Well hook me a corn cob!

75 birds, butterflies & beautiful beasties to knit and crochet by Lesley Stanfield is full of the sublime to the knitted slug! Honestly this is a book with patterns for the world’s best nature table. The book has a nice clear techniques guide at the start, a gallery of beautifully images of the finished items, instructions split into knitting then crochet patterns and finally there are suggestions for how the little knitted what-nots can be used in a larger project. My only comment for improvement of the gallery might be a discreet ‘K’ or ‘C’ symbol so that one doesn’t get all excited at the prospect of rustling up a leaf (sorry) to find that it’s been knitted if one can’t knit very well. I myself am not a confident hooker so tried my hand at a knitted caterpillar. I found the instructions required a little care, though concentrating for the short while it took to complete the critter wasn’t too demanding.

I am not usually one for ‘sensible’ but I am struggling

to see where I might put knitted beasties to use. If you go in for novelty knitteds or cunningly crocheteds I would say this is a must for your library. At £10.99 for, well, 75 patterns I would say it’s a reasonably priced book and would be a jolly gift to while away the winter evenings looping up spring.

Little Arabella Miller

Found a furry caterpillar

First she showed it to her mother

Then her little baby brother

Both said;

'ARABELLA MILLER

TAKE AWAY YOUR CATERPILLAR!'