I initially loved the idea of this but found the designs too simple and no patterns. It was just pictures of completed cross stitch works. I don't see the point of a book that just has pictures of finished designs but without the actual patterns themselves.

As a crafter I buy patterns so I can make them. I don't need to see just the pictures. I may as well just buy or find an alphabet pattern online and then some borders and make my own.

Oh, I absolutely loved this book! The cross stitching patterns were incredible and the phrases to go along with them were both great and hilarious. While this is not one of those books that will take you long to read, it is certainly one you need to read. Please add this to your coffee table, as it is a perfect coffee table book for your guests to pick up, for you to pick up and re-read when you're in a down mood, and a great conversation starter piece.

I don't know if you'll agree with me, but modern cross stitching and embroidery seems to be all the rage. If you're like me and enjoy these sassy projects (I absolutely love making these as gifts for friends), then you're going to love this book. There is a range of cross stitching projects that all have one thing in common - they are damn sassy. The book is easy to read and get through, and I look forward to completing the projects within.

**I was sent an digital version of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was really excited when I saw a cross stitch book show up on NetGalley. I like a good, snarky stitch and the cover made this one look unique. Most snark stitches you see on sites like Etsy are just words inside what I guess is suppose to be an ironic, happy border (normally flowers or something). But the cover of this one made it look like it was going to have actual designs. I mean, look at that cover. A little house with a stylized garden. Nice, right? Well, don't let it foul you. This is just a bunch of snarky sayings with an ironic border. So. Disappointing. You can seriously buy a cross stitch border book off Amazon for like $5 and use a free cross stitch text generator online and make these. If you don't like to chart things yourself, you can go on Etsy, browse thousands of pattern and buy one you like. I think that's better than buying a book and hoping you'll like some of the patterns, especially when they are so generic.

**I received this copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I think I expected a bit too much from this book - I expected more patterns that you could actually do and less text with it being a book on cross stitch... not one for me.

Apologies for the lack of review. I never had the chance to read this book as it was archived soon after approval and I did not have time to download it.

I like the idea of taking a traditional craft and putting a fresh, snarky spin on it. That said, these designs are a little too simple for my taste, and there isn't a tremendous amount of variety. There's also no instructions included, which is what I was expecting. It's a cute little coffee table book to flip through, not an instructional book.

Clearly, I need to get back into cross-stitching. There's something great about mixing profanity with folksiness.

Sophie has been a cross stitcher for many years now, and in that time has often come across designs by Katie Kutthroat. You might well have too if you spend any time browsing on Pinterest or Etsy, or if you watch the HBO show Girls where her work hangs on a set wall. Katie’s Etsy store sells completed cross stitch designs and patterns for stitching your own copies. All of them are designed to be subversive—don’t expect to find kittens or idyllic scenes here—so when Sophie learned that Katie was publishing a book, she was keen to take a look at it.

Sadly, Bless This Mother-effing Home: Sweet Stitches for Snarky Bitches turned out to be something of a disappointment. Instead of being filled with patterns, the pages simply feature photographs of completed cross stitch patterns on perforated paper designed to be torn out and framed. Sophie couldn’t quite figure out why anyone would want to frame a photograph of a cross stitch that a stranger created; surely the joy of having such an item is knowing the time and effort that went into creating it, not tearing it out from a book? She also felt that the blurb on the back of the book doesn’t make this fact clear; if she had been considering purchasing it online where she couldn’t flick through the pages herself, she would have assumed it contained patterns, not just photos. Of course, the designs are simple enough that they could be copied easily enough without the need for an explicit pattern giving thread colors and other requirements, but that is beside the point.

As such, Sophie ended up flicking through the book just once to see the designs, then not looking at it again. She couldn’t think of anything else to do with it and she wonders if you’ll be able to either.

When I saw this book on NetGalley, I couldn't help but request it. Between the title itself (which cracked me up), the contrast between the inappropriate title and the cross-stitched cover, and the tagline ("sweet stitches for snarky b*tches"), I knew I had to give this book a try!

To get this out of the way: I'm on the fence about whether or not I would actually pay for this book. There's no storyline (it's just a bunch of pictures of the author's sassy needlepoint work), and it took me about 15 minutes to "read." The book costs $13 + tax regularly, so the extremely frugal part of me has a hard time thinking about buying a book for that much with such a low cost-per-use. I do love that the pages are perforated so the reader can easily tear them out and frame them...that might make the price worth it if I knew I was going to frame at least half a dozen pages.

But -- for the record -- I have never purchased a "coffee table book" in my life because I just hate clutter. So would I laugh and enjoy myself if someone purchased this for me? Sure! Might I even toss it in my cart with the intention of giving it as a gift if I found it on sale? Sure! If you're the type of person who doesn't mind purchasing books mostly for decor-purposes or who is cool buying something with a low cost-per-use, this book would be an excellent choice.

Anyway.

The book starts out with a couple pages of Katie's history and how she got into cross-stitching before launching into full pages of her cross-stitched work. Not all are inappropriate for kids, your grandmother, or your pastor (should he/she decide to stop by your home), but the majority probably are. I mean, this is advertised as a snarky read, so I don't think there's any surprise in that...but I guess it's something to be aware of.

Plugs for her Etsy shop bookended the "story," and that sort-of annoyed me (I almost felt like the book was one giant advertisement), but I understand why she did it. I do wish the book contained an actual URL (and maybe a QR code?!) to her specific Etsy shop, though, since when I searched for "Pins and Needles" shop on Etsy, I found a long list of shops by the similar names and was uninterested in sifting through all the search results to find Katie's shop.

Overall, the juxtaposition of the "classy" needlepoint often seen in homes for the elderly combined with the fun and snarky phrases usually said by those much younger was a fun twist. Again, the phrases aren't family-appropriate but are definitely things I would say to my girlfriends as inside jokes.

While I love a good, snarky piece of subversive craft - especially ones that incorporate some cleverly placed swearwords - Bless This Mother-Effing Home seemed to have no great thought behind it, so claiming the subversive crafting label seems a bit malplaced. Furthermore, I had expected it to feature actual charts/instructions for cross stitching the pieces yourself, but that was not at all the case. So, if you want to look at cross stitch pieces that feature swearwords just because, you might enjoy this book - and you do get the chance to rip out your favourite pieces if you buy the physical copy - but otherwise I would skip it.

Not as funny as the blurb reads. (3 stars)

I haven't cross-stitched since I was a kid but I love a snarky bit of needlework so I couldn't resist BTMeH.

Unfortunately, I really wasn't all that impressed. Why? Well, it's mostly just the same sassy sayings you see all over the interwebs slapped onto (mostly) boring designs. I get wanting your stuff to seem like it's wholesome until someone actually reads the words but after 3-4 of them they start to feel pretty much the same. I just wasn't feeling it. That said, if you're picking this up for someone who doesn't spend much time online or as a way to get inspired to start stitching maybe it'll be just the thing.

The introduction to this book of sassy cross stitch patterns has some interesting tidbits. References to other crafters she admires, as well as mentioning that her work was featured on that dreadful show Girls. Very good to know.

I wish she'd put as much work into the rest of the book as she did the introduction.

Plans for book:

1. Credit others so I don't get sued.
2. Name drop.
3. Slap some text-only pictures in.

I adore snarky cross stitch. This book is lazy, and it makes me sad.

Bless this Mother-Effin Home: Sweet Stitches for Snarky Bitches by Katie Kutthroat is a combination of sugar and spice in cross stitch samplers that is currently scheduled for release on March 7 2017. Laugh out loud fun through crafting is found in these biting yet precious patterns. Katie Kutthroat's warped and witty cross stitch has taken the internet by storm and has been featured on TV shows like HBO's Girls. Cute but snarky, each cross stitch pattern featured in Bless This Mother-effing Home evokes laughter and irony. Perforated pages allow for readers to hang up or share favorite entries, spreading the cross stitched love.

Bless this Mother-Effin Home: Sweet Stitches for Snarky Bitches is a collection of off color cross stitch work. They are well done and snarky. The combination made this sarcastic crafter’s heart very happy. There are no patterns or charts, but a versatile crafter can figure out how to make their own by following the images, and making them their own a little. Not an in-depth book, but the introduction gives a nice bit of background information and get the reader curious and inspired. I can think of several friends that would really appreciate this style of gift, and I enjoyed flipping through the book.

Thank you so much for approving me for this title, sadly I am unable to open protected PDF and most of my work is done on my kindle. I look forward to purchasing this book when it becomes available on a mass market.

I was accepting embroidery patterns not sayings. I should of looked this author up before requesting the book. I was going off more of the picture and title.

This book is hilarious! I love the subversive stitching trend, and this book fits right in that niche with humor and wit, and not a little sass!

I was excited to get this because I LOVE cross stitching, It's something I picked up in the last year or so and I find it to be immensely calming and fun to do while I watch TV. It keeps my hands busy. While the designs in this book are really cool and funny, they're just like pull out postcards that you can stick up on the walls and junk. Which is cool I guess.... But I was hoping there would be patterns at some point in the book that I could stitch myself... There were no patterns by the way. If that wasn't obvious enough. All in all, it's pretty cute but I wouldn't buy this for myself or anyone. It seems a bit pointless to be honest...

Bless This Mother-Effing Home: Sweet Stitches for Snarky Bitches by Katie Kutthroat is a short and entertaining collection of subversive cross stitch. Subversive cross stitch is usually a phrase or unexpected statement designed to shock the viewer. (That's my take on it anyway). It's about challenging the status quo and the unexpected that makes it funny.

Accompanied by floral motifs or a decorative border, the viewer is lulled into a false sense of security - perhaps expecting a quaint vintage piece of handiwork - until they read the phrase, which isn't in keeping with the design at all.

Katie Kutthroat (that's her badass alter ego) opened an Etsy shop in 2008 and her success grew from there. This collection contains the images printed on perforated pages (with a patterned reverse) so you can tear them out and frame them or send one to a friend. If you're looking for the patterns you'll need to visit her Etsy shop Needles and Pins.

Phrases in the book include: Suck it up Buttercup, Mo Money Mo Problems and They Hate Us Because They Ain't Us to name a few. Most of the pieces contain adult language and offensive content and I'll admit I didn't find all of them funny, just as I wouldn't love every design in any other book, subversive or not.

I read my copy as an e-book and I think reading the physical book will add a lot more to your enjoyment. I've included a photo of two of my favourite designs from her book below, hope you enjoy.