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The Gentle Art of Domesticity: Stitching, Baking, Nature, Art & the Comforts of Home | 
 enlarge | Author: Jane Brocket
Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $20.00
You Save: $15.00 (43%)
New (34) Used (9) from $19.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 32463
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.7 x 7.8 x 1.1
ISBN: 1584797363
Dewey Decimal Number: 640
EAN: 9781584797364
ASIN: 1584797363
Publication Date: September 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Jane Brocket delights in domesticity. Lively, curious, and creative, she takes inspiration from her surroundings, from art, literature, and nature, and expresses her passion through the gentle arts of needlework, cooking, gardening, and homemaking—and now through her writing. In The Gentle Art of Domesticity Brocket celebrates everything that is, and can be, wonderful about home life. This gorgeous and unusual book, full of whimsy, warmth, and a wealth of stunning photographs, helps us to see domesticity with new eyes. Whether she’s knitting a tea cozy or baking jam tarts, crocheting a blanket or sewing an apron, Brocket fills her home with beauty, color, and fun. She transforms day-to-day domesticity into a realm of possibilities, both practical and imaginative—and encourages us to do the same in our own lives. Rather than categorize readers as quilters or embroiderers, bakers or gardeners, Brocket embraces the idea that they may be all of these, and more. The key to practicing any of the domestic arts, she says, is to recognize the value of homemaking, overlooked skills, and ordinary things. This book’s glorious synthesis of style, DIY projects, and philosophical musings inspires us not only to emulate Brocket’s handmade creations but also to share her enjoyment of the simple pleasures of home.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 selling a fantasy December 30, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is standard Brocket. Longtime readers of the Yarnstorm blog know she includes precious few recipes, patterns, or hard information. Wonder where she bought the yarn? "I picked it up in a delightful, out-of-the-way European shop just ages ago." Inquire about a recipe and you'll get the curt response "The answer is no. I have my reasons." Remove the pictures created by the publisher's photographer, and there isn't much in this book except a marketable fantasy from a woman who spends time coordinating the colors of her cupcakes and her toenail polish. Really. Domestic arts are wonderful and to be encouraged, but, given the serious problems in the world, Brocket is way too self-absorbed and short-sighted.
 Wonderful Book, Wrong Title December 27, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book suffers from a misleading title. "The Gentle Art of Domesticity" suggests a how-to book filled with recipes and patterns and helpful hints. A more accurate title might have been "The Portrait of the Artist as a Housewife" or "Gentle Domesticity: The Art of Jane Brocket."
Have no doubts about it: Jane Brocket is an artist. She has a vivid sense of color, pattern and texture that bursts through every page of this book. You wonder how anyone can bring themselves to eat her baked goods, they're so gorgeous. She is also a marvelous photographer.
Instead of a how-to book, consider this an illustrated argument that domestic crafts--knitting, quilting, baking, sewing--should be taken seriously as artistic endeavors, that utility is not the enemy of beauty, that everyday things can and should be aesthetically pleasing, that there is value in the homemade. The domestic arts are deeply pleasurable for both those who practice them as well as for those who are the lucky recipients of homemade socks and brilliantly frosted cupcakes.
When I was a kid, back in the '70s, it was common for people to say, "If women are equal to men, why are there no great women artists?" It took me years to realize that I was surrounded by great women artists, knitters, needleworkers, and cooks, to mention only a few. Jane Brocket is an artist. Her book is inspiring, visually delightful, and well-written. I enjoyed learning more about her process and her thoughts about color (she is a color genius) and the joys of crafting.
My only caveat would be: Understand what kind of book you're getting yourself into before you buy it. The negative reviews posted here seem to be the result of people buying "The Gentle Art of Domesticity" thinking it would be something other than what it is.
 I'm still struggling December 15, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I like the author's blog- it is informative, chatty, beautiful. The book while beautiful is preachy. I am not enjoying it. I will finish flipping through it and pass it on. Oh well. Sadly a bit of a costly mistake.
I coulda got it for free! December 11, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
If the author hadn't taken down her old blog, yarnstorm, this book would have been free to read.. I'm guessing that this book is the print version of the blog; guessing because I looked for the blog after I bought the book. Anyhow, it's mostly eye candy, with little in the way of actual information on how to do much of anything in the book, save for a few recipes. This is really a blog/autobiography/photography book. And, on the author's website FAQs she claims she doesn't do anything to the pictures to make the colors appear more saturated, but she does. My main work is photography and publishing/printing photos and photo books, so I can see from the blocked shadows and the color casts in the whites that the colors are manipulated, but... it works for the visuals. The visuals are why people not familiar with the author from the blogosphere will buy the book; that's why I bought it, because the pictures are pretty to look at. If you're looking for information on how to make the things she makes, you're on your own. She's mostly making pictures of her life and writing about the pictures.
 Fell Flat for Me November 26, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I splurged on this book on a whim, but it left me cold. I expected more recipes as well as knitting patterns. At times it seemed like the author was trying too hard to justify her choice of a domestic-oriented life. How many would make that choice in a second if it were feasible? A lot! The photos were nice, and her baked goods were enticing. I also liked the British references.
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