Book Review: There is No Good Card for This by Kelsey Crowe, Ph.D. and Emily McDowell

Wow.  I only blogged three times last year, and one of those was to share our hummus recipe.  It was a rough year for many reasons, and I've been shaking it off little by little and getting back into doing the things I want to do, which includes writing blog posts.  I think I've picked a good topic to get me back into the groove.

Sometime before Christmas I saw a Facebook ad for Emily McDowell's "Everyday Bravery" pins, and I loved her style.  I headed over to her website and looked at just about everything.  Her items (especially her Empathy cards) are based in reality and are funny, blunt, and touching - sometimes all at once!  I placed an order for a few pins and a magnet (although I could have ordered tons more) and saw a notification about a book that was about to be released:

 
I read the description and was hooked.  Who among us doesn't feel lost when someone near us is experiencing loss, hardship, and pain?  What do we do?  What should we say?  Is "I'm sorry" okay?  I pre-ordered the book on Amazon and couldn't wait for it to arrive.

When the book came, I was impressed with the quality of it.  Not just the stuff inside - the actual book.  It's sturdy and will withstand many readings, and the pages... the pages are so thick that I always checked the page number to make sure I only turned one page!  The paper is a little glossy, so if you're going to make notes in the margins, you'll want to choose something that won't smudge.  Slick Writers are my go-to pens for slippery papers.

Now for the content.  It reads like you're sitting around the kitchen table (probably with a glass of wine) talking to two good friends who just happen to know an awful lot about empathy.  The authors, Kelsey Crowe, Ph.D. and Emily McDowell, have been through some really rough times, and they've used their experiences (and the experiences of many others) to come up with ways to help folks feel useful when their loved ones, friends, and acquaintances are going through their own rough times.  They discuss what empathy is (and how it differs from sympathy), how we can deal with some of our baggage before reaching out to someone else, how crucial listening is (and how to do it properly), what to say and not say, different methods of saying those things, and so much more.

One of the chapters is called "Small Gestures Make a Big Difference," and this concept touched me the most.  Did you know that we don't have to be everything for everyone all the time?  We can do little things here and there, and they might just be enough to help someone over a rough patch.  Recently a friend posted on my Facebook wall saying she was thinking about me because she knew that day would be difficult.  It was so sweet of her to do that, and her message really did help.  This book has loads of examples of things like that, which should get your mind going on how you can inject a little happiness and kindness into others' lives.

There are illustrations, bright colors, Emily's fun handwriting, and sample conversations to help drive the points home and to make the material not feel like a textbook.  It's interesting as well as being incredibly useful, and I plan on referring to it often as I work toward fixing my tendency to try to fix things.

If you'd like to get the book, click here for the item's Amazon page.  I hope you'll love it as much as I do and that it helps you as much as it's helping me.

Go forth and be kind!

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I know my blog is supposed to be about jewelry making, knitting, and other crafty things.  I'll get back to that with my next post, hopefully next week.  I have lots of tools to review and new designs to show you!  If you'd like to know where I'll be when and what I'll be doing there, please check out my website.

Book review: Quick & Easy Stitched Jewelry

Three years ago, I reviewed Cathy Jakicic's book, Jewelry Projects from a Beading Insider.  That link takes you to my review, which includes how to pronounce her last name.  :)  When Cathy approached me about reviewing her newest book, Quick & Easy Stitched Jewelry, I jumped at the chance.  The projects in her last book were so cute and versatile, and I couldn't wait to see her new book!

Here's the cover:

Ooh!  Just these few projects are so cute, and I can already imagine experimenting with the components.

Here is how Cathy described her book:

In a nut shell, there are 20+ bite-sized stitching projects of components that can be worked into simple — or more involved — jewelry.  Also, I’m making all the projects and instructions copyright free so someone can sell what they make or teach a project with my blessing.

The audience includes stitching novices, more advanced stitchers looking for a quick project idea — or something they can sell at a lower price point because it didn’t take them an age to make.

Wait... what did she say about selling?  Everyone knows that selling pieces made from another designer is verboten, but Cathy is giving you carte blanche on everything in this book.  You can tell how impressed I am because I sprinkled German and French in that last sentence.  Das ist wunderbar!  C'est magnifique!  That's wonderful!

Why would Cathy do this?  Again I turn to her words, this time from the book's introduction:

And while I would never support teaching or selling someone else's designs without their permission - everything in this book is yours.  I don't sell my jewelry or teach very often, so you're not threatening my livelihood.  These designs were designed for sharing.  Enjoy!

There's even a royalty-free statement on the copyright page.  Personally, I would still tell people where I got the ideas from if asked.  Give credit where credit is due and all that.

Now let's talk about the projects!  Each one has loads of possibilities.  Just those on the cover spark a bunch of ideas in my mind.

The top picture shows a snippet of a necklace, but that could easily be a bracelet.  The project's instructions explain how to make the beaded bead using pinch beads (Can you say "pinch bead beaded bead" ten times fast?) then how to create a chain necklace with bi-colored beaded beads as dangles along with matching earrings.  There's also a discussion of color choices and instructions on how to make the necklace shown on the cover.

What would I do with those beaded beads?  The first thing that pops to mind is a long chain necklace interspersed every few inches with sections of crystals and beaded beads on headpins with loops on either end.  I'd probably make two or three of those necklaces in different lengths and probably with different colors of beaded beads so they could be worn separately or together for a more dramatic look.

The other pictures on the cover show three different stitches.  The earrings are brick stitch over metal rings, and the instructions show a necklace and a bracelet as well as the earrings.  The bracelet has a number of square stitch components in different colors, and the instructions have charts for the different color combinations as well as charts for another multi-colored square stitch project.  The pendant is a peyote banner, and there's a chart for flower/vine placement as well as a chart for a thin banner that looks really cute in triplicate on a simple chain necklace.

As I'm sure you've figured out by now, every project has at least one variation, with many of them having two or more.  Here is an excerpt of the book Cathy said I could share:

The page on the left is the variation for "Circular logic," a cute project using two-holed beads.  I love how the end components have two thin chains coming off of them!  I'm definitely going to keep that in mind!  The page on the right is the beginning of the next project using peyote tubes as dangles on a chain necklace.  The variations for this project are a bracelet with lots of multi-colored dangles and simple pair of earrings..

If you're a beginner stitcher, this book is perfect for sampling a large number of different stitches and techniques.  Along with the ones I've already listed, there's right angle weave, cubic right angle weave, simple bead embroidery, adding stitching to a strung piece or around a larger bead, herringbone, adding fringe, working with two-holed beads, mixing chain and/or metal with beads, and more.  Wow - I nearly got out of breath there!

When you're learning a stitch or technique, it can be daunting to look at a full bracelet or necklace with nothing but that technique.  What if I don't get it?  What if I get halfway through and hate the stitch or the colors I chose?  What if I lay it down and don't pick it up again for months - will I remember how to finish it?  There's none of that in Cathy's book.  As it says right on the cover, these projects are quick and easy.  They're meant to ease you in so you learn something new, complete it in a flash, and have confidence to experiment.

For example, many people have told me that they're scared to try right angle weave (RAW).  The "Bicone Bands" project simplifies RAW - you make a strip, which is the simplest RAW to do.  There are charts to help you along the way.  Once the strip is done, you join the ends to form a little band (made with bicones, hence "Bicone Bands"), and slide them over large dagger beads.  You could do just two to get your feet wet and make earrings (see the variation!), or you could make the necklace as shown.  Then, once you're comfortable, you could take on a more complex RAW project like the "Dagger Snuggie" necklace variation:

There are charts for this as well, with numbered beads, helpful arrows, thread paths, and changes in color so you know which beads you've already worked with and which ones are new to this step.

The charts really are very nice.  They're a lot larger than you typically see in books, and they're very easy to read.  You don't have to take just my word for it, though.  My friend Angela, who is relatively new to beading, was over a week or so ago, and she wanted to look through my vast array of books for inspiration.  I chose a few that I thought were appropriate for her level, including Quick & Easy Stitched Jewelry.  I had an ulterior motive, of course, and asked her to give me her thoughts.  She really liked the projects, but right away she remarked that the charts were great and would be easy for her to follow.  Thanks, Angela!

Also, because Cathy's a Beading Insider, there are tips sprinkled throughout the book.  A few tips are on how to get "solid and stiff" beaded beads and components.  Another is on how to turn a component into a link.  A few are about choosing thread colors and when you might want to condition your thread.  A few of them are geared towards helping beginners make sense of what they're doing. And ...

I could go on and on because the more I flip through the book the more I find to write about.  Just know that there's lots more in the book for you to discover and enjoy.  You can find the book in beading or craft stores, or you can order from Amazon here.

If you'd like to keep up with Cathy, check out her BeadingInsider Facebook page.  If you're reading this from 7/29/2016 through 8/5/2016, you can see Cathy's Beads Baubles & Jewels episode (#2403) online here, and this season of BB&J will air on CREATE TV starting August 7, 2016.

Have I forgotten anything?  YES!!  Goodness, there's a lot to tell you!  The August 2016 issue of Bead&Button Magazine has a book excerpt!  They have printed the full instructions for the pinch bead beaded bead main project, "Beader's Dozen"!  You can see if what I said about the charts was true, learn how to make the beaded beads, and complete the chain necklace and earrings.  They've even included the tip on how to make your beaded beads stiff.  So check it out then get the book for all the rest of the projects!

 

Book review: Paracords - Knots from Beginner to Advanced

A number of months ago I started seeing a new trend of jewelry in the craft stores - bracelets made from paracord, which is short for parachute cord.  According to the Wikipedia article, it was first used for parachutes in WWII, and it's now used for other military and survival uses.  Its main appeal is that it's strong and light.  If you make a bracelet or necklace with it, it can be unraveled if needed, like I guess if someone is stuck down a hole or something.  The most common paracord has a "minimum breaking strength of 550 pounds", so I can imagine it would be very handy in a jam.  My survival skills include never going near deep holes.  :)

At some point the crafters got a hold of it and bright, non-military colors started appearing.  And shortly after that, people started writing books on how you can make jewelry with it.

I found a few eBooks that were offered for free about paracords, and I downloaded them both because I was curious what all the hype was about.  Also, I'm always looking for inspiration for my own designs, and I thought learning some new knots might help.  That was in July, and now only one of the books I got for free is still offered on Amazon.  I was going to review both of them, but since the other one has disappeared, I'm not going to bother reviewing it.  It was only slightly better than this one, and I have a feeling it was yanked for not providing any references for where the source material came from.

So, on to Paracords - Knots from Beginner to Advanced.  Here's a picture of the book you want to avoid:

Yes, I realize (now that my husband mentions it) that the book cover says "Paracord Knots From Beginner to Advanced" and not "Paracords - Knots from Beginner to Advanced".  The Amazon page and the title at the tops of the pages has the "Paracords" title, so I'm thinking the author didn't even bother proofing his own cover.  ::groan::

It's no longer offered for free.  Even if it was, I'd say to save your money and just do some searches online, because that's what it looks like this author did.  He does list sources for the pictures he has copied off of the web, so he has that going for him.

I really hate to completely slam a book, but if you're going to take the time to write a book (or to gather a bunch of information from websites and throw it together), you really need to put in an effort.  With very few exceptions, the only pictures are of the finished knots.  The aspect ratio of the many pictures is off, so the images look distorted like in a fun house mirror.  That's bad enough when you're looking at a finished knot, but if there's a chart showing the steps, there's no way you can follow it.

You can click on some of the source links, but I don't recommend it.  The chart for the Cobra Knot is too small and squished to be useful, so I clicked on it.  The link behind the chart goes to some webpage that has 45 errors.  Yes, 45.  I counted when I clicked on the link that's listed under the chart, which goes to the same place.  The really irritating thing is that when you look at the link and wade through all 8 lines of it, it's supposed to go to a completely different knot.

The book does have instructions on how to do the knots, but there are no pictures to go along with them.  Remember last week I wanted to add a loop and a knot made out of duct tape for my purse, and I mentioned that I wanted to make the Celtic Button knot?  Well, the instructions in this book were awful:  "Make the first over-loop.  Then make a second over-loop."  What?  What the heck is an over-loop?  It just got more confusing after that.  I ended up finding something online that worked much better for me.

All of the instructions are like that, including using the term "bight", which was never explained.  "Take the right end of the strand, form a bight..."  I thought it was a typo.  Fortunately Kindles and Kindle apps have dictionaries.  A bight is "a curve or recess in a coastline, river, or other geographical feature."  That's no help.  Oh!  There's a special usage: "a loop of rope, as distinct from the rope's ends."  Really?  A loop?  That's it?  Why didn't he just say to form a loop.  Everyone knows what a loop is.

I could go on and on about how crappy the formatting is and how there are many grammatical errors and typos, but it's really just enough that the directions are impossible to follow.  The only good thing about the book (in my opinion) is that you can see (sometimes distorted) pictures of the knots.  From there, you know what to search for online.  That is not really worth the current $2.99 price or the space on your Kindle or other device.

I haven't tried to make any of the "standard" paracord bracelets I've seen in the craft stores or online.  I will, though, because I purchased a "Paracord bracelet kit" from Walmart for less than $5.  Unfortunately, I can't find it online to show you.  It has 6 different colors of paracord along with the buckles to make 6 bracelets.  There are also instructions.  I haven't looked at them yet, but they're bound to be better than those in Paracords - Knots from Beginner to Advanced.

Book review - Duct Tape Bags

Before I get started, tomorrow (12/14/2013) is my last show of the season - if you're in the Milwaukee area and would like to check out a fun and rowdy craft show, please come see me at the German Immersion School (3778 N. 82nd Street in Milwaukee) from 10-3 for their Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market).  Come and say hi!  Remember that anyone calling me "Purple Mist" gets 20% off of their purchase at my table!

Also, class browsing for the 2014 Bead&Button Show is open!  You can see all the details for my Cobblestone Path bracelet class here.  You can register for classes starting noon on January 7th.

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Like I mentioned on Tuesday, today I'm reviewing Duct Tape Bags, a free eBook I found on Amazon.  I know sometimes I've posted reviews I've written for Amazon, but today I'm going to write the review here then post a modified version on Amazon when I'm finished.

If you want my thoughts on actually working with duct tape or making a bag, please see Tuesday's post.  I do have a slight update to my bag, which I will do after the book review.

This book is a compilation of projects from the Instructables website.  There are many authors and many different styles of writing.  It seems they take a group of projects from time to time and publish an eBook.  I have another one of their books, Manly Knits, which was and is also free.  I'm sure the goal is to bring people to their website, as after every project there are links to other, "similar" (but not always) projects on their site.  Also, there's a full list of links to each of the projects and their authors at the beginning of the book.

The bag on the cover is a little misleading.  The inside of the bag is duct tape, and the outside of the bag is heavy duty fabric.  There are some projects that use fabric or cardboard along with the duct tape, and there are some projects that use duct tape alone.  Some of the projects explain how to make duct tape "fabric" (sheets of duct tape with sticky sides touching), so the cover bag probably could be made using just duct tape and some modifications of the instructions.

The projects in the book aren't organized very well.  I would have liked them grouped by type, maybe by size: camera bags, purses, totes, messenger bags, and other.  That way, when I want to look for a project to make, I'm not jumping around the book.  I did that a fair amount while deciding what I wanted to do for my duct tape purse I wrote about on Tuesday.  I got dizzy, because the names of the projects as seen in the Table of Contents didn't always tell me what the project was.  "How to make a Duct Tape bag" ended up being the one I used, as it was a purse with a flap.

Whoever did the editing made some effort to make the book look like a cohesive unit, with the same formatting for every project, such as red and bold for "Intro" and each of the step numbers ("Step 1:").  However, I do wish there had been more editing of the individual projects.  There are many spelling and grammatical mistakes  If it was my book, I would have cleaned all that up.

Also, there are places where pictures are repeated, probably because that's how they were uploaded to the website.  One or two pictures didn't bother me (much), but there are a few projects where every single picture appears before the written instructions, then each picture appeared again.  A few times I thought there weren't going to be any instructions - just pictures.  I kept flipping pages, and the instructions appeared eventually.

Speaking of pictures...  There were many pictures that were blurry, dark, or both.  I know how hard it is to take good process shots of my jewelry designs, and I spend a lot of time taking pictures, fiddling with the camera, and grumbling.  I won't include a picture in my instructions if it's not clear what's going on.  I know the instructions on the Instructables website are free, as was the book, but why bother doing it if someone isn't going to be able to understand what to do?

Speaking of  being able to understand what to do... There are a number of places in this book where there are little or no instructions, such as, "first make a duct tape box like this."  Yes, that was in step 1.  The instructions I followed to make the basic shape of my purse were great for making the individual pieces (front, back with flap, sides, bottom, and strap), but then I was on my own: "take all of your pieces and tape them together like you would tape pieces of cardboard together to make a box."  Fortunately, I'm a crafty person and could figure it out.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are some projects with very good instructions, such as the backpacking pack (including PVC pipes for the frame) and a messenger bag with hardware for the buckles (including instructions on how to make the hardware).  They are very detailed with many pictures on each step of these complicated bags.

One good thing about the Instructables instructions (on the website and in the book) is the ability to have image notes.  The authors can "tag" parts of the images, which in the book show up as numbered yellow rectangles, and the notes come after.  That's helpful if highlighting an area of the bag that needs trimmed or things like that.

All in all, if you're interested in making bags from duct tape, this book is a good place to get an idea of what kinds of bags you can make, or you can go directly to the Instructables website and look for projects there.  If you're crafty, you can figure out the bits that are left out.  I'm planning on referencing this book again when I next see some pretty duct tape.

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Now for the update on my duct tape purse.  Here's how it looked when I left off on Tuesday:

If you recall, I was trying to figure out a way to make the flap close.  Since I wanted the whole purse to be made of duct tape, I didn't want to use magnets.  Besides, I didn't have any appropriate magnets.  :)

When reading a book on paracord knots (that will probably be another review at some point), I saw a Celtic button knot that I thought would be cute. I rolled up a piece of duct tape to be kind of like a rope.  It took a few tries (using a picture online instead of instructions in the book, so you can imagine how good the book is), but I was able to make a knot that almost looks right.  The duct tape is a little too rigid for the knot to form perfectly.  I used the excess to make a loop.  I taped both of them down, and:

Voila!  My flap will theoretically stay down.

Here it is up close:

Remember, I want to see any duct tape bags you make!  Send your pictures and thoughts to traci@creative-pursuits.biz.

Book review - Explorations in Beadweaving by Kelly Angeley

Explorations in Beadweaving: Techniques for an Improvisational Approach by Kelly Angeley is an interesting book on a wide range of stitches, styles, and even materials.  It's a good reference for anyone who's interested in learning the basics and then having fun with them.

Even though my Challenge piece I've started blogging about is free-form, I'm not really all that comfortable creating pieces that are "improvisational" as the sub-title suggests.  I was happy to see that Explorations in Beadweaving has many projects that can be followed step by step with beads and materials easily found.  There are a few projects that have focal pieces you might not find as easily (such as vintage cabochons, antique glass art print slides, or porcelain sink faucet knobs), but the author gives tips and suggestions on what you can do to make a similar project with different materials.

The book is divided into five chapters: peyote stitch, herringbone stitch, right-angle weave, bead embroidery, and combining stitches.  Each chapter has 3-4 projects using the chapter's technique, and each project has a "Take Two" section that explains either an alternate way to make the project or how to make earrings or a necklace using the same technique.  Throughout the projects are tips to help you adjust length, pick the right found objects, keep the tension tight enough, and much more.

The projects themselves are beautiful and cover earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and there's even a ring.  Each has a number of full-color charts to help you with the thread paths as a companion to the written instructions.

There are a number of different types of beads used, so if you've been curious what to do with long magatamas, peanut beads, drop beads, or spikes, this book has you covered.  I've shied away from spikes, but after seeing the two projects here that use them, I may have to rethink my reluctance.

As I was reading the book I wondered where some of the focal pieces could be found.  In "Finding Wonderland" I thought the focal looked like a Lipstick Ranch piece, but it wasn't listed as such in the Materials list.  I was glad to see the "Project Resources" section at the end of the book and to confirm that it was a Lipstick Ranch piece!  It would have been nice if the resources were listed with the project, but this is okay as long as you know where to look.  There's a "Where to Shop" section on the page facing "Project Resources" with the contact information for the resources.

I think the main advice for this book (or any bead book, really) is in the introduction to "Sol Sister Cuff":

Although I have provided bead-by-bead directions below, trust your instincts and follow your own creative voice while beading.

I'm glad I picked this book up, and I actually wish I'd looked through it before I did my Challenge piece.  I think I could have made a few aspects of the bracelet easier on myself from some of the tips in the bead embroidery chapter.

Check this book out if you're interested in developing an "improvisational approach" to your beading!

Book Review: What Is Your WHAT? by Steve Olsher

Today I'm going to post another of my Amazon book reviews for two reasons:  I'm still frantically getting ready for Sunday's Milwaukee Bead Show so need to be quick today, and What Is Your WHAT: Discover The One Amazing Thing You Were Born To Do is fabulous.

Many or most of you know that I run a small business making jewelry (and a few other things), teaching my jewelry designs, and selling tutorials and kits of my designs.  Some of you know that I didn't always do this and that I was a computer programmer for many years.  A very few of you know that job was not my first choice.

My junior year of high school I had an awesome math teacher, so I wanted to be a math teacher.  My math teacher my senior year was awful, and I lost interest in being a math teacher.  I seemed to have an aptitude for computers and programming, so I majored in computers in college.  I didn't know if that's what I really wanted to do, but I didn't know what else to major in.

While there I decided to specialize in AI (Artificial Intelligence), and there were so few women in the computer major that there were no women in the AI track when I joined.  (To give you a time reference, this was in 1989 or 1990.)  I told one of the guys about my decision, and he yelled up and down the hall, "There's a woman in AI!  There's a woman in AI!"  I really didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I thought it'd be neat to program robots and to be involved in other experimental things.

Unfortunately I fell into a deep depression (partially because of a man and partially because I had a bunch of philosophical questions in my head I couldn't/can't answer) my junior year of college, and by my senior year I was pretty useless.  I ended up dropping out after the first semester after scraping by in my computer classes.  I took a semester off to regroup, and I switched schools.  Again, I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I stuck with computer programming and got my Bachelor of Science degree.

Eventually I found a programming job at a small business but didn't enjoy it.  Sure, I enjoyed aspects of the job, but there was much of it I found tedious.  Same thing happened years later when I had another programming job with another small company.  The parts I liked best were talking with customers, teaching them how to use their software, and troubleshooting problems (when there wasn't a time crunch).

I'm not going to go into all the details here of either job and what I had problems with, but in 2010 it was decided (by me, my husband, and our parents) that I would quit.  Because I wasn't caught up with what was current in programming, I was more than a little scarred from my last job, I had developed the Fibromyalgia and Osteoarthritis I'm always complaining about, and a few other factors, we decided that I would start my own business doing web design for creative folks.  That didn't work out very well, so now I make jewelry and teach.

I'm very lucky that Steve can support us and that our parents help us when unexpected expenses pop up.  My business is called "Creative Pursuits" for a reason - I am free to pursue my creativity and (with luck) make money at it.

So knowing all that, one might wonder why I picked up What Is Your WHAT?.  It seems that through a series of events I've figured out what "amazing thing I was born to do".  To be blunt, the author offered an advance ebook version for free in exchange for writing the review I'm about to share with you.  Also, I'm curious if what I'm doing is really what I'm supposed to be doing.  I love to write (as you can tell by the length of my blog posts), so perhaps I should be focusing on that.  Wow, as I write this I'm getting quite the jolt of deja vu.  Have I typed those exact words before?  :::shiver:::

Anyway.  I'll let the review tell the rest of it so I can get back to preparing for Sunday's show and a class I'm teaching tomorrow:

I was a bit skeptical when I started reading this book because it opened with six pages of "Praise for What Is Your WHAT?". Quotes upon quotes touting this book as the best thing since sliced bread. I read them all and was curious if the author could really deliver the "ultimate guide on self-discovery" as Erika Gilchrist says in her review. However, it didn't take too long to see why so many people came forward to endorse Steve Olsher and "What Is Your WHAT?".

Instead of diving right into figuring out what your WHAT is, the author helps the reader lay the groundwork for it with explanations of the four stages of learning (and what that means in practical terms) and exercises so you can begin to recognize where you're vulnerable and where you excel. The author walks you through step by step and encourages you to take all the time you need and even to talk to other people (if you're up to it) to gain insights into your faults and strengths. Once that's done, he leads you through designing your ideal life and what you need to do to stop the downward slide and start to live a better life through seven life-altering principles. Once you've absorbed all of this, it's time to discover what your WHAT is and how to achieve it.

The author covers every topic thoroughly with numerous examples from the author's life and from people who have taken his reinvention workshops. There are many case studies of people who are doing what they're meant to do and how they got there. He also includes the people's websites so if you're interested in learning more about them you know right where to look.

This book is ideal for those who feel like they should be doing more with their lives but don't know how to get there. I will say that this is hard work and not to be taken lightly. The exercises are designed to really make you look at your life with a magnifying glass. The ultimate goal is for you to live the life of your dreams by doing what you love to do and getting paid well for it, and that's not something most people can just fall into. You need to shed the bad and cultivate the good, and that takes serious introspection and time. The author is with you throughout the whole process, asking questions to help you along.

I was very impressed with the information presented in this book and will definitely be working through all of the exercises and keeping the seven life-altering principles in mind as I live day-to-day, figure out what my WHAT is (although I already have an inkling what that might be), and become successful at it. I plan to frequently dip into the book to refresh my memory and to plan for the future.

The author also gives a website where you can get another of his books for free. That book is for folks who want to profit online. I already had it but haven't started reading it yet. Now that I'm comfortable with the author and how helpful he is in "What Is Your WHAT?" I'm really looking forward to it! 

If you have any doubts that you're doing what you were meant to do, read this book.  It's never too late to change careers (the author recommends a slow change, not a dive-in-head-first-like-Traci-did approach).  Have your children read it before they go off to college and stumble around trying to pick a major and a career.  If you read it and gain any valuable insights, e-mail me at traci@creative-pursuits.biz and tell me about it!

Book Review: The Knitting Answer Book

This is going to be the quickest and possibly shortest blog post I've ever written.  I'm going into Chicago to see my mother in the hospital and later to a memorial service for a friend, and I'm already an hour past when I wanted to leave.  The first book is The Knitting Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face, Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask) by Margaret Radcliffe.  I need to do more of these so I have more quick posts!

Here's the review I wrote on Amazon:

I saw this book in a craft store but couldn't afford the full price. It wasn't much, but we just couldn't afford it. A month or so later the Kindle version was on sale, and I couldn't pass it up. I'm so, so glad I got this book - especially the electronic version.

I'm a fairly new knitter and have had numerous questions. I needed help with colorwork and the Duplicate Stitch. This book helped me out! I would like one or two more charts for the Kitchener Stitch, but it seems very complicated, so I'm supplementing with videos on YouTube. I'm left-handed, so I frequently need extra help.

The reason I like the Kindle version so much is that the table of contents and the index are clickable, and the search function makes finding a topic very easy. I use the Kindle app on my iPad, so this book is always nearby. It doesn't take up any physical space, and it never gets dusty.

It's a must have for your knitting reference needs! 

Here's a bonus review for a free Kindle short story I found when I was looking for help on insomnia: The Allnighter by Stuart Connelly:

I found this story while searching for insomnia books. I knew it was fiction but was intrigued by the title and description. The writing and the story both were really good. Those of us with insomnia know how lack of sleep can make one irritable, and this story takes that to a whole other level. I think I'm going to go back to bed now and try (again) to sleep.

I'm looking forward to trying more of what this author has written!

Book Review: Jewelry Projects from a Beading Insider

This week's review is on Jewelry Projects from a Beading Insider: Original Designs and Expert Advice from the Editor of BeadStyle Magazine by Cathy Jakicic.  This is a brand new book put out by Kalmbach Publishing.  I am very excited to tell you about it, and not just because I know Cathy personally and have had an article in BeadStyle magazine.  :)  This is a great book on a great many topics, and it will be great to have on hand for techniques, inspiration, tips, and more!  Yes, I just said "great" three times in one sentence.  Read on, and you'll see why.

Let's start with the author.  You may be looking at her last name and wondering how the heck it's pronounced.  I hope Cathy doesn't laugh at my phonetic attempts here.  It's ja-KEYS-ick with an actual J sound at the beginning.  Until recently Cathy was the Editor of BeadStyle magazine, but now she has moved on to another position at another company.  I just found out that she also writes movie reviews for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  How cool is that?  If you're interested in checking out her reviews, they can also be found on the Rotten Tomatoes website here with links to the original articles on the Journal Sentinel website.  I agree with her assessment of Disney's The Princess and the Frog, so she must know what she's talking about.

If you're on Pinterest, you can follow Cathy here.  There's even a board for her book with pictures of a few of the projects and some of her many tips.  Oh - there's a book review.  I shouldn't read that before I write my own.  Moving on!

And now for the book.  The title intrigued me, and on the cover "Beading Insider" is in very large, bold letters.  See for yourself:

If that doesn't catch your eye, I don't know what will!  You can carry this book around, and folks will immediately think you know what you're doing.  After reading this book (and with a little practice), you will.

Once I got past that fabulous cover and looked at the "What's Inside" (Table of Contents) section, I knew that this book would be perfect for not just beginner beaders but for intermediate and advanced beaders, too.

The first big section is called "Skill-Building Workshops" and covers beginner techniques needed for making jewelry such as plain loops, crimping, wrapped loops, and measuring for multi-strand necklaces all while explaining how to make beautiful necklaces or bracelets (and matching earrings for each project!).  Each technique is described in "Learn!" sections for each project (as well as in the "Techniques Review" at the end of the book), but there are also tips to help you master the technique and to help you plan your components for a flawless design.  For example, in the wrapped loops section, the tips include what gauge wire or headpins to practice on, how best to tuck in the end of the wrap, what to do if you're making clustered bead units, and more.  In the plain loop section, she gives two alternatives to the "standard" method of making the loop that might work better for some people or situations.  Even someone who has made numerous plain loops and wrapped loops (such as myself) can learn something from her tips.

If that isn't enough, the "Skill-Building Workshops" section includes a number of techniques I wouldn't have expected, including wire crochet, adding color to metal using Gilder's Paste, wire wrapping, simple beadweaving, and dyeing beads to get just the color you want.  There are tips galore and plenty of full-color pictures.

The next section is a "Creativity Boost!"  This section has three projects for what you can make with items already in your stash.  There are matching earrings for each of these projects, too!  The project that was most surprising for me in this section was the paper-folding one.  Remember the weave that can be made with gum wrappers?  Well, Cathy created a bracelet on that theme using regular colored copy paper!  Add a chain and a charm with some patina on it, and it's an adorable accessory.  She even experimented with different types of papers so you don't have to.

When you're comfortable with the techniques, it's time to create your own masterpieces.  The next section, "Designing with..." showcases necklaces and bracelets using a variety of materials: gemstones, river stone, art beads, charms, lucite, crystals, chain, ribbon, and more.  Of course, each project has its own matching earrings.  This shouldn't surprise me by now, but I was tickled when I figured this out.  A number of the projects in this section have alternatives so you can see how the same technique looks with different materials.  For example, in the "clear" project, "Clear and Present Style", the main project uses a silver chain with clear round and rough-cut beads for a classic, sophisticated look.  The alternate project uses the same beads and the same technique but with a patterned chain.  Just changing the chain gives the same necklace a fun, funky look.

In this section the tips cover designing, facts about the materials, what to look for when shopping, beading wire facts, and more.

The final project section is a second "Creativity Boost!"  The projects here challenge the "traditional" methods of using materials.  The first one has beads glued directly onto memory wire (I'd never have thought of that!).  The second project takes her mother's old necklace that had mother-of-pearl leaves on it and pairs them with bright crystals.  The third one is a pearl and chain necklace that is bold and full of visual interest.  I know my goddaughter would love to play with those dangly chains.  The one thing I'll say is that the original necklace in the second project was GORGEOUS.  I would have loved to have worn it.  I don't think I could have taken it apart, but the necklace wasn't Cathy's style.  The reconstructed one is bold and vibrant and I'm sure is more fun to wear.

I'm going on a lot longer than I thought I was going to, but there really is so much in this book that will keep any beader busy for ages.  The tips throughout the book are great, and they show up all over the place.  I just looked down at the reconstructed mother-of-pearl project and found a list of classic necklace lengths from choker/collar to rope/lariat.  They're everywhere, and I know that every time I open the book I'll find something new.

Are you a beginning beader?  Get this book.  It has everything you need to know to get started.  Have you been beading for years, off and on, and are comfortable with what you've been doing?  Get this book.  It'll help you refine your techniques and inspire you to try something new.  Are you a professional who sells your jewelry?  Still get this book.  At the very least, you'll remember things you'd forgotten and will give you ideas on different techniques to try and different materials to work with.

Don't bead at all?  Get this book for your friend who does bead, or maybe you can try your hand at a project from it, and you'll get hooked.

If you're on Facebook, feel free to "like" The Beading Insider's page.  I'm sure she'd love to see posts by you with pictures on what you've made!

Book Review: Recycled Crafts: Crafts Made Using Recycled Materials

Happy Friday!  Today is going to be short because I have a big sale tomorrow I still am getting ready for (the Donna Lexa Memorial Art Fair in Wales, Wisconsin) and because the kitten is trying to eat my words and my computer as well as trying to drink my water.

I'm not going to do this very much, but I'm going to post a review I wrote on Amazon for a Kindle book, Recycled Crafts: Crafts Made Using Recycled Materials by Kara Kelso and her 10 year old daughter, Jillian.  Kara has a blog, Idea Queen, where she discusses recycled crafts as well as other crafts, food & recipes, home & garden, and shopping & saving.  While a number of her posts and crafts are geared towards parents and what can be done with their children, I think I'm going to have keep an eye on this blog.  She has some great ideas!

This is from the Amazon website so I'd have an image to pin on Pinterest.  :)

Onto the book.  Like with her blog, many of the crafts would be fun for children, but I do see some that I'm going to try, and some have planted other ideas in my head.

Here's the review I wrote for Amazon:

I like that this book has a range of ideas and techniques. There is sewing, painting, decoupaging, and more. Each technique is described in good detail so even a novice should get great results.

There are a number of materials used (water bottles, CDs, T-shirts, jeans, boxes...) with cute, imaginative ways to dress them up for functional items. The full-color pictures are wonderful, and I like that multiple examples of some projects are shown.

I also like that the author's cat, Stella, is in a few pictures. The poor cat thought she was going to get a dolled-up box that was destined for another purpose. I hope the author and her daughter dressed up a box for Stella, too.

Unfortunately I did find some formatting problems:

The table of contents is not functional. If I want to go back to a specific project, I either need to scroll through the book to find it or set bookmarks for each of the projects ahead of time.

In some places, the picture and the description are on different pages. Once I thought the description was for the picture right above it (on the same page), but it was really for the one on the next page. I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done to fix that, though. Maybe a page break?

In the T-shirt pillow section, there are a number of white squares that appear with the black or sepia background. I have sepia turned on because I do a lot of reading when I can't sleep (like tonight), and it's less jarring in the dark. I checked them with the white background, and they aren't visible. I don't know if those are missing pictures or something else.

Later in the book, starting in the "Computer Art" section (specifically the line above "Window Art" and down until a few lines after "Step 1"), it appears that lines are highlighted. It occurs in "Keyboard Necklaces", too (the whole section), and just the heading for "Word Magnets". Again, I wouldn't have noticed it if I was using the white background (I checked). It doesn't distract from the instructions, but I found it a bit odd.

All in all, I recommend this book. Hopefully the author can get the table of contents working to make the book easier to flip around in, but don't let that detract you from getting this book and trying out these projects! The next time my husband is ready to toss a pair of jeans, I'm going to make catnip mice for our cats, and I'll keep in mind the other projects as we have the available items!

Yes, I did go on a bit about formatting things, but I would want to know about it if it was my book.  Fortunately, Kara agreed and wrote a reply to my review:

Thank you so much for the feedback! Your suggestions for formatting and table of contents will be fixed in the second edition. So glad you found a lot of useful crafts for you and your family.

Oh, and Stella does have her own decorated box (two, actually) that Jillian made for her :)

Steve can tell you, I was very tickled at this reply.  I've written 11 reviews on Amazon so far (most of them in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep, so I hope they're coherent), and Kara has been the only one to respond.  I was also genuinely happy that Stella the cat has her own decorated boxes.  I may have to do that for our cats.  I think Steve thought I was nuts, going on and on about Kara replying to my review and about Stella having her own fancy boxes.  I guess I'm still in that "authors are out THERE" mentality that I mentioned in my Sweater Quest book review a few weeks ago.  (Oh! Adrienne Martini linked to that review on her her blog.  I was so excited!)

Like I mentioned in the review, I recommend Recycled Crafts: Crafts Made Using Recycled Materials, especially if you have kids and are looking for ways to recycle materials meant for the trash.  I look forward to reading more about what the "Idea Queen" comes up with!

Book review: Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously

Long time readers of my blog may remember my first mention of Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously back in September 2010 in my Stop me!!! post.  The author, Adrienne Martini, commented on my post and difficulty with knitting: "Keep at it. You'll get it!"  I squeed about this in my By Jove... post the next day.

We had a brief e-mail exchange, and in January 2011 I asked if I could do a book review and quote a few passages from the book.  I also sent her a link to my post about my second knitting project.  That's about the hooded sweater I had so many problems getting started (and which I'm still working on and will be posting about when the damned thing is finally done).  She replied, "Please review away! And I admire your determination of project #2. I believe I would have just set the thing on fire."

So before I get to the book, I want to do a little "author review".  Adrienne Martini is awesome!  It used to be (not all that long ago, actually) that authors were (to me, anyway) untouchable and  unreachable.  The Interwebs have changed all that.  It's one thing to follow an author on Facebook (which was essential when Brandon Sanderson was finishing up Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series), but for an author to find a blog post and comment on it and also to be so cool in e-mails really blew my mind.  She's encouraging and funny, and I want to be just like her when I grow up.

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And now for the book review, two and a half years later than I had planned.  As I mentioned in Stop me!!!, I had seen Sweater Quest in a bookstore but purchased it for the Kindle.  I do feel a bit bad about that, but we like to save money as well as space in our house.

The basic premise of the book is that Adrienne Martini decided to knit a Fair Isle sweater (Starmore's Mary Tudor) in one year.  That seems like an awfully long period of time - if you really concentrate and knit every day, it should take far less time to knit a sweater.  My husband and my mother are laughing at me right now - I've been working on that damned hooded sweater for almost three years, and it still has quite a ways to go.  But to be fair, there have been many months where I haven't even touched it.

What makes Adrienne's quest so daunting is that Fair Isle is an extremely complicated style of knitting.  Take a look here for a Google image search on the style.  Not only was she going to do a sweater, which is complicated to begin with, she was going to do fancy colorwork that puts the train hat I just made to shame.  She had never knit in this style before, so she had to learn an awful lot before she could even start despite already being an accomplished knitter.

After a bit of an introduction on her and why she chose to knit the Mary Tudor, she explains the mechanics of knitting, which I found most useful when I picked up the needles to try knitting for the 5,000th time.  She discussed different ways of holding the yarn which made me question why I was doing what I was trying to do.  I did it the other way, and voila! I'm able to knit.

For those of you who do not knit, here's an accurate description of what it's like when you start:

At first, knitting feels like the most awkward thing you could be doing with your hands.  The needles jump out of your hands.  The yarn ties itself in knots.  Your fingers act like an infant's when he tries to pick up a Cheerio.  Knitting feels like the hardest easiest craft in the world.  Practice, coupled with a willingness to look foolish, is what separates knitters from nonknitters.

There's quite the feeling of accomplishment when you can actually create a piece of fabric that looks like the ones you get in the stores, I must say.  Those first few rows where it "looked right" had me hooked.  Wait, not hooked - that's crochet.  Needled.  Yeah - that's the word.  Knitting has me needled in many senses of the word.

She then discusses the different ways to add different colors to your work (as if knitting single-colored pieces isn't difficult enough):  Intarsia and stranded.  I am impressed with how she describes each of the methods using every day objects that nonknitters can understand (provided people remember what a dot matrix printer is).  The Mary Tudor uses stranded knitting - holding one color of yarn in each hand, and Adrienne practiced by learning how to knit while holding the yarn in the "other" hand (the one she's not used to using).  It was stressful, to say the least, but she writes about it with a sense of humor.

At this point you'd think the book would go into a detailed description of each row of the knitting itself:  "Row 2 - Lost track of the pattern and had to rip it out.  Row 19 - Ran out of yarn and had to add a new ball."  Yes, there are times when she discusses the actual knitting, but there is so much more - history and insight into the process from her point of view and from other knitters' experiences - that I came away with an understanding of just how rich and varied this craft is.


Since Adrienne knit a Fair Isle sweater, she explained the history of Fair Isle knitting and how it became a distinct style.  She also wrote about the author of the pattern and the huge legal battles She Who Must Not Be Named fought protecting her brand.  There are discussions about copyrighting and branding that every designer (of any sort of craft) should read and consider.  How much of a change from your design is needed before it's no longer your design?


One big impediment to knitting a true Mary Tudor is the yarn.  The specific yarns needed for the pattern are no longer made.  Appropriate substitutes are difficult if not impossible.  She found out just how wrong one of her substitutions was by making a swatch:

All knitting designers insist that swatches are a necessary evil.  If you don't swatch, you are a bad knitter.  You'll get the gout, they warn.  Asteroids will crash into your backyard.  Chaos will rule the land.

She knits the swatch, ditches math after trying to calculate how long the sweater will take based on how long the swatch took, blocks the swatch for testing the size, and wrenches it away from her cat who "is so angry about damp handknits".  She realizes that she needs to go up a needle size (which is why you do swatches in the first place), but then she makes a startling color discovery:

Eucalyptus is not a substitute for Marjoram.  It's not even close enough that you could squint your eyes and mumble, "It'll do."  Eucalyptus leaps out of the design like a naked lady at a nun convention.  So much so that my husband, when I show him the swatch, gently asks, "Before I say this, are you beyond the point where you could change anything?"

"Not at all," I say.  "It's just a swatch.  I was staving off gout."

"Anything you can do about that ugly green?"

"Get a different one." I explain that I was trying to find a substitute for a color that no longer exists.

The main reason I included that section is because I nearly peed myself laughing about swatching to stave off gout.  I hate swatching, which is how I got into all sorts of trouble with that damned hooded sweater that will never be done.

She lucked out that a friend of hers happened to have the exact yarn needed and sent it to her immediately.  Crisis averted!


Adrienne wrote about people, too: Mary Tudor (yes, THE Mary Tudor, since she's the inspiration for the sweater's design), the woman Adrienne bought the design book from on eBay, her friend Ann who sent her the much-needed Marjoram yarn, Susette Newberry (who knit an abecedarium - check out her blog for what that means and for what she does), Cyndi Lee (who knits and teaches yoga), Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (who also writes about knitting and who also has made me almost pee myself laughing), and so many more.  She traveled to New York, Canada, the Knitter's Review Retreat in Massachusetts, and a few other places throughout the year while knitting the sweater and writing the book.  Everywhere she went she talked to knitters about why they do what they do, and it's all interesting.  When you knit you're in your own head, and I found it fascinating to get insight into why others knit and what they think about it.  Interspersed throughout it all are glimpses into everyday life with her husband, kids, and the damp-knit-hating cat.

And, of course, she writes about the sweater.  Did she finish it in time?  Does it fit?  Is it beautiful?  Does it look remotely like it's supposed to?  These are all questions answered in the book, and you won't get any hints from me!  If you like a dry sense of humor, knitting, history, people-watching, cats, and more knitting, I think you'll love Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously by Adrienne Martini.  Even if you don't knit, I think it's a great read.  You never know, it may turn you into a knitter as it did me!

(If you click the above graphic, it'll bring you to the Amazon page, and it seems that the paperback version is on sale for $6!  Such a bargain!)

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I have to say that blogging today has been quite difficult.  First Frisco the bitey-kitten wanted to eat the words I was typing - no joke! - then he crawled all over the keyboard, then he latched onto my arm to nom on my hand.  I tried to get a picture of him trying to eat the words off of the screen, but he stopped being cute the second I picked up the camera.  And then... when he finally became quiet and fell asleep, he used my iPad as a pillow.  The same iPad I needed to write the review.  I got that picture.  :)

Fortunately kittens don't sleep for long, and fortunately when he woke up he decided to wander around the kitchen, leaving me to write my review in peace.