Doodle Stitching Book Review

[Photo]

Border's going out of business is bittersweet to me. That was the only bookstore I actually liked to go to, now that they are going out of business I will probably have to get all my books now from Amazon. Even though it's sad, the good thing is that I now can stock up my craft library for dirt cheap (yay!). There was a big sign on the window of our local store that said 10 days left so we had to stop by and see what the slim pickings were. Poor Noah was upset because "someone took the toys" the whole kids section was completely cleared out. But anyway..

There was only so many craft books left, and only like three that I considered buying. There was this crochet book called Twinkie Chain's Crochet goodies for Fashion Foodies which had really cool patterns that I wanted to try, a few with cupcakes(which I'm into now). Alas, I wanted to learn something new so I choose a book on embroidery called Doodle-Stitching by Aimee Ray.

My first impression when flipping through the pages was that it had a variety of different patterns that seemed very easy to do. As a beginner of anything that "I can do that" feeling is very important and even after flipping through a few pages I got that feeling and wanted to dive right in.

The author gives a little advice on what materials and tools you need to get started which reading that made me happy because as a new craft its super affordable. (I can get everything I need under 20 bucks with coupons from Jo-Ann's)  She explains all of the basic stitches that you need to know to complete all of the designs provided in the book that you could also use in any design you come up with yourself.

My favorite idea in the whole book is the canvas shoe embroidery. I would have never thought to do that and I would love to personalize a pair of shoes like that. I have always seen ones decorated with sharpie doodles, but this is much better.

In the book she also explains how to transfer images and designs on your fabric to stitch over but what I love about the style of "doodle-stitching" is that you could really just draw a design directly on the fabric in pencil, no tranfering materials required. Hopefully this week I can grab some supplies and start on my new hobby with pix to show you guys.


P.S. Hope you guys had a wonderful Labor Day weekend like I did. I got to visit my family which made my whole weekend.

Sew Everything Workshop Book Review

[Photo from Workman publishing]

A few weeks ago we took a family trip to the library. Originally it was to use the internet since ours was out but since I was there I thought I would look for a book on sewing, since I have a machine and only really know the basics of sewing straight lines. Our library didn’t have a wide selection of craft books published in this decade but I did find a book called Sew Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp. Let me start off by saying I love this book. I really need to buy my own copy so that I can stop renewing this one.

Like all my other books this book has a very fun to read, down to earth tone to it. I like craft books that I can sit and read like a novel, not just like a boring step by step instructional. It starts off with an introduction of the author of the book Diana Rupp. She owns a craft school in New York called Make Workshop, where I definitely have to go and check out sometime soon. It also gives you tips and pointers on setting up your sewing area and supplying your sewing box with all the necessities and fun luxuries.

One of my favorite parts is that it explains exactly how a sewing machine works, and the difference between machines and how to pick one that is right for your needs. Not only does it have everything you need to know to get started sewing but an overview of different types of fabrics and notions, and how to use them.

At the end of this book it has 25 patterns to get you started sewing. It has a little bit of everything, a jacket, dresses, stuff for your home, for your guy (boxers, and a tie), even something for your pet, or baby. Out of the 25 patterns 10 have actual paper patterns to follow. Don’t know how to use a paper pattern? That’s ok, in the chapters beforehand it gives you very detailed instructions on how to do so.

I followed the instructions on how to make a sewing machine cover. It said to use oil cloth, but I just used an old curtain I had on hand and it came out great. I plan to jazz it up later with some decorations, maybe something to make it a little sturdier.

Excuse the photo; I’m not in my normal element so I had to work with what I had.

Here is the detail of the stitching at the bottom. It was my first use of a decorative stitch!



The last chapter of the book is titled “hand sewing 101” which gives you a little insight on the basics. A short resources guide lists all the different places handy for a new sewer to know. It even lists a few good blogs, and we all know how much I love a good crafty blog.

Oh, and yes I do realize all the books I have reviewed come from Workman Publishing, that wasn’t on purpose, I realized that after I finished reading this one, but hey, they know a good thing.

Super Hero To The Rescue!

For my birthday the hubs got me the book Generation T: Beyond Fashion. As I was looking through it for the first time and got to the “kid rock” chapter with all the stuff for kids we came across a super hero cape, my son immediately goes I WANT THAT. Since he was being good that day, I went ahead and made it for him as my first project from the book. Who would have thought that  one big cut in an old t shirt would bring hours of entertainment. I wanted to embellish it some and sew on a big letter N for his name but I didn’t get the chance to. As soon as I held it up he was so excited and wanted to put it on and play with it. He pretended he was a wonder pet and ran around to go save the animals in trouble. I don’t know how boxing and super heroes go together, but in the mind of a toddler, who knows.

Generation T: Beyond Fashion {Review}

For my birthday my husband got me the book I have been wanting for some time. Generation T: Beyond Fashion 120 new ways to fashion a T-shirt by Megan Nicolay. I subscribe to the Threadbanger podcast on iTunes and a few episodes talked about this book, after checking it out online, I knew I wanted it.


The first chapter of the book titled “getting technical” gives you a short and sweet overview of all the techniques used in the book such as different knots, hand sewing stitches and even a little how to on resizing a t shirt to fit, which was my favorite part of this chapter.

If you are visual and need lots of pictures this is a good book for you. All the patterns have an illustration for each step in the process and an actual picture (B&W) of the finished project. Speaking of pictures, in the center of the book there are color photos of all the projects being modeled off. I think that was one of my favorite parts of the book because it totally helps to see the finished product in use.

The projects have a little bit of everything: redesigned clothing, accessories, stuff for your house (and car), baby things, even stuff for the guy in your life. One thing I thought when flipping through this book was that I got it too late; it even had two designs on how to turn a regular oversized t-shirt into a nice looking maternity top.

This is the second book by Megan Nicolay. Her first, Generation T: 108 Ways to Refashion a T-Shirt, is now on my wish list after seeing how fun this book is. [Yes I know I’m backwards, getting the second book first] You can even try before you buy, the Generation T website has some of the projects from the books and a few that are not.



Photo coutresy of Generation T

Book Review: Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet

Many people have asked me where I learned to crochet. My answer? I taught myself. No really, I did, all with this wonderful book that I found called Stitch ’N  Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller.

This book is amazing. When I tell people I learned from a book they always say I can never learn anything like that just by reading. This book makes it easy; the instructions are very detailed and have pictures to help. The pictures are actually helpful, not those pictures where you look at them and wonder what’s going on.

This book is more than just a how-to book. It starts with a little history of the art of crochet explaining where it came from, and then it teaches you about everything you about the tools and different types of yarn. It starts you off teaching the basics and the basic stitches and then some of the more decorative stitches and techniques. Everything is written in a fun to read easy going dialog which keeps you entertained unlike other how to books.

The best part is that it includes 40 patterns of the most amazing clothing and accessories from sweaters to bikinis to handbags. Yes, I did say a crocheted bikini. Never followed a crochet pattern before? That’s ok; it gives an explanation on how to read a pattern before you start. I wish I had a picture of something I made from this book but everything I did were gifts and I never thought to take one. It has this super adorable pattern for fuzzy bunny slippers which I’m dying to try so hopefully I will soon.

In my opinion every crocheter needs this book in their crafting library. Not a crocheter? Buy it anyway and try. Trust me, it’s addictive. Knitter? Debbie Stoller has other books in her Stitch ’N Bitch series: The Knitter’s Handbook, Superstar Knitting, Stitch ’N Bitch Nation, and Son of Stitch ’N Bitch. I have not read any of the other books. Tried knitting many times and it has not worked for me, I'll stick to crocheting for now. Maybe if I read The Knitter's Handbook it will be my breakthrough to knitting success!