Book Description
Here are animals from every corner of the globe just waiting to become someone's best friend. From a colorful parrot to a friendly dolphin, a prowling tiger to farmyard ducks and hens, every project has easy-to-read patterns and clear advice on how to create just the right expression on each face. "An invaluable addition to any knitter's bookshelf." --Crafts Beautiful
Customer Reviews:
great ideas, but poorly conveyed.......2007-09-13
I am an intermediate knitter and was excited to find this book online. It has many great animals to knit, some that are rather quirky. However, I find her patterns to be somewhat difficult to follow. When she refers to rows she seems to include both the knit and purl rows into one row, which I haven't seen before, so when she says "work 10 rows" you're really working 20. It makes the patterns confusing. I have a friend who is working on the zebra and has also run into technical errors.
Brilliant. Simple as that........2007-09-07
I got this book for fun and I loved it immediately. The ideas are great - there's not a single project I wouldn't want to knit. The animals - and people - are colourful and loveable. What's important, the instructions are clear and the author clearly states if the projects are easy or difficult - and why. Great book.
Knitting with brown was never so much fun!.......2007-08-26
I have made about 15 of the projects in this book and can't stop myself. The photography is beautiful! The projects are fantastic. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that already has a firm grasp of knitting.
Great Book for Animal Knitters.......2007-07-03
You want a book about knitting animals. This is it. The patterns are very easy to follow. I highly recommend getting this book. Wide variety of animals.
The Best!- This book makes you look good........2007-04-10
I would give this book more stars if I could! I consider myself an intermediate-level knitter, but I would even recommend this to beginning knitters: there's a lot to learn from these patterns! Each toy can easily be knitted in a weekend, and the directions were very accurate and easy to follow. This was quite an inspiring and rewarding book, and the recipients of these little knitted toys were quite impressed with the finished products!
Book Description
Continuing the award-winning Krazy Kat sunday reprints, as designed by Chris Ware.
George Herriman integrated full spectacular color into Krazy Kat in June 1935. The gorgeous evolution continues in our third color volume. Which includes the Sunday strips from all of 1939 and 1940. The color format opens the floodgates for a massive amount of spectacular rare color art from series editor Bill Blackbeard and designer Chris Ware's files, including an unpublished Herriman painting from the 1920s and other surprises.
Krazy Kat is a love story, focusing on the relationships of its three main characters. Krazy Kat adored Ignatz Mouse. Ignatz Mouse simply tolerated Krazy Kat, except for recurrent onsets of targeted tumescence, which found expression in the fast delivery of bricks to Krazy's cranium. Offisa Pup loved Krazy and sought to protect "her" (Herriman always maintained that Krazy was gender-less) by throwing Ignatz in jail. Each of the characters was ignorant of the others' true motivations, and this simple structure allowed Herriman to build entire worlds of meaning into the actions, building thematic depth and sweeping his readers up by the looping verbal rhythms of Krazy & Co.'s unique dialogue. Most of these strips in this volume have not seen print since originally running in Hearst newspapers over 70 years ago.
Customer Reviews:
Another brick in the wall.......2007-06-17
My comic-book store was a little tardy in getting this to me, not that it really matters when you're talking about a strip as well-aged as "Krazy Kat" was in the first place... Reading these colorful Sunday strips, you'd never guess that the world had been plunged into its worst war during this period. Herriman ultimately did slip a few off-hand references to WWII ("tank" bricks, etc.) into later 40s strips, but the brick-related schemes, alliteration, songs, and strange backgrounds during these dreadful 24 months are pretty much indistinguishable from those seen earlier in the 30s. Editor Bill Blackbeard provides his usual quota of half-insightful, half-doubtful "debafflers" - does he REALLY believe that Herriman's offhand use of the phone number "Coconino 69696" in one strip was a veiled reference to oral sex?? - and Jeet Heer contributes an interesting, albeit poorly proof-read, piece on Herriman's use of color. Essential reading for serious comics scholars.
The ménage à trois skips into the 1940s..........2007-04-23
Ever since that historic event on July 26th, 1910 wherein an unnamed mouse "beaned" an unnamed Kat in George Herriman's "The Dingbat Family," an unlikely unreconcilable love has gone unrequited. Somewhere between then and 1940 the Kat fell in love with the mouse. The mouse, with a slight touch of sadism perhaps, grew more and more to savor the tossing of bricks at the Kat's head. Little by little the Kat's non-verbal cartoon responses to these beanings turned from stars of pain into thick, pulsing hearts of love. An impossible love bloomed, a Krazy love. A love between natural enemies, a Kat and a mouse. This irrational and fundamentally flawed comic love came to resemble that often painful and soul-gorging love that vulnerable human beings can experience. The entire comic soon crytallized that nagging and irrational side of the human experience, that mosquito we can't slap, namely, the horrific fact that we sometimes fall hopelessly in love with that which hates us. With that which can never, and never will, return our pining love. But for some reason we cannot stop loving. We then begin to interpret and hope, foolishly, that specific acts the loved object perpetrates are in fact potential signs that reveal a hidden, perhaps unacknowledged, reciprocal love. In such fuzzy states, our wild human brains sometimes interpret insults and negligence as signs of hope. After all, when logic dissipates, abuse trumps indifference, doesn't it? The human condition can sometimes resemble a hammer to the knees. What's wrong with us?
"Krazy Kat," as a work of art, embraces and encapsulates this irrational love. We're not even sure, as longtime readers, whether Krazy is a boy or a girl. Regardless, Krazy continues to love Ignatz unconditionally. Ignatz's singular act of whacking Krazy with bricks metamorphizes into a singular act of love, or so it appears to Krazy's lovesick soul. Ignatz, with a parallel compulsion, loves hurling bricks at Krazy to the point of crazed addiction. Enter the third actor, Offissa Pupp, who patrols Coconino County in the eternal pursuit of sin. Some signs hint that Pupp has eyes for Krazy, so Ignatz's brick tossing arouses the highest contempt within his law-abiding by-the-book being. When caught, Ignatz lands in the ubiquitous jail. But Krazy sighs and romances about the love-brick that bounced off of his/her skull. The law comes inbetween an irrational love. Offissa Pupp thinks he's protecting Krazy from the beast Ignatz, when really he's preventing the one act that Krazy thirsts for day in and day out. Myopic, unknowing law, or, in more general terms, morality, stifles irrational pleasure. This tension never ceases, and it tugs and pulls at our humanity.
By 1940, George Herriman had developed this theme to a level that can only be described as poetry. Such depth of personal expression can unfortunately lead to public neglect, and the final years of Krazy Kat saw the comic's swift decline into obscurity. People don't often look to the comics page for insights into human nature. But in the case of "Krazy Kat" they should have. Unfortunately, the comic was so revolutionary that few probably sensed what was happening on those blanket-sized pages bursting with surreal color and shapes. Readers just wanted a few yuks. Not only that, fewer and fewer people had access to the comic as the 1940s emerged. Thus, at its peak, the comic vaporized from public view. Only Herriman's lifetime contract with Hearst kept it alive in less than a handful of newspapers.
Fantagraphics has also kept "Krazy Kat" alive by publishing this amazing series. Reproduced in full Krazy Kolor, the full impact of these strips explodes on the senses. The September 8th, 1940 strip provides one major highlight. It includes both the classic "zip... pow" centerpiece and the "Mus' be my 'eggo'" panel across the bottom of the main comic. Throughout the quality remains at the utmost. Ancillary characters also appear, most notably Mimi, the French poodle school teacher, who alters the love theme for a short spell.
"Krazy Kat" ended with Herriman's death in 1944. Fantagraphics thus has a mere two volumes to publish to complete a series that has never seen a full reprint. Early on, they also promised to return to the beginning and republish the Sunday panels from 1916 to 1924. These were previously published by Eclipse, but the series ended at 1924. If Fantagraphics succeeds in this endeavor, they will have provided a great service to those who can't get enough of one of the best comic strips ever to grace a newspaper. Roll on.
Amazon.com
Alan Alda's autobiography travels a path less taken. Instead of a sensationalist, name-dropping page-turner, Alda writes about his life as a memory play, an exercise in recollecting his childhood, his parents (dad Robert was a veteran on stage, film, and vaudeville), and his career. You want to know about Alda's most famous work, the eleven years on M*A*S*H? You have exactly 16 pages to do so, and guess what: It's one of the least entertaining parts of the book. But should fans of the award-winning actor-writer-director avoid this slim memoir? Not in the slightest. Slyly humorous and open-hearted, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is a breezy, most enjoyable read. Alda's ability to recall his childhood (including backstage at raunchy vaudeville shows), school years, stage struggles and successes is as entertaining as one of his Emmy-winning teleplays. Alda is inordinately attune recalling life's crystallizing moments: when religion no longer worked for him, how something in his pocket made him forever a better actor, or his mother's painful descent into dementia. Alda's ever present humor is a great asset whether telling a charming love story on meeting his wife Arlene or a life-threatening illness in a remote part of Chile ("I am in and out of consciences, but I never take a break from the screaming. The show must go on."). Like Alda's persona, his book is more human and less flash. What would be filler in most books is often the mot entertaining and revealing here; especially Alda's dynamic relationship with his parents. Really, who else would name his memoir after an unfortunate trip to the taxidermist? The year the book was published during a revival for the 69-year-old; he was nominated for an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony in the same year. --Doug Thomas
Book Description
He’s one of America’s most recognizable and acclaimed actors–a star on Broadway, an Oscar nominee for The Aviator, and the only person to ever win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing, during his eleven years on M*A*S*H. Now Alan Alda has written a memoir as elegant, funny, and affecting as his greatest performances.
“My mother didn’t try to stab my father until I was six,” begins Alda’s irresistible story. The son of a popular actor and a loving but mentally ill mother, he spent his early childhood backstage in the erotic and comic world of burlesque and went on, after early struggles, to achieve extraordinary success in his profession.
Yet
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is not a memoir of show-business ups and downs. It is a moving and funny story of a boy growing into a man who then realizes he has only just begun to grow.
It is the story of turning points in Alda’s life, events that would make him what he is–if only he could survive them.
From the moment as a boy when his dead dog is returned from the taxidermist’s shop with a hideous expression on his face, and he learns that death can’t be undone, to the decades-long effort to find compassion for the mother he lived with but never knew, to his acceptance of his father, both personally and professionally, Alda learns the hard way that change, uncertainty, and transformation are what life is made of, and true happiness is found in embracing them.
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, filled with curiosity about nature, good humor, and honesty, is the crowning achievement of an actor, author, and director, but surprisingly, it is the story of a life more filled with turbulence and laughter than any Alda has ever played on the stage or screen.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
Alan Alda played Hawkeye Pierce for eleven years in the television series M*A*S*H and has acted in, written, and directed many feature films. He has starred often on Broadway, and his avid interest in science has led to his hosting PBS’s Scientific American Frontiers for eleven years. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 and has been nominated for thirty Emmy awards. He is married to the children’s book author/photographer Arlene Alda. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Fun read!.......2007-10-10
What an enjoyable book. I really got a feel for who this guy is - as much as you can from a book. Very down to Earth and funny. Thanks Mr. Alda. What a great way to spend a couple of evenings.
A real glimpse.......2007-10-09
This book was an inspiration to me because i felt that Alan Alda was being really honest in telling his story.
Funny.......2007-09-12
I enjoyed reading this book. I enjoyed watching Alan Alda on M.A.S.H. and he is just as funny when it comes to his writing. I'm passing this book to all my friends.
Too quick! I want more........2007-06-28
Ok, the title caught my attention. That and the info that Alda was able to view every child's dream behind the scenes of a vaudeville act. This book did offer quite a few surprises about how rough Alda's childhood was. He flew through many parts of his life that I wish he would have described more in-depth. Yet, Alda is very frank about his failings along with his success. He only mentions West Wing near the end of the book. I would have loved to hear a little more about his experiences on the show. I am looking forward to the next addition to his life's story.
Love Alan Alda!!.......2007-06-05
I really enjoyed this book. I first became interested in Alan Alda after I started watching reruns of M*A*S*H, just like many other people. However, I know there is more to him than Hawkeye Pierce and it was nice that this book proved that. There is a short section about the show, but nothing more substantial than any other part of the book. It was very interesting to read about his childhood, his struggle with his mom's mental illness and the bizarre things that happened to him throughout his life. I liked the writing style and it flowed very easily.
The only reason I'm not giving this book 5 stars is because I was left wanting more. It was a very short book, especially for someone as accomplished and interesting as he is. I wish it were much longer and much more in depth. Other than that, it was a very good read.
Book Description
John Murphy's sock creations have been featured in such publications as the Washington Post and Readymade magazine. Crafters with a sense of humor, a taste for the weird, wacky, and way-out, and a hunger for the outrageous will find themselves captured by this wildly creative menagerie of sock monsters.
Possessed of irresistible charm, these creatures offer all the inspiration anyone needs to transform cast-off socks into wickedly funny toys. There's Claude with his perplexed expression and tiny tail that stands at full attention. Jordan's always on the prowl; he's got three eyes, so nothing escapes him. And there's something really odd about Estelle. Maybe it's her silly conical head balanced precariously on four tiny feet--or perhaps it's just that she's always sticking out her bright red tongue. Great instructions and charming illustrations make it easy to bring these unique personalities to life. A Selection of the Crafters Choice Book Club.
Customer Reviews:
Great fun for adults with basic sewing skills!.......2007-08-27
This book is very entertaining. I made my first "creature" in an evening. The price of the book is worth the entertainment provided by just looking at the photos of John Murphy's creatures, and reading where they now live and what their interests are. He is a very creative person. If you sew and need a boost for quirky creative ideas, this could be the book for you!
Not for young kids!.......2007-07-03
Don't be fooled; you may THINK "sock creatures" would be a nice family project, but the directions are extremely complicated, and there was no way my daughters, 5 and 7, could participate at all, except maybe choosing the socks! The diagrams are elaborate, and if you aren't already "crafty" they are tough to understand: five different stitches, complex patterns for cutting, etc. So if you have sewing experience and a lot of a certain kind of sock, knock yourself out, but don't even THINK about this kit as "fun for the whole family!"
Very smart creatures!.......2007-05-18
It's good that the instructions are so clear. These creatures are funny and endearing ...and sometimes a little spooky: just the thing for an artist in other media to enjoy constructing. These pieces and the ones inspired to appear in my own mind are tip toeing on the edge of serious sculpture with a giggle. Bravo!
Like being a kid again -- only with more unadulterated silliness!!.......2007-05-13
I look at this book and the "rogues gallery" whenever I need a really good, no holds barred, belly laugh. Such a fun book....I'm still collecting great socks and have yet to make my first silly sock creature, but give me time and I'll have a rogues gallery of my own ;)
Great book!.......2007-03-09
It's a great book. Very detailed and step-by-step directions. My son and I have fun using it!
Book Description
What’s the big new phenomenon, with legions of devotees? Making lovable stuffed monsters! Influenced by the popularity of Japanese animé and video game culture, urban illustration and design, and the do-it-yourself craft movement, these designer plush toys are everywhere—even museum stores. Yet they’re simple to sew. Just take fabric, a needle and thread, and stuffing, combine a touch of cuteness with a dash of utter weirdness, and you’ve got one of the oddest, most irresistible creatures ever. And these 30+ projects—including furry, green-lipped Monkey; Greggles, who sports a coif of tentacles; and flirtatious Polly, who has her three eyes on every guy—are as much at home in a trendy loft studio as in a child’s room. They’re unabashedly handmade, but bold, colorful, and very modern. A thorough Basics section provides all the fundamentals, from fabric selection to stitches to the ins and outs of the construction process. And, as a bonus, there’s a handful of profiles of select plush designers with photos of their work.
Customer Reviews:
so cute!.......2007-09-27
i have to say i was impressed with this book...the plushies are so cute...i cannot wait to make one!
Great ideas!.......2007-08-23
Great book for beginners! Lots of ideas, simple projects and patterns. Let your hair down and start creating cute adorable plush items.
CURIOUSLY CRAZY, LOVE IT.......2007-06-23
I LOVE THE ABSOLUTE WACKINESS OF THESE CREATIONS. YOU CAN USE THE IDEAS IN THIS BOOK AND/OR CREATE YOUR OWN. I AM NOT VERY EXPERIENCED WITH SEWING, SO IF I MAKE A MISTAKE I CAN SAY " I MEANT TO DO THAT", AND NO ONE WILL KNOW! I HAVE NEVER HAD MUCH LUCK OR DESIRE TO FOLLOW A PATTERN, THIS BOOK GIVES YOU PERMISSION TO "THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX" IN SEWING.
WHAT FUN!
Fabulous Fun.......2007-05-18
Couldn't help but get happy when I received this book. The instructions are clear - inspiring confidence and the creatures such a giggle and so expressive that they inspire images to jump up from a very personal space. Really a treat!
Super Cute.......2007-05-15
This is a supercute book, I'm so glad I got it. I feel much more inspired to take on my own projects. The directions look pretty easy to follow, and I'm practically a beginner, I've not sewed since I graduated highschool.
Book Description
The world of craftsters is full of things Japanese Cute - kawaii, and the look created by Aranzi Aronzo is familiar to many but not until now has a single one of the hundreds of bootleg American copies they've sold been in English. Finally these priceless books of mascots, accessories, clothing and well, just about everything, come in ready-to-read English!
Customer Reviews:
Whoo-hoo!!.......2007-10-03
This book is awesome! My sister and I got some fairly bad news, and we were a little bit down. Luckily, she had received this book for her birthday just a week before, along with some felt. We called a couple of friends and they came over. We all made mascots, and we're in our 30's+!! It was fun and distracting. If you even have a little bit of crafting ability, get this book! It's fantastic!
cute book.......2007-09-27
this book was really fun to look through...i can totally see myself making quite a few of these adorable creatures! A very enjoyable book.
I couldn't have picked a better title myself!.......2007-09-22
This is one of my favorite craft books. There are very good patterns and instructions for 19 mascots and a section on what you can do with them, such as embelishing a tote, making ponytail holders, etc. What is lacks in size it makes up for it in sheer cuteness. Once I get a little better at these, I want to start making my own creatures as well! Side note, the "Bad Book" does not have any patterns. I checked it out from the library first and was glad I did.
Very cute animals, excellent for beginners.......2007-09-08
I love this book! All the animals in this book are so... cute. And all the projects are very easy to make. All you need is a needle, some felt, and poly fills. I really enjoy making each one of them. Recommended for beginners!
KAWAII-ness at its best!.......2007-08-28
I bought this for myself, but my 14 year old daughter stole it. She says it is an EXCELLENT book and she will make many projects from it, and if I am nice, she "might" make me something too! I am SO happy that Japanese craftsters are moving into mainstream American publishing!
Amazon.com
Science museums can be illuminating, exciting, and disturbing--just like the collectors that make them possible. Scholar Stephen T. Asma turned his professional curiosity about preserving bodies into an engrossing, wide-ranging exploration of the nature of these places and their curators. Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums brings a refreshing vitality to a subject usually thought boring, if not morbid. Asma's writing ranges from expositive to chatty, and it occasionally feels like a travelogue or memoir, as he investigates the American Museum of Natural History, the Galerie d'anatomie comparée, and other collections in the U.S. and Europe. This informality keeps the reader engaged throughout. Referring to the process of skeletonizing specimens--while maintaining his hold on all but the most sensitive--he writes:
I stepped into the foulest, most pestiferous stench you can imagine.... Inside each tank were thousands of dermestid beetles, otherwise known as flesh-eating beetles, blissfully chewing the meaty chunks and strands off the bones. Each bug was no bigger than a watermelon seed, but en masse they could strip a skeleton clean in two short days.
To Asma's credit, the bulk of the text is less a gross-out fest than a consideration of the hard, sometimes obsessive work of the men and women behind the displays. He examines the role of museums and collectors in the great evolutionary debates of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the future of these institutions as they come more and more to depend on corporate largesse. Equally enlightening and entertaining, Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads is a perfectly exhibited specimen. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
The natural history museum is a place where the line between "high" and "low" culture effectively vanishes--where our awe of nature, our taste for the bizarre, and our thirst for knowledge all blend happily together. But as Stephen Asma shows in Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads, there is more going on in these great institutions than just smart fun. Asma takes us on a wide-ranging tour of natural history museums in New York and Chicago, London and Paris, interviewing curators, scientists, and exhibit designers, and providing a wealth of fascinating observations. We learn how the first museums were little more than high-toned side shows, with such garish exhibits as the pickled head of Peter the Great's lover. In contrast, today's museums are hot-beds of serious science, funding major research in such fields as anthropology and archaeology. Asma also points out that these museums actively shape our perception of nature, and that these efforts are swayed as much by politics as by science. In countless exhibits, for instance, the idea of the traditional nuclear family is evident in displays of everything from extinct animals to grizzly bears (in nature, alas, the male bear is more likely to devour its young than to nurture them). Where else but at a natural history museum could you find a T. rex, a high-tech planetarium, a Native American totem pole, and flesh-eating beetles--all under one roof. And in Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads, Stephen Asma reveals that what we don't see--the scientific research that is going on backstage--is just as fascinating as the exhibits on display.
Customer Reviews:
Bizarre and Brilliant!.......2004-02-26
This is an excellent and provocative book. Asma ranges widely, but also deeply, over the relatively uncharted territory of museum practices and theories --some mainstream and others quirky and idiosyncratic. One of the great virtues of the book is that it consciously avoids the typical postmodern cultural studies lingo that most of the other recent museum books invoke. This is clear and thoughtful analysis of the tradition of natural history collecting --analysis that brings us face to face with oddball curators like Peale and Hunter. But it also connects the older forms of edutainment (early taxidermy, etc.) with the more contemporary and controversial forms (Hollywood-type displays of dinosaurs, etc.). Two other important aspects of the book are scarcely mentioned in the promo blurbs, but they make for fascinating reading. One, is a fresh, if ocassionally dense, tour of European scientific classification theory --a philosophically important and often ignored area. And two, a powerful argument for evolution theory as against creationism and the increasingly popular "intelligent design" theory. Great writing and very intelligent!
The evolution of natural history museums around the world.......2001-08-08
Stephen Asthma's Stuffed Animals And Pickled Heads surveys the presence and evolution of natural history museums around the world, interviewing curators, scientists and exhibit designers and providing many observations of the history of these museums and how their contents and approaches have evolved. The result is an excellent and intriguing story of the evolution of natural history collections.
Mummies, Museums, and Metaphysics.......2001-04-23
If you do not want to know the nuts and bolts (or rather, the knives and molds) of the craft of taxidermy, but you want to know about why people might be interested in such an activity, what happens to their exhibits in museums, how museums express cultural and scientific philosophy, and how we come to categorize the biology that fills our world, then Stephen T. Asma's _Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums_ (Oxford University Press) will do nicely. It is an amusing ramble through museums, but since Asma is a professor of philosophy, it veers through much larger ideas.
Asma obviously likes museums, and he has gained entrance to the back rooms denied to other mortals. He is delighted to report his findings, such as the dermestid beetle room at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. These beetles, held in a stinky sealed room that has a door like a submarine hatch, swarm over the skinned bodies of specimens, literally gnawing them to the bone in a couple of days. He has interviewed curators and exhibition designers, and has them explain what they are trying to accomplish in their exhibits. But they may not know; how a display is arranged depends on scientific and social philosophy which varies from time to time and from nation to nation, and may be covert. Louis Agassiz displayed human racial artifacts at Harvard to emphasize that races were different, having been separately and specially created, rather than showing the continuity of human descent. The natural history museum in England have exhibits that emphasize Darwin, but the French hardly mention him. The Americans will have the most modern philosophy of taxonomy.
Comfortable with including Plato, James, Wittgenstein and others from his own field, Asma gives a wide-ranging discussion of epistemological issues that is academic but is never stuffy and never loses its sense of fun.
Book Description
Celebrating 10 years of love--to the moon and back--with a new way to say "I love you"!
Readers won't be able to resist slipping this cuddly pair into someone special's Easter basket--or presenting them as a whimsical gift for Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays, or just any day. These soft plush hares have Velcro paws for hugging and are as lovable as the characters in the story--sure to become cherished friends in homes everywhere.
Customer Reviews:
Adorable Hares.......2007-01-09
I bought this item for my baby nephew to give along with the "Guess How Much I Love You" book and pajamas. It was adorable, soft, and cuddly, and even my brother--a "man's man"--said it was "cute."
Product ShippingReview.......2007-01-06
I would love to review the actual product itself however, I am unable to do so as the product was never delivered. I ordered it as a gift for my sister who lives in Canada. I was assured shipment to Canada was possible. When the product did not arrive after 4 weeks I contacted Amazon. They could not locate the product. They agreed to resend the product. Again after 4 weeks the product did not arrive and Amazon could not locate it. At this Amazon offered to refund the product and I took them up on the offer. This is not a review then but rather a warning about purchasing this product for shipment to an address from a country other than the US.
A precious gift.......2006-03-16
I bought several of these as gifts, for my grandchildren and some friends. Better with the book added to the package.The hares enhance the impact of the story! You will be getting a great gift for anyone you choose to buy for!
Book Description
What could be more enchanting than creating homemade toys for the children in your life?
In Toys to Sew, designer Claire Garland leads you step-by-step through thirty whimsical projects for charming animals, dolls, and other soft toys. From classic patchwork hobbyhorses to colorful smiling dinosaurs, you will be amazed at the variety of results you can achieve using Garland’s stitching methods.
All of the projects stitch up quickly and easily for sewers of all skill levels, whether you are using a machine or sewing by hand. Vivid photographs, diagrams, and Claire’s clear and experienced instruction enable even novice stitchers to create beautiful playthings. You will love making these projects as much as the children in your life will love their new cuddly companions.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-09-24
Fantastic book. Heaps of ideas. Easy to follow instructions and diagrams. Only problem is where to start!!! Great for Christmas/birthday gift ideas too!
Toys To Sew patterns have to be enlarged.......2007-09-14
I am very disappointed in this book because the patterns in it have to be enlarged. I hoped they would be full sized so I don't have to travel and then pay for the pattern enlargements.
Fun & easy stuffed creations..........2007-05-10
I'd forgotten how much fun it is to work with felt. The patterns & instructions in this book are easy to follow and the results are great. I made the mouse skittles (the mice are the bowling pins and the ball is a cat) and my only warning is that you will find yourself making more and more mice, just because the group looks so good. My only quibble with the book is that I wasn't able to locate the pattern for the egg (meant to hold a baby dinosaur), but I shouldn't complain. Surely we can all figure out how to cut out an egg shape.
charming.......2007-03-01
I love this book!!! The designs are so charming, creative and fun! I want to eventually make everything in it!! There is a large section about a rag doll and clothes to go with it. The sock animals are unique and playful....but the best patterns are the alligator and the turtle, they make really stunning toys. These designs seem simple enough for a beginner to do and are a really quick sew for the experienced seamstress.
Did I say, I love this book!!?!!!
Book Description
Now crafters of any skill level can create beautiful cloth dolls!
Author Brenda Brightmore, an internationally recognized
cloth doll designer, offers this fabulous collection of patterns
for a range of dolls, from flapper dolls with attitude, to modest
ladies, to cute babies and children.
Easy-to-follow patterns and step-by-step photos and
illustrations guide sewers through 10 cloth doll projects. Every
process is detailed, from the basics of cutting patterns to
applying the final touches of paint to the faces. Each project
includes a convenient list of materials for both doll and
clothing. Vivid full color photos detail the gorgeous finished
projects and provide inspiration for crafters. This guide is
packed with the valuable information aspiring fabric doll
creators need.
Customer Reviews:
"baby" doll book .......2006-09-10
I was not aware (or did not read fully) this is about baby dolls not art dolls which I consider to mostly be adult-ish.
Many Dolls, one look.......2006-07-27
This is a book of patterns and tips. The dolls are all virtually the same, chubby baby-faced toddlers. There is a male and female version. The infant is the same as the toddler but can not stand. The adult (pictured on the cover) is just slightly thiner and longer then the children. If you are looking for variety, these dolls are pretty much the same (they all look related to the one on the cover) and they are all conservatively or classicly styled. I recommend the book for those interested in the learning the basics of makeing a "baby doll". If you want any other style of cloth doll (such as artisan) you will be disappointed in the constraints of the styling and you will be forced to find inspiration for your imagination elsewhere. Probably more like 3 stars.
What a great book!.......2006-05-30
I've been making dolls since I was 11, and this is the book I've been looking for all my life. Worth three times what you pay. The cover does not do it justice. It has soft sculpture faces that are beautiful and natural. Usually soft sculpture dolls look like old people, trolls or are distorted. There is a baby doll that I am going to double size to make it the size of a real baby, so I can have it wear old clothes. The clothes are also beautiful and easy. Make yourself an heirloom.
Beautiful dolls.......2006-02-22
I was very much surprised to see dolls that I really liked in this book. The patterns are right in the book and the outfits are also classy! I can not wait to try the patterns!
Cloth Doll.......2005-09-24
This is a great book! Easy to follow instructions and a real asset to my library. I would recommend it to everyone.
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Knitted Toys: 25 Fresh & Fabulous Designs
Toy Knits: More Than 30 Irresistible and Easy-to-Knit Patterns
Knitted Toys: 21 Easy-to-Knit Patterns for Irresistible Soft Toys
Teddy Bears: Twenty-five Irresistible Designs for Knitted Bears
The Knitted Teddy Bear: Make Your Own Heirloom Toys with Dozens of Patterns for Unique Clothing and Accessories
