Granny Square Love: A New Twist on a Crochet Classic for Your Home [ペーパーバック]

Full disclosure: I received a PDF review copy of Crochet Granny Squares from F+W Media as part of Sarah London's blog tour for the book's release. I can't address how the book is printed or bound, so my review will focus on the content and overall appearance of the book.

Granny Square Love includes many elements of Sarah's signature style - vibrant colors, fun photography, and, of course, grannies! The book is organized into six chapters.

Getting Started is a beginners introduction to crocheting and granny squares. This section includes a brief overview of materials and multi-color illustrations of the basic crochet stitches. I found these illustrations to be larger and clearer than most. There are three pages of step-by-step photos of the process of making a granny square. Finally, this section includes an overview of patterns and addresses both abbreviations and stitch symbols. The actual abbreviations and stitch symbols are explained in the reference section in the back of the book.)

The next five sections feature projects focused on different rooms in the house. Each pattern is presented using both U.S. abbreviations and stitch symbols.

The Living Room includes cushions in two sizes, an ottoman slipcover, a sofa blanket, the holiday stockings, and the lampshade cover, which is one of my favorite projects in the book.

The Kitchen includes patterns for the stool cover, the dishcloth, potholders, a grocer's tote, and an apron pocket.

The Dining Room features a tablecloth trim, placemats, napkin holders, a circular garland, and a tea cozy.

The Bedroom includes a decorated headboard, bedsheet trim, a bedroom blanket, a hot water bottle cover, and the striking black and white bold bedroom cushion.

The Bathroom and Laundry includes patterns for coat hangers, a curtain, a bathmat, and towel trim.

The book closes with some reference information, including hook sizes, a yarn comparison chart, and a guide to pattern abbreviations and stitch symbols.

What I like about this book:
Sarah includes "Color Commentary" throughout the book. She is known for her use of vibrant colors, and shares some insight into her pairings of different colors.
The patterns includes both stitch symbols and abbreviations.
The photographs are great "eye candy" and Granny Square Love is a fun book to look through. It will definitely get your creative juices flowing.
The book is very beginner friendly. The illustrations are quite clear and the step-by-step photographs of the granny square in progress are very helpful.
The patterns are well organized, so it would be easy to find one you liked later.

What I don't like about this book (or what's missing):
The information on pattern reading is largely in the back in the reference section. The book seems targeted to beginners, and they might prefer to see this information before the patterns start.
The patterns are limited to home decor projects featuring granny squares or similar motifs, so there isn't a tremendous variety.

Overall, I think the book would be an excellent addition to the personal library of a crochet beginner. It could also be great for someone who is a more experienced crocheter but is timid about using bold colors. More experienced crocheters with a strong color sense are not the target audience of this book at all. I give the book 4 out of 5 stars for beginners or crocheters who are afraid of colors. Even if you don't make all of the projects, it is presented in a lovely, visual fashion.

I got this book in the mail today and already there are so many things I'd like to try! It might have "the usual stuff" for experienced crocheters, but for someone like myself, who started crocheting only a few months ago, there is so much inspiration and the colors are pure eye candy.

The only drawback that I notice so far is the lack of explanation on how to join the squares. For a beginner, reading "use your preferred method" is pretty disheartening. I wish she had described the joining method used in every project... :-( That is why I don't give it 5 stars.

First of all, let me start by saying I'm a huge fan of Sarah London, have been reading her blog since she first started writing one, & I'm also ravelry friends with her.

The book starts as with so many other crochet books, with a how to section. I really, really, really hate seeing that in so many books, I always feel if you are a beginner crocheter, you'd be getting a whole how-to book out of the library or from the bookstore, you wouldn't just pick up a random crochet book & hope there's a how to section in it. To me, it's really a waste of space in the book & a waste of money, but that may just be me.

As with all of London's stuff, all of the projects in the book are very bright & colorful, which is why she has so many fans. The projects are beautifully photographed, with both full shots & close up views. There are 25 projects included in the book, & they are all very beginner friendly. The focus here is on color, not stitches, and each project includes some tips on picking color.

My absolute favorite project is the Grocer's Tote, which is also featured on London's blog.

I won a copy of this book as part of London's blog tour.