Customer Reviews

A Passion for Ribbonry

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The lovely cover of this book is enticing, but resist: it's a real disappointment. There simply isn't a book's worth of material here, so the book has been extended with erroneous history, uninteresting biography, and repetitious detail. The instruction section, for which most people actually buy textile art books, is very short on original work. Most of the directions are for flowers that have been done better by other authors, or that are simple variations on a boat leaf used as a petal. For each of these variations, detailed directions are unnecessarily repeated, presumably in an effort to pad a pamphlet's worth of material into a chapter.

The history section is particularly poor; it is disorganized and confused, and contains some gross factual errors. Nitschke states that the Romans brought silk to France after they invaded Gaul in the 14th century. In fact, Julius Caesar invaded Gaul in the 1st century B.C. and the Romans did not produce silk. These kinds of errors make this book useless as a reference.

The majority of this smug and self-referential book celebrates the author, her life history, her work, and her studies, which apparently did not include much history. It has lots of vacation photos of the author in France and of her business, workroom, garden, and home. Many are apparently pointless and none merit the purchase price of the book.

"A Passion For Ribbonry' has directions for some novel flowers, particularly the beautiful and realistic lupines, and it boasts photos of attractively designed hats. Those who don't believe there is such a thing as "too much" when it comes to feminine frills may like the interior design section.

My recommendation to prospective readers: Check out 'A Passion For Ribbonry" from the library and teach yourself to make the exquisite lupines, but if you want a reference to keep, buy Helen Gibb's 'Ribbon Flowers.'

My recommendation to the publisher: Hire an editor!. This kind of error-ridden, rambling, self-absorbed writing w! ouldn't make it past Freshman English. How did it get past you? Were all the English majors taken?

I like this book. Or, rather, I *really* like everything thatcomes after page 68. The first 68 pages, however, gives us anot-so-brief overview on the history of ribbonry in fashion ....We're also treated to beautiful photos of the author's work, whereI've discovered her love for the combination of pink and green.... but as the title of this book states _A PASSION for Ribbonry_,perhaps the purpose of this book was to talk about the author'sdevotion to ribbons and ribbonwork.

The rest of the book dealsmostly with flowers, and I find the instructions to be very clear,with clear photos illustrating each step. I like Ms. Nitschke'sinstructions; I first encountered her in Threads Magazine, in herarticle on cockades. There is also a quilt featuring the flowers onthe quilt blocks. There are also brief instructions on other ribbontreatments, specifically gathering and pleating.

Would I buy anotherbook by this author? Probably. Would I refer to this book often?Again, probably. I really like the creative possibilities she showsutilizing the ribbon flowers, and the instructions are clear andsimple.

I think this is a wonderful book. I have most of the books on ribbon flowers and each one has something to offer that the other doesn't have. The instructions are very good and easy to follow. Camela gets into ribbon folding techniques that are not in the other books and I find that very interesting and useful in decorating. She gives directions for more unusual flowers and these are very nice to use in mixed floral bouquets. This beautiful book is a must for any one that loves to do ribbon flowers.

Ribbon flowers are just fascinating to me. I have seen quite a few books on the subject, but my favorite is "A Passion for Ribbonry". Camela has included beautiful flowers and concise directions. I have completed several of the flowers (starting with the cabochon rose) and have found the directions complete and easy to follow. I am very pleased with the natural look of all the flowers. Some of the other ribbon books produce flowers which look crushed and old, but not this one! Plus, she doesn't confuse you with formulas. I would highly recommend "A Passion for Ribbonry" for a beginner or a more experienced sewer. Way to go Camela! Great job!

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Of all the ribbon books I own this one is the one I love to make flowers from. I will buy the other books by Ms.Nitschke.

This is a wonderful book, I do not care if all history is correct, I have received many hours of enjoyment just looking at the wonderful pictures and the flowers I made went together quickly and the directions were easy to follow. That is why I buy this type of book.

This book was exciting to me in many ways. First, it is a perfectly beautiful book with wonderful photography and directions. Then, in reading, I discovered that the author is the owner of the wonderful shop in Perrysburg, Ohio that my daughter and I stumbled upon several years ago as we wandered about Perrysburg waiting for an oil change in my car. It was like a dream store. I had never realized there were so many ribbons and so much to be done with them. That store is what triggered my interest and now I finally have the time to do something about it. Next I found the entire chapter on making doll hats! I am a doll collector and love making doll clothing. I am so happy to have this book! Thanks to Amazon for bringing it to my attention. Eunice Wachtveitl

I took this book out from my local library and I really enjoyed it. The author has a sincere passion for ribbonry, she owns her own ribbon shop which I would love to peruse. This book has a history of the author's passion first and some lovely photos of project ideas and inspiration. Later in the book there are some very easy to follow directions on how to make some of the flowers you see throughout the book. The author gives you the materials list and clear cut directions.

I have found several designs that I enjoyed enough to modify to be a little more funky for the fun hats and more romantic for the enchanting hats.

I was pleased enough to find this book that I purchased it, it gave me plenty of good ideas and a good structure for making ribbon flowers.