Book Review: I Heart Felt

I recently obtained a copy of Kathleen Taylor‘s new book, I Heart Felt, to review. The book was released for purchase today (2/19/2008) so you should be seeing it at your LYS shortly.
ihf+cover

The book is a follow-up to Knit One, Felt Too, Kathleen’s book of easy-to-knit felted projects. The projects in this new book are a bit more advanced but there’s really no project that couldn’t be tackled successfully by an adventurous knitter of any skill level. That’s mostly because Kathleen’s instructions are incredibly clear and concise. She’s packed a lot of information and tips into the book and I really appreciate her unambiguous, straight-forward writing style. Even a new knitter shouldn’t have any trouble following her detailed instructions. And because felting is so forgiving, the projects would provide excellent practice for the more advanced techniques Kathleen uses in the designs like intarsia, stranded colorwork, and cables. In addition, there’s an excellent section on needle felting; Kathleen explains in detail how to add needle-felted embellishments to your finished projects.

Plus, the projects are just so dang cute.

I showed the book to a couple of friends and we all decided this bag was a must-knit:

HeartFelt2

There’s also a nice felted Christmas stocking and some whimsical projects for children including this cute set:

HeartFelt

I also appreciate that Kathleen has used yarns that are widely available and reasonably priced. Most of the projects call for Cascade 220 or Knit Picks yarns. So the projects are very affordable to make. I enjoyed the book and think it’s a good resource for patterns, information, and inspiration.

22 Responses to “Book Review: I Heart Felt”

  1. Beth on 19 Feb 2008 at 5:48 am

    Yep, that sheep bag is definitely adorable. :)

  2. Becky on 19 Feb 2008 at 6:08 am

    I gotta have the sheep bag! Too cute! Hmmm, must find book.

  3. Carol on 19 Feb 2008 at 6:15 am

    I believe we’ll be seeing a lot of sheepie bags this spring!

  4. Heather on 19 Feb 2008 at 7:01 am

    That bag is definitely a must-knit!

  5. Donna on 19 Feb 2008 at 7:36 am

    So. Cute. I have the urge to do the little sheep using a boucle, so they’d be woolier – thanks for the review!

  6. Francesca on 19 Feb 2008 at 7:48 am

    I love the crown, too. Mmm. Felting.

  7. Rachel on 19 Feb 2008 at 7:50 am

    Awesome! That bag is too cute…nothing like making a bag with sheep on it out of sheep’s wool. Thanks for sharing!

  8. Marcia on 19 Feb 2008 at 7:54 am

    Darn….another book to add to the list of “not released yet” new ones! I’m running out of shelf space. That sheep bag IS awfully cute, though!

  9. Heather Joins The Round on 19 Feb 2008 at 8:09 am

    Awww, look at the sheepy bag!

  10. Cheryl S. on 19 Feb 2008 at 8:26 am

    The bag is great!

  11. Re on 19 Feb 2008 at 9:30 am

    What a fantastic bag! I recently got Knit One, Felt Two from the library. Now I have two of her books to buy.

  12. Beth S. on 19 Feb 2008 at 11:01 am

    The sheepy bag is probably the single best felted project I have EVER seen! :-) It’s completely adorable.

  13. Kathleen Taylor on 19 Feb 2008 at 1:09 pm

    What a great way to start out my day! Thanks for the review and all the great comments. In honor of I Heart Felt Launch Day- I’m running a contest on my blog to give away a signed copy of the book. All you have to do is go and post in the appropriate thread. The winner will be drawn on Thursday morning!

    http://kathleen-dakotadreams.blogspot.com/2008/02/launch-day-contest-win-copy-of-i-heart.html

    Thanks!
    Kathleen

  14. Teresa C on 19 Feb 2008 at 2:55 pm

    I love that bag! I can think of several variations of it that will work better for me!

    Wait, I’m supposed to be knitting.

  15. Amanda on 19 Feb 2008 at 2:57 pm

    I guess I’ll have to have that book. My Girlies will have to have those crowns.

  16. Alarming Female on 19 Feb 2008 at 3:34 pm

    That bag is so cool!

  17. Kris H on 19 Feb 2008 at 8:20 pm

    Kathleen (kathi) has been a best friend forever. I continue to be amazed at her creativity, productivity, and passion. I love seeing her new designs and love being a recipient of absolutely wonderful socks. please buy her book and keep on knitting..congratulations kath, on another great book…

  18. Laurie on 20 Feb 2008 at 4:57 am

    The sheepy bag is fabulous. It is a must-want.

  19. Jennifer on 26 Feb 2008 at 7:44 am

    Love that felted sheep bag! How cool.

  20. Alyssa on 03 Mar 2008 at 10:18 am

    Love the sheep bag. I hope you do make it, it looks like fun.

  21. Lissette on 04 Mar 2008 at 2:39 pm

    Must agree. That bag is super cute! I want one too!

  22. Kim on 18 Mar 2008 at 5:20 am

    I LURVE that bag!