The New Tunisian Crochet Book Review
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE crochet and all that it encompasses. I especially love reviewing new crochet books that come out on our market. I am lucky to have a wonderful library full of fun, interesting and informative knit and crochet books.
One of my favorite kind of books are technique books that teach me new things about crochet and other needlework art forms. When I received Dora’s new book “The New Tunisian Crochet” Contemporary Designs from Time Honored Traditions, by Dora Ohrenstein, “Interweave/F+W Media; $24.95.”, I knew that I had hit the jackpot! Dora and Interweave have put together an incredibly beautiful and informative book!
“Wow”, is all I kept saying as I flipped through it’s pages. To say that Dora’s new book is beautiful is an understatement. It is not only a lovely book that I will always cherish, it has and is teaching me wonderful things about the art of Tunisian crochet!
Before I show you some of the actual designs in the book, I would like to discuss the overall text of the book itself.
Dora begins the book with a chapter entitled, “What is Tunisian Crochet”. It includes beautiful photographs, a brief history of Tunisian crochet and how it has been brought into the modern world. Another chapter discusses all you need to know to work Tunisian crochet including techniques, basic stitches, decreasing and increasing, working tall and textured stitches, changing colors and so much more! You learn how to make a swatch and there are many tips and tricks along the way. There is a chapter for special techniques and effects including working circles, combining Tunisian with regular crochet, Tunisian colorwork and even Tunisian entrelac. In a separate chapter on stitch patterns, there are 28 pages and 33 beautiful stitch patterns, all in beautiful color. The book concludes with projects for 11 stunning Tunisian crochet projects, from sweaters to easy smaller projects, as well as some home decor, designed by “some of crochet’s masters“. This book has everything you will ever need to get started and go way beyond learning about the art of Tunisian crochet. I will always treasure this beautiful book in my library!
Continue below to see a sampling of some of the projects in this book and read about how you can win a copy of this book from Interweave!
Below is a small sampling of some of the projects in the book.
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| Marisol Cardigan designed by Andrea Graciarena |
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| Shantay Skirt designed by Doris Chan |
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| Ariadue Sampler Throw designed by Lisa Daehlin |
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| Natalia Scarf designed by Dora Ohrenstein |
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| Sierra Bag designed by Margaret Hubert |
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| Najmee Rug designed by Dora Ohrenstein |
As you can see, there is quite a variety of projects in this book!
Would you like a chance to win a copy of The New Tunisian Crochet? First make sure that you are a follower of this blog, then comment below which design above is your favorite. Please, PLEASE do not forget to leave me your email address. I cannot contact the winner without it!
One lucky winner will be drawn at random on April 10, 2013.You can also purchase a copy at a reduced rate at Amazon.
DISCLAIMER: Interweave/F&W Media provided the review copy and also the giveaway copy for this blog.
National Crochet Month 2013
I will be announcing the THREE winners of our newest giveaway in honor of National Crochet Month at the end of March. For YOUR chance to win crochet patterns from any of my Etsy shops, please continue to comment on the previous post here:
http://crochetcafe.blogspot.com/2013/03/national-crochet-month-blog-tours.html
You can read all about it at the link above!
I will also be posting a new book review and NEW GIVEAWAY sometime this week! We have lots to giveaway in honor of National Crochet Month!
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In the meantime, continue your tour of Crochetville’s “A Tour Through Crochet Country” for the rest of this month!
CGOA’s wonderful recent past President, Amy Shelton, co-owner of Crochetville, says there are 1.7 million crocheting households in the United States! How great is that!
With the Blog Tours Through Crochet Country, we hope to reach as many of those crochet households as we can! Thank you, Amy and Donna for all your hard work in putting this together. All of the designers who are participating this month are either professional or associate professional members of CGOA.
In honor of National Crochet Month, Cute Crochet Chat will be giving away three patterns from EACH of our Etsy shops! There will be THREE winners chosen. Continue reading to find out how you can be eligible to win!
Before I begin to outline our giveaway at Cute Crochet Chat, I want to let you know about the two non-profit organizations that this BLOG TOUR is really all about!
All of the designers who are participating this month are either professional or associate professional members of CGOA. You can find all the details about the participants HERE.
Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to serving the needs of crocheters all over the world. For a membershop fee of $35 members, receive a magazine subscription to Crochet! Magazine worth $21.97, along with our newsletter inserted into your print issue of Crochet! six times a year. Members can attend two wonderful Chain Link Conferences each year offering discounts to members. By joining, you have access to thousands of other crocheters who love their craft as much as you do! If you are interested in furthering your crochet education, or becoming a Professional in the business, CGOA offers wonderful programs. There are also many great local chapters that you can become a part of. Visit our CGOA website to find out more!
During the setup of this Blog Tour for National Crochet Month, it was decided to support the charity, Project Night Night Many crocheters love to crochet for charity and this is such a worthwhile cause where you can donate either money or crochet blankets to the cause. We hope you will also help support our charity for National Crochet Month, PROJECT NIGHT NIGHT, Helping Homeless Children Have
Sweeter Dreams. From their website: “Every child who receives one of our Night Night Packages leaves the shelter owning a book which encourages reading and family bonding, a security blanket which can be cuddled, and a stuffed animal which can become a cherished friend. We have one objective – to deliver our Night Night Packages to every homeless child in the country who needs one”. You can read much more about the Program HERE.
If you are new to this blog, I would love for you to stay up-to-date with everything related to Cute Crochet Chat! You can connect with me personally at all these fun places around the web!
Ravelry (cutecrochet)
Twitter (cutecrochet)
Pinterest (cutecrochet)
Facebook
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| Baby Dinosaur from Too Cute Crochet |
As stated above, Cute Crochet Chat will be giving away three patterns from EACH of our Etsy shops!
Cute Crochet offers a wide variety of quick, easy and fun-to-crochet patterns, so we have something for everyone!
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| The Bristol from Jocelyn Designs |
There will be THREE winners chosen. In order to be eligible to win, let us know what you are working on during National Crochet Month AND more IMPORTANTLY which of our Etsy pattern shops you would like to win patterns from from, Jocelyn Designs, Too Cute Crochet or Cute Crochet Shop!
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| Bookbag Bunny |
THREE lucky winners from each of the shop choices will be chosen at random on the last day of our Tour Through Crochet Country.
In the meantime, Happy Crocheting!
Check out the National Crochet Blog Tour 2013
DID YOU KNOW MARCH IS NATIONAL CROCHET MONTH? Well, it is!
All month long several professional and associate professional designers from the
have been and will be participating in a wonderful Blog Tour through your favorite crochet forum,
CROCHETVILLE!
I will be publishing my Blog Post for the tour on Thursday, March 14, so stay tuned for a great pattern giveaway!
In the meantime, you can read all about it HERE
and visit all the wonderful designers who have posted between March 1st and today! There are LOTS of fun things and great giveaway! You won’t be disappointed!
Texting Mitts Book Review and Giveaway
Not quite a year ago, I fell in love with Fingerless Gloves when my dear friend Wendy, crocheted a pair for me! I love the look of them, but also appreciate them when I am out in the cold but still need my fingers free to text. I have even worn them for crocheting in the car when it is chilly!
So today I am priviledged to be reviewing a new book for Leisure Arts called Texting Mitts, designed by fellow designer Andee Graves.
This book has a wide range of designs (eight in all) each with different patterns and skill levels. So there is something for everyone!
I especially love the fact that Andee used #1 Sock Yarn, which I think makes the mitts more soft and stretchy than they would have been in another type of yarn. Sock yarn come in such beautiful pallettes and Andee makes use of some of the best. Due to a variety of patterns, these mitts are fun to do and because they all are crocheted with an E or F hook, they will work up fairly quickly as well!
Another added feature to this great book are Bonus Online Tutorials. Wherever you see a camera icon in the instructions, there is a video online tutorial to accompany the instructions! That is a wonderful feature for beginners or those who are just not quite sure of a particular stitch pattern or technique!
I love the fact that several of the designs are sized for Small, Medium and Large and that all the yarns used are readily available to everyone. This book has beautiful color photos, which show up the different stitch patterns very well. It is sure to be another winner for Leisure Arts and Andee!
Here are four of my favorites:
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| Chunky V’s Lace Mitts |
This dainty design has a pretty lace pattern, just like its name indicates. I love the double crochet shell design and the use of front and back hdc stitches around the cuff. The design begins at the fingers and the cuff is added last. Directions are given for three sizes and it is rated Easy.
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| Diamond Back Mitts |
Diamond Back Mitts have a large variety of stitches, including Foundation Single Crochet, Front and Back Half Double Crochet and Treble, and Cluster Cross stitches. All the stitches are included in the video tutorials. This Mitt begins at the cuff and ends at the finger ribbing. The skill level is Intermediate and it also includes three sizes.
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| Cabled Shell Mitt |
I love the beautiful cable shell pattern in this design. It is so pretty and looks fun to crochet! The design uses Foundation Single Crochet, Front and Back Half Double Crochet and Front Post Double Crochet. As before, all special stitches are explained in the Online Video Tutorial. This pretty mitt uses an E crochet hook and comes in one Women’s size. The Mitt begins at the Finger Ribbing and concludes with the Body. It is rated Easy.
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| Seashell Mitts |
The Seashell Mitts are also rated Easy. They come in one size and utilize a very nice Cross Stitch pattern that is included in the Online Video Tutorial. The design starts at the Cuff and concludes with the scalloped finger edge. I love the color pattern of the Patons Kroy Sock yarn used, called Aqua Fleck. It is designed in one woman’s size.
Additional information and photos for each design in Texting Mitts can be seen at Ravelry HERE.
Due to the generosity of Leisure Arts, ALL readers have a chance to win a copy of this new book.
Just leave a comment on this post! As always, PLEASE leave CONTACT information,
so I can email you in case you are the winner! A random drawing will be held Thursday, February 21, 2013.
More reviews and giveways are coming! To keep up, you can JOIN this blog OR SUBSCRIBE to our RSS feed, both shown in the left sidebar of the blog.
DISCLOSURE: Leisure Arts provided Cute Crochet Chat with a free review copy of Texting Mitts and will also be providing the GIVEAWAY copy.
Crochet Ponchos Book Review and Giveaway
CROCHET PONCHOS -
Stylish Looks For Every Wardrobe – Designed by Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby – Published by Leisure Arts
In Shannon’s latest book from Leisure Arts, he presents six interesting takes on a very classic design. All look simple to crochet, yet they redefine ways to create the once-again fashionable poncho. Let’s showcase the details of each design:
I am in LOVE with the cover design, THE CIRCLE PONCHO! Not only is it beautiful and rich looking, it is constructed in a very interesting way. The design begins at the bottom and continues up the poncho in a unique, tailored design, with the cowl added last. Crochet perfection! The skill level is EASY. It uses #4 worsted weight yarn and is a one-size fits all garment. The Circle Poncho uses Foundation Single Crochet, which is fully explained and traditional single crochet.
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| THE CIRCLE PONCHO |
What makes the IN THE ROUND PONCHO (below) special is the use of a Long Half Double Crochet. This design begins at the neckline and the stitches are gradually increased. The skill level is EASY. This poncho uses #4 worsted weight yarn and is also a one-size garment. All of the stitches are fully explained.
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| IN THE ROUND PONCHO |
The RECTANGLE PONCHO looks simple, yet incorporates a very pretty and fun-to-do Spike stitch. I love the way this garment looks on the model! This one-size design is constructed in two panels, making it somewhat portable. The skill level is EASY and it uses #4 worsted weight yarn. This poncho begins at the bottom and is worked up to the shoulders.
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| RECTANGLE PONCHO |
The TRIANGLES PONCHO has an innovative design construction. Stitches used in this design included Foundation Half Double Crochet, Front Post Double Crochet, Half Double Crochet and Single Crochet. The skill level is EASY, the yarn required is #4 worsted weight and it is also a one-size fits all garment. The design begins at the neck edge with gradual decrease rows and color changes culminating in the point at the bottom. It looks more complicated to construct than it really is, which make it so desirable to crochet! A contrasting color collar and a drawstring complete the look.
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| TRIANGLES PONCHO |
Even though the ACCENT PANEL PONCHO is also a one-sized garment, it looks generous enough to be wearable by all, including plus sizes! It’s sideways construction is unique and the alternate colored center panel makes this a figure flattering poncho as well. The skill level is EASY and it uses #4 worsted weight yarn. It also uses the Half Double Crochet Stitch including the Foundation Half Double Crochet.
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| ACCENT PANEL PONCHO |
Last but not least, the BORDER PONCHO uses the most diverse amount of crochet stitches than any of the other ponchos. Stitches include Foundation Half Double Crochet, Front Post Half Double Crochet, Back Post Half Double Crochet and a Long Single Crochet. It, too, is generously sized to fit most body types! The panels are constructed sideways and the center panel make it an equally flattering design. The use of special stitches creates a beautifully textured garment! The Skill Level is listed as EASY and it also is crocheted with #4 worsted weight yarn.
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| BORDER PONCHO |
All Yarn Information is included in this book and every sample garment is crocheted with readily available yarn! As always, Leisure Arts has provided great stitch explanations and diagrams.
You can view ALL the details of these designs on Crochet Poncho’s Ravelry page. Book can be purchased through AMAZON or the LEISURE ARTS WEBSITE.
For those who are quick enough, KNIT PICKS is having a 40% off SALE of all of their knit and crochet books. You can purchase CROCHET PONCHOS here until 2/19/13!
Would you like to win a copy of this beautiful book? If so, leave a comment on this post. Please let us all know what you are crocheting at the moment! I am working on several new designs for my women’s accessory shop and also some custom design orders for a beautiful little girl!
As always, PLEASE leave CONTACT information, so I can email you in case you are the winner! A random drawing will be held Thursday, February 7, 2013.
Stay tuned to Cute Crochet Chat for more great reviews and giveaways in the month of February! You can JOIN this blog OR SUBSCRIBE to our RSS feed, both shown in the left sidebar of the blog.
DISCLOSURE: Leisure Arts provided Cute Crochet Chat with a free review copy of Crochet Ponchos and will also be providing the GIVEAWAY copy.
Cool Weather Fashions Review and Giveaway
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| Uptown Jacket |
COOL WEATHER FASHIONS Creative Crochet Designs For Every Wardrobe
by Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby for Shibaguyz Designs and Leisure Arts.
I am honored to be reviewing one of Shibaguyz’s newest crochet pattern books, Cool Weather Fashions. Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby is one of my favorite crochet wearables designer. His designs are trendy, cutting edge and very well designed. Your won’t have any guesswork when you crochet one of Shannon’s designs.
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| Wrap Front Cardi |
Cool Weather Fashions is no exception.
The designs in this book look fun to crochet. Each one is perfect for Fall, Winter and even early Spring. They are all classics with a new spin and can be your ‘go to’ pieces for everyday wear.
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| Boyfriend Hoodie |
This crochet book has wonderful large photographs and easy-to-understand schematics. The shapes of the crochet pieces look easy to do, yet the details of these designs take ‘easy’ to the next level. Sizes run from X-Small (33″ chest measurement) to 3X (53″), a great size range!
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| Perfect Cardi |
I love all five of the crochet fashions in this book, but my favorites are the the Perfect Cardi, with it’s pretty pattern stitch
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| Vintage Opera Jacket |
and the Vintage Opera Jacket, with it’s trendy bulky weight collar and ‘over-the-hand’ sleeves!
You can purchase this book at Amazon or on the Leisure Arts website. If you click on the NAME of each design below it’s photgraph, the link will take you to it’s Ravelry page for more information!
Would you like to own this book? Leisure Arts has graciously offered to give away a copy of Cool Weather Fashions to ONE lucky winner! To be eligible to win, please COMMENT below. Let us know which sweater from this book is your favorite design. PLEASE, PLEASE do not forget to include your email address, or I will not be able to contact you! One winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, January 23, 2013. Thank you to all who participate!
DISCLOSURE: Leisure Arts provided Cute Crochet Chat with a free review copy of Cool Weather Fashions.
