Avicraft Ltd

Book Review

Welcome to a brand new section - I want to share my love of knitting books and stories about knitting with you.

March 2010
I am totally addicted to knitting novels and have been expanding my collection! I thoroughly recommend the Sugar Maple stories, "Casting Spells" and "Laced with Magic" by Barbara Bretton and the "Sweetgum Knit Lit" books by Beth Pattillo. Most knitting novels tend to be a bit Mills and Boon but I treat them as very light entertainment...sort of bedtime relaxation reading.

As for proper knitting books....toys and tea cosies!!! I know I'm not known for toy knitting but I am in love with tea cosies and dragons!

July 2009
I've added 2 more Nicky Epstein books to my collection - Crochet Flowers and Signature Scarves. Now Nicky's designes are sometimes a bit eccentric but always stunning. I love using bits of her designs - a stitch or motiff to add something really special to my knitting.  I was lucky enough to meet Nicky at Ally Pally last year and she made my day by complementing my knitting. I was wearing a black cotton lace cardi I had made last spring from 2 patterns cobbled together. She expressed amazement that it was handknit as she thought the stitches were so even it must have been machine knit....I spent the rest of the month floating on a high (not prescription drug induced for once) telling every one I met how Nicky Epstein liked my knitting...I am always totally star struck when I meet knitting stars! When I met Gerald from I Knit I bumbled and tripped over my words!!!
And I'm reading The Storm by Vince Cable for light bedtime entertainment....Vince is my political economic hero and I am determined to understand a bit more about the credit crunch. It's a bit heavy going in the introduction but totally comprehendable once you get into it.

June 2009
Just a quickie as it's too hot to think straight but thanks to my wonderful air-con unit it's not too hot to knit!
This time I recommend Nicky Epsteins "Knitted Flowers". It's not cheap but it is beautiful and I am working my way through it. I got mine through ABE Books - great online bookstore - used it lots with no problems, and they have a fantastic range of craft books and knitting books, often from America, at really silly prices. But be warned it's adictive!

For unknitterly reading I am enthralled by anything written by Alexander macall smith (he of The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency). Genius of gentle wry humour and observation.

April 2009
I have mentioned Debbie Macomber in my blog a number of times. But now I'm going to introduce you to her properly (I'm sure she won't mind me telling you about her!)

"When Debbie Macomber first decided to write a novel, people called her a hopeless dreamer. As a young dyslexic mother of four active children, no one believed she had what it took to write a book, except Debbie. She wrote - for years. But each time she completed a story and mailed it off to a publisher, the manuscript was returned, stamped "Rejected". As tough as it was to keep her spirits alive, Debbie never gave up.
But all her perseverance paid off and Debbie's heartwarming novels have made her a New York Times best selling author with sales of over fifty-one million novels worldwide."



Now you can find out more about her on her website - DebbieMacomber.com and join her online knitting club where she has patterns.
Not only does she write novels but also Knitting pattern books to support the stories, she has her own line of knitting notions (bags and needles to you and me) and is a great supporter of Warm up America and World Vision. As someone who has always sponsored children myself through World Vision I was thrilled to know that she was involved with them.

The story books from the Blossom Street series are set in and around a yarn shop in Blossom Street and tell the stories of the customers and owner of the shop. They are gentle stories, no blood and guts, no sex or bad language. Just gentle, well written stories of people like you and me.
The pattern books are wonderful.

I do have my copies of the story books in the shop and I have all the pattern books. I am looking into having them for sale in the shop.

When I wrote to Debbie Macomber about our Bliss blanket project she sent me a wonderful letter of support and a signed copy of her blanket pattern book. If you look closely at our finished blanket in 2012 you will see everyone of her blankets  in it.

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