More Handy Crafty Happiness…

I thought I would include these books as they are just perfect holiday reads – even if you don’t get round to actually making anything – they are all beautiful and inspiring! So here’s more Handy Crafty Happiness…

I thought I would include these books as they are just perfect holiday reads – even if you don’t get round to actually making anything – they are all beautiful and inspiring!

I will start with the Christmas one – it’s title says it all really – ‘Christmas Crafting in no time’ by Clare Young. It has 50 projects and ideas all done with a simple Scandanavian-inspired palette which of course I am going to love as there is lots of red involved.

There are chapters on decorations, cards and gift wrap, soft toys to make, delectable recipes (we loved the Christmas Chutney) and divine table settings. I think the table settings chapter was just about my favourite as the ideas are simple and pared back –with lots of red, white and green (as in foliage) and paper decorations that just take a bit of time and not necessarily a large amount of skill.

My Godparents are Danish and a lot of our own Christmas traditions as flavoured by the years my parents spent with them as two young couples settling in a new land; they from Denmark, my Parents from South Africa and Wales respectively. So a lot of our decorations, and even recipes are Danish-inspired.

I like the simplicity of their approach – not a lot of tinsel and shiny stuff – but things to put away for next year. It is the sort of book that you could use to start to build up your own tradiitions from the book – adding a new idea each year – making a new project to be packed away in the attic bought out each year for years to come. Christmas Crafting In No Time by Clare Young is published by Cico Books and is $44.99. It is distributed by Book Reps (www.bookreps.co.nz).

I continue to be a complete and utter sucker for all things Cath Kidston – it is still my favourite search on Trademe – and I manage to get all sorts of treasures that I covet. I had a wonderful time last year when I visited London and somehow managed to visit the Cath Kidston store on Kings Rd not once but three times, buying pressies for everyone I could think of and manage to actually get in my luggage. I love the vintage-inspired longevity each piece she comes up with has. I particularly love her fabrics and wallpapers, from the Sailboats through to my all time favourite ‘Cowboys’ and all the cabbage rose fabrics inbetween. I love polka dots almost as much as she does – so I like to think of us as kindred spirits somewhat!

I have enjoyed each of her previous books, and the new one, Patch! By Cath Kidston is no exception. I grew up in a house of handcrafting, with my Mother a dab hand at patchwork and quilting. It can seem a little onerous and possibly complicated, but it is not. It is just a steady sort of craft that anyone can turn their hand to. It’s just not something you hurry (in my experience). That said, I tend to do all mine on the machine as it goes quicker than the handmade variety. The book includes (as all of the other three books, Make! Sew! and Stitch! have) a giveaway kit to make a project.

In Patch! You get to make either a bag or a cushion (which is what I am going to do). It includes Kidston fabrics as well as the pattern and instructions. As with the Christmas book previously, it is a great book for just browsing, with patterns and projects that suit both the early beginner, and the fabulously proficient. Patch! By Cath Kidston is published by Quadrille and is just $29.99 (and it includes a cushion or a bag – amazing value). It is distrubted by Book Reps (www.bookreps.co.nz)

We have a second book on quilting this time. It is not a subject you see a lot on and certainly not with such a modern, colourful take on it as this.

Little Bits Quilting Bee by Kathreen Ricketson is a real quilting gem. The book has 20 quilts all beautifully photographed and which I have to say are inspiring me on a daily basis to start quilting again. I have just done a couple of easy patchwork projects recently but have found in the past the quilting conponent to be slow but satisfying. In this book a lot of the overstitching is done with a machine but I still find the old handstitched approach to be a lovely one. It is a lovely thing to sit in the cooler evenings under a quilt that you are stitching yourself. I have only ever finished smaller cot quilts but I feel a larger quilt beckoning.

There are lots of tips on choosing fabrics and colour combinations, with surprisingly little ‘rule making’ involved. With lovely phrases like jelly rolls (pre-cut 21/2-in/6cm strips of fabric, cut selvage to selvage) and fat quarters (a particular pre-cut size, supposedly better than a skinny quarter) to learn about this is not a book for beginners. But that said with such good instructions, and patterns that come with the book it is not a hard book to follow at all.

The photography (John Paul Urizar) and illustrations (by Robert Shrugg) are quite exquisite. Kathreen Ricketson blogs on whipitup.net, and writes for many publications including Woman’s Day in Australia. Little Bits Quilting Bee by Kathreen Ricketson is published by Chronicle, and is $39. It is distributed in New Zealand by Book Reps.

Meet Me At Mikes is another book for an Australian author who has a great blog. Pip Lincolne has a store in Fitzroy in Melbourne and is a great proponent of the Handcraft Arts. This book is not so much a ‘how to’ book, but an ‘I have’ book.

It is the old fashioned way of documenting your many projects in a book. What a novel idea. My daughter is an ardent knitter (a closet Yarn Bomber), and records all of her projects on her Ravelry page (I maintain it is a crafter’s version of Facebook). It’s a funny mix (for me anyway) of the handcraft athesetic, and modern technology. So now she has this book to record her projects as she makes so many knitted creations, and gives them all away, that it is nice to see the projects evolve and change as she grows in proficiency.

The journal is dotted with gorgeous photographs, and tips and even a few instructions. There is a huge list of blogs to look at for inspiration, and a huge paper wall hanging to put all your ideas and notes on as a visual storyboard. That is being kept specially for when we move to the new house and she can keep all her many projects in one place. It will go nicely with her drumkit.

Meet Me At Mikes: Crafty Journal by Pip Lincolne is published and distributed by Hardie Grant Books and is $35.

The last book we are reviewing is the crafty “Everything Alice” by Hannah Read-Baldrey & Christine Leech. The book is pure homage to the character of Alice, I would imagine, sparked by the movie that has re-ignited our interest in the book of our childhood.

The book is full of party ideas, (Mad Hatter Cupcake Box), gift ideas (Red King Slippers in felt), things for the home (Alice Embroidery Sampler, and a whole lot besides. You will want this book if you have a girl in the family (or even the occasional boy) who loves all things Alice and I can’t imagine age as a barrier either.

I loved the piece on Fabric Covered Furniture and after my patchwork quilt, that is my next project. But maybe I might have to do that first as it looks so easy and effective – fabric OVER the furniture – something I can manage WITHOUT an upholsterer!

Everything Alice by Hannah Read-Baldrey & Christine Leech is full of 50 different projects – and is published by Quadrille. It is $35 and is distributed by Book Reps.

By Anya Brighouse
19 December 2011