Craft Book Round-Up

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had been reading a lot of "domestic-arts" books. While I did read a few cookbooks, mostly I was concentrating on books about knitting and felting. I always accuse my father of choosing his hobbies based on which has the richest literary tradition (who knew there were so many books about fencing?), but I seem to be following in his footsteps.

Well I have finally given up. I think what did me in was the long introductions in the felting books where they explain in great detail what to do if your project fails to felt correctly. I just can't imagine spending all that time on something that (according to these books) has a pretty good chance of not coming out the way you imagine it. I want guarantees in my crafts. Thus, while all those purses and hats and mittens were very cool looking, I have decided to be done with all that.

I do want to tell you about the oddest of all the craft books I read, however; it's called Killer Tea Cosies and How to Make Them. I'm always on the lookout for small projects, projects that, considering I can only knit for about 15 minutes a day, won't take me years to finish. A tea cozy sounded like just the thing. I have to admit that I was also attracted to this book because of its offbeat title. But it was just strange. None of the tea cozies were knitted, though a few were crocheted. Most were just fabric sculptures in really weird non-tea-related shapes. Like a Volkswagon beetle, a hedgehog, a coiled snake, and most surprising of all, the Sydney Opera House!

Back to the more predictable world of the novel, please.