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This is the ultimate resource for those who are as creative as they are willing to conserve. Ruby Star Wrapping inspires you to think resourceful, think reusable, think unusual when it comes to gift packaging. Raid the pantry for boxes, use old linens for pouches, and make beautiful accessories out of fabric and paper scraps-the projects here illustrate how to create beautiful, reusable packaging from the common materials in your home. With its 30 easy-to-make giftwrap patterns, this book reminds us of the wonderful creative potential inherent in the act of giving a gift. When wrapped with thought, beauty and a little ingenuity, the packaging can be a gift in itself.

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If you wish your yarn store had a 24-hour hotline, help is here! From needle sizes and yarn weights to dropped stitches, tight ribbing, chart reading and curling edges, veteran knitter Margaret Radcliffe is here to help you solve any knitting mystery you may encounter. Hundreds of detailed illustrations make this the one reference you'll want to keep tucked inside your knitting bag. Twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week, this book is at your service.

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Discover the pleasures of knitting in the round! Margaret Radcliffe teaches you everything you need to know to master the art of circular knitting, presenting Fair Isle, twined, helix, tubular, double knitting and other classic techniques in detailed step-by-step photographic sequences. She includes 35 demonstration projects so you can practice each technique on a mini-version of a sock, hat, bag, mitten, sweater or vest before applying it to a larger project. She also shows you how to convert any straight-needle pattern for use with circular needles. This is a complete course in one book, suitable even for beginners.

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Soft, shapely knitting meets pretty, crocheted edgings and flowers in a collection of designs guaranteed to convert the knitting-only crowd to the pleasures of crochet. A little crochet can add a lot of fun to knitted sweaters, scarves, hats, placemats - the possibilities are endless. Simple crocheting instructions get every knitter quickly up to speed with projects that will inspire them to enter the world of crocheted embellishments and trims.

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A crochet border is the perfect finishing touch on the edges of any fiber project, but creating one often means turning a corner and shaping the edging around a 90-degree angle. This isn't simple, and most edging patterns don't include specific instructions for turning the corner. Edie Eckman comes to the rescue with this collection of 150 colorful crochet frames that do supply these instructions. Color photographs by John Polak let you see the details up close. Easy, marvelous crochet borders are just around the corner!

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Discover the fun and satisfaction of spinning your own yarn! This step-by-step guide shows you how to create 80 distinctive yarns, from classics such as mohair boucle to novelty features like supercoils. Lush photographs illustrate the process of turning fleece into yarn, reveal the unique architecture of each yarn, and show exactly how to manipulate and combine fibers to get the results you want. With this must-have reference, you can create any yarn you desire.

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People can live without SUVs, jet travel and many other luxuries. But no life, human or otherwise, can survive without our most precious natural resource: water.

Do-It-Yourself Sustainable Water Projects offers a basis for understanding the importance of conserving water, explains how the lack of it affects different regions around the world, and provides practical information on how to collect, store, purify and drill for this magical substance.

In this easy-to-follow guide, master mechanic Paul Dempsey provides cost-effective ways we can reduce or eliminate our dependence on public water supplies. Everything you need to know to create 10 inexpensive water projects is here, from collecting rainwater and air conditioner condensate to properly drilling and constructing pump systems. These projects are accompanied by step-by-step instructions, drawings, photos and even sources for inexpensive parts - so you can do it yourself.

Whether you're interested in becoming knowledgeable about insufficient global water supplies or you just want to conserve water, this book is an effective way to help save our most critical resource. With it in hand, you can tackle everything from creating a composting toilet to building a rainwater harvesting system.

Do-it-Yourself Sustainable Water Projects includes information on:

• 10 inexpensive water projects
• How to adjust behavior to conserve water
• List of resources, including web sites, published texts and vendors
• Calculating your "water footprint"
• Pumps and related components
• Easy-to-follow ways to drill for water
• Getting water from air
• Water vulnerability

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The Blacksmithing Basics DVD set features award-winning traditional smith Bob Rupert teaching what you need to know to get into blacksmithing. The 2-hour, 2-disc set explains all the basics of traditional blacksmithing. That includes tools and various techniques such as Twist, Taper, Hot Cut, Punch Hole, Slit Hole and Forge Welding; starting and managing the fire in a traditional forge; using charcoal; and making coke. (122 minutes)