Show and Tell - Product Reviews
By Allegra and Brandy
Show and Tell is a fun feature of our magazine which showcases knitting or crochet-related products, as well as handcrafted products for children. A limited number of products are reviewed personally by Brandy or Allegra for each issue, to ensure that each product is evaluated with the utmost time and care. If you are interested in having your product reviewed, send it to us! We'd love to check it out.
I Love Patchwork: 21 Irresistible Zakka Projects to Sew
by Rashida Coleman-Hale
Interweave Press
$24.95
I am going to get straight to the point: I love this book. Absolutely love it. I am a beginner when it comes to sewing, but this book made me want to drop everything and take on some of the more advanced projects immediately. Rashida Coleman-Hale has made a fabulous debut as an author with I <3 Patchwork: 21 Irresistible Zakka Projects to Sew.
Rashida loves working with linen. You can see that from her blog. She states that it is very easy to work with, and can be used for just about anything, a good partner to cotton. She combines the simplicity of linen with the fabulous colors of patchwork. Rashida fell in love with patchwork when she was expecting her first child (she now has three) and was obsessed with learning as much about the process as possible. She favors the idea of zakka, or the Japanese term for miscellaneous goods. Zakka is known now as an aesthetic and design style, “mainly focused on household items that enhance one’s environment.” I <3 Patchwork is an excellent source for zakka, sewing and patchwork.
It is hard to narrow down my absolute favorite projects from this book as I love all of them, but first and foremost, the Little Lambie Softie makes my heart melt. The lamb itself is adorable, using linen and faux Sherpa fleece; the patchwork apron brings the right amount of pop to the project and the sweet linen hands and feet are perfect for teething babies, as the linen is soft to gum. A few other stand out projects are the Sewing Machine Cover, Button Calendar (love it!), Travel Sewing Kit, Patchwork Ball and the Fold-Up Eco Kit.
Rashida’s color choices for the book projects are impeccable. Fun, yet classy, and she uses a lot of blue and red together, which we love here at Petite Purls. This book is a sweet ray of sunshine needed on every crafter’s bookshelf.
Knitting a Kiss in Every Stitch
by Nicky Epstein
Nicky Epstein Books/Sixth&Spring Books
$19.95
We had the great opportunity to meet Nicky Epstein at TNNA last weekend, and she was just as delightful as we expected her to be. Truly a passionate person about the fiber arts and designing, you can feel it and see it in her designs. Her book, Knitting a Kiss in Every Stitch is no exception. When browsing through the book, you can feel Nicky’s hand and heart guiding you along the way.
The award-winning author has put together a lovely collection of 35 gifts for every occasion. The book is separated into four categories: Gifts for The Kids, The Girls, The Guys, and Special Friends. Nicky even includes a chapter devoted to those charities and organizations that accept knitted gifts.
The Kids chapter includes many adorable designs, such as hats, to warm the heads of little ones as well as Twilight-obsessed teenagers. The Girls chapter includes some shawls, hats, and bags, many of them adorned with Nicky’s signature embellishments. The Guys chapter has very nice projects including socks, a lap throw and some scarves. I think my favorite chapter is the one focusing on Special Friends. A lovely afghan, spa cloths, a microwaveable neck pad, knitted travel tags and a few sweet projects for your four legged friends!
You can feel the love that Nicky Epstein has put into this book. Any recipient of a gift from this collection would surely feel the love that goes into each knitted stitch.
Phoebe's Sweater
by Joanna Johnson and Eric Johnson
Slate Falls Press
$18.95
Phoebe's Sweater is a sweet children's story and knitted pattern book. Not only did Joanna Johnson write the book, write the knitting patterns, and have her husband Eric illustrate it, she also published it with their own publishing company, Slate Falls Press.
Phoebe's Sweater tells the story of Phoebe, a darling little mouse who is expecting a little brother or sister. Phoebe's mother plans to knit Phoebe a sweater of her very own to help her with the transition of being the only child to big sister. The story is very sweet and the illustrations are absolutely fantastic. At the end of the book, Joanna includes patterns for Phoebe's Sweater, as well as patterns for Phoebe the Mouse, Phoebe's Dress and Phoebe's Doll Sweater. All four of the patterns are precious and they use Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride yarn.
I read the book to my daughter tonight before bedtime and we ended up reading it four times. I have a feeling that I will be knitting up the quartet of patterns sooner rather than later.
We had the opportunity to meet Joanna Johnson at TNNA and it was great to hear about her journey in bringing this book to life. Personally, I think that the concept for the book is brilliant and hope that we will read more from the Johnsons in the future.
WEBS Interchangeable Needle Set
by Yarn.com
If you are like me, and you mostly prefer to knit with bamboo knitting needles and you like to use interchangeable sets that are easy to travel with, then the WEBS Interchangeable needle set is perfect for you! With tips sizes US4 to US11, you can knit just about anything. One of the best features of the set is that it includes 2 (!!) of every size circular cables. That's 12 cables!! No need to go out and buy extras with this set. The tips are the perfect length at 4 1/8" long. As with most sets you can adapt the lengths for a super long length of 64" for when you have the urge to knit a giant blanket or extra wide shawl, and each cable easily converts into a stitch holder.
My other two favorite features include the light weight silk case (scrumptious!) and the handy knitters gauge with included ruler AND extra bang for your buck, a cutting edge! Not many interchangeable kits can boast all of that! The needle ends screw into the cables. I was pleasantly surprised that I never had any issues with anything becoming loose, after many hours knitting with them. I've had more trouble with other brands. I simply adore this needle set. I've been waiting years for someone to come out with a really nice and competitively priced bamboo set. Of course it had to be the great people at WEBS (yarn.com) who brought the knitting world such a wonderful new toolset.
Etimo Crochet Hooks Set
by Tulip Co.
The Etimo Crochet Clutch has to be one of the cutest and most fashion forward case for hook (or needles) I have ever seen. The outer material is like a black and white jean material, with a tiny bit of silver sparkles that at first don't catch your eye. I wish some of my wallets and change purses came as cute as this! Inside, you find the smooth super cushiony softness of an Etimo Crochet Hook. Manufactured in Japan, these hooks make me want to chain a few stitches and start a fun amigurumi project. I used these hooks quiet a bit to finish working up a crochet blanket for my youngest child. At first the shorter tip had me thinking it was all beauty and no function, but after a few rows I had completely forgotten the thought all together, and I just loved how soft and silky the cushion grip felt in my hands (made from elastomer, a type of rubber). My hand did not get tired, and I had to crochet quiet a bit! They also sell a sister set with the steel tips in smaller sizes.
Mr. Roboto and Land & Sea Playsets
by Knit Picks Design Team
Knit Picks is a great place to find cute children’s patterns, as well as affordable yarns for your projects. I fell in love with their Mr. Roboto Kit as my little girl is obsessed with robots. The Knit Picks Design Team has put together three robot patterns: Oscillatrix, Mr. T. and Squatty, which are squishy, plush toys that encourage knitters to work on such skills as intarsia, duplicate stitching and knitting in the round. The kit comes with all of the yarn you need to knit all three robots, using their Shine Worsted as well as the patterns.
The Land & Sea Playset is also adorable. The set includes patterns for a train, sailboat, yellow taxi cab, and pickup truck, all perfectly sized for little hands. You can purchase the cute play mat with road, train tracks, and water as a separate pattern. This kit uses Knit Picks’ machine washable Shine Sport.
Soak Products
www.soakwash.com
Soak Wash products are wonderful. The wash products are perfect for delicate items such as cashmere, lace and baby garments. The wash is brilliant as it does not need to be rinsed after soaking. They carry a nice assortment of fragrances as well as a fragrance-free wash. Their newest addition to the wash family is "Unleash", part of their Creative Juices collection, inspired by everything Ravelry. Unleash is a lovely scent: a bit spicy, a bit of citrus. They have also "unleashed" the Creative Juices Yarn Collection in GEMS Worsted using fantastic colors inspired by Ravelry with great names such as Bob'in for Green Apples, Ravelberry and Pomagraknit. The yarn collection also includes "Soak Worthy" patterns, designed by Soak founder Jacqueline Sava. 
This collection can be found online at Ravelry.com. Soak products are distributed exclusively by Louet North America.
New to the Soak family are Carrie & Phil, clever solutions for yarn storage that doubles as a washing basin! Carrie is a great all-purpose bucket. Phil is a safe haven for your soakables. He is equally well versed in taking care of your dyeing yarns and fibers. They come in a fun and spunky selection of colors. They are non-toxic and are frost and UV protected. They have beveled edges, making pouring easy and they are flexible enough to be squeezed into a tight space on your yarn shelf.
The Monroe Bag and Oh Snap! Bags
by Namaste
Oh how I love thee, Monroe bag! This bag is sleek yet durable and comes in fabulous colors (Black, Eggplant, Peacock, Hollywood Pink, Lime, Red). I have had the opportunity to use this bag for a couple months now and I love it. It's a great size, with three huge compartments with many pockets and strong magnetic closures. Very often I use one compartment for my personal things, usually including a book or two, one for my knitting and notions and one for my daughter's needs (diapers, wipes, snacks, books). My laptop fits well in the compartments as well. With the optional strap buddy that keeps the straps together with a small snap-on buckle, you can chase after a toddler without worrying that the straps will fall off your shoulder! The bag is PVC free and constructed from animal-friendly faux leather. 5" W x 11" H x 16" L
The Oh Snap! Bags are great for on-the-go. These charcoal grey mesh bags come in three sizes (S: 6.5" L x 1" W x 4" H; M: 9" L x 1.25" W x 7" H; L: 10" L x 2" W x 8" H) and are perfect for your crafting notions, traveling, diaper bag. You can rely on Namaste's durable snaps to keep you and your personal items organized.