Like I Really Needed Another Book...
Everyone knows little sisters will get you into trouble... no matter how old you get! My little sister has a genius for presenting temptations. She recently extolled the virtues of an out-of-print book she received as a gift and was using to help herself & her girls learn to crochet; The Bantam Step By Step Book of Needle Craft. Well by the time she was done I really wanted a copy - shame on me! So I went internet hunting. The book has been out of print since the 80's so I wasn't holding my breath. Lo and behold I found a copy on eBay and it was only $16.99 but the shipping was $35 from the USA - go figure that one out! I didn't want the book THAT badly! Honestly, some seller are real gougers! Undeterred I checked out a few more booksellers and eventually found a copy - of all places - on Amazon.ca from the Calgary Goodwill for $1.99 plus $7 shipping. My eyes nearly popped out of my head! LOL! Five minutes and $10 later it was mine!
Let me assure you, if you ever come across a copy it's worth every penny you'll pay for it!! Each chapter begins with a fairly comprehensive history of the craft and then goes into a very well illustrated section on the basics of it - equipment, stitches, tips etc. Then there are project patterns - yes - complete knitted patterns, crochet patterns, sewing, needlepoint, tatting, smocking, lace making, weaving etc etc. I don't know how many years it took them to compile the information but the amount of technical stuff in this book is astounding for a single volume. True, the colors and some of the projects scream "late 70's early 80's" but if you can look past that there is a real cornucopia here!
I know, every time I get an exceptional book I say I'll never need to buy another book - and then something like this one comes along! It deserves to be read and appreciated and even used as a textbook because the crafts it teaches deserve to be preserved and practiced in the face of our over-mechanized made-in-China saturated society. We have a proud heritage of handmade needle crafts and it would be poverty indeed for it to be forgotten and lost. Cheers all!
Let me assure you, if you ever come across a copy it's worth every penny you'll pay for it!! Each chapter begins with a fairly comprehensive history of the craft and then goes into a very well illustrated section on the basics of it - equipment, stitches, tips etc. Then there are project patterns - yes - complete knitted patterns, crochet patterns, sewing, needlepoint, tatting, smocking, lace making, weaving etc etc. I don't know how many years it took them to compile the information but the amount of technical stuff in this book is astounding for a single volume. True, the colors and some of the projects scream "late 70's early 80's" but if you can look past that there is a real cornucopia here!
I know, every time I get an exceptional book I say I'll never need to buy another book - and then something like this one comes along! It deserves to be read and appreciated and even used as a textbook because the crafts it teaches deserve to be preserved and practiced in the face of our over-mechanized made-in-China saturated society. We have a proud heritage of handmade needle crafts and it would be poverty indeed for it to be forgotten and lost. Cheers all!
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