Reviews

Grandmothers and church bazaar knitters will enjoy these patterns. Some of the instructions could be better, but most are within the reach of average knitters.

The condition of this book was exactly as stated. Actually it was like brand new. The mailing process couldn't have been more professional. Thank you, lk

Someone made a handknit stocking for me when I was a baby, then when I got married, my mom made a matching stocking for my husband. When each of our children was born, my mom also made stockings for them. Well, this past Christmas as my son was expecting his first child, he asked me to make a matching stocking for the new baby for this coming year. I am a complete novice at knitting (the only thing I had made was scarves!), so I purchased this book hoping it would help me get through learning how to "turn a heel", and all those other complicated instructions! I'm very happy to say that I was able to make a beautiful stocking using this book as a basic guide ... the instructions and photos were very detailed and helpful, even to a novice like me!! There are some patterns in the book which are more complicated, so I think the book could be for more experienced knitters as well.

I'm not nuts about the selection of patterns, but the patterns that are there are well-written and definitely meant to hold the less-experienced knitter's (moi) hand. Patterns in the knitting and crocheting world are usually written with just the stitches, leaving the knitter to guess what the outcome should look like. Not this little book, though their method succeeds to varying degrees. That said, pictures, in addition to the written hand-holding, for each stage of creation sure would be nice. Still, it's a good, basic book for getting started with making stockings. I don't regret the purchase.

Great book for all levels. The directions are clear and easy to follow with great pictures and graphics. The book also looks adorable hanging around on the coffee table

Reviews

The pictures in this book are all lovely, and every item is appropriate for my skill level, but the technical editor should be ashamed that this book went to press. I have now attempted 5 or 6 items, and all but one was horribly incorrect at some point. It is December 2009 as I write this, the book was originally published in 2005 (I received it as a gift in 2006), and there is STILL NO ERRATA PAGE for the patterns! You have to hunt around the internet to try and find corrections. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK unless you are extremely experienced and willing to rewrite and recalculate the patterns. I wish I could get my money back for this book. If I had known how awful it would be to work from I would have returned it to amazon immediately.

I checked this book out of the library a week ago, and since then I have finished 3 projects! I rarely buy books that are available for free in the library, but I definitely have to have this one on my shelf. The menorah pillow was the big draw for me, and I am planning on knitting it for my parents this year; however, most of these patterns are amazing. There seems to be a little bit of everything, and I want to knit nearly all of it! The doll outfits are absolutely adorable, and would be appropriate for your favorite child any time of year. The Candy Cane Striped Hat worked up in two nights (in sizes baby to adult, no less). After I made one, I decided that all my kids need one for this Christmas. The evergreen bag inspired me to (finally!) learn Fair Isle knitting. I finished the bag in just a few days, and I absolutely love it. Snegurochka's Party Hat is a beautiful beaded cap that I am knitting (without beads) for a friend who will be starting chemo soon. It is gorgeous, and so much more classy and stylish than any "chemo cap" pattern I have seen. I also have my eye on a pair of knee-high sock/stockings with an outrageously sexy eyelet faux seam running up the back. When it cools off this fall, I'm going to start on the log cabin socks. The possibilities in this book seem endless, and it includes many, many patterns that are not Christmas-specific. Even some of the Christmas-y patterns, like the stockings, are shown in unexpected colorway that look terrific. And if you love cable knitting, you have to check out the Aran tree skirt. It is absolutely to die for! There is an error in the decrease of the Striped Candy Cane Hat. I just did a basic K2tog decrease one stitch in each band of the main color in the first row, then knit a row even, then one K2tog decrease in each band of the contrast color of the 3rd row, then knit a row even, etc. I also came up with a couple extra stitches at the end when it was time to start the I-cord topper, but it was no big deal; I just added 1 more decreasing row until I had the proper # of stitches, then did my I-cord. I can't tell you how cute the hat came out; it was totally worth figuring out the details. There is a picture in the customer images. You can find errata info from the author at [..] There are corrections for: Candy Cane Hat Over the Knee Socks Menorah Pillow For the Snegurochka's Party Hat, here is what I figured out while knitting today: Row 33, Stitch 16 should be a K2tog instead of a knit, so K2tog, K4... Row 35, Stitches 16-24 should read Ssk, K7, K2tog For some reasons, rows 31-34 are increased to 37 stitches, then decrease back down to 36. Weird, but it's working. The errors are definitely frustrating. If I was not a fairly advanced knitter, I would have given up on the Snegurochka's Party Hat pattern. On the other hand, it is coming out so beautifully, and I can't wait to give it away! I might even make another one for myself. There really are some fun, amazing patterns in this book. I don't get too worked up about errors in the pattern, but I do think that it is the author's responsibility to get the correct information on her website. She shouldn't leave it to random knitters and bloggers to fix her mistakes. So, if you are a beginning knitter or get easily frustrated with errors, pass this one by. However, if you are willing to track down the corrections, this book is awesome.

I got this book as a gift and I absolutely love it. It includes many inspiring projects through many knitting levels with beautiful photography. A word of caution: there are patterns that need clarification or corrections. I would recommend doing a search on a knitting site (like ravelry.com) to see if the project you are thinking about contains errors.

I love this book! Not only do the patterns represent several winter holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, etc.), almost all (and there are a ton) are really nice. I have yet to knit very much from the book, but I have big plans for this next year. The Menorah pillow alone makes the book worth buying; some of my other favorite patterns in the book are the Santa hat, some delicate embroidered gloves, flip-top mittens, a fabulous tree skirt, and, for the kids, three patterns for knit dolls (Mrs. Claus, a dog, and a cat).

I love this book. The variety of patterns in this book are great. I can't wait to start knitting Christmas presents. I plan on making the ruffle scarf first.

Reviews

I found this book easy to read and the patterns were easy to do. I have been wanting to make snowflakes for a long time and this is the first time that I found a book that I could actually make a snowflake from.

If you like crocheting snowflakes, this book is a great choice! Lots of different sizes and looks to choose from. I'm having a great time with it!

I made most of the snowflakes in this book. The instructions are reasonably clear, but there are a few I had to adjust. the results are quite pretty if you keep your chains tight.

I tremendously enjoy working different pattern from this book! I've made 18 different snowflakes so far - with so many wonderful patterns it is very easy to get carried away. All the pattern are relatively simple (no more than 4 rows) and well-explained. The only thing that may need some improvement is photos - black and white and small. However, they work well enough as guides.

I love these snowflakes! This is the first time I've crocheted with thread and a steel hook... before that, the finest yarn I had used was sock yarn. I've done two snowflakes so far, and they've both come out great. Each was using #10 thread with a #7 hook, and took 1-2 hours to make while watching TV. I think I'll stick to this thread and hook, even though other patterns call for #20 or #30 thread... I'm not sure I could manage with thread that thin. Barbara describes how to starch the snowflakes, but mine seem stiff enough that I think I'll skip that step. I'm not sure if there are mistakes in the instructions, or if I just don't understand some of the steps, but it doesn't seem to matter. So far my guesses seem to produce beautiful results, even if they might not be exactly what the author intended. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year... assuming I can bear to part with the snowflakes!