Get Your Crochet On!
by Afya Ibomu
The Taunton Press

This book rocks. The tutorial photos are great, the illustrations are big and clear, and the patterns (for oh-so-many cool hats) are fabulous. In addition to the normal crochet basics, Ibomu also covers how to make a hat bill (or bib), fringe, ear flaps, and pompoms: all the ingredients to make rad hat designs of your own. Some of the model photos aren't clear or well-lit, but that's my only complaint. I want to make so many of these hats I might not leave the couch till summer.

Paperback
122 pages
$14.95US
Available at Powells.com [1]

Bead & Felted Tapestry Crochet
by Carol Ventura
Self-Published

Crochet Me designer Carol Ventura is on a mission to inform and educate crafters everywhere about the wonders of tapestry crochet. It's an admirable goal, one she's a step closer to achieving with the release of her latest self-published book. Bead & Felted Tapestry Crochet is a generous size, and the pages lay open nicely. Large photographs and clear illustrations make the techniques and projects seem straightforward and accessible. Instructions are given both for crocheting right-handed and left-handed, so this book should make lefties everywhere cry from joy. Complete with her special tapestry crochet graph paper, reproduceable for personal use only, this book will no doubt lead to years of exciting crocheting.

Paperback
64 pages
$20.00US
Available at Powells.com [2]

Threadbared: Decades of Don'ts from the Sewing and Crafting World
by Kimberly Wrenn & Mary Watkins
Three Rivers Press

This book is... hilarious. Both because the photos featured from decades of crafts publications are downright laughable, and because, well, it's a book that makes fun of laughable vintage photos. It's a genre I think might work better in the Web format of its namesake blog [3], but it would make a great gift nonetheless. Your favourite crafty crafter will really know you love them when you hand over this baby.

Paperback
176 pages
$17.95US
Available from Powells.com [4]

Not Your Mama's Crochet: The Cool and Creative Way to Join the Chain Gang
by Amy Swenson
Wiley

Amy Swenson's written an entertaining book, yo. You should definitely check it out. And now, in the interest of full disclosure, I'll announce that I have some dolls in there, and Cme contributor Robyn Chachula has a couple of garments in there, and Amy wrote a bunch about Crochet Me in there, and Wiley is the same publisher I've worked with. All, in my humblest of humble opinions, good reasons to read this book.

$14.99US
Available at Powells.com [5]

Needle (& Hook) Binder
Namaste Needles

This is a way nifty crafty accessory. What started off as a knitting needle binder (with needle "pages" perfectly appropriate for Tunisian crochet hooks) has been made even better by the addition of add-on crochet "pages" with shorter slots perfect for normal-sized crochet hooks. There's a solid zippered  page to hold all sorts of notions, and a divided mesh zippered pocket for more fiddly things like stitch markers. The zippered pockets on the inside "covers" of the binder/bag are almost too tight to be useful, though, so I just stick with the binder pages to hold all my stuff. And I mean ALL my stuff. The binder zips up around three sides to transform into an adorable luggage-style carrying case (though it's much smaller than luggage). It's available in three colour combos: Avocado w/ Pink, Chocolate w/ Light Blue, and Camel w/ Cranberry.

16" L x 7" H x 4.5" W
~$59.00US
See namasteneedles.com for retail locations [6]

Soak: A Scent for Celebration
Soak

Soak is doing limited edition fragrances of their fab wool wash. I don't know why I think that's so cool, but I do. A Scent for Celebration smells amazing, too. Fantastically, it does not smell like "the holidays." I was expecting cinnamon, potpourri, cloves... blech. Oh, my pleasant surprise when I inhaled and got... well... I'm not sure what it is. But it's delicious. With a hint of peach?

Wool Wash
250 mL / 8.4 oz
$11.99CAD
Available from soakwash.com [7]

Shawl & Scarf Pins
Designs by Romi

Rosemary Hill's pins are just lovely. They're lightweight, elegant, fun, and hardly fussy. (My photo here does not do these two justice.) The two pictured are copper (top) and silver-plated (bottom). The perfect gift for a shawl-wearer you love, or for yourself after months spent crocheting that heirloom lace shawl. Run, don't walk.

$22.50-$30.00US
Available at designsbyromi.com [8]