Book Reviews

Hello everyone! We recently purchased three new knitting books, and here is my review for them!

The first one is The Happy Hooker, by Debbie Stoller. It has 90 pages of crochet reference in the front (which means a long time until you get to the patterns) but it's good for people like me who aren't quite experts in the field yet. Once you do get to the patterns, they do have a range of different types and styles of things. I love the One-Skein Scarf and the Stripes (and stripes) Forever scarf would be fun to make too. They have two nice shawls, and an awesome cowboy hat called Yeehaw Lady. Perfect for Route 66! I'm planning on making one in black. Then we start getting into some Gothic stuff. I know there are people out there that wear that style, but this book kind of over-represents them. Many of these patterns are covered in skulls or are red and black. At my school, for example, out of ten tables, only 1 the "Gothic" people occupy. I guess it's good that there are patterns for them, but does half the book need to be that way?

Moving on, the purses In Bloom and Fit to be Tied are really quite cute! I absolutely love Orange You Glad, which sports a cute orange and has bright orange, yellow, and green. The Exchange Bag looks n ice and simple and would be a good project for me, plus it looks quite useful! I also think the Fat-Bottom Bag looks pretty fun, and is probably also pretty easy. I like pretty much everything in the Spring & Summer section of the book, especially Short 'N Sweet and Knot Ugly Shrug. When you reach the Fall & Winter section, you immediately see Prepster, and I have to admit I absolutely LOVE that jacket! Just so everyone knows, that section also contains a skirt called Violet Beauregard. I personally wouldn't make it in violet, but it is pretty nice! Next we stumble upon the Accessories section. I love One-Night Glam and think it would be fun to make!

So all and all, I say this book is great because it has a lot of stuff I would make, but some stuff seems a little over the top or not quite my style.

The next book is Knitting Loves Crochet by Candi Jensen. It's about both crocheting and knitting on a project, and it really is a great book! There are an awful lot of glove and arm warmer patterns, which would be great in a cold climate! In this book, they even have a knitted leash for your dog! I like the Simple Cardigan Touched with Crochet, and the Tweed-and-Flowers Cardigan, but I am not sure if I would make the flowers across the neckline. My favorite pattern in the book is Shaped Cardigan with Shell Sleeves! I love the color it's made in too! I also think that the Dressed-Up Tank Top is quite cute! And I think the pillow patterns near the end of the book are so cool!

Overall, this is a great book! I like it because most of the patterns (that would fit me) are very mature, but still stylish for my age group AND adults. I certainly recommend it!

The next book is Family Knits by Debbie Bliss. As soon as I opened this book I felt excited to see what was inside, because they had amazing stylish stuff for your baby and toddler, so I thought it would be like that for everyone. But when I finished the book I was wondering, is the teenager not included in the word "Family"? The sizes stop at age ten, and then skip to adult. I know I am supposed to want to make a smaller size of the adult patterns, but they are all more for the refined, working adult, and really I don't have that elegant sense of style quite yet. I like fun things that contain color, and everything here lacks much color, or else is way too bright. I know I can make it in a different color, but dull white doesn't excite me, and bright orange kind of steers me away. I just feel a bit ripped off, since she called it Family Knits but skipped about 15 years in there.

Even though I don't love the book, my mom does, and I think that's really who it's for, is adults. And if you have a kid 10 or under, I bet they would love it too, since there are lots of cute and stylish patterns for them. Just don't buy it and expect it to have much for teenagers.

I hope these reviews help you out a bit when considering your next purchase! Have a great day!