Customer Reviews

Crochet Pattern-a-Day 2007 Day-to-Day Calendar

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There are lots of patterns in here, though not 365 of them, and there's bound to be at least one pattern you'd like. But there are so many annoying things about this calendar that there are also bound to be several things that annoy the heck out of you.

For example, the quality of the patterns is wildly inconsistent. There does not seem to have been any editing done, nor any attempt to impose consistent ways to write instructions. So some patterns have every single stitch described; other "patterns" consist of only a couple of sentences. Some remarkably simple patterns, such as a stitch marker case, take up two pages - and there are hats and baby sweaters that take up four days each!

The pictures are apparently all taken by the people who submitted the patterns, which has several effects: picture quality varies a lot; for some patterns, the picture is not of the whole object, only of a close-up; for other items, there's only one picture of the finished object, repeated on several pages, where pictures of intermediate stages or close-ups of a particular instruction would have been a great help. The other implication of all the pictures being by the pattern-submitters is this: no one checked the pattern instructions to see if they worked; if someone had checked the patterns before deciding to publish them, there would be pictures by the publisher or a staff photographer.

There are also a few things in here that I can't imagine anyone in their right mind ever wanting to make - the "itty bitty friendship bra" for example - what the heck would that be for? (It's a dark blue "bra" about 2" wide with a pearl button. It's not a pin. It's not a bookmark.)

On the other hand, there are things in here that should be fun to make - I know I'll be making a few quick bookmarks from here. The "Moon and Stars Afghan" looks attractive and fairly straightforward (although the pattern doesn't give final measurements, so I'm not sure whether it's intended to be a baby afghan, a bed throw, or something in between). I'm sure I'll find a few more patterns I like.

If I were thinking of giving a friend a crochet-related gift, as this was given to me, I wouldn't give it as the sole component of the gift; that would be frustrating to the recipient, unless they just wanted to use it as a calendar, without regard to the patterns. If I intended the recipient to TRY the patterns, I'd accompany the calendar with something useful - the pamphlet "Crocheter's Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements" (ISBN-10: 159668027X) for example, or "The Crocheter's Companion" (ISBN-13: 978-1931499132). Those useful items would back up some of the sketchy instructions in the calendar's patterns with the necessary detail.

In summary: beginners will find the erratic instructions difficult, and advanced crocheters will find the amount of space spent on simple projects annoying, but if you need a calendar anyway, then this one will provide something you can use, somewhere during the year.

Note that the 2006 calendar had the same shortcomings, and the Knitters calendar published by the same company has the same shortcomings, so I feel safe in predicting that if you are reading this review of the 2007 calendar while trying to decide whether to buy the NEXT one, for 2008, when it appears, it will also contain problems.

Let's get this disclosure over with right now. Yes, I do have a pattern in the calender. I received a comp copy of the calendar as payment. No, my pattern is not available free on the internet. Yes, some of the patterns are available for free over the Internet, but not the "90%" as some claim. Yes, I have made a few things from the calendar and plane to make more. And yes, it's _not_ a pattern a day, the same way last year's wasn't a pattern a day.

I'm surprised at the viciousness that is in some of these reviews. It really is not that expensive for a calendar. Obviously, it's not a calendar you would use to keep track of birthdays on as there are patterns on it. You might be able to snag a free calendar at your local pharmacy for that purpose.

However, this is a good calendar for crocheters. A lot of _different_ patterns, a lot of new (and old) designers in the mix. The 2006 calendar introduced me to the "Crochet Dude". I can honestly say I wouldn't have been surfing the internet for this person as I had no idea he even existed. His patterns for afghan blocks are impressive. But I never would have seen them except for the 2006 calendar.

The 2007 calendar also has some up and coming designers. Some of the patterns are terrific, some leave me cold. But that's the same with any crochet pattern collection. I don't wait until I absolutely _love_ each and every pattern in the collection to buy it. If I did, I probably would have no pattern books.

Why buy this calendar? Well, it is inspirational to have it on your desk, where you can see it each and every day. Sometimes just looking at the pattern gives me an idea to take that project in another direction. Perhaps it's done in single crochet, I'd prefer half double crochet. Or maybe it would look different in a bulkier yarn or a thinner yarn. It's about enjoying the process of creation, the fun of it, as opposed to saying "oh my gosh, whatever were they thinking, I would never wear that pearl thong*". Maybe you wouldn't wear it now, maybe sometime in the future you might. Or maybe a friend would like it. Or even if you considered the pattern, you may like how the designer strung the pearls or that particular stitch and think "hey, that would really be cool on a sweater."

And what's the big deal about the free patterns on the net? Isn't the time you spend searching the net and finding the broken links, isn't that time worth something to you? An hour wasted on the internet versus 5 minutes looking at the index and finding a project that suits your purpose - isn't that 55 minutes you could have spend doing something else, perhaps crocheting? Time is an extremely valuable, non-renewable resource. Think about that when you're trying to find that hat pattern for free.

If I didn't already have the calendar, I would buy it for myself (I have purchased it to give as a gift, in case you're wondering if I put my money where my mouth is.) There are some great patterns and I just love looking at it. If you have a friend who crochets, he/she will love to have it. So I recommend this calendar highly for people who would rather save time then money.

*no, my pattern is _not_ a pearl thong

I received the 2006 calendar as a gift and when I didn't receive the 2007 calendar as a gift this year (I received a lovely 365 cat calendar instead), I went ahead and bought my own 2007. While the 2007 is not as good as the 2006 version, I am enjoying it. It's only the end of January and I've already made a couple of projects from the 2007 calendar.

It's unfortunate that the calendar is called a "pattern-a-day" calendar. It has clearly caused confusion and disappointment. A more appropriate title would be "365 days of patterns", since a number of projects go over mulitple days and Saturday and Sunday are combined on one page (just like in my 365-cat calendar, I might add). This was also true with the 2006 calendar, and it appears to also be true of the Knitting and Quilting versions of the calendar as well. On the other hand, there are still lots of projects to do or be inspired by.

I use the two insert cards (with spaces for appointments) to note each month the projects I might be interested in trying sometime. I would never use the crochet calendar pages for my appointments, I have a wall calendar for that. (I also don't mark appointments on the 365-cat calendar either...no room.)

There are lots of patterns in the collection. I don't mind that there may be several hat or scarf patterns, as each one is different and may or may not appeal to me. I also don't mind that some of the patterns are available for free on the Internet. I enjoy having a neat little box to display and store a year's worth of patterns, rather than a file of computer printouts that include web advertisements and funny page breaks. I can always photocopy a pattern from the calendar for "travel purposes" and keep the original safe in the box. Many patterns are quick projects, some are not. (My personal recommendation to the publishers is to not put as many multi-day patterns in a calendar; save them for a pattern book. I rated the 2007 calendar only 4 stars, because there were more multi-day projects/patterns in it than there were in the 2006 calendar.)

Do I recommend the 2007 crochet calendar? Yes, as long as you understand that there are less than 365 patterns, but still oodles of them; that the patterns are submissions by both professional and amateur crocheters; that there are a variety of skill levels involved; that there's a separate place to write your appointments (two cards); that the box is designed for easy storage & display, but not for travel; and that there are a variety of projects available, but you probably won't do them all. Projects include hats; scarves; bookmarks; ponchos; stuff for the holidays; things for your babies, children, dolls and dogs; afghans and afghan blocks; purses; felted bowls; rugs; jewelry and a few just plain odd things.

I enjoyed my 2006 crochet calendar (I still go back to it for ideas) and am enjoying my 2007 calendar. I would consider a 2008 calendar as well.

I actually have both calenders now, and have to say I'm a little disappointed. Although having anything of Dot Matthews in print so that I don't have to print it out myself was worth buying this calender for. I actually had to go through it all to find a particular pattern, and found that there is even a pattern that was in last year's in next years (the raglon sweater).

Last year I had to keep checking the internet to correct the pattern in the calender (the shell socks). Nothing is more frustrating than working on a pattern and realizing it is printed incorrectly.


Luckily I am an experienced crocheter so I realize these things. But if you don't have the internet to check for mistakes, or you are a beginner you can become very easily frustrated.

It DOES have a wide variety of items to make, and way more patterns than the 14 or so I got for 20 bucks in a felted crochet book I bought recently. Many are patterns I'd like to try and make, some, as with all pattern books out there, not so much.

After looking at this calendar, I went online and checked out lots of the designers and their patterns. Wow! Some talented people out there.

The problem is its title: Crochet pattern- a -day calendar. People bought it thinking that's what they were getting and they do not get that----plain and simple.

Many patterns are very similar to one another and many are spread out over 3 and even 4 days. And the calendar is basically not usuable as a calendar, or you obliterate the patterns. Better editing/layout of each page could fix those problems for future editions.

These are the same problems I had with it last year ---see my review of it here on Amazon---but guess what? I still wanted it this year and bought it for myself (last year's was a gift).

The photographic quality is a bit better this year than last year---but the fact that the submitters, in many cases, photographed their own work for publication clearly shows in some of the patterns. With digital cameras and online editing so readily available and available for practically nothing these days, that's a surprise.

And, unlike many other craft books/kits, there seem to have been no pattern testers other than the submitter or original maker of the design. That lack of attention to detail tends to be looked down on in the arts and crafts world when you are presenting a pattern or book for purchase.

Also true is that any collection of patterns for sale in a book typically does not duplicate paterns found for free on the internet or found for free elsewhere. It's called integrity on the part of the seller and the rules of submission should have stated that submmitters could not do this.

I paid about ten bucks for this at a craft store locally.

For that same ten bucks I can get a professionally shot and edited book---at B and N or Boarders up the road. Or a well presented quality paperback craft book on this or another subject here at Amazon, if I look carefully. So, for its size and its purpose/functionality, I can see some reviewers having problems with the packaging and presentation.

But here's the deal: for about ten bucks you get a wide variety of patterns, many new to you and me, with new techniques and yarns to inspire us to try even more new things in the world of crochet. It is colorful, it is small enough to sit on your desk and the handy box design allows you to save it intact in your craft files for future use/reference.

I have not seen a better alternative to this calendar.

I will buy this annually, until I do.

This second version of the crochet day to day pattern calendar is very disappointing as compared to last year's version. Patterns are stetched to fit over several days and repetitive, sometimes within the same week or month. It's just not near the quality that the 2006 calendar was, sorry to say. Perhaps it's time to offer an incentive for contributions.

There are several fun useful ideas to choose from I look forward to each day to see what the new project will be.

I bought the 2006 Crochet-a-Day Calendar and am planning to purchase this year's as well.

Pro's

1) It has a very good variety of patterns. Different subject matter, different skill levels, different fibers. This is a major point for me. I am considering going through the whole year again with the old calendar because there were so many good ideas that I wanted to try out and didn't get a chance to do.

2) It is a good value. $12.00 might get you a paperback book of about 20 patterns, and they would probably be all hats, all afghans or all baby stuff.

3) Pages are not attached to each other. For some this might be a minus, but you know how regular day-by-day calendars get when you tear off each day. Personally, I am keeping all of them together.

4) Index of patterns. This helped me track down all different patterns for Crochet Dude's Flying Afghan. This also confirmed my suspicion that there was a tissue box pattern for every month.

5) Color photograph on each page. Pretty to look at and helpful sometimes.

Con's

1) Construction is a bit lacking. The cardboard box the pages sit in breaks easily. I accidentally dropped a copy of this calendar in the bookstore and it bit the dust. Also, the copy I sent to my grandmother didn't completely survive the trip. But she still enjoys it she says. Especially since I am going to keep the old one and any new ones I get, I would prefer a more solid construction.

2) Typographical errors. I have seen numbers listed incorrectly (5 instead of 15), incorrect stitches named (hdc instead of dc), etc. I understand this happens with any crochet publication, and if this were a book, the second edition would be corrected. But this is a calendar and the new year has new patterns. If the publisher could list corrections or updates at their web site, that would be very proactive. This did make me frustrated once in a while, but with help from the picture and charting the pattern out on graph paper, I could figure it out for myself.

3) Unable to write appointments and anniversaries on the specific days. One actually could do so if one writes over the text and pictures of the patterns. There are two firm cards with the names of the months and a bunch of lines for noting special days. As stated by other reviewers, this is not the purpose of this calendar. This did not bother me too much.

In summary, I think the disadvantages are outweighed by the good points of this calendar. I highly recommend this to someone who still has a hearty appetite for many types of crochet and is willing to "think out of the box" for some patterns.

I've enjoyed having my little pictures of crocheted items at my desk where I'm typing all day. Granted, a lot of the projects either weren't my style or not something I'd be making (I don't have any kids at home any more, and no grandkid coming in the near future), but several I did make. I enjoyed the huge variety, it was a great source of creativity to me, even if I didn't use the idea as used in the calendar (I use my crochet books and magazines the same way). So I intend to buy the 2007, for no other reason that it keeps me current on the date, and it's more pleasant to look at than what's usually on my computer screen while I'm transcribing!

Worth the money but could have had more patterns. Not really one per day.