the last batch - for now

 this truly is the rest of my "new" books (do they still count from christmas?:) and I have to admit that several of them fall under "not strictly necessary"... I try not to ask for too many coffee table books, instead go for those with  new techniques. there's only so much shelf space (or rather: by now there's plenty of lack of space:), so I should really use it wisely. this is one of the books that is very nice to look at - but not absolutely necessary if you can make up your own patterns. I do like quite a few of the projects, but I don't think I'd do any of them for myself without change. judge for yourself... unfortunately one of the most beautiful patterns isn't on show - it's a "bridal cardigan" in white, with pink and green inlay and lace at the sleeve bottoms and along the lower edge. not for me, that's for sure - but gorgeous to look at:)

 when I saw the announcement for the book I was very keen on this one. another book about colourwork. this is in german, but the same book is available in english by now (I just couldn't wait any longer - for some reason the english translation took ages to be published). the knitting patterns are inspired by medieval murals in swedish churches. sounds odd, but the patterns are nice! a preview for the english book is here. the one odd thing about the projects is that nearly every pattern has bits in odd colours that don't really go with the main colours - at least for my taste. easily rectified though, no reason not to like the book:)

 and yes, another one about colour knitting:) obviously I do like knitting with several colours... this one is definitely more a technique book. all colour knitting techniques are described in some detail, plus there are nice patterns in it, too. I have to say though that it doesn't quite match up to my colour knitting "bible" by Margaret Radcliffe. that's not to say that it is a bad book - it's just not as in-depth as Radcliffe's book. on the plus side it does contain more complete projects (pillows, garments etc.) - and a preview is available here.

one not (only) about colour knitting:) the odd one out...  when I put it on the list I wasn't sure about the contents, I just found the under title "colour, structure and design" interesting. and the book gives plenty of ideas for this - if you're into making up your own patterns this should be interesting for you. but when you hunt for complete patterns to follow - you'll find that pretty much all the garments in this book are worked in modular style! I am not necessarily a fan of this, but I think some of the ideas the author shows can be used for "normal" (ie not modular) knitting as well. and she gives plenty of information about how to construct knitted fabric for a project, lots of knitted pattern samples, too. definitely a keeper...

another odd one out - I received this book in an exchange:) I like doing exchanges once in a while; you get rid of something you don't need any longer for something you want (and hopefully also use at some stage!). because I've planned to do some more rigid heddle weaving eventually, I was looking for a book that gives more ideas about how to add patterns to "plain weaving". Jane Patrick is well known in weaving circles and the book didn't disappoint me! I think I could spend a very long time trying out all the different ways to add pattern to fabrics on a simple loom. given that this is most likely the furthest I'll ever go in weaving, I think I can put this book to good use....

the last one - for now:) I have plenty of crochet patterns here and there in mixed craft books, but I lacked a single "encyclopedia" with all the basic information I might need. this fills the gap. all the basics of how-to are well covered, also plenty of separate patterns - plus a completed project for each chapter. those aren't necessarily sensational, but I wanted the book more to have an overview, something to check when I need to know something and don't want to hunt around on the net. the book has been revised and updated and I think it's well worth the investment.

 

those are my last books on the list - but never fear, I am sure I'll put a few on the wish list for my birthday:) can't help it, I am a book addict!

 

btw - the mystery of the missing fire pix is solved. not satisfactorily - but solved nevertheless. it wasn't a hacker - it was DS, who put up his own fire pictures - and deleted mine in the process:( the annoying thing is that I took the trouble to dig out the tripod to do the night pix properly - his are all wobbly and out of focus:(  teaches me a lesson... hide away all your pix in folders straight away - and hope for the best!