Gentle Art of Quiltmaking


Jane Brocket - 2010
    There's a Russian Shawl Quilt, inspired by traditional motifs of Russian folk art, a Floral Frocks Quilt inspired by summer dresses, flower gardens and herbaceous borders and a Suits and Ties Quilt reusing sober woollen suiting contrasting with extravagant silk ties designed in an Irish Chain.Finally, a practical section covers all the knowledge you’ll need – from chainpiecing, hand-quilting and sandwiching to binding, storage and caring for your quilt. Armed with the design tools, you can embark on your quilting journey and begin creating your own personal masterpiece.

The Calm and Cozy Book of Sleep: Rest + Dream + Live


Beth Wyatt - 2020
    In The Calm & Cozy Book of Sleep, sleep coach Beth Wyatt helps you get the sleep you need for a healthy life, discussing a multitude of fascinating sleep topics, from sleep basics to waking up in the morning and beyond, including:Perfecting your sleep environmentCelebrating sleepinessChanging your relationship with your bedPracticing peaceful bedtime activitiesSleeping with petsUsing sleep aidsNappingFocusing on restManaging anxiety and racing thoughtsCreating an enjoyable morning routineApproaching sleep in a fresh, relatable, and non-clinical way, The Calm and Cozy Book of Sleep shares tried-and-true tips to help you fall asleep (and stay asleep)—effortlessly and naturally—and convinces you to learn to love sleep. The Live Well series from Rock Point invites you to create a life you love through multiple acts of self-discovery and reinvention. These encouraging gift books touch on fun yet hardworking self-improvement strategies, whether it’s learning to value progress over perfection, taking time to meditate and slow down to literally smell the roses, or finding time to show gratitude and develop a personal mantra. From learning how to obtain more restful sleep and creating a healthy work/life balance to developing personal style and your own happy place, the Live Well series encourages you to live your best life.   Other titles in the series include: Progress Over Perfection; Find Your Flow; Be Happy; Seeking Slow; Finding Gratitude; Eff This! Meditation; The Joy of Forest Bathing; Find Your Mantra; It Had to be You; Men’s Society; Genius Jokes; Beating Burnout; Ayurveda for Life; Choose Happy; and You Got This.

Literary Knits: 30 Patterns Inspired by Favorite Books


Nikol Lohr - 2012
    Literary Knits features 30 knitting patterns inspired by beloved characters from classic books; from "Pride and Prejudice" to "Moby Dick, The Catcher in the Rye" to "The Chronicles of Narnia"--and many more in between.Inspired by some of the most beloved characters from favorite books, including an elegant Daisy Cloche inspired by "The Great Gatsby" and a late '50s-inspired Holly Golightly Dress imagined from "Breakfast at Tiffany's," the more than 30 knitting projects in this unique collection will inspire knitters and book lovers alike.Each knitting pattern includes precise instruction and robust information on yarn selection and substitution. Beautiful photography throughout offers ideas and inspiration for all ages and skill levels, including supporting photos for tricky or less commonly-known techniques. Diagrams, assembly instructions, and schematic illustrations ease completion of each project. A generous mix of knitting patterns for women, men, and kids."If you're a book lover who knits, or a knitter with an appreciation for vintage patterns, "Literary Knits" is a timeless collection of one-of-a-kind knitting projects.

How to Knit Socks That Fit: Techniques for Toe-Up and Cuff-Down Styles. A Storey BASICS® Title


Donna Druchunas - 2015
    You’ll learn several approaches for getting started, and you’ll also discover how to shape comfortable toes, create heels that fit, and ensure stretchy cuffs that can be counted on to keep your socks up. Druchunas’s useful tips and tricks include working confidently with double-pointed needles, knitting socks on one or two circular needles, and even knitting two socks at the same time. Once you’ve mastered these basic techniques, you can adapt them to create your own custom sock designs.

Super Crafty: Over 75 Amazing How-To Projects


Susan Beal - 2005
    With its sleek design and edgy tone, Super Crafty is the ultimate hipster’s craft guide, with a wide array of accessible projects suitable for all skill levels. The book offers dozens of projects for the home (Easy Etched Glass), wardrobe (One-Afternoon Skirt), body (Flirty Floral Pasties), family pet (Greta’s Tail Warmer), and more. Organized by genre, each chapter uses a rating system to indicate difficulty, cost of materials, and age-appropriateness. "101" sections offer basic instruction in sewing, working with vinyl, jewelry making, and other crafts. A resource guide helps locate supplies, tools, and further inspiration. The authors also contribute thoughtful pieces on the underlying aspects of craft, from activism to therapy, as well as lighthearted vignettes on crafting disasters and favorite art supplies.

Creative Journaling: A Guide to Over 100 Techniques and Ideas for Amazing Dot Grid, Junk, Mixed-Media, and Travel Pages


Renee Day - 2020
     With 52 projects, from crafting colorful pages for dot grid, junk, mixed-media, and travel journals to making your own washi tape, tabs, and paper, you’ll soon have the best-looking journals around. Author Renee Day of the popular Instagram @thediyday takes you on an artistic adventure, guiding you with step-by-step photos and instruction, as you learn how to incorporate amazing DIY ideas into your daily planning! You’ll learn to work with a variety of materials—acrylic paint, brush pens, stencils, stamps, 3D gloss gel, scrap paper, and more—as you personalize your stuff, making things uniquely you.  Going beyond basic tools, this stunning book offers tips, tricks, and creative ways to transform journals and hardcover books into treasured keepsakes, including:Ornamental letteringPersonalized habit trackersColorful calendarsDecorative headers and cover pagesCustomized productivity and bucket listsInspiring artworkGratitude logsUnique planning pagesEven if you have a limited amount of time or supplies, you can create eye-catching journal layouts. It’s time to get creative!

23 Halloween Crafts for Kids: Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas and Spooky Decor


Prime Publishing - 2014
    Get in the spooky spirit with this guide to your best Halloween yet! With this collection of 23 Halloween Crafts for Kids: Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas and Spooky Décor, you can:•Design frightfully fun homemade Halloween costumes•Share laughs with your little ones as you make kids’ Halloween crafts•Create homemade Halloween decorations to make your home spook-tacularAnd so much more! This is your year to be the most festive haunted house on the block, so grab this eBook and start preparing for a bewitching Halloween.

Wool Pets: Making 20 Figures with Wool Roving and a Barbed Needle


Laurie Sharp - 2008
    There are only a few books written on the subject and most of those focus on 'flat' needle felting on a surface. This book is about sculptural needle felting—creating 3-D animals and figures using the felting needle to sculpt wool.The book shows the techniques and describes how the felting needle works with wool fiber to create felt, while explaining the differences between this art form and other forms of felting. The reader will learn how to hold the needle, what sort of materials to use, and why.There are about 20 complete projects including various birds, bugs, four-legged animals, and people-each one unique and irresistible! Laurie also shows the reader ways to display their felted creations as mobiles, ornaments, or arranged in shadow boxes.

DIY Watercolor Flowers: The Beginner's Guide to Flower Painting for Journal Pages, Handmade Stationery and More


Marie Boudon - 2019
    Marie Boudon's beautifully presented creative course will give you a good grounding in this new-to-you medium and teach you all you need to know to get started with painting flowers in watercolor. Find out about paper, brushes and paints, color mixing, wet and dry techniques, blending and gradients, contrast and even how to digitize your work. Then learn to paint roses, peonies, carnations, dahlias, anemones, poppies, leaves, details and textures and how to bring all of these together into beautiful compositions which make lovely art pieces, journal pages, handmade stationery and greetings cards, inspirational quote frames, personalized gifts and more.

Tasty Crochet: A Pantry Full of Patterns for 33 Yummy Treats


Rose Langlitz - 2009
    With over 30 crochet patterns on the menu, there's something here to please every palette. In addition to snack items that can be stitched up in a flash, you'll find: patterns to plan a meal for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert; basic crochet techniques to get you started right away; and short "ingredients" lists to make finishing an item quick and easy. Whether they're play food for the kids or fun projects for you, you'll love increasing your daily fiber intake with Tasty Crochet!

Alternacrafts: 20+ Hi-Style Lo-Budget Projects to Make


Jessica Vitkus - 2006
    With an emphasis on recycling, making projects from scratch, and improvisation - as well as detailed, easy-to-understand instructions - this title gives crafters the skills they need to self-express, by shaping their own environments, whether they're working on their bodies, their bedrooms, their lockers at school, or their first apartments.

The Big-Ass Book of Crafts


Mark Montano - 2008
    Divided into sections that include Outdoorsy (ideas to enhance your backyard), Dishing It Out (decorating plates using different techniques), You've Been Framed (innovative picture framing ideas), and Can I Have a Light? (creating and decorating lamps, lanterns, and chandeliers), it's as entertaining to read as it is endlessly inspiring. With more than one hundred and fifty inventive and fun projects, The Big-Ass Book of Crafts is the perfect activity book for readers of every mood, budget, and skill level.

The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line


Kari Chapin - 2010
    Learn to determine your cost of goods, set prices, identify the competition, and understand the ins and outs of wholesale and retail sales. Explore the various sales venues available, including independent craft fairs, Web sites such as Etsy, and traditional stores, and learn to maximize your visibility and sales in each one. Want to start your own website? Chapin shows you how to style and prop your crafts for photography and explains how the most popular Web marketplaces operate. You’ll find everything you need to turn your talent into profits.

The Cuter Book


Aranzi Aronzo - 2010
    Filled with the same irreverent humor that made the characters pop to life in The Complete Aranzi Aranzo, The Cuter Book is a simple instructional book for crafters of all ages and skill levels.The Cuter Book contains detailed design patterns that are easy to understand by inexperienced crafters, and still unique enough to be appreciated by veteran craft masters.New doll patterns include:Holiday themed dolls-Ghouly, Mr. Tree, Santa, Rudolf & Reindeer, Miss Pumpkin, Mr. Bag, Snowman & SnowbunnyNew Mascots-Chuuko, Miss Kid, Tetsu, Mr. Happy, Pigton, Happy Fairy, LambetteNew Friends-Black Cat, Cow, Elephant, Fox, Lizard, the Lil Fruits, The Alphabet Gang, Stallion, Lion, Flower, Chick, the WeathermenOld Friends- Donkey, Penguin, Munky, Towel Dolls, Eyelash Bunny, Car Folk, Panda Bug, Red Birds, Snakes, Turtles

Topsy-Turvy Inside-Out Knit Toys: Magical Two-in-One Reversible Projects


Susan B. Anderson - 2013
    Anderson's fifth book--her most enchanting yet--turns the spotlight on "reversibles": knitted projects that are two toys in one. This collection of a dozen delightful toys features a dog in a doghouse, a chrysalis with a fluttery surprise inside, a tiny hidden fairy, a vintage toy with a fabled theme to boot, pigs in a blanket, and much more.The adorable photographic sequences and the playful and energetic line drawings show how each finished reversible can be turned inside out to reveal its companion toy. Projects are arranged in order from simplest (fine for a beginner) to the most challenging. Finally, the book features tutorials from the author (a great knitting teacher), explaining special techniques: how to apply any applique, how to do the stem stitch, how to embroider "eyes" on the Bunny and Lamb, and 14 more. It all adds up to the best knitting book of the season.