Between Friends: Craft Projects to Share (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "I have always loved to make gifts for my friends..." (more)
Key Phrases: paper edgers, découpage medium, pearl cotton (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Readers may initially scoff "No way" at the suggestion that anything handmade (except baked goods) can be crafted in one hour. Lyons, author of Mothers and Daughters at Home (2000), seems to delight in proving the wrongness of our thoughts as she unveils this delightful and practical paean to friendship. A handful of projects --including paperweights, seed packets, and a painted teapot--fits the 60-minute schedule, as will a variety of home-fashioned items that fall into one of four other timely categories: half a day, all day, over the weekend, and as long as it takes. Most of the 40 to-dos emulate a naive or outside artist's design; simple and to the point, each is embellished with variations and scattered sidebars on forming different clubs (book, knitting, garden) and on different personal friendships. No need, really, to be master of any one or several techniques. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Rosie O'Donnell Charlotte is quite crafty! I enjoy her books. -- Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743214099
• ISBN-13: 978-0743214094
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #995,711 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars craft projects to share, May 23, 2002

By	Britt Arnhild Lindland (Norway) - See all my reviews

I got a belated birthday present from a friend last week, Between Friends by Charlotte Lyons. What a wonderful surprise. Charlotte Lyons has made several craft books on different topics. This one is about projects you can share with friends. What about starting a craft group with some good friends or giving away a small hand made gift when you go for a visit or enclosing some fabric in a letter for a dear friend. The book gives alot of creative and great suggestions.

I have done all this, and still do. As a matter of fact, the friend who gave me the book and I have shared so many crafty projects over the years. There really are no limits in what you can do. And as it's said on the cover of the book - in an era when women set aside very little leisure time for themselves, let alone for their friends, Between Friends provides the perfect excuse to invite the girls over.

The great thing about this book is that Charlotte Lyons has collected so many different things you can do, and put them together in a charming and quite whimsical way. Don't start reading the book late in the night. You will never be able to go to bed then untill you have started a new project, phoned a friend to discuss some new yarn you saw in town earlier that day, or written a letter to a pinpal with pictures of some of your latest quilts.

The book will be a favorite of mine for years to come, and I know it will inspire me to make wonderful gifts for and with my friends from all over the world. And a little secret. MY Between Friends has a little handmade bookmark, embroidered with the words"If friends were flowers, I'd pick you" - made special for me by my special sharing friend.

Britt Arnhild Lindland

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars she's done it again!, May 21, 2002

By A Customer

Charlotte Lyons has a real gift for creating something wonderful out of basic odds and ends. And her newest book, Between Friends, offers inspiration galore. Whether you have friends to share the craft projects with or simply want to escape the daily routine by making something alone this book is a fabulous resource. The instructions are very clear and the projects are cleverly organized by the amount of time they take. A great gift idea too.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book to Share, May 5, 2002

By	Barbara Wright (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

A couple of years ago, a friend gave Charlotte Lyons's earlier book "Mothers & Daugters at Home" to my 12-year-old daughter. It was beautiful to look at. She loved it. Wanted to try everything in it. Not me, however. "Oh, no", I thought. "Not another craft book that shows me how richly supplied with time, talent and materials everyone else is."

But I thumbed through it with her......and fell in love. And in the end, although she has now left me far behind in her creative development, Rebecca and I launched several delightful (and successful) projects together.

So when Ms. Lyons's next book came out, I bought it for myself and have continued to purchase it as gifts for others. Like its predecessor, the layout of the book is beautifully coordinated. The narrative and directions are personal, engaging and encouraging. The directions are clear. It is liberally supplied with beautiful photos that convey not only the "made specially for you" look of the projects but also the joyful feel of the process. And tucked in, among all these things, are snippets of warmth, wisdom and inspiration that make this book itself a great gift to all who pick it up.