Warm Fuzzies: 30 Sweet Felted Projects by Betz White published by North Light Books (December 10, 2007)

This has got to be one of the most exciting craft books I have seen a long time. This has really got me excited to create. There are so many fabulous projects in here - complete with excellent bold fun photography and lots of clear how-to instruction photos as well.

I knew Betz was clever and original and very cool - and this book just proves it. The, by now, famous woolly cupcakes that she demonstrated on Martha Stewart grace the cover. But otherwise most of the other projects are completely new - lots of original designs, some simple, some more complex, but none of them difficult.

Betz explains the technical aspect of felting woolen sweaters at the beginning and she is obviously passionate about it and has done a lot of experimenting. This book is fun!

I absolutely love the ‘rustic throw’ a bold blanket made up of squares of different colours with some leaf designs stitched on here and there. There are other blankets too for baby, and plenty of cushion designs as well. But apart from these sort of standard designs (Betz is hardly standard - the crazy ‘breakfast in bed pillow is testament to that - but you know what I mean), there are some more interesting uses to put to your woolly scraps. There are sweet little ornaments, gorgeous kids clothes - vest and dress and poncho, as well as a doggie jacket and kitty mat, some super fun things too like hand puppets (these are really cool), variations on the journal/book cover, and a very cute craft apron (the cute part in the little owl face pocket). I love what she does with accessories too - bags and scarfs and hats. There is too much good stuff in here.

Sweet embroidery patterns for days of the week tea towels. Link.

Kelli’s off travelling and spreading goodwill again. Gotta couple of tees you’d like to donate? Details via the link.Link.

A lovely idea for a friendship bracelet - you could make a bunch of these to give to your friends or your kids friends - they would be great inside a party bag - or if you made a few plain ones, little kids could decorate them (party activity) or fantastic for older kids to make and give to their friends.

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A sweet little interview with our fearless leader Kathreen in the latest issue of Artful Blogging. It has a nice photo spread with some artists whose work has been featured on Whipup and links to their blogs and portfolios.

The Best of Vogue Knitting Magazine: 25 Years of Articles, Techniques, and Expert Advice, by Vogue Knitting Magazine, published by Sixth&Spring Books (May 1, 2007), a compendium of the best of 25 years of articles, tips and ideas from Vogue Knitting magazine.

A must have resource for knitters of all ages and eras - full of worthwhile and useful articles, as relevant today as any time within the last 25 years perfect for those who like reading about knitting as much as doing it. With articles by the elite of knitting such as Elizabeth Zimmerman, Nicky Epstein and Debbie Bliss - the articles range widely from politics, history, copyright, style, technical discussions and instructions, design principals and inspiration and lots lots more.

The introduction is a fascinating look back over knitting fashion history - with covers spanning the the last 25 years. Then follows Knitting History and a fascinating collection of essays. Fiber and basic techniques, working with charts and schematics, Casting On and Binding Off (many of the different techniques are described here). The section on Expert Finishing Tricks and Techniques includes many interesting essays from some great knitters, including Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen. The Design Process is explored from the point of view of a tvariety of experts. More technical articles on Sizing and Shaping, knitting in the round and Caring for Knitwear. The last sections deal with specifically men who design, eg. Kaffe Fassett. And Designing woman - with profiles of some key knitting designers.

This is a must have for your knitting collection.

the softie awards are open for voting - the finalists have been chosen - go and vote for your faves. Not all of my faves made it to the top 5 - so go to the flickr pool if you want to check them all out.

Awesome mermaid costume for your dolly’s! I reckon you could adapt this for a little mergirl or merboy.
Link.

Sweet little idea. Link via Decor8.

Very sweet. Link, Design*Sponge.

I [Heart] Felt: 33 Eye-Popping Projects for the Inspired Knitter by Kathleen Taylor, published by Taunton (February 19, 2008).

A book about fulling, that is the felting process of knitted items. It is pitched at having a huge ‘wow’ factor, and is described as having ‘eye popping’ projects that ‘may cause gasps of disbelief’. All of this buzz had me intrigued - which is why I was slightly dissapointed. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very decent projects in here, interesting and lovely - but not sure about the hype.

This is an usually designed book - what I mean by that is that it has large retro font in the project introduction in groovy candy colours - very cool - but somehow strangely at odds with the style of the projects. Now that I have my bug bear out of the way I will discuss the instructions. And these are very clear, detailed and nicely written, the author, Kathleen has a lovely writing style that is shown off in this section, she obviously knows a lot about her topic and it shows. There are also lots of before and after photos of the felting/fulling process which I really love.

The projects might be ‘eye popping’ for their difficulty level and use of luxury yarn, such as the ‘peppermint stick’ christmas stocking knitted in peruvian wool with fair isle stitch, or the ‘grazing sheep bag’ an intarsia knit in peruvian wool, or the ‘cabled tote’ knit from alpaca/wool, or the ‘big bag’ knit from noro iro with raised rib handles in a contrasting yarn.

I asked advise from a more experienced knitter than myself, and it was as I expected, the projects would not be difficult for an experienced knitter. I guess the ‘eye popping’ comes into it when you knit a cable stitch bag and then throw it into the washing machine to fend for itself. You certainly need a little bravery to take that next step in the process.

Unfortunately I was not really inspired by many of the projects in this book. I found the colour choices off putting and the rather bright cheery studio shots (not the authors fault) terribly fake. I did really like the felted slipper - in a couple of variations rather lovely, and the child’s gingham vest and alpaca toddler earflap cap the highlights of the book.

Whip Up is now taking article and tutorial submissions.

We are looking for tutorials and submissions that fit within our feel - read our Manifesto for more information.

We are looking for thematic articles and tutorials to fit within the months themes - see monthly themes below - but also timely articles outside of these themes will be considered such as exhibition and pattern reviews, craft memes, fun, frivolous and extreme ideas, etc that cannot wait and do not fit within the theme.

Submissions now being accepted for January, February and March 2008

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April - Home (crafts for the home - for the family - practical and comfort and loving crafts)

May - Ephemeral (short lived, naturally occurring, transitory crafts)

June - Traditions (handed down through the generations, classic patterns, colors, and styles, inherited, established, or customary)

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To learn more about how to submit an article read the submission guidelines here

The laaadies at Purl have been at it again, sweet lil’ shrug pattern. Link.

Sweet sequined button tutorial. Link, via Meggie Cat.

Ringo is a funny octupus in crochet made by Laura Díez. She has written a tutorial in english and spanish. Thanks!

Ringo es un divertido pulpo de croché hecho por Laura Díez. Además, ella ha sido tan amable de escribir el tutorial en inglés y español. ¡Gracias!

Yesterday was earth day April 22. Skye from Crafting a green world sent in fun and informative post titled ‘Top 5 Ways Your Fabric Stash Can Save The Earth‘.

If you are into eco crafting you might also like to check out sew green | worsted witch | Abigail Doan | inhabitat what are you doing on earth day | nature moms blog | treehugger posts [streets are for the people] and [earth day - the new christmas] | this is my lab |

Bead Simple: Essential Techniques for Making Jewelry Just the Way You Want It by Susan Beal (of west coast crafty) and published by Taunton (March 25, 2008)

The book Bead Simple is a great concept, simple designs which are then made into variations by other designers and crafters who give their own personal flair to the basic design.

The book is very well laid out - excellent introduction and beginner instructions section at the front, very detailed “how to get started” and technical know how - perfect for the beginner beader. And there are lots of projects in here - this is a big book full of projects and their spin-offs. Lots of inspiration in here for the beginning beader

Susan’s idea with this book is to give the user a basic concept of what is possible with beading techniques and to encourage them to go out and create. There is probably not too much here for the more experienced beader, the projects are really quite plain and really rely upon the end user putting their own personal touch onto the designs. There are some exceptions to this of course, I did love the vintage button projects and the wearables - beads and ornaments stitched and incorporated into clothing and apparel are really inspired. I thought the charm bracelets to be quite charming and the belts terrific too. Other projects I thought stood out from the crowd were the ‘hardware store bracelet’ made using washers and jump rings and heavy brass chains found at the hardware and fishing tackle supply store.

Video and pdf formats available. Emily’s blog and link.

bonbonkakku is a new site a bit like threadless - design a t-shirt site, that enables designers to design fabric - readers can then vote their faves and the faves then get made into fabric which can be purchased from their shop. Current in store fave for me is the cute green dog. [thanks kylie for the link]

How to turn an old pair of jeans in to baby overalls/dungarees. Link.