Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40761 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 136 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781933027265
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Customer Reviews

Much more here than the cover shows!
Nicky is one of my favorite designers, and she certainly doesn't disappoint with this gorgeous book. I wish, though that publishers would learn that because so many of us now buy our books on line, they need to give us covers that really tell us what the book is about. Because this treasure is far more than just about crocheting flowers.

It's full of flowers, yes: elegant flowers, flower bouquets, simple dainty flowers, felted flowers. A variety
of specialty yarns and beads spice up the projects, and both symbols and written instructions are used. But what you can't tell from the cover is that it includes instructions for wonderful projects using the flowers: an adorable ear-flap hat, a fiesta-flowered felted handbag, a floral belted delicate shawl that any woman of any age or size or shape would look gorgeous in. There's an elegant floral neckpiece in deep rich tones to dress up a little black dress that's showing its age; included are wedding decor and accessories, and much, much more.

As always, sixthandspring books gives as a spectacular visual presentation, but come on guys -- give us on-line buyers a break and let us know what's really inside.

Not for beginners
I want to preface this with the fact that I love Nicky Epstein's designs. I get withdrawal waiting for new books. But...

Her instructions SUCK! The best example I have of this is the "Fiesta Flower Handbag". I had many many issues with this (while I was trying to make it for my mother for mother's day no less).

First of all, the required yarn amounts are WAY off. You need 5 skeins of the MC, at least three of the green and two of each of the pink and grape. I had to stop twice to wait on ordered (my LYS is over 92 miles away) yarn (still waiting on some now actually). And for the first time in my life I actually used the recommended yarn for something!!!

Secondly, there is not PRE-felting guage or main panel measurements! How can I figure out if I have even remotely the right size if I have to finish and felt the dang thing before I can measure it. I'm just hoping its close.

Thirdly, the florettes on the handle fold just do not look like the picture, no matter how I read it or try to figure it out (and I am a Master Crocheter) it doesn't look like the picture.

Fourthly, the pictures!!! The instructions tell you to use the picture as a guide, but it only has ONE! There is no picture of the side pockets, even though the instructions say to use it as a guide!!!
Fifthly, the instructions tell you to edge each piece with pink, while clearly in the (one) picture, one panel is edged in the grape!

Sixthly, there is no instruction for closing the bottom of the side pocket! Now granted, you most likely could figure it out, but she goes into great detail as to the edging (for example every corner turn is slowly spelled out to go along the edge and single crochet 3 times in every corner...four times! I think we got it the first time Nicki!!) Besides the fact is that if you got that far, I'm sure you have done that before and its almost automatic! Most crocheters have made simple dishcloths where this is (in my experience) the way EVERY SINGLE one is done!

Lastly, the fact that except for the slightly goofy ear-flap hat and this handbag, the rest of the apparel patterns are really freaky looking, from the wedding dress with huge floppy beaded yarn blobs or the giant messy neck piece or the completely bizarre opera gloves (who really would wear these anywhere but a costume party) are just WEIRD. And don't tell me they could easily be worn by Paris Hilton or some other Hollywood skank, they wouldn't TOUCH them unless they wanted to make the worst dressed list(might finally bump Bjork and her swan dress off the list!)

I won't even bore you with the myriad of typos and just plain confusedness of the flower patterns. And I really can say that about ALL of her books and patterns.

Please Nicky, fire your testers and editors, call me! I am completely zealous when it comes to succinct and accessible instructions, and I bet you a buck that I would be cheaper than the ones you used for this book.

I absolutely love having this book for inspiration. Nicky gets an A+ for inspiration and a C- for execution. So only spend your money if you have the time and patience to sit and play with the patterns. And always double the yarn requirements

If you aren't extremely comfortable with crochet, remember that you might hit some speedbumps and need a little help.

Disappointing but well presented
I bought Nicky's "Knitted Embellishments" and "Knitting on the Edge" some months ago and was blown away by the creativity and variety of what you can do with knitting. Being a crocheter rather than a knitter, I jumped at the chance to get the Crocheted Flowers book she had written, supposing it would be as creative and varied as her knitting books. Unfortunately I was very disappointed.

The book is very pleasing to the eye and is beautifully presented, excellent up close photographs and well set out. I like the different colours for pages throughout also, and it just looks well spaced, attractive and not cluttered at all. The book gives an impression of class and quality and really feels good to have it in your hands. As I said, very pleasing to the eye. However, as I turned page after page, the flowers kept looking familiar, slightly chunky (which might just be the effect of such magnification - which is what you want for detail) and by the time I got to the end of the book, I had only seen a few 'different' flower groups that inspired me. There was little 'new' which was what I was looking for. Some of the projects are only for young trendy people, not the more 'mature' crocheter past the bloom of youth! I'm not complaining about that mind you, just making an observation. We need to encourage young people to take up the craft and that is the kind of thing they like and want. Unfortunately for me, the book fell far short of the calibre of Nicky's other two books I mentioned earlier.

If you don't have any other patterns on crocheted flowers, or if you are a beginner to crochet, then this book would undoubtedly be of great value to you. For someone who wants something above the 'ordinary' in crocheted flowers, I don't suggest you buy it and save your money for something with more inspiration - unless you want an attractive book on the coffee table to attract visitors. It would certainly meet that need indeed.