Freeform Crochet and Beyond: Bags, Cushions, Hats, Scarves and More

Description

Encourages the reader to tap into the hidden creativity that lurks within - to entice the true beginner with easy starting points that will then lead on to exploring other techniques and expermenting with what they learn, free from too many rules and must nots. Will also inspire the more experienced to call upon all the arts and crafts that he or she has explored over the years, and illustrates ways of bringing them together in a truly amazing art form.

Born in Germany in 1951, Renata Kirkpatrick grew up in windy Wollongong and in 1974 settled on the Sunshine Coast with her husband Glenn where they operate a small commercial Signwriting and Screenprinting business. Renate can't remember a time when she wasn't exploring the fibre arts. She has experimented with pottery, exhibited and conducted workshops in papermaking, and has won a Fibre Art Award in rag rugging. From 2002, as crochet made its huge resurgence, Renate's extensive knowledge in Traditional Tunisian (Tricot), Jacquard, Crochenit (double-ended hook) and more recently Freeform techniques has led to her conducting monthly workshops and weekly classes.

Waterstones Newsletter:This is a wonderful book! I love the pictorial crochet cover photo, and on first flicking through the pages was disappointed to see a collection of instructions for motifs rather than anything so complex. However, as soon as I sat down to read the book, I was immediately drawn in by the author's friendly, engaging style of writing. She has a wonderfully refreshing attitude: if you're not sure about something, try it anyway! If it doesn't work, try something else! She is not prescriptive in terms of yarns etc, and actively encourages the reader to experiment wih colour, texture, and design.This is a far more intuitive book than Jenny Dowde's books on the same subject. Kirkpatrick provides information in terms of stitches and motifs and how to use them, alongside personal anecdotes and advice, and galleries of completed pieces showing the amazing effects you can achieve. The way she explains as she goes along makes everything seem achievable, no matter your level of experience. The final 20 pages cover the 'beyond' mentioned in the title (although knitting is included with crochet throughout). This section includes wet and dry felting, vilene, embroidery, and a fun few pages about weaving, using various self-constructed small, basic looms. These subjects are obviously not covered comprehensively but give sufficient overview that you can see the different ways they can be utilised to experiment further yourself.If you feel you need more explicit guidance before you begin 'freeforming', try Jenny Dowde's books ('Freeform Knitting and Crochet' and 'Freeformations') which offer a good range of projects to learn the different techniques. They also give a good grounding in colour and basic design theory, along with additional stitches and motifs that you can incorporate into your own pieces, so they make great companions to this book, regardless. However, if I was only going to buy one book on the subject of freeform crochet, Renate Kirkpatrick's would be the one. Although specifically not project-based, it provides all the tools and information you could need to embark on such impressive pieces as the cover design, but also to discover your own style and way of working. In addition to that, I found I simply liked the book, in the same way I might enjoy chatting with an old friend. There should be more books like that on everybody's shelf!