In Review: Knit with Love

This week I am review Knit with Love by Lisa Bogart. (I received this book for free from Lisa in return for a review)

I entered a give-away on Lisa's blog a while back, she then sent me a message on Ravelry telling me it'd been received etc etc. We got talking, and a few messages later Lisa asked me if I would review her book, Knit with Love: Stories to Warm a Knitter's Heart. Of course I said yes, a little while later the book arrived and I set to work reading it.

You can't help but pick up the book once you've taken a glance at the beautiful front cover, and I'm pleased to say the opening sentences lived up to expectation:

"Knitting can't feed the hungry, fight crime, or stop global warming. But a hand-knit sweater warms a cold child. A cozy scarf eases a homeless night. A tiny hat comforts a preemie head. A lovely prayer shawl wraps a worried patient in peace. Knitting quietly eases some of the hurts in the world."

Each chapter is metaphorically linked to knitting (such as chapter 2: Place a Marker - Aha Moments), and includes a scripture or two from the Bible. 

I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses so I enjoyed seeing scriptures used but despite this, it still left me feeling awkward when a scripture was linked with knitting, as to me it is a misunderstanding of what the scripture is referring too. (If you want to know more about my beliefs you can message me on Ravelry)

Lisa's writing style is very casual, as you read you genuinely feel as if you are having a conversation with her. Without her down-to-earth style, the book just wouldn't work. Throughout the book Lisa shares stories, anecdotes, tips & tricks and even the odd pattern thrown in the mix. My favourite chapter has to be Chapter 7: Increase. Where Lisa covers subjects such as Yarn Bombing, your Stash (there is a funny anecdote about an overheard conversation at a yarn store), she also includes a few patterns such as the Crazy Garter Stitch Scarf, and she shares a brilliant idea called 'The Great Sock Lottery'. 

I could only read this book a couple of pages at a time, as reading about knitting for others kept inspiring me to pick up my needles. Which just proves how inspiring and encouraging this book really is. So on the whole, I like this book. How can you not? Get a copy for yourself, snuggle up on the sofa and make sure your knitting and a box of tissues are near, and learn how you can bring comfort and hope to others with just a skein of yarn, some needles and a whole lot of love.

You can purchase Knit with Love from the following retailers:

Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Amazon | Lifeway | IndieBound | Family Christian

In Review: Mistofellees by Black Cat Fibres

This week I am reviewing Mistofellees by Black Cat Fibres. (I received the yarn for free in return for a review).

Yarn arrived the next day (very impressive), and came wrapped in colour matching tissue paper, which I thought was a lovely touch. It felt like I was opening a present (which I was in a way)!

Mistofellees is a Merino/Nylon Superwash Sock (4ply) yarn, I chose to have it in the Summer Berries colourway. A gorgeous purple and pink yarn which just reminds me of picnics in the summer.

As it is sock yarn, I just had to have a go at socks. I chose the pattern 8 Stitches per Inch by Ann Budd, not only because it is my first ever pair of socks, but I knew the plain stockinette body would show the yarn off perfectly.

This yarn is a dream to knit with. It has a fuzzy halo covering the yarn, which means it is soft to knit with and their is no chance of splitting. I did attempt a couple of other patterns with the yarn, but ended up frogging them. Normally a yarn wouldn't be able to cope with so much unravelling, but Mistofellees held up its shape and texture.

The yarn is hand-dyed, so if you are going to need more than one skein make sure you buy them at the same time, as dye-lots will vary. There are a generous 465 yards/ 425m per skein, which will make a large pair of men's socks. It will handle a cool machine wash (30˚), but make sure you dry your garment flat. You can buy the yarn at a bargain price of £10.83 ($17). 

So my honest advice is to buy this yarn, you really won't regret it. I can see Black Cat Fibres becoming very popular, so make sure you get the skein you've been eyeing up soon, before it is too late!

If you pop by on Sunday, you'll see how the socks turned out. Tune in tomorrow though, for my participation in a new meme called "Holiday Stash Down 2012", which was recently started by the Underground Crafter.

In Review: Knitted Dinosaurs

This week I'm reviewing 'Knitted Dinosaurs by Tina Barrett' (this review copy came from my local library).

All I can say is I love the concept of this book. These colourful and quirky projects are a sure hit for kids and adults alike. The book consists of 15 'Prehistoric Pals', so once you've knitted one of each I bet you my bottom dollar that you'll have to do it all over again!

The book includes technique tutorials for those new to knitting, and a 'Finishing touches' section so you can stuff your dinosaur to perfection.

Each of the 15 dinosaurs come with 'fun facts' on their pattern pages, who says knitting isn't educational?

I love all the dinosaurs, but my favourites have to be...

Allosaurus

Pterodactyl 

Plesiosaur

The colours Tina has chosen for the dinos are perfect in my opinion, but who says you can't mix it up? What about a blue and yellow Triceratops or a pink and purple Diplodocus?

I really wanted to knit one a dinosaur for the review, but unfortunately life got in the way! I will be buying this book in the future though, as I think these would fit perfectly in my nieces toy collection. If you want to try before you buy, Just Crafty Enough are giving away the Stegosaurus pattern for free on their website.

So while their prehistoric ancestors reeked havoc on the earth, surely a knitted one couldn't hurt?

In Review: Handmade by Just-in

(Just want to apologise for not posting last week - my M.E and Fibromyalgia is really messing me about. So I'll post last weeks review, next Monday. Sorry again!)

Ballerina Teddy Bear - £2.59 / $4.00

So a couple of weeks ago, I was approached by Justyna to review her shop. As soon as I saw it I knew you'd all love it. She even offered to donate an item from her shop for a give-away, but more on that later. For now, though, let me tell you about the shop.

Justyna opened her shop, Handmade by Just-in, on the 26th of April 2011, after deciding that she wanted to share her designs with the world. And rightly so, as they are absolutely gorgeous.

I asked Justyna what got her into designing, and this is what she had to say: "Since I discovered  amigurumi I've got really hooked on them and one day I thought I'd try making one myself, without the pattern. It looked well enough, so I have it another try, and another and before I noticed I got hooked on designing!"

She currently has 9 of her beautiful crochet designs on her Etsy shop, I just had to find out where she finds her inspiration.

"I guess I find inspiration in all things around me. After I started making dog patterns (there will be more than just these two), I guess I see an amigurumi in every animal that's passing me in the street. Also, since necessity is the mother of invention, I create things I need or think my son will like."

I think she has hit the nail on the head there, I can see these toys in every little ones bedroom. My niece would be over-joyed with a Ballerina Teddy Bear, and my younger niece would look adorable in the Monster Booties.

Justyna hasn't got all her patterns on Etsy, I had a cheeky look at her design page on Ravelry and she has 35 patterns on there. All gorgeous, like the ones in her shop. Just go and look, you won't be disappointed I assure you. Unless you can't crochet, like myself, then you might just shed a tear.

Cocker Spaniel - £2.91 / $4.50

My favourite pattern of them all though, is the Cocker Spaniel puppy.  I know I have said this a million times already, but isn't this pattern just gorgeous??

Now I hope I'm right in saying, that I think you all will love this crochet pattern as much as I do. That is why Justyna and I decided that this will be the pattern for the give-away.

So here are the rules!

In Review: Celeena Cree Creations

In Review is a new section at An Accidental Knitter. Every Monday I will post a review of an Etsy Shop, Knitting Book or Yarn. If you are a Yarn Dyer or Spinner, maybe you've just released a new book or you own your own Etsy shop, then please send an email or Ravelry message and I will get back to you! 

So, this week I am reviewing the Etsy shop Celeena Cree Creations, which is ran by Cleo (she also runs a blog called Random Ramblings of Celeena Cree) 

Neon Variegated Mini Alien - £1.29 /$1.99

The shop covers a wide range of crafts. It includes crochet, knitting & cross stitch patterns. Stitch markers, buttons, jewellery. She also sells knitted aliens, bags and felted plushies. It appears the girl's crafty talents are endless.

There is no running theme through the shop, which is a shame. Despite this though the items she is selling are adorable, and very well priced. We are all going through a recession at the moment and it is nice to know that shopkeepers take note of that and adjust their prices accordingly. 

Heart Charms - 64p/99c

My favourite item in the shop, has to be the heart charms. I think they are simply adorable. Other favourites include her Mini Aliens and Rainbow Turtle Earrings.

So, all in all Ceelena Cree Creations is a sweet shop that you should definitely check out. She is also doing an offer at the moment: Purchase anything from her shop by the end of April 2012 and receive a free pattern of your choice. You can also receive a free pattern by blogging about her offers on your blog.

So, tune in next week when I'll be reviewing Knitted Dinosaurs by Tina Barrett!