Some reading...

Although reading proper books has taken a serious back seat since Baby MiH (except children's books) - I do manage to read some crafts books - especially those with loads of pictures. However as I am hoping to move my craft room (ie Baby MiH's room) into a smaller space I need to decide whether I keep or resale some of the books I have. I thought you might be interested in some of my reviews - and get my verdict. 

Today I have a craft book - Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook - and a guide for better prictures - Heidi Adnum's crafter's guide to taking great photos.  

Pictures are key for any bloggers and this is a guide to take better pictures. The book explains the basics first (aperture, shutter speed etc), composition depending on the type of crafts you are taking pictures of but also goes further and provide further information on how to present your pictures for commercial use. 

It also contains interviews of existing etsy shops and share their experience. The segmentation of the book into small bites chapters is useful. 

This book is a great start if you are interested in photography, taken some pictures - but want to take better pictures (every time). The small bites chapters make it a very practical book to pick up whenever you have time. There are some FAQs that are enlightening. A shoot and point camera user will also benefit from the tutorials provided by the book (I use both for my blog). 

However, as it may be relevant for some of you reading this post, it does not cover taking pictures of quilts - it is a bit of a shame. I personally find it quite challenging to compose well when it comes to quilting. Maybe a second edition could cover that? 

It is a great book for bloggers - the numerous examples are inspiring. Except for not covering quilting - but I am not sure there is a book out there that does - I would recommend this book. 

You should also check out the photography tutorials Heidi wrote for Etsy UK. It is a free resource so would be rude not to.. 

Verdict: It is a keeper. 

I have been excited by this book for a long time, and I finally got it! As the title suggests it covers a few needleworks techniques: cross stitch, needlepoint, embroidery and crewel. If you are already interested in needlework, this is a great book to broaden your skills - it also explains how AMH approaches projects and her process. 

All projects have a clear AMH touch to it, in the boldness of the colours and the beautiful designs. It is full of skill building projects. 

This is a beautiful book. You can see some of the projects on AMH flickr account. There are so many I want to do already, I just need the time. I love the idea of having 4 different needlework techniques in one book. Although it provides a lot of inspiration for you to create your own patterns, it may be too basic for some crafters that are more into needlework than I am. 

This is one you get just for the pictures. Just to note as well, AMH uses Anchor and no equivalence is provided. There is no list of suppliers either - it would have been useful. But these are minor points. 

Verdict: It is a keeper. 

Note: These are my opinions only, I bought the books for my own use.