Book Review & Giveaway! Edward's Managerie: BIRDS, by Kerry Lord
/This book is a hoot! (Pun intended…) Let me start by saying that I’m not naturally a fan of amigurumi, but this book by Kerry Lord may change all that. Just one perusal of this beautifully designed book - dedicated to the author’s sweet little boy, Edward - has reminded me of just how much I do love birds and that perhaps this book will have me covered on more than a few Christmas gifts!
[Edward’s Menagerie—Birds: Over 14 Soft Toy Patterns for Crochet Birds
By Kerry Lord
David & Charles/F+W; $22.99
I believe that this is an excellent book for crocheters of all levels, and that this book is very user friendly. The edging of the book is color coded for you so that you can find the design of your level easily. That said, you will want to be aware that this book uses British terms, but on page 14 all of the easy conversions are clearly explained. The instructions for constructing the various body parts of these birds are laid out very clearly and include crisp photos.
As a mother, I can really appreciate the child safe design which uses only yarn for the accents instead of buttons or other small things that can be chewed off and swallowed. This makes these beauties excellent gifts for children of all ages!
All of these critters were made using TOFT yarn (http://www.thetoftalpacashop.co.uk), which is the author’s own alpaca fiber grown on the farm of her home in rural Warwickshire, England named Toft. The making of these beautiful birds led to the expansion of the colors available in this line of luxury yarn. I’ve personally not crocheted with this brand of yarn, but I will definitely be exploring it in the near future. Of course these birdies can be made using the yarn you already have in your stash, and just about any weight of yarn can be used. The larger the yarn, the larger your bird will be, it’s as simple as that!
When this book arrived, I knew which bird would be my favorite: Sophia the Flamingo! Having grown up in tropical Hialeah, Florida, a town famous for its race track where flamingos were first bred in captivity in the United States, I grew up enjoying the rare beauty of these birds. But my “crochet list” has quickly grown to include Abraham the Bald Eagle, Rohit the Peacock, Ernest the Canary, and being a Carolina Gamecock, I’ll need to add Mateo - the Cock of the Rock (although I'll name mine "Cocky" for the South Carolina mascot)!
The author has written a delight personality description to match the name of each bird, making this book even more entertaining to read! Combined with the stunning photography, this book is an excellent choice even for non-crocheters. It would easily qualify as a table top book in my home.
You can follow Kerry on Twitter @kerry_lord, and should you decide to make one of these animals, be sure to share a photo with her at #edsanimals! You can also check out her shop on-line at http://www.thetoftalpacashop.co.uk.
To have a chance at winning your very own free copy of this beautiful book courtesy of Interweave, please do one of the following: "LIKE" the Bonnie Bay Crochet page on Facebook, follow "Crochetw/Bonnie" on Twitter, or send Bonnie an e-mail at bonniebay@me.com and simply say "enter me!"
