Its Non-Fiction Saturday!

For today I am posting these reviews on both this blog and my knitting blog but from now on I will be posting knitting books only on my knitting blog - HERE.
I hope you will join me there every Sat. for knitting book reviews and here for other non-fiction books  :-)

3 Stars

Handknit Holidays

Melanie Falick

ABOUT THE BOOK -

In Handknit Holidays best-selling knitting author Melanie Falick presents an eclectic collection of more than 50 original gifts, decorations, and clothing pieces for Christmas, Hanukkah, and the winter solstice, providing year-round inspiration for knitters of all levels.

Created by top knitwear designers, the projects include colorful ornaments; funky and classic Christmas stockings; a wire-and-bead menorah; sparkly ribbon scarves; a poncho and matching dog sweater; and a range of super-quick projects for that last-minute holiday rush, from a Santa hat, to elf caps, to flower pins. Rounding out the volume are a few grand projects—an Aran tree skirt, a patchwork afghan, a lace shawl—destined to become family heirlooms, plus features on such topics as the origin of the Christmas stocking, the meaning of the winter solstice, knitting for charities, strategies for finishing holiday knitting (on schedule!), and even a delicious recipe for festive crescent cookies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -

Melanie Falick is a bestselling knitting author and editorial director of the STC Craft line. Her previous books include Kids Knitting and Knitting in America as well as the STC titles Weekend Knitting, Knit: A Personal Handbook, and Knitting for Baby (with Kristin Nicholas). She lives in Dutchess County, New York. 

Visit her at her website - HERE

MY REVIEW -

I have always loved Melanie's books and have always given them rave reviews, but this one fell short for me.

The pictures are great, as usual. The instructions are clear and easy to follow (as usual LOL). But it was the choice of patterns that I didn't really care for. There wasn't really anything in here that I would make. And I even thought some of the items kind of silly.

I do agree that this is purely a matter of personal taste and someone else might just love everything in here! It just didn't suit my tastes.

Here are 3 of the things that I did like, but the only one I would ever make is probably the slippers.

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Knitting book review #2

5 Stars!

Knit Your Own Dog

The second litter

Sally Muir & Joanna Osborne

ABOUT THE BOOK -

The knitted dog is an ideal pet—there's no feeding, barking, walking, or vet bills, and he'll live forever! Since the publication of Knit Your Own Dog, dog lovers have been howling for even more breeds to knit. This second volume includes easy-to-follow patterns for 25 all-new breeds, including a Beagle, Golden Retriever, Shih Tzu, Yorkshire Terrier and 21 others.
The dogs are surprisingly easy to make—with a few evenings of work you can have a covetable companion for life. Scores of photographs show the finished dogs, as well as close-up shots of their detailed and adorable features. Authors Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne also include brief accounts of the characteristics of each breed and offer tips and advice on sewing up the dogs.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS -

Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne run their own knitwear business, Muir and Osborne (www.muirandosborne.co.uk).  They have a shop in London and export their knitwear to stores in the U.S., Japan, and Europe including Barneys, Saks, Liberty, and The Cross. They won the UK Fashion Export Small Business Award in 2002 and several pieces of their knitwear are in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  Their previous book, Pet Projects, was featured on The Martha Stewart Show.

Visit their website - HERE

MY REVIEW -
This book is ADORABLE with a capital A (well, actually with a capital A D O R A B L E! LOL), and I'm not even a dog lover!

Oh my goodness I had so much fun looking through this book. I sooo want to try some of these! These would make great gifts.
There are several pictures of each knitted dog. I haven't tried one yet so I can't tell you what the patterns are like, but I did read through one and it seems pretty straight forward to me. This might not be a good place to start for beginners though.

This really makes me want to go back and look at the first knitted dog book! If you are a knitter and a dog lover - you are gonna love this! This is a great idea if your son, daughter or grandkids have been begging you for a dog, or for a person who can't have pets in their apartment, and better yet for a college student! Really the possibilities are endless.

OK I just did a search and found out they have a "Knit your own cat!!! I am so getting this!
Update - I just ordered the cat book  :-)
Alright friends and family - you are getting either a knitted dog or cat for Christmas!

Here are some of the doggies you can create, haha! aren't they so stinkin cute? -

Yorkshire Terrier -

Greyhound -

Chinese Crested (I always thought these were ugly! But it is cute knitted!)-