Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Last Minute Knitted Gifts is one of my favorite knitting books, so I bought this book hoping to find lots of inspiration for cute sewing projects. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed with it. Many of the patterns (scarves, blankets, dishtowels, a sarong) involve not much more than buying a large piece of fabric and hemming it. Some projects are not sewing projects per se, but rather involve felting (felted rocks? Seriously?), or simply using fusible interfacing to attach fabric to things. While the results of all of these types of projects aren't unattractive, I'd rather use my limited crafting time to create, rather than embellish, and I certainly don't need a book to tell me that if you hem a piece of fabric, you can call it a blanket. As for the actual sewing projects--well, some are cute, but if you can't find versions of them for free on Craftster or the crafty blogs, you're not looking very hard. There are some cute projects here--a darling felt bunny, a patchwork pillow, a hooded towel that would make a great baby gift--but overall, I think anyone who is interested in more than basic beginner-level fabric projects would be better served by Amy Butler's In Stitches or Denyse Schmit Quilts. At the very least, I'd look at this book in a store before you spend the money.