The Cat Lover’s Craft Book: Cute and Easy Accessories for Kitty’s Best Friend by Neko Shugei

Reviewed by Kristin

Are you crafty?  Are you catty?  Are you cattily crafty?  Do you just love cats so much that you want to surround yourself with as many fluffy felines as possible?  Well I have the book for you.

This volume includes many original crafts such as “Applique Coin Purses,” “Cat-Shaped Door Stoppers,” and even “Umbrella Handle Covers.”  Just imagine mackerel tabby and calico cat tails designs covering your umbrella handle.  Most of the projects look fairly simple, but simply adorable.

Cat face cross-stitch buttons?  Sure!  Homemade shrinky-dink designs?  I’m in!  Fabric cat dolls with button eyes?  I can see myself getting lost in a local craft store for hours just buying supplies.

The designs are folksy, and just quirky enough that they look original.  If you can half-way follow instructions (like me,) or are just bold enough to adapt patterns to make your own unique crafts, pick up this book and create your new feline friends.

I was curious about an author named Neko, which as Jeanne pointed out, means “cat” in Japanese. Looking up “Shugei” revealed that it means “handicraft.”  An author named “Cat Handicraft” as the author of a book on cat handicrafts was just too good to be true, so I went to the publisher’s website. According to Tuttle Publishing:  “Neko Shugei is a collective of cat-loving crafters comprising Yumi Ooami, Miko Ogura, Miyuki Hayashi, Chizuko Kojima, minou 14, Naoko Suzuki, Kyoko Maruoka, Yoko Kobayashi, Hitomi Hanaoka, rie, Kanade Isshiki, Marupoleland, and nekogao along with their many feline muses.”

Bonus:  these cats do not shed, use litter boxes, or need to be taken to the vet.  The only snipping these cats need is when you finish up the project and tie off that last thread.  They also don’t knock things over, although (speaking from experience,) they probably are in danger of being knocked over by the real cats.

(a long ago project; two of the three cats depicted are gone but not forgotten)

Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton

Reviewed by Ambrea

When Kelly Flynn returns to Colorado for her Aunt Helen’s funeral, she suspects the police have found the killer and solved the crime of her aunt’s murder.  But after she learns her aunt withdrew over twenty thousand dollars, Kelly knows something is amiss—something that can’t be explained away by the police.

Plagued by the inconsistencies of her aunt’s demise and the disappearance of family relics, Kelly decides to do some digging of her own—and what she discovers shocks her.  Helen had a secret, a secret that Kelly never expected from her bright, caring aunt.

Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton is a quick, easy read.  It’s intriguing, splashed with a dash of dark scandal to make it scintillating.  As I was reading, I was curious to see how things turned out for Kelly Flynn as she hunts for a killer and looks to unravel an incredible secret from her aunt’s past.  It’s a decent novel with just a hint of romance—and knitting pointers.

Although I found it easy to pick up Sefton’s novel and jump right in, I was a bit disappointed.  Knit One, Kill Two didn’t hold my attention for long periods of time.  It’s simple, easy-to-read, and it has enjoyable moments, but it’s a book that, once I figured out the mystery and discovered the real killer, I was hard-pressed to actually finish reading the book.

Moreover, I noticed that some of the subplots were left dangling at the end.  There’s no resolution to Kelly’s little side adventure and there’s no real build-up of Kelly and Steve’s relationship (if it could be called that), which I found disappointing.  Not only was I left with more than a few questions by the end of the novel (which, I would hope, the author clears up in her next book), I wasn’t thrilled with the character development.  Many characters, including Kelly, felt a little lackluster, a little stiff like cardboard cutouts.

Overall, it wasn’t a very memorable story and it didn’t beckon to be read immediately.  Luckily, it’s easy to finish in a day—maybe, even an afternoon—and set it back on the shelf.  On the bright side, it actually has a pretty good recipe for cinnamon rolls, so that’s a nice reward for finishing the book (well, that is, if you like to cook).