If you haven’t seen the new website sponsored by American Patchwork & Quilting you are in for a treat. Although the site is new and still evolving, the most helpful thing I’ve found so far is the video for learning how to bind a quilt. While this method differs from the method I use, it is the most common method of binding and beginning quilters will find it especially helpful. While I’ve seen other step-by-step tutorials on binding, the video format is so much easier to follow than text.

As you have probably noticed by now I am a little weak about Sweden, Swedish craft, crafters and designers. Yes, to be honest – about everything Swedish! I’ve been brought up with Astrid Lindgren´s Pippi Longstocking Pippi Långstrump, Emil of Maple Hills Emil i Lönneberga and stuff like that and I’ve read the same stories for my own kids when they were small. I’ve spent several summer holidays in Sweden and it always makes me feel a bit envious. Swedish nature is so much bigger and more “unspoiled” than what we have in little Denmark. We have no big forests and vast areas. In Denmark every spot of soil is cultivated and seems a bit overcrowded so to say… and even more important: Sweden seems to embrace it’s artists, designers, crafters and hemslöjd devotees in a way we don’t do here.

Luckily Sweden is very close, our neighbour, and it’s very easy to go there. So let me be constructive now: it’s not fair to compare, it’s better to enjoy the difference and to look at it as a source of inspiration!

A place I´d like to draw your attention to is Säterglänten another craft centre not far from Leksand where you can go for both 1 year courses and as well as for short week courses. During the summer you even find courses for children. In other terms: it´s possible to bring the whole family!
Of course you’re also welcome to just drop by to visit the students´ exhibitions, the well stocked craft shop and the summer café.

I have been planning to post about the glorious work of Cal Lane for a while now…but when I saw {in my new copy of Selvedge Magazine} that she was taking part in the exhibition ‘Radical Lace and Subversive Stitching’ which is currently showing at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York I thought this the perfect opportunity [and perfect for WhipUp!] to do so!

Cal’s work first jumped out to me because of it’s delicacy and beauty…initially I was wowed as I thought she must have created the work with a fine piercing saw, cutting all these striking fretwork lace-like patterns into the steel – I was even more blown away when I found out she achieves this degree of delicacy with a industrial blow torch…working to burn out the organic patterning as she goes.

With this [sublime skill set] in mind…I so enjoyed browsing her website where her portfolio shows work ranging from Fine Art installations to more object based sculptures and pieces that have an almost jewellery-like finesse and lightness to them…the images above show Lanes ability to take an every day object and through applying her unique style and process, can turn our notions of functionality on their heads, revealing beauty and [an etirely different] form through the removal of material and the addition of pattern.

If you are in New York, the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting exhibition runs until the 17th of June…I think it is great that a metalworker has been included in this show [I dearly wish I could see it!] and I think Cal Lanes inclusion will be a wonderful, and truly subversive, contribution to the other great work on show.

Future girl has recently started selling the pattern for her hand sewn, felt octopus. The three-page PDF includes the pattern and detailed instructions for making your own felt octopus.

Her all-white version, Octophrost, received honorable mention in Whiplash Gifts and Decorations.

Becka of Becka’s project journal sent in her link to her hints on hemming skirts

May over at Abyquilt has a nice tutorial for this cute pincushion.

Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing: Patterns and How-To for 24 Fresh and Easy Projects

A fun thing for Lotta, that has come out of her book, is seeing what other people have made from it. She loves seeing the kinds of fabrics used, and how each project ends up looking different. She is planning on collecting images from people who have made projects from the book, and is doing a call out to crafters who have her book and want to share what they’ve made with her. The plan is to get an album together which Lotta will have at the Maker Faire event she’ll be doing on 5/19 (at 2pm in the craft area). She’ll also be doing an event at Lavish in SF (on 5/18 from 5:30-7:30) and the book will be there as well.

If you are interested in this then check out Lotta’s blog and email her with your photo’s of your projects from her book. As a bonus three randomly picked people who send in their photos will receive a signed copy of Lotta’s book. The images will also appear on the Chronicle Books and on Lotta’s website. Lotta would like people to mail images of what they created from the book to: questions@jansdotter.com

whiplash for April will close on the last minute of the month … so get those entries in

Rama Hughes is one of my favorite illustrators. Here is his latest “good idea” in bringing people, drawing and community together at this newish blog “The Portrait Party. I love the story behind the idea – involving his family getting together to draw portraits of each other. Go to the site and read it all – get a partner, and get involved in the joy of drawing – or start the tradition in your own home!

The winning design was Number 4. The designer is Ann Benoit from annthology, from USA.

Number 4.

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Second prize goes to Number 1. The designer is Heather Cocquio from bearcage productions, Australia.

Number 1.

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And honorable mention to Number 6. Designer Jan at Poppytalk, Canada.

Number 6.

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Thank you so much for everyone who helped or participated with this competition. I know that I have learnt a lot in the whole process. Thank you especially to Princeton Architectural Press for donating the prizes. I know the winners are going to love these books and I will be reviewing some of them over the coming weeks. Also thank you to my tech team of one – my husband Rob who finally got the poll software up and running (the cause of the delay), I see more polls in whipup’s future. Of course to all the fabulous entrants. Most of which I could not feature, I am dreadfully sorry, so many entries and choosing a good selection for the short list was really difficult. And thanks to the readers who voted and who care about the whole thing anyway. This is beginning to sound like a dreadful grammy awards speach so without further ado … another poll.

Cheers and thanks