Book of the Month for June

This month I have been looking at a fun, light-hearted book called 'Cozy Crochet Motifs' by Tuija Heikkinen, hot off the press this month and published by David & Charles (ISBN: 978144317037). Tuija is a textile designer and an arts & crafts teacher from Finland, where she lives in the Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, near the Arctic Circle! 

There are 75 motif patterns in the book, grouped into 5 chapters: Living Room, In the Kitchen, Craft Room, Nature and Animals & Insects. They are all small and only use tiny amounts of yarn so absolutely perfect for using those small ball ends that we all have and can't bear to throw away! Tuija suggests that the motifs can be used as appliques coasters, bookmarks or as elements to be incorporated into collages. There is an 'Inspiration' section at the back of the book with some ideas for ways to use the motifs such as a tote bag, cushion cover and tea towel.

Each of the motif patterns comes with written instructions and charts and the book uses US crochet terms throughout. The pages are nicely laid out, not too crowded to look at, and the font is clear to read. Many of the motifs are finished with embroidery embellishments and there is a useful section at the back of the book with explanations of all the embroidery stitches used together with clear diagrams of how the stitches are sewn. There is a comprehensive crochet techniques section too, including a full list of chart symbols and their meanings. I particularly liked the section explaining the meaning when symbols are grouped together for example for puffs and bobbles, or fans and shells. 

My favourite chapter of the book is 'In the Kitchen' and I particularly like the idea of decorating plain tea towels with the some of the designs in it. We always have tea towels hanging from the oven door in our house and making them a bit more 'fancy' does appeal. The coffee pot is my favourite!

I like the author's explanation of how her ideas come about in that she uses hook and yarn like a journal and that the motifs are visual notes of her life, reflections of her mood, surroundings and interests. She calls her creations hook pictures, hook sketches or hook illustrations.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book, thinking perhaps I would find it a bit childish, but I actually really like it and for times when the thought of an in depth, long-term crochet project doesn't appeal, I can see myself picking this up, finding some ball ends and just enjoying creating a picture in yarn.

The book is widely available online and if you are in the UK you can take advantage of a 20% discount and free delivery by purchasing from the Search Press website here and quoting code DD88 at checkout. 

Until next month, happy reading and hooking!