35 easy-to-follow crochet patterns for quick and colourful cosies. Crochet a cosy for your phone, your teapot, your laptop, your favourite books, your passport and more! Cover all your most precious items with cute and colourful crochet, and then why not make something for all your friends too? Start with simple vase cosies to brighten up your mantelpiece, keep your tablet or e-reader safe with a wave-patterned striped cosy, then move on to more complex designs such as the adorable crocheted flower tea cosy, the pretty lace tealight covers, and the soft and warm hot water bottle cover. Expert crafter Nicki Trench, a crochet teacher and author with over 20 years' experience, has designed a series of patterns that will guide you through making these beautiful projects incorporating a wide range of crochet techniques. There is a comprehensive techniques section that explains all the stitches with clear artworks and instructions, followed by three chapters packed with patterns that will delight and inspire you.

Knitting patterns for 35 animal-themed cozies of all kinds Whatever kind of animal you like best, you'll find something appealing to knit in this collection of cozies. In the first chapter, In the Kitchen, there are moose and puffin egg cozies, a charming baby owl tea cozy, and a woolly sheep wrapping herself around a cafetière to keep your coffee hot. Then, At Home, a sleepy fox surrounds a hot water bottle, while a butterfly alights on a vase cover, and there's even a baby papoose with a bear-style hat. To keep things safe In Your Bag, there are small teddy-bear bottle cozies, big-cat phone cozies, and even an octopus apple cozy to prevent your snack getting bruised. Finally, On your Desk use the panda mug cozy to keep drinks warm while you work, and a cheeky raccoon cover to protect your tablet. There are plenty more charming and original cozies to knit – in fact, there's a whole zoo of them.

32 pretty little projects. In addition to chic covers for such everyday indispensables as music players, books, cell phones, and coffee cups, there are fabulous wraps for a sewing machine, a pint of sorbet, and even a French coffee press.

In Collected, expert collectors and decorating experts Fritz Karch and Rebecca Robertson present a tour of peculiar, elegant, and awe-inspiring collections from around the world. The book teaches readers the basic principles of the hunt while exploring the thoughtful and inventive ways people display their various collections, from the accessible and affordable to the aspirational extreme. The featured collections range from dice to café au lait bowls to 19th-century-French sewing tools to sand from world travels—illustrating collections as expressions of personal style. From no frills (“The Modest”) to ornate (“The Exceptionalist”), Karch and Robertson examine the selected collections according to personality type. The book showcases 16 different collecting personalities, each with its own chapter, featuring gorgeous photo­graphs, vignettes showing how the objects are displayed, and a collecting lesson.

Projects you can finish in two days or less—with clear instructions and beautiful photos—for both beginners and experienced knitters! When Weekend Knitting was first published in hardcover in 2003, a modern generation of knitters was just starting to discover this "hot new hobby." Since then, knitting has grown wildly popular and Melanie Falick’s book has gone on to become a knitting classic and a huge bestseller. Weekend Knitting brings together unique, innovative, and still-fresh projects for beginning and more-experienced knitters, many of which can be completed in a weekend or less. Every project is presented with clear instructions and in beautiful photographs that celebrate idyllic weekend settings. Quotes from diverse sources about knitting, creativity, and balanced living—along with favorite recipes, lists of books and movies with knitting scenes, and other extras—complete the weekend knitting experience.

Expert crafter Nicki Trench brings you 35 easy-to-follow crochet patterns that will teach you how to crochet. A crochet teacher and author with over 20 years' experience, Nicki has designed a series of patterns that will guide you through those initial stitches to producing beautiful projects incorporating a wide range of crochet techniques. Crochet Know-how explains all the stitches with clear step-by-step artworks and instructions. Next, discover three chapters packed with patterns to improve your skills. First is Starting Out, where you will find a simple springtime throw and a pretty hat for a toddler - you'll be amazed how easy and quick the projects are to create. Once you've mastered these, move on to something more challenging in the Practice Makes Perfect chapter. There are cute gifts for babies and young children, including baby blocks, bibs and blankets, or treat yourself to a pair of gloves in soft double knit yarn or the chunky seashells scarf to keep you warm on chilly mornings. Finally, Confident Crocheting has more advanced patterns, from a family of adorable Russian dolls to the cherub dress with decorative picot stitching.Nicki Trench is one of the leading figures in the revival and promotion of home crafts. She is the founder of Laughing Hens , the UK's leading online yarn store, and Rooster Yarns . Some of her books include Cute & Easy Crocheted Baby Clothes , A Passion for Quilting and Super Scary Crochet . Visit her website at www.nickitrench.com and blog at nickitrench.blogspot.com.

Are You a Word Nerd? Did you know... Only a human (not an animal or thing) is "able" to do something The five on dice is called cinque "K" for strike-out in baseball comes from the last letter of "struck" To skice is to frisk about like squirrels in spring For word lovers everywhere, Word Nerd is a rich—and fun—compendium of more than 17,000 fascinating facts about words. Bestselling author Barbara Anne Kipfer has spent years compiling little known tidbits about common—and not so common—words in the English language. Filled with interesting information about words, sure to amaze and spark conversation, this incredible collection is perfect for the word nerd in each of us.

If you love fabrics, yarns, and being creative, then you'll love the 35 great projects in My First Crochet Book. Learn how to use a crochet hook to make different stitches and patterns and you'll soon be making all sorts of pretty items. Divided into four chapters, the book includes a level of 1, 2 or 3 for every project, and comes with easy-to-read instructions and adorable, step-by-step artworks that will guide you along the way. In Clothes and Accessories you'll find warm and cosy scarves, a beanie hat, wrist-warmers, mittens and lots more. Jewellery and Decoration has pretty flower corsages, bracelets and brooches. Then you can have a go at Bedroom Essentials, and try making a pillow or curtain tie-back for your room. Lastly, Perfect Gifts has cute ideas for toys and other pretty things you'll love to make. Finally the basic techniques section covers every crochet technique you'll need to know, as well as yarns, hooks and stitches.

In this “moody thriller,” a family business is targeted for takeover as control of Hong Kong shifts from the British to the Chinese (The New York Times). Ninety-nine years of colonial rule are ending as the British prepare to hand over Hong Kong to China. Betty Mullard and her son, Bunt, have lived here for years, mostly keeping apart from their foreign surroundings, except for some indulgence in the local food, or in Bunt’s case, the local girls. The handover is not a concern for them—until the mysterious Mr. Hung from the mainland offers them a large sum for their family business. They refuse. But they fail to realize that Mr. Hung is unlike the other Chinese people they’ve known: he will accept no refusals. When a young female employee whom Bunt has been dating vanishes, he is forced to make important decisions for the first time in his life—but his good intentions are pitted against the will of Mr. Hung, and the threat of the ultimate betrayal. “A compact, provocative gem of a novel” (The Boston Globe), from an award-winning author acclaimed for both his fiction and his travel memoirs—including Deep South, The Great Railway Bazaar, and The Mosquito Coast—Kowloon Tong was praised by Bette Bao Lord in The Washington Post Book World as “a taut, illuminating story that transcends its timely subject.”

As British rule ends, threatening things begin to happen to Betty Mullard and her son, Bunt, in Hong Kong when they refuse to sell the family business to a sinister man from mainland China. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.