Fa la la la Felt: 45 Handmade Holiday Decorations


Amanda Carestio - 2010
    Created by successful online designers from around the world, the adorable items range from a sweet garland of little birds to super-cute matryoshka doll ornaments. All can be made with simple sewing techniques, and there are both no-sew and eco-smart options, too. Both indie and mainstream crafters will love these fresh new ideas!

Margaret Goes Modern


Frances O'Roark Dowell - 2017
     Meet Margaret, whose adventures in a new quilting group help her reconnect with her daughter as they grieve the slow loss of a loved one to Alzheimer’s. Then there’s Liz, a quilter seeking her own tribe in a neighborhood of perfect moms. But maybe she has more in common with her neighbors than she thinks. Sisters Amanda and Lucy, one dreamy, the other practical as the day is long, have financial woes that may force them to sell their beloved home. Can a quilt made with fabric from a mysterious aunt save the day? Lisa is still reckoning with the loss of her best friend. Diving headfirst into a new quilt project, she learns that sometimes a gift can be a first step toward healing. Melissa Bennett is sensible, smart and skeptical of marriage. A husband sounds nice, but with all the books and quilts in her life, where would she put him?

The Wedding Officiant's Guide: How to Write and Conduct a Perfect Ceremony


Lisa Francesca - 2014
    With the officiating trend on the rise, novice officiants need a resource to guide them. In The Wedding Officiant's Guide, interfaith minister Lisa Francesca breaks down the entire officiating process, from becoming an ordained officiant and interviewing the couple to drafting and performing a moving ceremony. Written in an engaging and friendly tone, and featuring empowering advice, suggested readings, stories and lessons learned from new officiants, and practical tips from wedding planners, this inviting handbook will help new officiants write and deliver a wedding ceremony that fulfills marriage laws, delights guests, and honors the marrying couple.

Duncan's War


Douglas Bond - 2002
    Duncan is torn by his hatred of Turner's dragoons, who have treated his friends cruelly, and his father's instructions to love them. He must be true to Jesus Christ while attempting to rescue his father from enemy hands.

I Had a Favorite Dress


Boni Ashburn - 2011
    As the year passes, the narrator’s favorite dress goes through a series of creative changes, from dress to shirt to tank top to scarf and so on, until all that’s left of it is a good memory. Assisted by her patient and crafty mama, the narrator finds that when disaster strikes her favorite things, she doesn’t need to make mountains out of molehills—she “makes molehills out of mountains” instead! Structured around the days of the week, the story is also illustrated to show the passing of the seasons, a perfect complement to the themes of growing older and keeping hold (and letting go) of special mementos.

What's My Motivation?


Michael Simkins - 2004
    While his friends were out getting laid and stoned, he was tucked up at home dreaming of his name in lights, of holding an audience rapt, of perhaps becoming a TV heart-throb, or having someone, anyone, ask for his autograph in the supermarket. This is the true story of an obsessive pursuit of acting fame. It is a life marked by occasional hard-fought successes and routine helpings of ritual humiliation: scout hut Gilbert and Sullivan, dodgy rock operas, sewage farm theatre workshop, Christmas panto hell, straight-to-video film flops, leading roles in Crimewatch reconstructions and dressing up as a chicken to advertise TV dinners. It is a hilarious tale of turgid theatre, tights, trusses and tonsil tennis with Timothy Spall.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Film)


Frederic P. Miller - 2009
    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy adventure film, based on J. K. Rowling's novel of the same name. The film is the fourth installment in the Harry Potter film series, although 1492 Pictures decided to leave the series. The film was directed by Mike Newell and produced by David Heyman. The screenplay was penned by Steve Kloves. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively. The film is set during the trio's fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A highly dangerous competition, the Triwizard Tournament, is being held at Hogwarts with only one student from each of the three competing schools selected to take part, but mystery occurs when the Goblet of Fire chooses Harry Potter as a fourth competitor. Filming began in early 2004 and the scenes of Hogwarts took place at the Leavesden Film Studios.

The Quilts of Gee's Bend


Susan Goldman Rubin - 2017
    In the only photo-essay book about the quilts of Gee’s Bend for children, award-winning author Susan Goldman Rubin explores the history and culture of this fascinating group of women and their unique quilting traditions. Rubin uses meticulous research to offer an exclusive look at an important facet of African American art and culture.   In the rural community of Gee’s Bend, African American women have been making quilts for generations. They use scraps of old overalls, aprons, and bleached cornmeal sacks—anything they can find. Their traditions have been passed down through the decades. Much to the women’s surprise, a selection of the quilts was featured in an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in 2002. The exhibition then traveled to the Whitney Museum in New York City. “Eye-poppingly gorgeous,” wrote a critic for the New York Times about the exhibition. He continued, “Some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art will exhibit its newly acquired collection of Gee’s Bend quilts in 2017.   Rubin is known for producing well-researched, highly praised, and sophisticated biographies of artists and other important figures. Through similar research, The Quilts of Gee’s Bend shares specifics about this rare community and its rich traditions, allowing children to pause to consider history through the eyes of the people who lived it and through a legacy that is passed on to the next generation.   This book should be of great interest to classrooms, libraries, and those interested in African American art in the United States, in addition to quilting, life in early emancipated colonies in the South, and Gee’s Bends importance in the Civil Right’s movement. The quilts and the incredible stories behind them are powerful motivators for anyone who wishes to accomplish anything. A map, directions on how to make a quilt square, endnotes, and an index round out this stunning nonfiction book.

Simple Sewing with a French Twist: An Illustrated Guide to Sewing Clothes and Home Accessories with Style


Celine Dupuy - 2007
    Including easy items to sew for the home, fashion accessories, delightful gifts and innovative ideas for customizing your favourite pieces of furniture, these are chic patterns that will inspire you.

Tomorrow's Magic


Pamela F. Service - 1987
    At their remote British boarding school, Wellington Jones and Heather McKennahave a lot in common. Both are misfits trying to avoid attention, and both are fascinated by Earl, a tall, calm, older boy with no recollection of his past, but a remarkable knack for showing up when he is needed most.When a blow to the head brings Earl's memory back, he claims that he is actually Merlin . . . a 2000-year-old wizard.Originally published in two volumes in the mid-1980s, Pamela F. Service's creative, futuristic spin on the Camelot legend will appeal to Arthurian purists and fantasy lovers alike.From the Hardcover edition.

When Farts Had Colors


Mark Lawton Thomas - 2011
    When Farts Had Colors is the story of 4th grader Lance Chance who hates Mondays. This particular Monday Lance's mom coaxes Lance to school with his favorite sandwiches and a 'wish-kiss'. On his way to school Lance is tormented by "the biggest, meanest 4th grader ever to stalk the halls of Alfonso Orr Elementary School. Merry Maddox. Bully Extraordinaire…”A legend" and her posse of mayhem, the Crazy M&Ms. If having to hand over his sandwiches and perform a certain humiliating act wasn't enough, Lance gets blamed by Merry Maddox for letting out a fart so horrible it forces the entire school to evacuate. Lance runs away from school and wishes that farts had colors. "Then everyone would have known it was Merry Maddox who sent out those heat seeking missiles of doom and destruction," thinks Lance. And just like that, Lance's wish comes true. Will Lance come up with a plan to expose Merry Maddox and reveal her true colors?

A House of Tailors


Patricia Reilly Giff - 2004
    Endless tiny stitches, button holes, darts. Since she was tiny, she’s worked in her family’s dressmaking business, where the sewing machine is a cranky member of the family.When 13-year-old Dina leaves her small town in Germany to join her uncle’s family in Brooklyn, she turns her back on sewing. Never again! But looking for a job leads her right back to the sewing machine. Why did she ever leave home? Here she is, still with a needle and thread—and homesick to boot. She didn’t know she could be this homesick, but she didn’t know she could be so brave either, as she is standing up to an epidemic or a fire. She didn’t know she could grow so close to her new family or to Johann, the young man from the tailor’s shop. And she didn’t know that sewing would reveal her own wonderful talent—and her future. In Dina, the beloved writer Patricia Reilly Giff has created one of her most engaging and vital heroines. Readers will enjoy seeing 1870s Brooklyn through Dina’s eyes, and share her excitement as she discovers a new world.From the Hardcover edition.

My Monster Farts


Kate Clary - 2013
    No one else can see or hear him.He loves Lenny but there is one big problem. Lenny loves to fart! He farts at home and at school and everyone thinks that it’s Zach.Zach is tired of getting in trouble because of Lenny’s farting.What will Zach do?

Sock Loom Basics


Leisure Arts Inc. - 2011
    It also includes handy tips on how to adjust the sizes to fit a larger or smaller foot. You’ll be an expert in no time! The designs feature mock cables, beaded cuffs, several rib patterns, stripes, garter blocks, a toeless pedicure sock, and spiral tube socks and a hat for preemies.

Stupid Sock Creatures: Making Quirky, Lovable Figures from Cast-off Socks


John Murphy - 2005
    Crafters with a sense of humor, a taste for the weird, wacky, and way-out, and a hunger for the outrageous will find themselves captured by this wildly creative menagerie of sock monsters.Possessed of irresistible charm, these creatures offer all the inspiration anyone needs to transform cast-off socks into wickedly funny toys. There's Claude with his perplexed expression and tiny tail that stands at full attention. Jordan's always on the prowl; he's got three eyes, so nothing escapes him. And there's something really odd about Estelle. Maybe it's her silly conical head balanced precariously on four tiny feet--or perhaps it's just that she's always sticking out her bright red tongue. Great instructions and charming illustrations make it easy to bring these unique personalities to life. A Selection of the Crafters Choice Book Club.