this vintage technique into the 21st century!

The book is FULL of projects that I want to try. There is such a variety of designs from all categories, so there is something for every crochet taste. 

Several of the projects are smaller, which would make them more quick to complete and easier for the beginner to Broomstick Lace.

The photographs in this book are large, colorful and beautiful!  There are pages and pages of technique photos, so a newbie will have no trouble figuring out how to do this stitch!

Each design contains separate NOTES that will help you to complete your project more easily.

This book uses a variety of weights of yarn, but because of the 'broomstick' larger crochet hook, they work up quickly.

With 20 designs in all, you are sure to find a project you want to try!

Donna has a few videos that can be accessed on her site, to will help you try broomstick lace. 
Click below:

https://youtu.be/rJX9gA6h9dA?list=PL-Wznh_zZEy9VhQf21UF8UMnvqyhKHPUf

https://youtu.be/BRRcbQ9kPXs?list=PL-Wznh_zZEy9VhQf21UF8UMnvqyhKHPUf

 Would you like to enter for a chance to win a copy of this book? It’s easy! 

Just send your email address with Broomstick Lace Crochet in the subject line to cutecrochetATgmailDOTcom 
for a chance to win! 

Giveaway ends Thursday February 4, 2016! 

Stackpole Books contributed a copy of this book for my review.

Big Hook Rag Crochet Review and Giveaway!

Happy 2016 everyone!
I have a great GIVEAWAY to kick off the New Year!

I have LOVED crocheting with FABRIC and a large hook for many years now. I used to teach a Fabric Crochet class nationally that included projects, as well as techniques for crocheting with fabric.

I am so happy to be able to present a review of Dedri's Uys' newest crochet book,
BIG HOOK RAG CROCHET, published by Lark Crafts.

Make sure you read all the way to the bottom to learn how to enter to win a copy of this great crochet book!

Big Hook Rag Crochet is great for the beginner crocheter or anyone who wants to learn the techniques of crocheting from and creating your own fabric 'yarn'.

From the Publisher: "Learn to crochet with strips of fabric made from your unwanted garments or leftover stash and transform them into stylish accessories for you and your home". That means you can crochet with a large hook from recycled fabrics! You can also use ANY new fabric that you think might be a good fit for your project!

This book, edited by Dedri Uys, has big, colorful photographs and 25 "inspiring patterns for homewares and accessories, using recycled fabric". The projects in this book have been contributed by several different crochet designers!

I love the fact that this book has a wonderful TECHNIQUES section that includes everything that you need to know to crochet with fabric and a large hook. Categories in this section include, Using the Proper Hook and Getting Gauge, Cutting and Join Yarn (fabric), Techniques for creating yarn (fabric) and excellent photos to go along with the instructions. It also has great Beginning Crochet directions with photographs, that even a beginner to the art of crochet will be able to easily understand.

You can follow the Blog Tour that is going on for this new crochet book. Many of the blog posts have giveaways going on as well!

12/07/2015	KT and the Squid
12/15/2015	Jessie At Home
12/20/2015	The Stitchin Mommy
01/03/2016	American Crochet
01/10/2016	Cute Crochet Chat
01/13/2016	Fiber Flux
01/17/2016	Simply Collectible Crochet
01/24/2016	Underground Crafter
02/01/2016	Petals to Picots
02/07/2016	Kaleidoscope Arts & Gifts
02/14/2016	Busting Stitches

You can view ALL the project photographs with descriptions on Ravelry at:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/big-hook-rag-crochet/patterns

Would you like to enter for a chance to win a copy of this book? It’s easy! Just send your email address with Big Hook Rag Crochet in the subject line to cutecrochetATgmailDOTcom for a chance to win! Giveaway ends Monday, January 18, 2016! 

LarkCrafts contributed a copy of this book for my review.

Colorful Crochet Lace Book Review and GIVEAWAY!

Obviously, I LOVE crochet! My tastes in our craft have changed dramatically over the many years that I have crocheted, but one thing is certain: I LOVE crochet lace and 'lacey' patterns. It is what drew me to crochet so many years ago.

So, when I flipped through Mary Jane Hall's newest crochet book, Colorful Crochet Lace published by Interweave, I was in heaven!

Truly, the designs in this book are BEAUTIFUL! Each project is as pretty as the next!

After reading through this book and seeing all the incredible designs in it, I believe that this is one of the best wearable crochet design books I have ever seen!

 
Colorful Crochet Lace has a total of 22 designs, including both garments and accessories. Each pattern features 'lacey' and feminine stitch designs. Some of the designs are intricate, but others are simple openwork lace patterns that are surprisingly easy to do!

Several of the projects are crocheted using the Graduated Stitch Method, a technique Mary Jane developed that allows for shaping and customized fit without increases or decreases.  Mary Jane originally introduced this technique in her Crochet That Fits book.

The photography is stunning and the diagrams and schematics are consistent with the perfection that we all associate with Interweave publications. I also love the Custom Fit information that is included with some of the designs.

  There is definitely something for every crocheter in this book.

All of the projects in this book can be seen on Ravelry at the link below.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/colorful-crochet-lace/patterns

From the Back Cover:

Mary Jane Hall is a crochet designer and best-selling author of Positively Crochet! and Crochet That Fits, which was voted “Best Crochet Pattern Book of 2008!” by the Crochet Liberation Front. She is a mentor with the CGOA and speaks at various crochet gatherings and fashion shows. Mary Jane has designed for popular magazines including Interweave Crochet, Vogue Knitting Crochet, and Fifth Avenue Magazine and has appeared on the TV show Knit & Crochet Now. 

You can read my review of Mary Jane's previous book for Crochet That Fits. Don't forget to check out another of her books, Positively Crochet as well!

GIVEAWAY
With most of our book reviews, my blog readers have a chance to WIN a free copy!
It is never difficult to enter a GIVEAWAY at Cute Crochet Chat!

Just leave a COMMENT below telling me what is your favorite item to crochet AND THEN send me a note to cutecrochet AT gmail.com with your email address, so I know where to get in touch with you if you are the winner!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED, THANK YOU!