Customer Reviews

The Crafter's Companion: Tips, Tales and Patterns from a Community of Creative Minds

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a lovely book, full of gorgeous colour photos. Each crafter talks about their inspiration, their are pics of their workspaces, some of their projects, and each gives an individual project - and I like most of them, for a change. I gave up on ordering craft books a while ago as so many of them seem to be just about making something - anything - without much regards to aesthetics. I don't like things to look rough and unfinished. I don't particularly like things made from bottle tops, unless they're cork. I like handmade, not homemade. And some of my books, especially the ones with loads of projects, are - well, there's not one thing I would want to make. Why waste my time? This on the other hand is full of really cute projects. I tend to take inspriation rather than copy slavishly but some stuff is so cute I want to copy it! I ordered break the rules sewing because of liking the author's section in this book.

I couldn't wait for this book to be available in the U.S. so I ordered it from the U.K. I love the book and am very inspired by all of the crafters. It is a very colorful book with lots of fun projects. I already completed the "market bag" for my daughter who has just moved to Oregon. Definitely check out this book!

The book is interesting when it comes to photography and the crafter's themselves but I did not find the selection of patterns anything I would really want to make. Only one project really caught my eye and that was the pillow case apron. I don't want to be rude about some of the projects but I have to agree with another reviewer on a couple of those odd items. Some of the darling photos showed items I would love to make but there were no patterns for those. Be aware all that you see in this book is not what you get in the back section on patterns.

I eagerly read about this book as it debuted in the UK and so when it was available in the States, I promptly ordered it. I love reading the detailed stories of each of the crafters: their inspiration, crafting style, crafting rooms/areas in their homes and other biographical info. The pictures of their work, homes and etc. are delightful. It's always fun to relate to other crafters. Each crafter (an international bunch) offers a project to make. I made the Library Totebag. The instructions were easy to follow and I completed this sewing project in about two hours. The result was like the picture, so I was happy. The projects seem easy to me (I am an experienced crafter and sewer) but that is what I liked about the crafts: you can see yourself making them with materials you already have on hand. It's the choice of materials and embellishments that makes these projects extra special. Some of the crafters show off their handmade toys and dolls and my only "wish" is that more of these would have been offered as projects! If you like reading about other crafters and making projects, this book is for you.

I borrowed this book from the library because of the glowing reviews on Amazon. I don't understand why this book was so highly-rated. There are 17 crafters who write about why they create, their inspirations, and their workspace. None of their ideas or explanations were helpful to me whatsoever. Then there's the crafts. I wouldn't look twice at these if I saw them at a rummage sale. For example, there's a "Pebble Bracelet" that looks like potatoes strung around the wrist. There's a log cabin pillow that's hard to even look at because it is so unattractive. The projects in this book are really bad. I can't imagine anyone wanting to follow these patterns. If you consider yourself a crafter, then you'd want to express your own ideas and flair instead of following these designs. It's one of the worst books I've borrowed from the library in a long time.

I too ordered this book from the UK - it is a wonderful compilation of some of the most admired crafters' works. You'll get the insight of each crafters' processes, their creative environment, and some nifty projects too. Nice quality paperback too!

If you are among the new generation of craft addicts that want to read about others successfully crafting and blogging their little hearts out, this is a fun read. There are relatively few actual projects, this is more about the buzz around modern craft. Hip, young women sharing their stories and inspiration of what drives them to create. It just may spark something in you.I enjoy it alot.

A great book from some very talented ladies.
Great pictures, easy to follow instructions and lovely stories about these ladies and their crafts.
Also, a great look into the blogging world and who is out there.
A must for every crafters/sewing library.
You will not be disappointed.
The only trouble you will have is which project to try first.

This was not a bad book by any means, just not what I wanted it to be (which is not its fault!). It is a bit inspirational, but the patterns/ideas that each author presented for me to do were not inspirational at all, and in fact most were things that I would NEVER make, and often strange and a bit ugly. Nothing like the pictures of the author's "real" stuff. They all seemed to be holding out. Like "Here are some pictures of beautiful things I make and sell, here is a pattern that is perfect for you because it is plain, uninspirational, and something I won't mind giving to you because I could never sell anything like it!" I felt quite insulted.

Buy this to be inspired, but not as a craft book with real ideas. You will be disappointed.

I thought that this book would be great by the cover and the reviews that I read. I was more than disappointed. There were really nothing worth making in it. It was mostly profiles of other crafters. They had great pictures of the things that they made, but the projects that they submitted were less than exciting. I keep looking through this book for something to make. As I flip through I'd get excited to see something cute only to find that it is not one of the projects, but and example of the highlighted artist's other work. I would save my money.