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March 2022 MBR The Needlecraft Shelf
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Midwest Book Review
Apr 1, 2022, 1:00:55 PM4/1/22
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The Needlecraft Shelf
Doodle School
Dara Tomasson, author
Amy Colleen Robertson, author
www.dappledthingsbyamy.com
Stash Books
c/o C&T Publishing
www.ctpub.com
9781644030905, $21.95, PB, 128pp
https://www.amazon.com/Doodle-School-Challenge-Free-Motion-Quilting/dp/164403090X
Synopsis: With the publication of "Doodle School: A Daily Design Challenge to Up Your Free-Motion Quilting Game" by needlecrafters Dara Tomasson and Amy Robertson, even the most novice of quilters can master doodle designing in just 31 days.
The will be transformed into a skilled free-motion quilting expert with a month-long series of daily design prompts and learning from experienced free-motion quilters Dara Tomasson and Amy Robertson with respect to their direct methods.
Each design helps build muscle memory and spurs creativity with dozens of unique shapes and styles. Start sketching feathers, arrows, shells, rainbows, bubbles, spider webs, and so much more. Designs range from basic and vary in difficulty and intricacy making this the perfect reference for those learning to draw free-motion designs. Once you've completed your daily doodle challenges, show off your skills with a sampler quilt that features all of your doodle challenges.
Basically, with "Doodle School: A Daily Design Challenge to Up Your Free-Motion Quilting Game" you start with pen and paper and take on daily doodle prompt challenges. Then become a confident free-motion quilt designer by learning to stitch a variety of different shapes. There is a wealth of skill-building techniques and easy-to-follow visual guides for each doodle design
Critique: Expertly organized and presented, enhanced with full color and line drawn illustrations throughout, and thoroughly 'user friendly' with step-by-step instructions, "Doodle School: A Daily Design Challenge to Up Your Free-Motion Quilting Game" is the perfect combination of instructional guide and 'how to' manual. Highly recommended for personal, professional, and community library collections, it should also be noted that "Doodle School: A Daily Design Challenge to Up Your Free-Motion Quilting Game" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.49).
Editorial Note #1: Dara Tomasson spends most of her days as a life coach to quilters by helping them lose weight and create more joy in their lives. When she isn't coaching, longarm quilting or cheering her kids at their basketball games, Dara loves to design patterns, make YouTube videos, and quilt for charity. She has her own website at www.daratomasson.com
Editorial Note #2: Amy Robertson has been running her longarm quilting business, Dappled Things Quilting, since 2018. She is currently exploring pattern design, fiber art, and the many possibilities for art and design that exist within the quilting world. She has her website at www.dappledthingsbyamy.com
Stylehacking, Sew a Creative Wardrobe
Karoline Dahrling Hughes
Stash Books
c/o C&T Publishing
www.ctpub.com
9781644031148, $29.95, PB, 128pp
https://www.amazon.com/Stylehacking-Sew-Creative-Wardrobe-Possibilities/dp/1644031140
Synopsis: Turn your clothing basics into a stylish wardrobe! Get inspired to elevate your wardrobe with dozens of tips and tricks on creating handmade, fashionable creating fashionable, wardrobe pieces with "Stylehacking, Sew a Creative Wardrobe: Use 5 Favorite Garments for Limitless Possibilities".
Dream about it one day and wear it the next. Take the essentials found in every closet (a camisole, a tee, a jumper, a pair of trousers, and leggings) and learn how to transform them into something new. The advice and ideas comprising "Stylehacking, Sew a Creative Wardrobe: Use 5 Favorite Garments for Limitless Possibilities" ranges from hemming and elastic techniques, stitch and fabric guides, to basic sewing principles.
Perfect for sewing beginners looking to conquer clothing, you'll learn how to sew a top, trousers, skirts, and other fashion favorites. Also great for more experienced sewists looking to get creative with new timesaving garment tricks. All creatives can find something to design with 30+ wardrobe ideas from basic tee dress to cardigans, kimonos, bike shorts, and so much more. "Stylehacking" is made for even the most novice of needlcraters to succeed because there is no time spent on measuring, or decrypting the lines on paper patterns, or altering premade patterns.
Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "Stylehacking, Sew a Creative Wardrobe: Use 5 Favorite Garments for Limitless Possibilities" is thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and DIY presentation. While a welcome and recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Contemporary Needlecrafting collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Stylehacking, Sew a Creative Wardrobe: Use 5 Favorite Garments for Limitless Possibilities" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.99).
Editorial Note: Karoline Dahrling Hughes is a garment sewist, writer, designer, illustrator, and crafter. She lives in Denmark and is a regular contributor to the British sewing magazine Simply Sewing, where she shows readers how to make stylish garments without using paper patterns. Her first book, Smart I En Fart ( Smart in a Hurry or Stylishly Dressed in a Hurry), was published in Danish, her native tongue, in April 2017. She has a website at www.skandimama.com
Pet Portrait Embroidery
Michelle Staub
Stash Books
c/o C&T Publishing
www.ctpub.com
9781644030141, $24.95, PB, 144pp
https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Portrait-Embroidery-Lovingly-Painting/dp/1644030144
Synopsis: Cats and dogs seem to always have a paw planted firmly in our hearts. Now with the publication of "Pet Portrait Embroidery: Lovingly Stitch Your Dog or Cat; A Modern Guide to Thread Painting" needlecrafters and embroidery enthusiasts can capture the life in their pets eyes and the texture of their fur with a unique embroidered pet portrait!
Self-taught artist Michelle Staub puts a modern spin on thread painting with her easy-to-learn approach. Get started with 4 basic embroidery stitches, and follow the detailed tutorials to hone your skills. Capture awe-inspiring details of your pet with lessons in full-color thread painting or go clean with a simple line drawing -- the choice is yours as you learn to personalize your art piece with names, dates, and decorative accents. With 20 sample patterns to customize, you can easily recreate any breed!
Critique: With "Pet Portrait Embroidery: Lovingly Stitch Your Dog or Cat; A Modern Guide to Thread Painting" as a DIY instructional guide and 'how to' manual, andone can create stunningly realistic pet portraits with just a needle and thread. They can make either minimal outlines and incredible full-color renderings. They can make their thread based projects modern with floral garlands, personalized banners, and crisp lettering. A highly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Needlecrafting collections, it should be noted that "Pet Portrait Embroidery: Lovingly Stitch Your Dog or Cat; A Modern Guide to Thread Painting" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Michelle Staub is a self-taught embroidery artist who has been creating pet embroideries since 2014. She loves using needle and thread to create gorgeous keepsakes. Her pet portraits have been featured in magazines, on television, and on websites around the world. She has a website at www.stitchingsabbatical.com
Cozy Knits
Kari Cornell, editor
Voyager Press
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
100 Cummings Center, Suite 265D, Beverly, MA 01915
www.quartoknows.com
9780760373538, $24.99, PB, 192pp
https://www.amazon.com/Cozy-Knits-Mitten-Projects-Around/dp/0760373531
Synopsis: Expertly compiled and edited by Kari Cornell (who has been knitting and collecting vintage patterns for years), "Cozy Knits: 30 Hat, Mitten, Scarf and Sock Projects from Around the World" showcases DIY stylish projects are inspired by knitting traditions from Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the British Isles, the Americas, and Asia.
Each individual knitting project is partnered with complete illustrated patterns, beautiful four-color photography, schematics and diagrams, and alternatives for yarns and needle weights and sizes to help you get the results you want. The patterns range from simple to more complicated, making this a great book to grow your craft.
Critique: Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and step-by-step presentation, "Cozy Knits: 30 Hat, Mitten, Scarf and Sock Projects from Around the World" is an especially recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library needlecraft instructional reference collections.
Black Threads
Kyra E. Hicks
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9780786413744, $TBA, HC, 260pp
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Threads-American-Quilting-Sourcebook/dp/0786413743
Synopsis: One million African Americans spend approximately $118 million annually on quilting. Some believe that recent studies of oral histories telling of the role quilting played in the Underground Railroad have inspired African Americans to take up their fabric and needles, but whatever the reason, quilters like Faith Ringgold, Clementine Hunter, Winnie McQueen, and many others are keeping the African American traditions of quilting alive.
"Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook" by Kyra E. Hicks is the first comprehensive guide to African American quilt history and contemporary practices. It offers more than 1,700 bibliographic references, many of them annotated, covering exhibit catalogs, books, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, films, novels, poetry, speeches, works of art, advertisements, patterns, greeting cards, auction results, ephemeral items, and online resources on African American quilting.
"Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook" also includes primary research utilizing the Internet usage of African American quilters, a listing of over 100 museums with African American-made quilts in their permanent collections, a directory of African American quilting groups in 29 states, and a detailed timeline that covers 200 years of African American quilting and needle arts events.
Critique: Illustrated with black/white photography, "Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook" is a groundbreaking and definitive work of meticulous research. Impressively informative and exceptionally 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook" is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library African American History & Culture collections. It will have a special appeal to dedicated members of the quilting community and is also available for personal reading lists in a paperback edition (9781476667102, $29.95).
Editorial Note: Kyra E. Hicks is a marketing professional and quilter whose quilts have appeared in more than thirty group exhibitions such as the American Craft Museum in New York, the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum in Hartford.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.
The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com
Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
Doodle School
Dara Tomasson, author
Amy Colleen Robertson, author
www.dappledthingsbyamy.com
Stash Books
c/o C&T Publishing
www.ctpub.com
9781644030905, $21.95, PB, 128pp
https://www.amazon.com/Doodle-School-Challenge-Free-Motion-Quilting/dp/164403090X
Synopsis: With the publication of "Doodle School: A Daily Design Challenge to Up Your Free-Motion Quilting Game" by needlecrafters Dara Tomasson and Amy Robertson, even the most novice of quilters can master doodle designing in just 31 days.
The will be transformed into a skilled free-motion quilting expert with a month-long series of daily design prompts and learning from experienced free-motion quilters Dara Tomasson and Amy Robertson with respect to their direct methods.
Each design helps build muscle memory and spurs creativity with dozens of unique shapes and styles. Start sketching feathers, arrows, shells, rainbows, bubbles, spider webs, and so much more. Designs range from basic and vary in difficulty and intricacy making this the perfect reference for those learning to draw free-motion designs. Once you've completed your daily doodle challenges, show off your skills with a sampler quilt that features all of your doodle challenges.
Basically, with "Doodle School: A Daily Design Challenge to Up Your Free-Motion Quilting Game" you start with pen and paper and take on daily doodle prompt challenges. Then become a confident free-motion quilt designer by learning to stitch a variety of different shapes. There is a wealth of skill-building techniques and easy-to-follow visual guides for each doodle design
Critique: Expertly organized and presented, enhanced with full color and line drawn illustrations throughout, and thoroughly 'user friendly' with step-by-step instructions, "Doodle School: A Daily Design Challenge to Up Your Free-Motion Quilting Game" is the perfect combination of instructional guide and 'how to' manual. Highly recommended for personal, professional, and community library collections, it should also be noted that "Doodle School: A Daily Design Challenge to Up Your Free-Motion Quilting Game" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.49).
Editorial Note #1: Dara Tomasson spends most of her days as a life coach to quilters by helping them lose weight and create more joy in their lives. When she isn't coaching, longarm quilting or cheering her kids at their basketball games, Dara loves to design patterns, make YouTube videos, and quilt for charity. She has her own website at www.daratomasson.com
Editorial Note #2: Amy Robertson has been running her longarm quilting business, Dappled Things Quilting, since 2018. She is currently exploring pattern design, fiber art, and the many possibilities for art and design that exist within the quilting world. She has her website at www.dappledthingsbyamy.com
Stylehacking, Sew a Creative Wardrobe
Karoline Dahrling Hughes
Stash Books
c/o C&T Publishing
www.ctpub.com
9781644031148, $29.95, PB, 128pp
https://www.amazon.com/Stylehacking-Sew-Creative-Wardrobe-Possibilities/dp/1644031140
Synopsis: Turn your clothing basics into a stylish wardrobe! Get inspired to elevate your wardrobe with dozens of tips and tricks on creating handmade, fashionable creating fashionable, wardrobe pieces with "Stylehacking, Sew a Creative Wardrobe: Use 5 Favorite Garments for Limitless Possibilities".
Dream about it one day and wear it the next. Take the essentials found in every closet (a camisole, a tee, a jumper, a pair of trousers, and leggings) and learn how to transform them into something new. The advice and ideas comprising "Stylehacking, Sew a Creative Wardrobe: Use 5 Favorite Garments for Limitless Possibilities" ranges from hemming and elastic techniques, stitch and fabric guides, to basic sewing principles.
Perfect for sewing beginners looking to conquer clothing, you'll learn how to sew a top, trousers, skirts, and other fashion favorites. Also great for more experienced sewists looking to get creative with new timesaving garment tricks. All creatives can find something to design with 30+ wardrobe ideas from basic tee dress to cardigans, kimonos, bike shorts, and so much more. "Stylehacking" is made for even the most novice of needlcraters to succeed because there is no time spent on measuring, or decrypting the lines on paper patterns, or altering premade patterns.
Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "Stylehacking, Sew a Creative Wardrobe: Use 5 Favorite Garments for Limitless Possibilities" is thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and DIY presentation. While a welcome and recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Contemporary Needlecrafting collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Stylehacking, Sew a Creative Wardrobe: Use 5 Favorite Garments for Limitless Possibilities" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.99).
Editorial Note: Karoline Dahrling Hughes is a garment sewist, writer, designer, illustrator, and crafter. She lives in Denmark and is a regular contributor to the British sewing magazine Simply Sewing, where she shows readers how to make stylish garments without using paper patterns. Her first book, Smart I En Fart ( Smart in a Hurry or Stylishly Dressed in a Hurry), was published in Danish, her native tongue, in April 2017. She has a website at www.skandimama.com
Pet Portrait Embroidery
Michelle Staub
Stash Books
c/o C&T Publishing
www.ctpub.com
9781644030141, $24.95, PB, 144pp
https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Portrait-Embroidery-Lovingly-Painting/dp/1644030144
Synopsis: Cats and dogs seem to always have a paw planted firmly in our hearts. Now with the publication of "Pet Portrait Embroidery: Lovingly Stitch Your Dog or Cat; A Modern Guide to Thread Painting" needlecrafters and embroidery enthusiasts can capture the life in their pets eyes and the texture of their fur with a unique embroidered pet portrait!
Self-taught artist Michelle Staub puts a modern spin on thread painting with her easy-to-learn approach. Get started with 4 basic embroidery stitches, and follow the detailed tutorials to hone your skills. Capture awe-inspiring details of your pet with lessons in full-color thread painting or go clean with a simple line drawing -- the choice is yours as you learn to personalize your art piece with names, dates, and decorative accents. With 20 sample patterns to customize, you can easily recreate any breed!
Critique: With "Pet Portrait Embroidery: Lovingly Stitch Your Dog or Cat; A Modern Guide to Thread Painting" as a DIY instructional guide and 'how to' manual, andone can create stunningly realistic pet portraits with just a needle and thread. They can make either minimal outlines and incredible full-color renderings. They can make their thread based projects modern with floral garlands, personalized banners, and crisp lettering. A highly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Needlecrafting collections, it should be noted that "Pet Portrait Embroidery: Lovingly Stitch Your Dog or Cat; A Modern Guide to Thread Painting" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Michelle Staub is a self-taught embroidery artist who has been creating pet embroideries since 2014. She loves using needle and thread to create gorgeous keepsakes. Her pet portraits have been featured in magazines, on television, and on websites around the world. She has a website at www.stitchingsabbatical.com
Cozy Knits
Kari Cornell, editor
Voyager Press
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
100 Cummings Center, Suite 265D, Beverly, MA 01915
www.quartoknows.com
9780760373538, $24.99, PB, 192pp
https://www.amazon.com/Cozy-Knits-Mitten-Projects-Around/dp/0760373531
Synopsis: Expertly compiled and edited by Kari Cornell (who has been knitting and collecting vintage patterns for years), "Cozy Knits: 30 Hat, Mitten, Scarf and Sock Projects from Around the World" showcases DIY stylish projects are inspired by knitting traditions from Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the British Isles, the Americas, and Asia.
Each individual knitting project is partnered with complete illustrated patterns, beautiful four-color photography, schematics and diagrams, and alternatives for yarns and needle weights and sizes to help you get the results you want. The patterns range from simple to more complicated, making this a great book to grow your craft.
Critique: Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and step-by-step presentation, "Cozy Knits: 30 Hat, Mitten, Scarf and Sock Projects from Around the World" is an especially recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library needlecraft instructional reference collections.
Black Threads
Kyra E. Hicks
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9780786413744, $TBA, HC, 260pp
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Threads-American-Quilting-Sourcebook/dp/0786413743
Synopsis: One million African Americans spend approximately $118 million annually on quilting. Some believe that recent studies of oral histories telling of the role quilting played in the Underground Railroad have inspired African Americans to take up their fabric and needles, but whatever the reason, quilters like Faith Ringgold, Clementine Hunter, Winnie McQueen, and many others are keeping the African American traditions of quilting alive.
"Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook" by Kyra E. Hicks is the first comprehensive guide to African American quilt history and contemporary practices. It offers more than 1,700 bibliographic references, many of them annotated, covering exhibit catalogs, books, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, films, novels, poetry, speeches, works of art, advertisements, patterns, greeting cards, auction results, ephemeral items, and online resources on African American quilting.
"Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook" also includes primary research utilizing the Internet usage of African American quilters, a listing of over 100 museums with African American-made quilts in their permanent collections, a directory of African American quilting groups in 29 states, and a detailed timeline that covers 200 years of African American quilting and needle arts events.
Critique: Illustrated with black/white photography, "Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook" is a groundbreaking and definitive work of meticulous research. Impressively informative and exceptionally 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook" is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library African American History & Culture collections. It will have a special appeal to dedicated members of the quilting community and is also available for personal reading lists in a paperback edition (9781476667102, $29.95).
Editorial Note: Kyra E. Hicks is a marketing professional and quilter whose quilts have appeared in more than thirty group exhibitions such as the American Craft Museum in New York, the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum in Hartford.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.
The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com
Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
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