Dec 17 The Secret of the Three Fountains (Magical Shoes Book 2) by Georg Apitz

  

 

 The Secret of the Three Fountains (Magical Shoes Book 2) 

by Georg Apitz  

In this continuation of the magical shoe we find Nora and the othes have gathered information about what's going on with missing shoes of a pair.

Love how they travel all over to find the answers they need to solve the mystery. They find other mysteries and solve them right away, but some take longer. Love the centuries of people involved in making shoes.

Such a whimsical read. 

Great story.

 

Dec 18 Book Review: Everyday Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook: 100 Simple Recipes to Reduce Information, Boost Immunity, and Feel Your Best by Jennifer Lindsey

  

 

Everyday Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook: 100 Simple Recipes to Reduce Information, Boost Immunity, and Feel Your Best by Jennifer Lindsey  

Love this book because of all the categories to choose from, not only meal ones but things like healthy, or one pot meals.

Each recipe starts with a title and rest of the page is dividied into two columns.

Left side of the page starts with medium size color photo of completed dish, list of ingredients and equipment needed.

The right hand column has anti inflammatory benefits, prep and cook times and servings, how to make the dish and ends with nutritional information.

The only thing i do not like is the print is light gray on white background. I prefer super dark and large fonts to be able to see the words.Made beef stew in one pot tonight, delicious.

 

Dec 16 Children's books

  

 

Hip mends a friendship by Sandra Blake

Colorful, children's, education book.

Hip wakes up and takes his treat and starts walking. He comes across Benny, Marvin, something was amiss.

Ellie finds Hip and they discuss what's going on. He needs a plan to mend a friendship and she can help him.

 Love moral  of these stories. so simple.

 

 

 Hip and the bridge builders by Sandra Blake

Colorful, children's, educational book.

The group decided to cross the jungle via the bridge to attend the fair. The bridge was broken so they had to come up with a plan. They each found useful things to build the bridge. First attempted not work and they just kept trying until they got it right. They had a great time at the jungle fair and came back the next day and they wrote about it in a school project. Everyone was so proud and felt kindness 21 another.

 

 

 Hip and the lucky clover  by Sandra Blake

Colorful, children's, educational book.

 In this story hip wants to find a lucky clover cause he thinks it will make him feel better. All of his friends that he comes to help him try to find a 4 leaf clover also and they only see 3. They don't understand why he needs a 4 leaf clover. 

Whenever his friends tells him maybe if he helps people he will feel better inside. It does help with a few of his friends and he does feel better inside. They are all helping each other and there's a lot of kindness. They decide to make a kindness club and continue to help each other out. They are also proud.

 

Hip and the lost crayon by Sandra Blake

Colorful, children's, educational book.

One day Hip is an art class and he's coloring with his favorite light blue crayon when it goes missing.  Hip asks everyone in the class if they've seen it and each send Hip to a different direction. Everybody helped him try to find it. When he does finally figure out from all the clues he decides to make a picture of all of his team that helped him find it .  Then they all were surprised by the teacher and now they decided to make a mystery club and he's the head detective. Great story, teamwork.

 

Hip’s Invisible Friend by Sandra Blake

Colorful, children's educational book. In this story we find hip hoss and new friend he calls wibble but the friend is invisible. The others know about wibble but they don't see him and Hip explains that he is doing the artwork and he is playing catch and he is playing tag and he's with all of them all the time also. Cute story.

 

Hip and the puzzle pieces by Sandra Blake

Colorful, children's educational book. Hip finds a jigsaw puzzle and tries to make the pieces fit. He's having such a hard time of it.

Ellie tries to explain how to do the puzzle and then others in the neighborhood come to help also. Great story.

Children's books Dec 15

  

 

Stocking Stuffers for Kids : The Farting Elphabet: A Hilarious Christmas ABC Book Full of Silly Elf Toots and Giggles! by Steven Weaver

This book is so silly but educational at the same time. Don't know much about the South Pole and this book is full of fun facts.

It's also educational because it has a different fart for every letter.

Colorful, children's, rhyming, educational book. 

Christmas pictures are an added touch.

Grandma's cookie jar by Athena Grace

Rhyming, colorful, children's educational book about grandma's cookie jar.

Child took a cookie but others found out and now she's in trouble.

She tries to replace the cookie by baking more cookies.... Great story.

 

Review: Children's books

  

   

Ocean Animals Search & Find - Riddles for Littles: An I Spy Picture Book for Ages 3-5 filled with Sharks, Dolphins, Jellyfish & Other Amazing Sea Creatures! by Kota Bear Books

Like this book because of the directions and guessing hints they giver per animal. There are 18 different ones.

Colorful, children's book about ocean animals. Follow the map to find them all. The clues are easy for some, hard for others. Very educational.

Ends with other works from the author.

 

 

Mom you are my influencer by Barbara Pinke

Love this story because it's ok to not always be happy. Explains how to get the kids out of their moods to better ones and how to talk to them. Good feel kinda book. Colorful children's story. About the author and illustrator are listed at the end.

 

 

Book Review: The Crazy Christmas Lady: A Hilarious Tribute to the Women Behind the Magic! (The Christmas Parodies Series) by Hailee Oman

  

 

The Crazy Christmas Lady: A Hilarious Tribute to the Women Behind the Magic! (The Christmas Parodies Series) by Hailee Oman 

Children's very colorful, so silly and funny book about Christmas.

Like this book for the colors and the rhyming phrases in the story. It reminds me of chaos in the Dr. Seuss books with the cat in the hat and his friends. The lady is always buying things, she can't pass up a deal.

Th ending is priceless as you find out who Santa is and the Mrs. Claus. 

Book Review: White Light Red Fire BY Robert Reid

   

 

White Light Red Fire – Robert Reid (4 stars)

I felt this book in my chest. Not because it is gentle, because it is not, but because it is so clear about what conquest does to ordinary people who just want to farm, raise families, and watch the sun go down in peace.

White Light Red Fire drops us onto the island of Andore where Oien, an old alchemist with a terrifying relationship to a red stone called othium, forges an alliance with King Dewar to invade Bala and strip it for power. The plot moves from rumors to invasion to hard choices, and I liked that the resistance is not romanticized. Villages burn. People flee. The cost is real.

What held me, though, was the emotional spine: Alastair Munro and Angus Ferguson, two Banoran farmers who feel like brothers, trying to stay human while war demands they become something else. I appreciated the way their bond stays central even as the story expands into councils, campaigns, and ancient forces. The mentorship and spiritual weight around Ala Moire hit me especially hard, and the grief that follows does not get smoothed over.

As someone who is always paying attention to power, I enjoyed how the book contrasts Bala’s clan based democracy with Dewar’s rule by fear, and how othium becomes a metaphor for extraction and ambition that never knows when to stop. And the ending, with love and celebration interrupted by old evil, felt earned.

This is a big story with a lot of moving parts, but its heart is simple: freedom is not abstract when it is your home.

 

Book Review: Socialism is Dead, Long Live Socialism by Todor Bombov

  

 

Socialism is Dead, Long Live Socialism by Todor Bombov  

This is the kind of book that makes me pause before I start, because it is asking for work, not vibes. Bombov splits the project into two parts: a political argument about what a socialist state would actually require, and an economic argument that tries to build a critique of political economy in direct conversation with Marx’s Capital.

The broad claim is blunt: the twentieth century systems that called themselves socialism were not socialism at all, and the confusion around words has done real damage.

I liked that the first half refuses to romanticize power. One of the most concrete moments is his insistence, via Marx and the Paris Commune, on stripping officials of special monetary privileges and paying state servants at the level of workmen’s wages.

I felt that clarity in my body, because so many “justice” conversations float above the material and never come back down.

I enjoyed the second half less and more at the same time. Less, because there is real math and formal structure in the chapter titles alone, and it can be heavy going.

More, because the ambition is rare: he argues about wages, credit, and inflation in a way that tries to be falsifiable, not just inspirational.

As someone who works with people who carry fear in their nervous systems, I kept thinking about how political arrangements become daily psychology: who gets stability, who gets punished for needing help, who is told to be grateful for scraps. This book does not hand you comfort. It hands you a framework and dares you to argue back.

Readers are right that it is not light reading, but it felt important to sit with it anyway.

  

Book Review: The Pythagorean by Alexander Morpheigh

  

 

The Pythagorean by Alexander Morpheigh 

I went into The Pythagorean expecting a brainy time travel adventure. I did not expect it to hit me in the places where I keep my grief and my hope.

Theodore is thirty six in modern Athens, and after a car accident he wakes up two thousand five hundred years in the past inside a young man’s body, someone who had just jumped from a cliff in mental anguish. Disoriented, he seeks help from the Delphic Oracle and is pointed toward one name: Pythagoras. On Samos, Theo becomes a student, and the story turns into an apprenticeship in discipline, humility, and consequence.

I felt my stomach drop when the book kept returning to the question of what we do when we are given another life. Theo is funny, but he is also reckless, and the novel refuses to romanticize that. A small theft of a bottle of wine becomes real danger and real shame, and suddenly he is sitting in a cage with guards, trying to hold on to the truth of who he is.

I liked the way the teaching moments are tied to lived experience. Meditation is not presented as a quick fix. It is work. It is also unsettling, especially when Pythagoras pushes Theo into a brush with clinical death and starts talking about what exists Behind the Mirror.

I enjoyed the thread with Elena the most. Their lucid dream conversations, shaped like a restaurant in Geneva, felt tender and human, like a reminder that love can be a lifeline across impossible distance.

By the time the book starts speaking about parallel time branches and personal missions, I was all in. It is generous, sometimes wild, and earnest about ethics. I closed it feeling calmer, and more accountable. 

Book Review: The Guardian of the Shoes (Magical Shoes) by Arno G Fedstap

  

 

The Guardian of the Shoes (Magical Shoes) by Arno G Fedstap

Like this story because it a sketches of draings of the cene in teh chapter that you are reading. It's quite the unique book. It's about shoes that find their rightful owner. When one comes into this special shoe store if they find something they like the owner tells the shoes they can do a few things if the fit isn't just right for them to live with th eowner.

So silly at times that the shoes talk to one another. When there is no more special leather for shoes to deliver the shoes go to find out what's going on. They are also hot on the trail as to why the shoes are singles and not a pair any longer.

Quite the mysteries, just when you think it's solved something else comes up.

Great story. 

Book Review: Peptide Power: Clinically Proven Strategies to Burn Fat, Build Lean Muscle, Relieve Joint Pain, Rejuvenate Skin, and Extend Healthy Lifespan (Power Wellness Series Book 1) by Julian Cross

  

 

Peptide Power: Clinically Proven Strategies to Burn Fat, Build Lean Muscle, Relieve Joint Pain, Rejuvenate Skin, and Extend Healthy Lifespan (Power Wellness Series Book 1) by Julian Cross

This boo show you how to improve your health by using peptides. Book explains what they are and I can't quite get a grasp of it myself. I know they are amino acids and that they are good for you. It's the sequence of when to take them, doing what exercises, etc that make the difference. There are a lot of terms using CQLT with numbers that also make no sense to me. I think I need a background in more science fields.

Seems to be chemical reactions. That would make sense to me. As title states it's clinically proven, that means it's done in the lab. 

Dec 10 A Very English Christmas by Jane Porter

   

 

A Very English Christmas by Jane Porter

Parts I like best are the hand me down mothers sweater as I have one from my mother that she made for me and never finished. So much food to explore and so many crafts and treats, can't decide which I want to do first to make new traditions. Love chivalry, romance, travel, honesty, mistakes, laughing and hugs.

This story starts out with Catriona who's been in England at university acquiring a few degrees. She is determined to go back to the US to sell her grandmother's houses. But first she needs a job. She gets one rather quickly as her friend Sarah saw an ad at the hospital where she works. Cat takes on the job of a childminder, there are two girls and a father who is writing his medical book to be published. He is not at the house except for the dinner meal and to sleep.  She handles the girls fine til they escape one day... they are a handful to be sure.

She's learning about Dr. Rhys   and how he grew up in Langley Park and about his father who tended to the horses. Love hearing about the area, the shops sound so festive and fun to go poking about each of them. They offer something for everyone. Love new traditions the family starts: reading a few pages of a book every night.

Love travel, romance, twists and turns and especially the crafts. Because they have no TV the girls have to make up their own fun. Lots of imaginative craft making.  Cat is a big help to them. Love the big manor house where Rhys goes to work on his project daily.

The oldest girl Jilly gets a promise form Cat that she won't interfer with the family and that she won't go after her father. Jilly still wants her mother and father to reunite...

She finds it hard not to blend in with the family but act more like a servant. She knows it will be hard to leave them at the end of her time. She never thought she'd be leaving earlier than expected....

Never saw it ending as it did, WOW

Super fun read and so informative.  Love baking and making meals.  

Received this review copy from Tule Publishing via Booksprout and this is my honest opinion.

 

Book Review: Spanish Grammar Made Easy: The Ultimate Guide for Intermediate Learners to Master Verbs, Understand Tenses, Improve Sentence Structure, and Communicate Effectively by Lingua Easy Publishing

  

 Spanish Grammar Made Easy: The Ultimate Guide for Intermediate Learners to Master Verbs, Understand Tenses, Improve Sentence Structure, and Communicate Effectively by Lingua Easy Publishing 

Enjoyed this book and can understand quite a bit of it. Had taken French for over 8 years, got to high school and switched to Spanish and did so much better. The language is a language in itself. It's not like having past, present and future but moods and so many other insistences that occur.

Like examples they give you in Spanish with a translation in English. Irregular verbs are also discussed in each chapter. Practice exercises and solutions are also included.

Great book to help you understand the language a lot easier to learn it.

 

Book Review: The Science-Backed Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners: A Hassle-Free Guide and Simple Meal Plan To Enhance Immunity, Optimize Gut Health, and Reduce Chronic Pain at Any Age by Yasmine Elamir

   

 The Science-Backed Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners: A Hassle-Free Guide and Simple Meal Plan To Enhance Immunity, Optimize Gut Health, and Reduce Chronic Pain at Any Age by Yasmine Elamir 

 Lots of introductory material and appreciate the section son weight loss and the heart connection.

Like section on what foods we need and what they can do for your body. there are sidenotes on them also included.

Love fish portion of the recipes. Each recipe starts with a title, and has tags. 

Summary of the dish along with a small color photo. total time services, prep time, cook times. Nutritional info per servings: calories, carbs, fat, and protein.

List of ingredients and for the most part they are healthy for most diets.

 They include a lot of items, be sure to have them all first.  Directions are given So many I want to try for our family.

Meal plans are also included and a journal to help you keep track of them all.

References are included at the end.

Keep this one handy, use it daily. 

Blog Spotlight: Book Review: Meet Reba by Stephanie Wheeler (Author), Annika Chambers (Illustrator)

  Author wants more reviewers, interested? leave me a message jbarrett553@gmail.com   Thanks

 About the book:

Reba is brave, strong, and fiercely independent—she can do almost everything on her own. But when it comes to learning how to ride a bike, she discovers that accepting help doesn’t make her any less capable. It just means she has someone cheering her on.

Inspired by the natural symbiotic relationship between rhinos and oxpeckers, this heartwarming story celebrates both self-reliance and the quiet magic of friendship.

Every illustration was lovingly created by hand over the course of several months, bringing Reba’s vibrant world to life with warmth, whimsy, and thoughtful detail.

About the author and illustrator:

 

Stephanie Wheeler is a wife, mom, writer, and co-founder of Spinning Wheel Stories. She lives in whimsically-weathered Massachusetts, where it can snow in April but be in full bloom by June.


Stephanie holds a BA in English Literature from Bucknell University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Arizona State University. She has published several short stories in literary journals, and her debut picture book will be released in October 2025, with additional titles to follow.


When she’s not writing, Stephanie enjoys making pottery, baking, trying new things, and going for bike rides with friends and family. She also spends plenty of time happily wrangling her three teenage children and two energetic dogs.

Author's website:  https://stephaniewheelerwr.wixsite.com/storiesbystephanie

About the Illustrator:

Annika Chambers is an artist and illustrator living in sunny Phoenix, Arizona. She spent her childhood in South Africa, where she was homeschooled and grew a deep appreciation for art and nature. She currently has a BFA in painting and drawing from Arizona State University. Besides designing loveable characters, Annika enjoys thrifting for clothes, baking banana muffins and spending time with her family. This is her first published book.

MY REVIEW:

Meet Reba by Stephanie Wheeler (Author), Annika Chambers (Illustrator) 

Colorful, educational, children's' fun book to read and learn

The story starts out with Reba she is a rhinoceros. She is so empowered to try to.. Do things. Even if they are difficult she still attempts to try it and keep trying till she gets it right. In the case of her riding a bike,  picture this: a rhino riding a bike. Good thing she has all her friend Olive to help in this task. This part is for kids. The next part talks about the rhino and oxpecker and how they are companions to one another.

There are also fun facts about these 2 animals as they help each other survive in the wild. The author's website also has more fun things to learn about these 2. Check it out. What a really great story to not only read to your kids but it's also education.  The pictures tell you what the words are saying. I can't wait to see what the author has selected for the next animals in this series.

 

Book Review: The Vagus Nerve Fix: Easily Master Stress, Calm Anxiety, and Boost Mental & Physical Health with Proven Holistic Exercises and Nutrition in as Little as 10 MINUTES PER DAY by Lorraine Miano

  

 The Vagus Nerve Fix: Easily Master Stress, Calm Anxiety, and Boost Mental & Physical Health with Proven Holistic Exercises and Nutrition in as Little as 10 MINUTES PER DAY by Lorraine Miano

This book contains a lot of introductory material about what the nerve is, where it is, how it affects you whole body.

Parts I like the best at diet and nutrition and also yoga exercises. So helpful to cure some things that go wrong with your body, rather than using pills all the time.

So much more is included.

Great book to keep handy. Referencesw are included at the end. 

Book Review: the cowboy's claim by Sinclair Jayne

  

 
  

the cowboy's claim by Sinclair Jayne

 This story Calhoun and he picked his task to finish for Jace who didn't make it back. He's to head to Marietta where many of his brothers in arms have also relocated to, to finish their tasks.

Story also follows Dr. Jory and she works at the local hospital in Marietta. She's selling the family ranch and the family hope to move to CA but she has a meeting with her boss, first.

Cal is following up with Kai, the dog that was the teams warrior. 

The rest of the team want Cal on board for the big plan they have going right there in Marietta. He's not so sure he even wants to stay. Maybe just give them some land and money and head himself otu of town.

There is an incident where there is a malfunction with the condom and it was only to be one night stand....

So many things up in the air for them all and deicidng which to choose it on them.

Great end of the teams stories, super series.

Received this review copy from Tule Publishing via BookSprout and this is my honest opinion. 

Book Review: My First Grade Reader: Captivating Short Stories for 1st Graders to Boost Reading Skills with Read-Along Audio & Easy Comprehension Questions by Mateo Sommer, Little Big Page

  

 
 My First Grade Reader: Captivating Short Stories for 1st Graders to Boost Reading Skills with Read-Along Audio & Easy Comprehension Questions by Mateo Sommer, Little Big Page  

Book I got I thought would've been like Dick and Jane from my first grade years. This to me was an older child's book. Enjoyed the stories and with the audio you can follow along if you can set it slow enough.  There are questions also to make sure you are understanding what you are reading.

Great starter book for family reading.

  

Dec 5 The Montana Cowboy's Christmas Homecoming Book 3 of Cowboys of Honor by Sinclair Jayne

  

 

The Montana Cowboy's Christmas Homecoming Book 3 of Cowboys of Honor by Sinclair Jayne

Rohan returned to Marietta to deliver a letter to Ginny's father. He had no idea the man had passed away in his absence serving as a Special Forces guy. He gives it to her but she's in the middle of going through his garage to clear it of debris. She's surprised to see him and he assumes the child she has, 10 years old now Lucas is his. It's not but he takes a liking to the kid and realizes he's a bit slow at some things. The rest of his family shows up to help her get rid of the trash in the garage and house so it's livable. They all decide to go hunt for Christmas tree and I love hearing about the adventures for the kids and adults.

Love how his family welcomes her into the fold. Love hearing about the scenery and festivities in town and how they all are onboard. The relationships amaze me and are so magical.

Will she discover what the letter is all about, in time....?

Received this review copy from Tule Publishing via Booksprout and this is my honest opinion. 

Dec 3 Long Lost Winter Book 3 of A Western Edge Mystery by Nicole Helm

  

 

Long Lost Winter Book 3 of A Western Edge Mystery by Nicole Helm

Have enjoyed this series and find it so fascinating to learn about the Bennett family.  Now that the father has been charged with their moms murder they can't wait to go to court to see it to an end.

Sam, the local PI agency runs it with Nate Bennett. Love hearing about their relationship and their work as separate cases and combine cases they work together.

Love family dynamics and how they are all so different. The family runs the ranch and tends to the animals and chores. Love haring from the eldest woman who hasn't spoken in years til she attends the trail also and calls out liar to Ben when he's on the witness stand.

There is also a loner who wanders in looking for work in turn to get help to find his real family that he thinks is in Marietta. The DNA test might prove who he really is. What mysteries come to light. Scary at times to learn the truth and why things are as they are.

Love that Cal is getting help and it's working for him.

Can't wait to read about the family.

Received this review copy from Tule Publishing via Booksprout and this is my honest opinion. 

Dec 1 Bramble House Chronicles: Books 1-3 Bramble House Chronicles by C.J. Carmichael

  

 

Bramble House Chronicles: Books 1-3 Bramble House Chronicles by C.J. Carmichael

Trilogy of the first three books all about Bramble House, it's magical.

...

Promise Me Please, Cowboy (The 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo Book 4) by C.J. Carmichael

This story starts out with Amy and she's just become owner of the B&B in Marietta. She's been educated enough to run it but finds problems with the help all quits because of some changes she wants done. So now we find her doing it all, maintenance, housekeeping, baking, bookkeeping.

Story is also following Chet and he is in the rodeo, that is having events this week.  Love how they meet and the legacy of his grandmother's Handkerchief.

The documentary film crew is also staying at the B&B. Love to hear how friendly some of the neighbors are and their offers.

Chet and Amy get to spend most sunset time together on the proch talking over their troubles. His father is back in town.... and mostly wants money, but something else.

She is concerned that her father will turn her dwon after she informs him who she is. Learned so much from this book, especially baking tips due to altitude change and a lot more about rodeo and events that take place. Love the community and hearing of all the charity work.

Such tragic moments and there are even more romantic and down earth caring. Love setting and learning how to ride a horse, something I've done just once myself.

Never saw it ending as it did, things could've gone sideways at many times during the book.

Received this review copy from Tule Publishing and this is my honest opinion.

Christmas at Bramble House

 

.....

A Merry Bramble Christmas by CJ Carmichael

Love this book because of not only the characters but the location and it's Christmas.

Story starts out with Chet and Amy, the owners of the Bramble House and they have just right amount of staff to help with the guests that are checking in during the holiday season.

Oliver arrives and he's looking to locate his long lost sister and her family. Their mother had passed away and it was her dying wish to reach out to Trish and her boy Sawyer. He learns her spouse Dan a firefighter is now deceased.

Story also follows Gemma who's left Denver and just wants peace and quiet. She's known as the runaway bride as she left her spouse and doesn't even want to marry him. More details come to light during the book.

Story also follows other guests and the B&B and it's easy to keep track of everyone. Things don’t always go according to the plan, there are obstacles and situations and love the outcomes. 

Love hearing of all the festivities and the town happenings. We also learn of others who live  and work in town, love catching up with them all.

Such an awesome read for the holiday season.

A Baby at Bramble House by  CJ Carmichael

What I like about this series at Bramble House is the guests that stay there. their career are so diversified and some have a link to Marietta and have come back to claim it.

Some are getting over a loss and some have PTS and trying to get back to normal things: hikes along river walk, window shopping etc. Mix that in with the owners are having a baby and the testis are guests are there and room for baby isn't ready... Love catching up with townsfolk.

Love this read and can't wait to read more about careers of those that stay there. So much to learn.

Received this review copy from Tule Publishing  and this is my honest opinion.

 

....

A Baby at Bramble House by  CJ Carmichael

What I like about this series at Bramble House is the guests that stay there. their career are so diversified and some have a link to Marietta and have come back to claim it.

Some are getting over a loss and some have PTS and trying to get back to normal things: hikes along river walk, window shopping etc. Mix that in with the owners are having a baby and the testis are guests are there and room for baby isn't ready... Love catching up with townsfolk.

Love this read and can't wait to read more about careers of those that stay there. So much to learn.

Received this review copy from Tule Publishing  and this is my honest opinion.

 

Nov 25 Book Review: Simple Designs for Meditative Knitting 19 Easy, Beautiful Patterns for a Mindful Experience by Barbara Breen

  

 

Simple Designs for Meditative Knitting

19 Easy, Beautiful Patterns for a Mindful Experience by Barbara Breen

Book starts out with table of contents where there are chapters for learning how to knit where sketches and pictures and charts help explain it all, , the stitches themselves and so much more. Knitting patterns also have their own chapters.

Love the chapter about knitting as a meditative tool. Love full page color pages where it shows models and the creations, including men!  

Love the quotes from books from centuries ago where they talk about being relaxed and knitting. 

Each pattern chapter starts with a title, summary of the product, measurements, yarn, needles and gauge.

Full page photo of the model and the neck scarf.

Notes are included and instructions are easy to follow along. Some patterns include mittens  or a cap with the scarf in matching pattern.

So many other patterns: bathmat *waffle stitch*, napkin wrap and placemat, ascot, blanket throws  baby items. Acknowledgements and about the author complete this book.

What a great book, projects are easy and will work up quickly, learn new pattern stitches.

A KEEPER! 

Received this book from Fox Chapel Publishing  Landauer Publishing via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

  #LandauerPublishing #NetGalley.