book

Book: French Country Chic

by kath_red on November 12, 2012

in Books

Book reviewed by Megan Enright: Megan is wife to a tolerant and encouraging husband and mother to four children ranging in age from 18 years down to 5 years. She spends her days keeping company with her 5 year old daughter and her evenings cheering on the sidelines as her older sons deal with homework, sport and other teenage issues. In her quieter moments, she likes to knit, embroider, sew and cook. She’d like to have the time and talent to crochet and quilt….maybe one day. She can be found at Notebook from home blog.

French Country Chic by Lise Meunier Published by David & Charles (March 4, 2012)

If you are a devotee of muted French inspired “shabby chic” style then this book will provide lots of inspiration. In it 40 projects are outlined and all of them imbibe an atmosphere of sophisticated comfort. Blue and white provide the predominant colour scheme so if you are into brighter colours you may need to adjust the fabrics and use your own favourites.

The book is divided into three sections, the workshop, the sitting room and the bedroom with each project designed for usefulness as well as a boost to the interior design of these three rooms. The projects are not overly complicated and the instructions although not very descriptive are quite clear. Some of the projects are suitable for absolute novice crafters, these include totes, cushions and drawer sachets. Other patterns require a little more expertise. For example there is a pencil case project that involves zipper insertion. Although the patterns are, on the whole, simple, they are made that little bit extra special through the use of trimmings, edgings, and well utilised vintage and “yard sale” fabrics. This is a book that gives the crafter ideas with which to create their own handmade item, made unique through fabric and embellishment choices.

I made my own version of the heart cushion. I am not a confident machine sewer but the instructions were clear and I was pleased with the outcome. Although I loved looking at the stylish interiors photographed in the book I do prefer a more vibrant colour palette. So, after a quick dive through my far too extensive fabric stash I ended up using an Amy Butler fabric on the front of the cushion. I am a sucker for hearts of any kind and I can definitely envision using this pattern for other cushions. Perhaps a series of heart pillows along my rather tired looking sofa? Most of the projects are sewn but there is a really lovely cross-stitch sampler and some sweet key holders made using modelling clay to add some variety.

As crafter who is far too keen on craft books, I had no trouble finding inspiration as well as some concrete ideas in this latest book from Lise Meunier. If you are looking for a quick handmade gift idea or a small craft project to add a lift to a corner of your home French Country Chic is a great resource. Now all I need is that little cottage in the French countryside…..

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Books: Home sewn home + Stitch at home

by contributor on September 3, 2012

in Books, Sewing+Fabric

About the reviewer: Megan is wife to a tolerant and encouraging husband and mother to four children ranging in age from 18 years down to 5 years. She spends her days keeping company with her 5 year old daughter and her evenings cheering on the sidelines as her older sons deal with homework, sport and other teenage issues. In her quieter moments, she likes to knit, embroider, sew and cook. She’d like to have the time and talent to crochet and quilt….maybe one day.  She can be found at Notebook from home blog.

Home Sewn Home: 20 Projects to Make for the Retro Home. by Sally Walton [publisher: Guild of Master Craftsman Publications (May 1, 2012)]

The front cover of ‘Home Sewn Home’ by Sally Walton hooked me in straight away with the words “Projects to make for the retro home”. I love the idea of wearing my frilly apron in the kitchen whilst clutching my pot-holders, all handmade, of course. To complement the retro theme in this book there is a heavy emphasis on thrift shop fabrics and trimmings and all the photos showcase the author’s obviously extensive array of fabrics ready for upcycling.

The book is written in an easy to read format with twenty projects in total to complete. Most of the projects are simple and have perhaps been presented in other craft books. However, in Sally Walton’s latest offering these projects are given a distinctly vintage feel due to the 60s and 70s fabrics used. Projects include home necessities such as an ironing board cover, a doorstop, shower cap and of course, that all important pot-holder.

For each project there are step by step photographs that would really help the novice sewer. In fact, this book is designed mainly for someone just tentatively dipping their toe into the world of sewing. All terms are well explained. Hemming, bias binding and the application of various trims are all very clearly laid out with accompanying photos at the back of the book. This book assumes that the reader has little prior sewing knowledge and as such the projects are designed to be quick, straight-forward and very usable once completed. It would be the perfect book for the fledgling sewist to use as a resource and to try out skills, therefore gaining confidence with both machine and hand sewing. The clear layout and wording of this book along with the numerous photographic explanations make Home Sewn Home a great place to start a crafting journey and the retro fabric provides excellent eye candy along the way.

Stitch At Home: Over 20 Handmade Fabric and Embroidery Projects. by Mandy Shaw. [Publisher: David & Charles (April 27, 2012)]

Pictures of embroidered houses are guaranteed to get me reaching for my needle and embroidery hoop. This book concentrates on the home and house as a theme and although there is some embroidery included there is an emphasis on appliqué.

This is the second book in a series by Mandy Shaw (The first one ‘Stitch with love’).  There are around 20 projects outlined, some practical, some more decorative. There are instructions for a sewing case, a dog bed, a tablecloth and a tea cosy. The project I am most keen to tackle is a gorgeous quilt with 12 blocks to appliqué and embroider. Fusible webbing appliqué is used for this project and for most of the projects in the book. The method is well outlined and machine blanket stitching is also explained. There are tips and ideas throughout which makes this rather large quilt appear quite achievable.

Being an embroiderer at heart I was also taken with the first project in the book, an embroidered house sampler. All the stitches included in the sampler are well explained in the first part of the book and included are instructions for left handed sewers as well – very inclusive! The Cutwork cushions are also striking and although they look great using solid colours I was keen to try the same idea using a floral cut-out on a solid background. I used an old thrifted piece of blanketing and some Liberty fabric from my stash [see pic above]. It was a quick but effective project and I would definitely try the other cutwork patterns outlined in the book.

The instructions for all projects are clear and easy to understand and wouldn’t be daunting for a beginner. There are small projects (a pincushion and bunting) to make and build confidence before moving on to larger and more complicated items (beach bag and quilt). The fabrics used are muted and traditional but it is easy to imagine the same projects completed with a more vibrant palette.

The house and home image is a lovely one for many crafters and “Stitched at Home’ is full of such images, a great book to get ideas and to trigger some creativity.

 

[Thanks to publishers and distributors and authors for sending me books to review, whipup does not get paid to post reviews but I am an amazon affiliate] (Australians can purchase craft books online through can do books or booktopia or else browse booko for the best prices.)

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Book :: Cast on, Bind off {blog tour}

by contributor on July 24, 2012

in Books, knitting+crochet+yarn

Leslie Ann Bestor comes from a long line of knitters, weavers and seamstresses and has had a lifelong love of fibers and textiles. For many years she designed and made custom knitwear for sale through her business Carpe Yarnum Designs. After the arrival of her daughter and a move from a rural mountain town in Washington to semi-urban western Massachusetts, she settled into a new life as teacher and assistant manager at WEBS, America’s Yarn Store, a job that combines the best of both worlds – a steady paycheck and daily immersion in fibers and creativity. Leslie is the author of Cast On, Bind Off published by Storey Publishing (June 2012).

I can trace the inception of this book back to my mother in so many ways. Creatively, she instilled in me a love of working with my hands and making things both useful and beautiful. She sewed all of our clothes and knitted and tried just about anything crafty. And she taught these things to me and encouraged me to create. She was also a reference librarian and surrounded us with books, showed us how to find out what we wanted to know and nurtured a lifelong love of learning.

My journey to writing Cast On Bind Off begins there and follows a long and circuitous path through learning and experimenting with yarn and the creative process. Although I learned to knit as a child, I didn’t stick with it (I have hazy memories of a scarflike piece of knitting, misshapen and full of holes). I picked up crochet in college and returned to knitting a few years after that, but it was several years before I discovered (uncovered?) my passion for knitting.

Largely self-taught, I knit daily, designing garments and trying out ideas. I announced to my parents that I wanted to make my living as a knitter and my mother promptly sent me a reference library of knitting books. I studied and marked pages and knit, learning all the things I had been doing wrong and figuring out how to fix my mistakes. I spent many years designing and knitting, selling both garments and patterns, a much different proposition 20 years before the advent of Etsy and Ravelry.

Fast forward to 9 years ago when I traded my life as an entrepreneur for the excitement of working in a huge yarn store, teaching classes and selling yarn. It is a fertile environment, surrounded by yarn and creative people all day. Between the staff and customers, I see so many inspiring, beautiful things and have learned so many different ways of doing things.

Teaching is a joy because I love introducing people to the craft of knitting and watching them take off. It is also a learning experience for me as I learn how to present things. People learn things so differently, some can hear it, some need to see it and trying firsthand is always great. I learned that I had to have several ways of describing a technique, that ‘under’ and ‘behind’ sometimes mean different things to different people. I still get so amused listening to my students coming up with their own descriptions of the motions – two people can be sitting next to each other and one says “over under over” and the next one says “under under forward”. It’s all about how they see the strands of yarn in relation to each other.

One thing that I love about knitting today is the curiosity and thirst for knowledge. People are wanting to know more about techniques and how to adapt and design patterns. We saw this at the store in the requests for new classes, which led to my class in cast ons and bind offs. I had a file of techniques I had accumulated over the years and distilled them into a series of step-by-step instructions to present to my students. I didn’t set out to write a book, but suddenly one day that was exactly what I was doing.

The process of writing the book in some ways was like a big research paper – lots of information gathering from all kinds of sources. This felt easy and familiar. So was the endless swatching as I tried out different techniques. What was trickier was writing the instructions, because of what I described about the different perceptions people have. I knew the photos would help with that, but still I wrote and rewrote, had friends test knit, and rewrote some more.

As the book came together, I hit my biggest block of all, something I’m sure all writers confront at some point – what if people didn’t like the book? After all, who was I to be the expert on this? This really stopped me in my tracks for awhile until a good friend put it into perspective for me. She said that I wasn’t trying to be the expert, I was merely compiling the information to share so that others could learn. And I realized that she was right, the book is an extension of my teaching, a way of bringing information together. I don’t have to be the best or know it all. Whew! What a relief that was! More recently, someone remarked that I am like a curator. I love that image as it conveys the sense of bringing together and presenting and allowing others to take away what they find useful/compelling.

The journey to the published book continued through all the minutiae and details of the publishing world – photo shoots (more swatching!), edits and more edits. The result is something that I hope will be the resource and tool I set out to create. I am sure there will be more discoveries and inventions in this world of cast ons and bind offs and I look forward to learning them.

Find out more about Cast on, Bind off on the Blog tour: 

7/9  Picnic Knits :: 7/10  Knit and Tonic :: 7/11  Zeneedle :: 7/12  Rambling Designs :: 7/13  Rambling Designs :: 7/14  Neo Knits :: 7/15  Knit & Nosh :: 7/16  Knitting at Large :: 7/17  Rebecca Danger :: 7/18  Lapdog Creations :: 7/19 Nutmeg Knitter :: 7/20       Yarnagogo :: 7/21  Weekend Knitter :: 7/22  knitgrrl :: 7/23  It’s a Purl, Man :: 7/24   Whip Up :: 7/25  Knitspot :: 7/26 Under the Humble Moon :: 7/27  Knitting Daily :: 7/28 Knitting School Dropout :: 7/29 Hugs for Your Head :: 7/30 The Knit Girllls

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Book: Blog tour: Granny Square Love

by KateG on October 8, 2011

in Home+Decor, knitting+crochet+yarn

Granny Square Love: A New Twist on a Crochet Classic for Your Home by Sarah London. North Light Books (September 2011).

With a riot of gorgeous colour, Sarah London’s book Granny Square Love is for anyone who loves crochet, and loves granny squares in every room of the house.  Welcome to the Whipup.net stop on the Granny Square Love blog tour!

Reviewed by Kate G

Quite often, when someone talks about crochet, they are talking about a granny square.  Granny squares are virtually the foundation of crochet motifs.  In Granny Square Love, Sarah London, a great lover of granny squares, shows how to take the most basic granny square, add fabulous colour combinations, and to add a granny square project to every room of the house.  I know so many people who love the rhythm of making granny squares, and who make them by the dozen.  Most of these squares are destined to be stitched together into afghans, and now crocheters have so many more options for their grannies.

Even if you have never picked up a crochet hook before, Sarah London’s clear instructions will get you started making chains and basic crochet stitches into granny squares in a few minutes.  The stitch illustrations are clear, and the photos of granny square construction are helpful, easy to follow and delightfully retro.

Each project has a clear description, details such as yarn, notions, hook size and measurements of the finished item, row by row written instructions for each round, tips for finishing each project off, and a colour commentary by Sarah London.  So often yarn projects are presented in a dictated colourway, and either the crocheter has to use those colours or figure out another colour scheme without any guidance from the designer.  I really like Sarah’s colour tips, and finding out her motivation for certain colour palettes, and her colour decision making processes.

Another fabulous part of every project is the large scale stitch chart.  For every crocheter that loves to use a stitch diagram, there is another that avoids a pattern with a diagram, with so many people never having had learned to read the symbols that make up a crochet chart.  Here Sarah provides clear diagrams, along with detailed row by row instructions, so that a crocheter of any experience level can follow along with the text and the diagrams at the same time, until reading a granny square crochet chart is second nature.  I personally love using crochet charts, and I’m excited about other crocheters learning to use charts, and doubling the number of patterns available for them to tackle.

The projects in Granny Square Love are divided into projects for each of the rooms in your home.  My favourite projects are the giant floor cushion (loungeroom), stool cover (kitchen), garland (dining room) and curtain (bathroom and laundry).

If anyone ever wanted to move away from the most simple granny squares used in Granny Square Love, to more complicated grannies or to other sizes or crochet motifs, then all of Sarah’s projects would be easy to adapt.  But I bet that anyone who loves granny squares will make these projects, at least once each, and surround themselves in every room with riotous coloured grannies.

About the reviewer: Kate is a busy mother of four with many craft projects on the go, including, but not limited to, crochet, knitting, sewing, dyeing, paper making, spinning, felting and bookbinding. Kate has challenges in the areas of finishing things, saying no and craft supplies storage. She also has a very very patient and tolerant husband.

DISCLOSURE: Sarah London PROVIDED WHIPUP.NET REVIEWER KATE WITH A FREE REVIEW COPY. THE AMAZON LINKS ARE AFFILIATE LINKS.

Join in the rest of the blog tour:

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Books – Block Party

by KateG on June 29, 2011

in Books, Quilting

Block Party–The Modern Quilting Bee: The Journey of 12 Women, 1 Blog, & 12 Improvisational Projects. Alissa Haight Carlton & Kristen Lejnieks. 2011, Stash Books.

I know that there are a lot of how-to crafting books on the market, and many of them very excellent books at that.  But this book is a how-to story that is sewn together with a common thread, following a journey of twelve women and twelve quilts across the United States, and bound together online by a love of colour, design, quilting and friendship.

Sewing and quilting has a long tradition of people working together to create an item together, as well as being a social event and an opportunity for collaboration and learning.  Lots of quilters have evolved this traditional Quilting Bee into an online experience, where people from diverse backgrounds and locations collaborate on quilts, using the postal service and the internet to share and connect.

Block Party; The Modern Quilting Bee follows the journey of an online quilting bee ‘Block Party’ established by Kristen Lejnieks and Alissa Haight Carlton.  Over the course of a year, the twelve women who belong to this online group each designed a quilt and made a block for each of these quilts.  You can have a look at the blog that started it all at blockpartyquilting.com

Each quilt in this book is presented as a finished object, clearly describes the design process and the process of coordinating the other quilters in the book, and provides instructions and photographs for the reader to use the techniques to make a similar quilt block.  How great is that, to have a finished quilt, a story, techniques and instructions, all in one place!

Apart from the well formatted, clear, well photographed and easy to understand techniques and projects in this book, I think that my favourite part is reading about the people behind each quilt, and the decisions each one made when she was designing the quilt.  I also really love reading about the challenges that each quilter had and has overcome, some quilters were really pushed out of their comfort zone when asked to use a certain technique or colour palette, but each one felt that they had learned and become better quilters for being nudged by understanding friends.  I also love the story of community, and how online friendships can be started by a common crafting interest, and can help people to create the most amazing things.

So if you are a beginner or an experienced quilter, interested in crafting groups, interested in online groups, interested in process and learning and growth and creativity, Block Party will likely give you the warm fuzzy feeling in your belly and your brain like it does to me.

Meet the quilters:

Follow on the rest of the blog tour:

About the reviewer: Kate is a busy mother of four with many craft projects on the go, including, but not limited to, crochet, knitting, sewing, dyeing, paper making, spinning, felting and bookbinding. Kate has challenges in the areas of finishing things, saying no and craft supplies storage. She also has a very very patient and tolerant husband.

Disclosure: Stash Books provided Whipup.net reviewer Kate with a free review copy of this book. The Amazon links are Affiliate links.

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