Karrie from girl on the rocks has started up a whiplash group over at flickr - great idea … check it out.

Good luck! can’t wait to see all the fab entries and showcase some here on whipup!

Check out why, and continue to support this terrific indie handcraft shop. ::shanalogic

AUSTRALIAN CONTEMPORARY • DESIGNER CLOTHING • KNITWEAR • TEXTILES • CHILDREN’S WEAR • ACCESSORIES • JEWELLERY • AFFORDABLE ART • HOMEWARES

when: May 3 to May 5 - times vary - check the website ::Melbourne Made

where: St James Anglican Church Hall, Cnr High Street and Burke Road, Glen Iris, Melway ref 59 G8

contact: Email: melanie (at) creativewomen.com.au

how much: Gold coin donation going to the Melanoma Awareness Foundation for awareness, support and research

Thank you to everyone for entering, sorry if your entry did not make it to the final eight. It was a tough decision, there were lots of great entries. And now I want to see which one YOU the readers like best, to that end I will be running three polls to see which banner is going to be the new WhipUp Banner.

The last of the promised three polls. Giving everybody a chance to share their opinion. I am amazed by the spread of opinion out there. Keep on the participatory spirit.

You will need to go the banner competition page to view the eight finalists. And you will also need to refresh yourself with WhipUp’s manifesto.

The second poll is WhipUp’s Manifesto - please ensure that when voting you are thinking about some of the key points in the manifesto.

paper magpie: online PDF of what looks to be a fabulous paper making tutorial - recycled post consumer paper. The original photoset of this tutorial is still available at Flickr, but for $3 the PDF looks like a good deal.

I must admit I am a bit late with reviewing this book. It is gaining wide spread popularity and already has secured a movie deal with Julia Roberts playing the lead (she is mentioned in the book too).

In brief without giving away the plot, its a story of a single mother starting her own business and dealing with loneliness, a teenage daughter and mistakes made in her past. It is also about the knitting group and the various stories of everyone involved. An emotional story, a bit of a tear jerker, an easy read with interesting and believable characters. There are a few strange story concepts that I found were a bit weak, such as the ex who disappeared when the baby was born and turns up years later (still not sure of his reasons) and also the best friend who disappears and then turns up years later as well … However it all comes together somewhere in the middle, this is where I became hooked and was able to suspend disbelief and get right into it. The end … which I won’t give away, … lets just say I was dissatisfied with how it ended, which is not to say it was not gripping right to the end.

Find out more about the book here.

stumbling across one baby jacket led me to more and ever more cute and adorable and easy jackets. check them out.

(left image from here, right image here)
Others:

Love this jacket by ::six & and a half stitches ::debbie bliss quick knits baby jacket ::debbie bliss ribbed jacket ::childhood pattern at knitty.com ::joseph jacket at knitty.com ::elizabeth zimmerman baby surprise jacket ::this cute jacket is an adaptation of this pattern from knitty.com ::hooded jacket

(jacket on left is from here and is a pattern from vogue knits, jacket on right is from here and is a pattern from last minute knits - there is an online corrected version pdf)

::baby kimono from interweave 2005 ::adorable crossover cardigan ::free online pattern for baby crossover cardigan ::adorable free pattern for a baby yoda sweater ::free online pattern for a kimono cargidan

(pattern on left is from here and is alpaca and is from simple knits for cherished babes and on the right is the trellis baby cable jacket from knitty.com and is from here)

The in-progress of the crochet babette blanket at adorn mag is wonderful (left image). I also love the colours used in purl bees blanket (right image). Check out more the babette blanket pool and if you want to make one there is a pattern in interweave crochet 2006.

Heather wrote: I wanted to let you know that our craft mafia chapter, the Charm City Craft Mafia, is now accepting applications for our upcoming event (June), Pile Of Craft. Interested parties can visit ::the website to apply and get more info. Thanks!

Vintage chica’s rag rug is cute and fun - love the colours - and she has a tutorial too.

gorgeous bags from melly & me, they sell the patterns at various online and physical locations, check their site for the list. They also have an etsy store and a blog. They are currently running a scrap cabin quilt-a-thon - with directions on making your own scrap log cabin quilt.

Thank you to everyone for entering, sorry if your entry did not make it to the final eight. It was a tough decision, there were lots of great entries. And now I want to see which one YOU the readers like best, to that end I will be running three polls to see which banner is going to be the new WhipUp Banner.

The first poll was close and some people were confused about which banner they had voted for - please make sure you check before voting.

You will need to go the banner competition page to view the eight finalists.

The second poll is STYLE - please ensure that when voting you are thinking about WhipUp’s particular clean and simple style.

hand printed boys fabrics from prints charming. find more of prints charming at free spirit.

Kelli’s at it again, sharing goodwill worldwide.

Next month, I would like to hand each of the kids at the older orphanage a small bag of goodies. I envision a quart-sized Ziplock bag including a bar of soap, a toothbrush, dental floss, a pack of gum, Chapstick and perhaps some stickers. Most importantly, I see a small card with a photo of their new American friend. The card is written in English and Portuguese and says why this American wanted to extend her/his friendship and wish this child well. {If I had kids, I’d include a family photo.} The entire bag shouldn’t cost more than $10 to put together and mail.
If you are interested in sending one (or more) of these bags, please contact me. In return, I promise to take many photos of the children at the orphanage and send you a print when I return. This is a simple way you can easily make a difference in the life of a child in need; imagine their joy when they find out there are people they’ve never met who love them.

Further details here.

Illustrating Children’s Books, written by Martin Salisbury and Published in 2004 by Allen & Unwin. The jacket cover at Amazon is different from the one I have, but be assured it is the same book - I checked.

What an absolutely stunning gorgeous book, aimed at artists and illustrators who want to target their creative endeavours toward children’s book illustration. The book begins with a brief history of of 19th and 20th century illustrating with lots of fabulous examples from illustrator greats such as Antonio Fransconi and Edward Lear as well as Randolph Caldecott and John Lawrence. Illustration now showcases several current illustrators who work in such different ways but each manage to capture the essence of the story. There are a few influential artists mentioned whose work is much admired and, such as Kveta Pacovska’s modern graphic style to Steve Johnson’s surreal and menacing images, Quentin Blake’s sketchy lyrical drawings and Tony DiTerlizzi’s fantasy style.

There is no one chapter in this book that I could say is more interesting or more necessary than another. Each chapter introduces either a style or subject that is necessary to children’s illustration. However the book begins at the beginning with the essential subject of drawing ‘the fundamental language of the illustrator’. Carrying a sketch book with you everywhere is suggested as necessary to honing your drawing skills and observation skills. Sketching everything, people interacting, facial expression, locations and textures are all important. The author also says that ‘it is vital not to pursue a style’ rather to work naturally and honestly and with passion for the subject matter and the work will evolve and ‘develop its own identity’. Different types of drawing are discussed in separate chapters, life drawing and the human body, drawing children and animals - ‘don’t be afraid to end up with page after page of unfinished scribble … the process is part of the skill development’.

Throughout each section (there is drawing, techniques and materials, character development and book style/types) there are case studies. The case studies highlight a few artists and dissects their style and way of working, such as Dan Williams whose has a wonderful sense of place in his illustrations gained from working on location and retaining a freshness and immediacy because of this. The creatures of Satoshi Kitamura and the different styles of Bee Willey who uses a combination of drawing and digital to create the wonderful fantasy characters and scenes, and Jane Simmons whose painterly and stylised approach is very popular with her books for very young children. The author uses the case studies as examples of ways of working I think these are vital to the whole book.

The second section, on media, materials and techniques is probably the biggest section and goes into on the pro’s and con’s and appropriateness of various styles. Watercolour (and the variations just in this is enlightening), paint and pastels, black and white - pencil, pen and ink, print media, collage and digital. The possibilities are mind bogglingly endless.

It is obvious that I love this book, visually stunning and full of inspirations, ideas and possibilities. Makes me want to take up illustrating and turn a part time hobby into a career. The practical section at the back on getting published just might make it all possible!

Thank you to everyone for entering, sorry if your entry did not make it to the final eight. It was a tough decision, there were lots of great entries. And now I want to see which one YOU the readers like best, to that end I will be running three polls to see which banner is going to be the new WhipUp Banner.

You will need to go the banner competition page to view the eight finalists.

Thank you to everyone for entering, sorry if your entry did not make it to the final eight. It was a tough decision, there were lots of great entries. And now I want to see which one YOU the readers like best, to that end I will be running three polls to see which banner is going to be the new WhipUp Banner.

You will need to go the banner competition page to view the eight finalists.

The first poll is content - please ensure that when voting you are thinking about content and not style or inspiration or ideas.

Image: Min Austin Moon 2005

This exhibition of hand made Rag Rugs uses contemporary images working with traditional methods of hooking and prodding. The artist, Min Austin, uses a digital camera to record found objects such as road signs, tree bark, or stems of seagrass. Min uses 100% recycled cotton and wool materials for each art work.

When designing for Rag Rugs I try to simplify my ideas down to basic freeform shapes. But I do endeavour to keep the colours correct. It’s a lengthy process to make a rug and I need to be able to finish one quickly before I get hooked on another idea.

Min Austin: Rags to Rugs opens at 5.30pm on Friday 20th April at the Grafton Regional Gallery, 158 Fitzroy Street Grafton NSW (Australia) and is open Tuesday – Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Made with hands, a UK outfit, who are a sister duo who add their own cute twist to traditional designs.

[via style with save us]