Knitted Fairies: To Cherish and Charm

Description

With imagination and flair, Fiona McDonald shows you how to knit ten fantastical fairies, each measuring approximately 40cm (16in) from top to toe, and all with their own character and style. They include a dark Gothic fairy, an enigmatic moon fairy, a cool ice fairy and even Oberon, the king of the fairies himself. Using a basic body pattern, each fairy is dressed in its own costume, complete with wings, in a range of yarns and other embellishments - ideal for using up scraps and oddments from your knitting basket! The dolls make wonderful gifts for both adults and older children, and can be easily adapted to match your friend's or relative's personality or lifestyle. This is a source of ideas and inspiration for knitters of all abilities, and a book to be treasured by young and old alike.

Fiona McDonald studied classical painting and drawing at The Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney, Australia from 1985 to 1989. After moving to the Blue Mountains, she began developing her unique oil-painted, needle-sculpted, life-size cloth figures, and her own line of fabric dolls and dragons. On returning to her home town of Armidale, Fiona added to her skills by learning to knit. This latest phase in her career has resulted in her developing designs for dolls and other toys.

This new book presents us with a guide on how to knit your own fairy with imagination in two different sizes. It features ten stunning designs, with the dolls standing at approximately 40cm (16in) and displays their own individual traits and styles. They range from a dark Gothic fairy, a mysterious moon fairy, and even Oberon, king of the fairies, and more in this wonderfully illustrated, easy to follow book.-Craft Business Bring fairyland into your home with this set of ten delightful knitted fairies. With a simple basic body that is not beyond the scope of all but the most beginner knitters this is a book where you can have a lot of enjoyment with the clothes and embellishments. You can also find a use for all your oddments of yarn (mostly double knitting) as well as bits of felt, beads etc and have fun recycling. There are fairies for all occasions and seasons in here, male and female and also both good and bad. Knit Cobweb the dark fairy for Halloween, Alexis the ice fairy for a Christmas ornament and adorn your home with a range of flower, water, rainbow and moon fairies as well as Titania and Oberon. You won't find instructions for learning to knit in here, but as long as you have a good working knowledge of the basic stitches and techniques and can follow a pattern this is a fairly simple book to use. One body fits all with a few alterations as to the legs and colors, you can needlesculpt the faces to make them look more lifelike as an optional extra and there are various methods for making the hair. Patterns for eyes and lips are given and these are made from felt, but this is a book where you can also let your imagination run free once you have mastered the basics. Each chapter deals with a different fairy and the patterns are laid out so as to be easy to follow without any charts and with several helpful close-up shots of the individual clothes. These are the sort of short, fun projects that knit up fast and make great gifts; if for small children there are some guidelines as to what to omit for safety. In short, an attractive and hands-on book that is sure to be a hit with most knitters.-Myshelf.com Knitted Fairies by Fiona McDonald is a book to cherish and charm with the Fairies unique personalities and styles. Fiona a doll and puppet maker, painter and sculptor has exhibited internationally. She is truly an artist, when you see her interpretation of each fairy you will be transported into fantasyland. I was transfixed with each turn of the page. The photographs (Paul Bricknell) and layouts are beautiful. There are 10 whimsical fairies of fantasy each 16 inches tall. Every Fairy's torso, head, arms and legs are knitted as well their outfits. The Fairies require a bit more time than just knitting to create, stuffing, a bit of needle sculpting and painting of the face for a bit of realism. All instructions are provided for completing these little works of art.-www.examiner.com Make your next knit something fantastical with this charming book. It provides patterns for 10 magical fairies, each with their own style and individual characteristics, but all with the trademark wings! Each project uses a basic body pattern to which costumes and embellishments are then added, and the fairies measure 40cm or 16in from head to toe, so they'll make an impact wherever they're displayed. We love the mystical gothic fairy and magical moon fairy, not to mention the cream of the crop - Oberon, king of the fairies. These enchanting knitted creatures make great gifts for children and adults alike.-Knit Today Knit your own fairytale with Knitted Fairies. From one basic body pattern, ten beautiful winged fairies come to life, each revealing individual personalities - there's one to match your own. Are you a dark Gothic fairy, perhaps, or an enigmatic moon fairy? Or do you identify more with Oberon, the king of the fairies? Each measures 16in (41cm) and instructions are simple to follow, so if you've never knitted a doll before, you should get the hang of it quite quickly.-Simply Knitting 'Knitted Fairies' is a magical book full of unusual knits. The book has such a fun feel to it. The fairies have their own distinct characters and beautiful hair and clothes. The yarns she's picked for her fairies are fantastic. Variegated yarn is fun to knit with and will appeal to younger knitters. Fiona has included the basic fairy pattern separately at the beginning of the book which is brilliant as it allows you to make the basic body and head, then do whatever you want with it. Fiona trained as an artist and this certainly comes through in the designs of the faries. Their faces are exquisitely painted and moulded. There are ten fairies all together. Boy fairies, girl fairies, ice fairies, goth fairies and sweet fairies too. The photography in the book is fab. The fact that there were a lot of photographs helped me a lot when knitting Rose. She was shown from all angles so I could see if I was going wrong. If you have a stash these are brilliant projects to use it up on. I had over-ordered on my bear yarn so I had plenty for Rose. I undid a scarf I had knitted in garter stitch when learning to knit a few years ago for her wings. I used cheap acrylic stylecraft yarn for her dress. The only yarn I had to buy in was eyelash yarn but it was stylecraft too and only set me back a pound! I now have enough to make some more fairies!-sewingisforgirls.blogspot.com