I (Heart) Felt

I (Heart) Felt: 33 Eye-Popping Projects for the Inspired Knitter by Kathleen Taylor

The first chapter is dedicated to the art of felting, tips for projects with a single color, cables, or fair isle (and other color work). There are then three main sections: Playing with texture, using color and exploring embellishments.

Taylor's book plays with font size on intro/summary pages, in a way that I find annoying and distracting, but there are some interesting patterns. This book could be nice for a beginning felter, as each pattern contains essential felting tips (i.e. you may need multiple cycles in the washer and that sizes of felted projects vary after felting.)

The Patterns include:

• Playing with Texture: The Big Bag, Bobble Bucket Hat, Bobble Scarf, Yellow Ladders Purse, Child Shaggy Slippers, "It looks like a purse", Alpaca adult hat and scarf (for him), Alpaca for her: honeycomb scarf and ear warmer, Cabled tote, Cabled evergreen jacket.
• Using Color: Gourd and squash plushies, I-cord belts and headbands, Men's striped slippers, soft stripes hat, patchwork intarsia mittens, intarsia sewing kit, Grazing Sheep Bag (!!!), Zigzag Hat, Peppermint Stick christmas stocking, Child's gingham vest (adorable!).
• Exploring Embellishments (lots of embroidery and applique in here): Frosting Hearts hat and bag, Field of flowers mittens and wristband, Beaded tiaras and magic wands, Beads and Scallops hat, Berries and Vines Slippers, Needlefelted fingerless mittens, Cosmos bag, and Santa Ornaments.
  

I bought this book for the Grazing Sheep Bag Pattern (Darn you KnitPicks for posting patterns on your website but making you buy the book to get them! At least I know someone who will like that bag very much!!)

My overall impression of the book is so-so. Some of the patterns are not that inventive, much more interesting ones can be found for free online. However, it does demonstrate a range of colored and textured projects, so while I may not make many of them for myself, I have a place to go for tips when I want to try felting something else.