Lately I’ve purchased two new crochet books, as if I didn’t have enough — the first being Crochet Bouquet: Easy Designs for Dozens of Flowers
Let me start by saying that the front of the book is more detailed than the images on Amazon led me to believe, which is good. What had been blobs of multicolor in the preview image were now pictures clear enough to see stitches and really give an idea of what sort of work is inside.
Suzann spends a few pages at the beginning going over basics, tools, etc; most of which should be old hat by now for fairly experienced hookers, but I did still find a few tidbits relevant to the flower-making itself that were good to know.
A complaint I have about the book is that there are no diagrams along with the patterns; I’m a visual learner and I grasp things much better if I’m shown rather than told. Nonetheless, the designs look fairly straightforward. The colors and yarn choices are inspiring (they have my brain bubbling for more patterns and finished objects), and I’m especially looking at the “Oval Center Rose” beginning a crocheted tribute afghan to Revolutionary Girl Utena – The Rose Collection Vol. 1
Some of the designs are less realistic than “funky”; I guess it’s a good thing that the 70′s are coming back… But these are only a few projects in the book, and all in all I’m impressed with the thought Suzann has put into the various floral items. Orchids, mums, daisies, daffodils, several different types of rose — all beautiful and exceedingly lifelike, for fiber art.
I do *adore* the last section of the book, which is full of FOLIAGE options. I feel like leaves and vines are a bit neglected in floral design books; authors underestimate the curving beauty of an ivy or grape vine. (No, I don’t have some sort of “vine fetish”. Stop asking.)
All in all, I think this book was worth bringing into my private library. Although she does give a few usage ideas for her lovely florals, I really would have loved to see some more modular options for incorporating in scarves, afghans, etc. She has left this as an exercise to the reader, so it’s lucky that THIS particular reader is a designer in her own right. My subscribers should certainly expect to see some of Suzann’s work brought into my own free patterns over at A Page A Day soon. 
