Friday, November 4, 2022

All I Want for Christmas is Yarn by Lindsey Newns

 This is a lovely collection of crochet patterns to make for the festive season and beyond. It is a book that has something for people of all crochet skill levels. There are patterns here for things a very new learner can make, providing instant results. There are also patterns for those with more experience and everyone in between. There are stash buster projects, patterns for seasonal decorations, gifts for others or for oneself. It is also a book of ideas. One thing I really liked about the book was the fact that while all 30 of the projects could be made specifically for Christmas, many could be for any time of year, whether as written or with a few tweaks. For example, change the colour yarn used for some of the decorations or stuffed toys and they are no longer limited to a certain time of year. The adorable gingerbread man is a gingerbread man because of the colour of yarn and the embellishments. Use a different yarn and leave off some or all embellishments and you'd have a cute toy for all the year.

Beyond the patterns, which are written in UK terms (which are different from those used in the US), the author provides much useful information, like a glossary of crochet terms, a table showing the US equivalents to the UK terms, one showing the same for needle sizes, and explanations of the stitches used in crochet.

I have taught crochet at a yarn shop, to groups, and to individuals through the years and had this book been available then, I would have recommended it to my students. It provides projects that could lead to instant gratification, which is important to beginners. It also gives them something to aim for and to build upon as their skills expand. 

I received a copy of the e-book in exchange for a fair review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author.


6 comments:

Brenda said...

Sounds great

Shari Burke said...

It's a good one :-)

Vicki said...

I didn't get the crafty bone from my mom :(

Shari Burke said...

It's never too late! 🙂

Lowcarb team member said...

This does look and sound a good book.
I like the cover showing the 'crafty things'.

All the best Jan

Shari Burke said...

There are some fun projects in here. :-)