Cari Buziak

This book give basic instruction on the design of Celtic knots containing animals. It describes a few of the traditional animals, the symbols used and how the elements are put together. Then it discusses new animal designs using the same style.

Overall, the book is nice and has clear instructions. I felt that there was a lot of wasted space and duplicate material. The book is small, 122 pages, so it feels like they were just trying to fill it out.

For each animal discussed, the book contains a section on creating the animal, then a section on including that in a full pattern. The second part varies very little from animal to animal and could have been a more general section in itself.

Overall, I am happy with the book. It has some very nice pictures of the author’s knots. I did get it well-discounted and might have been frustrated paying the $16.95 cover price.… (mais)

Most projects in this collection can be completed in a short amount of time. Many designs are similar to freebies found on various manufacturer, designer, and shop sites on the Internet. I found only a handful of patterns that interested me enough to stitch. The best audience for this may be a child just learning to stitch as several designs are quick to stitch, colorful, don't require a lot of fabric, and can provide a quick sense of accomplishment. For the nearly $20 purchase price, I will not be purchasing a copy for myself. Stitchers probably want to browse a copy in a bookstore or cross stitch shop before purchasing it to make sure it interests them enough. This review is based on an electronic copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley with expectations of an honest review.… (mais)

I received this e-book ARC of Whimsical Cross-Stitch through Net Galley from Dover Publications in exchange for a truthful review.

The book starts off with the requisite introduction about fabrics, needles, floss and how-to cross-stitch. Then, the book is all about the patterns! Over 130 patterns are included, with DMC floss used in the legends. The patterns are in black and white; each pattern comes with a color reproduction of the final product.

Most of the patterns are small and perfect for the beginner. They are truly cross-stitch patterns, with only a sprinkling of backstitching included for effect.

I can't wait to try these patterns: the patterns in the Dashing Designs chapter are most intriguing to me. Other chapters include Animals: Real & Fantasy, Home& Hearth, Nature in Bloom and Special Occasions.… (mais)