Mosaic Magic : Afghans Made Easy

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Crochet Encyclopedia
Review: I have never made an item from a pattern in this book. That being said, I use the book all the time. Ms. Chin has thoughtfully included enough information in her instructions to allow one the ability to use it as a "stitch enclycopedia." I thoroughly enjoy cable, post and long stitches, and the book is filled with patterns utilizing these stitches.

Some of the techniques are hard to follow. You have to take it step by step in order to reproduce them. I think a bit more thought in the layout of the information would be helpful, as would international symbols.

I love the book and have recommended it to many of my fellow crocheters. Lily is an excellend ambassador for crochet. If her latest book is a thoroughly useful as this one, I will be purchasing it soon.

Rating:
Summary: Mosaic Magic : Afghans Made Easy
Review: I have not only seen (and own) this book, but have seen the afghans in person. The book is a good overview of a wonderful technique in crochet, with excellent examples of how to use the techniques with the patterns presented. Even though the book is quite wonderful, the afghans, in person, are even nicer. Lily Chin is a well known author of knit and crochet designs and teaches across the US on a regular basis. She is a very talented lady and I applaud her book as a clear presentation of good material. It's something most fiber crafters would want to own.

Rating:
Summary: Crochet Techniques
Review: I just finished an afghan from this book and honestly I am having a hard time giving the afghan to my son....it turned out very elegant looking. Two warnings 1. this book is addicting 2. for advanced crocheters only.

Rating:
Summary: Innovative crochet technique from a knitting expert
Review: Lily Chin's clothing designs & columns are widely reprinted in advanced knitting magazines. This book does not just present attractive afghans with easily accessible yarns. In addition, Ms. Chin promotes a new crochet technique for the (usually) more conservative yarn craft. She shows a new technique need not be hard to master to be worthwhile.

Most of the designs in this book are afghans, but a few bonus clothing directions are included. This book should have everyone, knitters included, crocheting! (The crochet CLOTHING book will get a 5 star rating.)

Rating:
Summary: Long Double Crochet should be illustrated
Review: This is a very good book for creating some really lovely afghans. However, the technique is based on two basic stitches that are completely glossed over. 1 - the sc used to give the pieces a mosaic look and feel are barely mentioned in the patterns. Without the consistency of the sc odd numbered rows you would get a totally different outcome. 2 - the basis for everything else is the LDC stitch. Unfortunately there is no illustration of the long double crochet stitch in the stitches at the end of the book. The stitches illustrated are reprints of the basic crochet stitches found in all crochet books. Time should have been taken to create an illustration of the stitch that the technique is centered around - LDC.

Rating:
Summary: Long Double Crochet should be illustrated
Review: This is one of the best crochet books I own. Lily Chin shows you how to take simple crochet stitches a step further to achieve gorgeous mixes of color and texture...and the beauty of it all is that you save a lot of ends to weave in as you don't change color within the same row! The creative end result of her technique is a fabulous collection of elegant afghan patterns that achieve a designer look.

What's more is that Ms. Chin provides the pattern stitch multiples so you can adapt her savvy pattern stitch combinations to other projects of interest. She even encourages you to do so with a few non-afghan teasers.

It would be preferable to have some crochet experience before trying the designs in this book but by no means do you have to be an expert. For novices and experienced crocheters alike, this book will inspire the creative person inside you by opening your eyes to the multitude of stitch and color combinations you can simply achieve through crochet. I most definately agree that knitters will want to take up crochet!

Rating:
Summary: Now you can have your cake and eat it too!
Review: This is one of the best crochet books I own. Lily Chin shows you how to take simple crochet stitches a step further to achieve gorgeous mixes of color and texture...and the beauty of it all is that you save a lot of ends to weave in as you don't change color within the same row! The creative end result of her technique is a fabulous collection of elegant afghan patterns that achieve a designer look.

What's more is that Ms. Chin provides the pattern stitch multiples so you can adapt her savvy pattern stitch combinations to other projects of interest. She even encourages you to do so with a few non-afghan teasers.

It would be preferable to have some crochet experience before trying the designs in this book but by no means do you have to be an expert. For novices and experienced crocheters alike, this book will inspire the creative person inside you by opening your eyes to the multitude of stitch and color combinations you can simply achieve through crochet. I most definately agree that knitters will want to take up crochet!

Rating:
Summary: Book from the world's fastest crocheter
Review: Yes, according to the Guiness people at the Caroline Rhea show, Lily Chin is the world's fastest crocheter. Not only that, she is a talented knit and crochet designer.

This book shakes up the notion of what crocheted items look like - yes, we crocheters know it isn't all those granny square pochos in forest green and harvest gold, but the world doesn't know that yet. M's Chin's designs for afghans and wearables are very interesting and look quite elegant.

This is not, however, for raw beginners although the instructions are clear and precise. This is for crocheters who want to stretch their talent in a different way and do not have to worry about exactly how the stitches turn out. This is a good book for somebody who has some experience crocheting so they can see what is possible to do with the art of crochet.

Crochet has never gotten the respect knitting gets and I believe this items in this book will help people see crocheting in a new way. So until that day, nake an item (or three) from this book and be prepared to explain "No, it's crocheted" to the unknowing. You'll enjoy the book and the projects and spreading the word that crochet is cool.