Anticraft: Knitting, Beading and Stitching for the Slightly Sinister

I ordered this on the off-chance, and thought it would probably be yet another tome full of quirky stuff I would never make - or worse, more of the grungey badly made stuff that fills so many alt craft books. Totally totally wrong. This is such a cool and beautiful book. There are a bunch of things I want to make here, and I am not a teenager... Yes, there are things I will never make - but perhaps I will actually make them for some other use! I love the arm warmers, and all the different jewellery - this is actually the first time I like crochet jewellery, and the first time I am tempted to get into beading or other ways of making jewellery. Some absolutely gorgeous designs which look like the really expensive designer costume jewellery I spend way too much on... and a cute (not corny) wheel of the year skirt. Some cute bags and other acessories, and a rather tempting duct tape top.... Good buy!

I don't know quite where to begin in praising this book! It has a nice (I know, not the word the authors would apreciate.) selection of just about everything you could think of from knitting, beading, sewing, etc. with a few odd bits which include hosting a party right up to advice on child rearing. It is functional and hysterical! For those of us who are lacking in conventionality Rigdon and Stewart have produced the website and book to cater to our, possibly questionable, needs. My only conflict with this book is where to begin? I want to do it all! Right now! It is unfortunate that I did not recieve this book in time to knit everyone I know an "Immaculate Heart" for Christmas. The Blood Cordial (pg.73) would have come through in a pinch if I hadn't wound up hoarding it all for myself. As a previous reviewer noted, "this book is a keeper". Having become a devotee of both the book and the website, I can only force everyone I know to get their mitts on this book, log on, and beg the authors for another fantastic follow-up! So get your Anti-Craft on, or don't.

I love this book. I checked it out at the library and knew I had to have it for my own. The patterns and projects are really unique and very clearly written. In between are these great inspirational bits like the history of the *real* inventor of crochet (Captain Hook), a quiz to find out your perfect lair (Haunted Mansion for me) and directions on throwing an Anticrafty party. The title says "knitting, beading and stitching" but there is a whole section of miscellaneous projects in other mediums. All in all, I have not regretted this purchase for a minute and have found some great stuff to use.

Lots of fun ideas here! Oddly- since I am a knitter- the crochet patterns are more appealing to me than the knitted ones- though I do love the Skylla cozy that is a knitted kraken! While I also love the long serpent stockings, adjusting them for my size is more than I feel inclined to try. There are a couple of hats with fun skull-and-crossbones motifs, though! In crochet, the Briar Rose decorative scarf is really nifty. I also like the vulture-themed bag, and the 2-headed rat stuffie. And there's some kink stuff, for those inclined that way... Fewer things stand out for me in the Sewing and Misc sections, though I'll mention that the former has a pretty "Wheel of the Year" skirt, and latter includes some basic chain mail as well as a gorgeous "Tree of Life" beaded shrine piece or wall hanging, as well as other beaded designs. Sprinkled in are a number of recipes that look tasty, as well as various short articles on themes and motifs. There are basic instructions for the crafts included in the back. Very fun, for crafters who like projects with a twist!

It wasn't the be all and end all of alterna-crafting, but it was fun nonetheless. Some of the ideas were cute and humorous and I'd have to make a dedicate effort to NOT to smile at them. The range of crafts is a little off putting though. I wish they stayed in one skill set because if you are on one end of the spectrum there are some ideas you're just not going to do because they're either too simple or just not intricate enough depending on where you are (which can translate into either a waste of time or money). If I want a book for beginner crafts, I'll read a book for beginner crafts. If I want a book on involved uber crafts... you get the idea. I love the website and I'd recommend that before the book, but that isn't to say I don't think the book is worth purchasing. It's worth owning and I don't feel ripped off for paying full price for it.

I'd pre-ordered this book after seeing the authors at the 2007 New York Book Expo -- how two human beings could be filled with so much awesome I'm not sure. I'm not a beader, or a stitcher, but I know plenty of slightly sinister people and thought this would be a perfect gift. Well, it arrived today and the result was far better than I could have imagined. Not only are there instructions for knitting slightly sinister pirate hats, constructing corsets out of black duct tape, sewing wiccan dresses, crocheting stuffed rats, and the like, but there are absolutely stunning photographs with each -- not Sears catalog photos but truly sumptuous (and slightly sinister) fashion shots by the extremely talented al parish, AND the authors are ... magically hysterical. The book design is engaging and gorgeous and includes a section in the back with step-by-step instructions on how to knit, crochet, bead, and, most importantly -- make chain mail. Plenty of people on my friends list will be getting copies of this from me, but I'm keeping this copy for myself.

If you want to intarsia freaking skulls on *everything* then this is the book for you. Stick to the site - the book is a waste of money. The only cool project was the diva cup holder and I'm a dude.

I usually do not write reviews, but this book definitely deserves it. I purchased this book more as a curiosity than for the projects. I'm not much of a pattern reader these days. I started by just flipping to see the projects and thought "very interesting"... but as I started reading some of the other bits and pieces of the book, it became one of my favorites pretty quick. The authors have a very funny sense of humor and kept me laughing to the point where I could no longer speak! My husband, who usually does not care to hear about my new crafting items, had a good laugh at the lair quiz. So, okay... it looks like I'm a bit more sinister than I thought and have definitely gotten tons of inspiration from this book. The projects are a lot more fun now that I've read the whole book - including the patterns. :-) :-)