Today complex numbers have such widespread practical use--from electrical engineering to aeronautics--that few people would expect the story behind their derivation to be filled with adventure and enigma. In An Imaginary Tale, Paul Nahin tells the 2000-year-old history of one of mathematics' most elusive numbers, the square root of minus one, also known as i. He recreates the baffling mathematical problems that conjured it up, and the colorful characters who tried to solve them.
Readers of Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening who were swept by his enthusiasm into trying his system have a new challenge: a sideline selling produce to a restaurant. From a small-scale start a gardener may expand to supply 20 to 30 percent of a buyer's vegetable needs. With his usual thoroughness, the author charts planting times, spaces, profits, and deductible expenses. He offers tips on harvesting to keep quality and profit high. There are even sample conversations to show how to deal with buyers.
An instruction manual for projects to make decorative beaded purses, along with earrings, hair slides and other accessories using the techniques. The designs employ brick stitch, peyote stitch, square stitch and netting, combined with a variety of fringes and chains.
Take a fresh, fun look at plaid quilts! Based on best-loved quilt blocks, from Square in a Square to Ohio Star, these plaid-packed projects range in style from classic to country. *Eight quilts reveal how to use homespun, printed, madras, and tartan plaids *Wall- to bed-size quilts incorporate floral and solid fabrics, applique, and paper-piecing *Includes ideas for adding texture, movement, and contrast with plaid fabrics
Clear instructions and step-by-step diagrams show advanced paperfolders — and enthusiastic beginners — how to construct origami aircraft that actually fly! 16 planes, among them the Bandit, Shadow, Firestorm, and Cyclone, are all made from square sheets of paper and are fully functional.
